I have been making glass beads for about seven years, and selling them in my own jewelry designs for about the past three years. It's always funny (funny-haha, AND funny-strange) to look back on my own work from those beginning days.
When I see pictures of pieces I made back in 2007, I don;t know whether I should be alarmed or wistful. I clearly didn't know much about working with wire or metals then, and I certainly didn't feel like I was *really* expressing myself. I'm going to embarrass myself here a little and show a picture from those early days...like this one, a purple and black Viking wire necklace that just....didn't work:
THAT, my friends, is an abomination of photography AND jewelry design. I had a concept in my head, and definitely was going somewhere with it, but somehow it got lost along the way. I probably refolded the map incorrectly or something because we did not reach the artistic destination here. Ugh!I still have this necklace, and recently, I thought about taking it apart and remaking it somehow. I love the wirework, and the bead isn't too bad, but it looks like a Gothic nightmare when put together!
Over the past little while, though, I have learned a few things about photography as well as jewelry design and my own inclinations as an artist. First of all, I don;t have to try so freaking hard all the time. A lot of my better work springs from not actually wrestling with the materials. Here's a more recent Viking wire necklace that I think works a little better (and has some MUCH better beads in it!):
Much better, in terms of photography, beadmaking skill, and design. I actually DID get to where I was going with this one, and it garnered a lot of attention (alas, but no sale) at my recent show.As an artist, I think it's important to look back periodically and see where you have come from. Perspective is always a good thing, and it helps you figure out where you are now, as well as see how far you have come. I know that I am always amazed at the difference three years makes, and I am excited to see where I will be three years from now. So many good things have happened in 2010 for me that I think truly anything is possible in 2013!
What do you look back on and remember that gives you perspective for today?
6 comments:
Great Post!
I think we all experience this when we first start out. It makes us better and then great.
Albert Einstein once said, "The only source of knowledge is experience."
Interesting contrast between then and now...
my post also has the then and now pieces... it's scheduled to post itself on Saturday... too bad I can't make it figure out how to write itself!
(I did delete my first post it had a huge typo!)
'refold the map' too funny!
I look back at early designs and see that I was never using art beads. I have evolved to using them almost exclusively. Where once the most impressive thing might have been that Bali silver flower, today it is beads by some of the best artists on the planet (but I can never have enough and haven't discovered all the art beads out there yet!). Thanks for getting me to think about how far I actually have come!
Enjoy the day, Christine!
Erin
Christine..what a great post. I didn't know you then, but I'm so happy that we are friends now. And I love what you do today!
When I look back to my earlier days...I did much more stringing. I can't even remember when I crimped a crimp last...but should try and add more to wire designs to mix things up a bit.
Cindy
It is important to hang onto those first projects, no matter how embarrassing! Sometimes progress is in such small steps that we don't realize how far we've come until we look back.
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