Very few times in my life have I been this satisfied with anything I have made. This bracelet was inspired by a spoon handle I saw in a book about Navajo spoons that Dick Barber brought in last week. He was inspired to make spoons and this zigzag handle caught my eye and I told him I have to make that as a bracelet. It is not often I am inspired and able to sit and knock out a piece that quick either. I love this piece and was so excited to make it I burned my fingers while I polished it because I didn’t want to stop.
I have two books I look at constantly, “Messengers Of Modernism” by the Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts given to me by Joanne Stuhr and “Spratling Silver” which I found at the Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe. These books have a hook in me. None of the work in the Spratling book has high end stones and very little gold. The Messengers book is very much the same way, I decided that the artists represented in these books relied on design, not materials to make their work. Now lots of the pieces in the Messenger book bug me because they don’t look well engineered but they seem to be loved by many people anyway, myself included.
My father also works with materials that are not considered high value and I remember him saying it wasn’t the materials that matter. This was a point of departure for me from my previous generation’s work, I wanted to use high dollar materials and have good design. So I consciously fell in love with 18K gold and platinum.
Bracelet in Sterling Silver and 18K Gold
And I really love those materials but, I kept looking at these books and understood that design drove these artists and felt I was somehow missing that in my work. I thought that I should do this and that to make my work more design and less materials. I didn’t work, I can’t make myself do things like that. I am not in control of my creativity, I really am not. I loved making this bracelet, I want one myself but I made this one in a woman’s size, damn it. I find it hard to make myself anything, I have little patience for that.
Anyway, if you want to see my influences, check out those books. I made a sister piece to this since, as I have posted before, hate to make one of anything. I’ll post that bracelet next week when I finish it it’s sitting in the liver of sulphur solution right now, otherwise known as stink water.
Tagged as:
Bracelet,
Frank Patania,
Gold,
My Jewelry Designs : from Inspiration to Construction,
pantania,
silver,
Spratling,
sterling
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Jamie King 03.20.09 at 8:43 pm
Sam,
Very Cool! Both the design and workmanship. Congrats !!!
Jamie
Pam Chott 03.20.09 at 9:45 pm
Thanks, Sam. Lovely bracelet.
When you have a chance, if the bracelet is still available, could you post a top view?
Pam, thank you, I’ll try and post a top view, shooting bracelets is so difficult.
Sam
Lee 03.20.09 at 10:02 pm
Sam,
You have created another beautiful piece. That a way to go!!!!!!!!!
Lee
Michael Johnson 03.21.09 at 12:56 am
Awesome work!!!
I’ll have to check out those books. I am currently enthralled with one that a friend sent me, an awesome book of Scandinavian silver designs. I can’t even type the name of it, lol. But, I can look at the pics. I know what you mean by hooked on a book, LOL.
Helen Hill 03.21.09 at 6:36 am
Hi Sam, beautiful bracelet! I can’t work out whether the dark areas are holes or shadows. I’m presuming they’re shadows but my hubby is convinced that they’re holes.
Thank you Helen, the dark holes are reflections of the camera lens, at least the dark ones on top. The only place it is pierced is at the ends just above the gold beads.
SJB 05.01.09 at 2:07 am
I don’t look at your blog often enough. I love this piece. I also understand what you are saying about not having a choice about your art. I think that this very calling - like the piece is calling to you - is the mark of a true artist. I also think that this speaks to your need to envision in 3-D. Looking at all your new work is exciting.