I've been working on quite a few bespoke commissions recently which has not left me much time for experimenting with new designs.
I launched Inplico four months ago now and, with Wales in lockdown, I have a bit more time to play and make new things.
People who know me know that I cannot draw realistic things like people or even landscapes. When I draw, I sketch abstract shapes, making marks with the pen until I draw a 'scribble' that makes me pause and refelct on it were it to be a 3 dimensional form. I spend a lot of time drawing geometric scribbles, most of which will remain in the 2 dimensional planes of my sketch book; some of which will migrate their way into the virtual reality of my laptop; only a small minority end up as rough wire forms on my jewellery bench; an even smaller percentage of those go on to becoming pieces that I sell.
My jewellery is handmade, but I do use digital tools to develop my designs. Modelling a 2 dimensional scribble into a 3 dimensional form on a computer is sometimes more challenging than making it by hand, it just takes less time (and money). I can model an unlimited amount of designs to see what I like the look of, what I think will work and what I think won't. I can vet my designs in a space where they do not yet exist: they are merely a collection of code and pixels. I've not used any materials, all I've used, really, is time.
What I end up with is a virtual collection of shapes, I can then hone in on various ones and start working out how best to make them.
Above is a design that I like, I'm definitely leaning towards a pair of earrings, but I haven't decided how big they should be....could go obnoxiously massive but they might be a tad impractical. I have got some lovely stones in mind to use with them.....
This is as far as I've got at the moment, it's my first working day of welsh lockdown so that's not too bad. Check back in later for some more design updates.