Marshawoods and Forged Suspension

by michaeljohnson on February 22, 2012

I had mentioned in a previous post that I was exploring the art of making eyewear. I have a fantastic optometrist who has been showing me around his world a bit. Since wearing glasses is very new to me, and I knew very little about lenses, except the minute bits that I have picked up in my studies of photography and telescopes, I have appreciated him walking me through the basics of how prescription lenses and eyewear works. There is much to be taken into consideration.

Marshawood Frames - Sterling silver, paladium, amethyst and rhodolites.

Pin It

This was a commission for a patron named Marsha, who just happened to need a new pair of specs, just as we started down this road. She really loved that first pair that we made showcased in the post called “Making a Spectacle for Myself.” And, as I was researching frame designs I just loved the Marshwood frames that John Denver made popular in the early 70′s amongst the folkies. A play on words, Marshwood – Marshawood. So, I just took the lens shapes and played with adding a bit of my folklore to the design. Marsha, digging my serpent designs that I had used in some of my other work, wanted a snake right between the eyes. I liked the idea, but I also didn’t want to make a destraction for her. (Note: lawsuit in the movie The Jerkwhere Steve Martin’s character lost everything because the customers of his eye glass modifications went cross-eyed) So, I tried my best to integrate the serpent as best I could without making it distracting. “If it were a snake, it would have bit you.”

Detail - Marshawood Frames, showing the serpent.

She also wanted nose pads, not being sure if the bridge support as it the “Making a Spectacle for Myself” pair would be comfortable on her nose. This was an eye opener, and I started noticing that not all faces had the same types of nose bridge. But, this was an easy fix with a bent wire support for a pair of push-on pads. However, she preferred the metal bridge, and I think she ended up clipping off the pad supports.

Detail - Marshawood Frames, showing off the nose pads.

Then, after discussions with my optometrist and a few incredibly knowledgeable metalsmiths and metallurgist on a facebook group for jewelers who are interested in making eyewear, I decided that although I was certain (IMO) that the sterling silver could be hardened enough top take the wear and tear of that the hinges and rimlocks would have to endure, they also had to take the massive torque and wear and tear of the optometrist who has to place and replace lenses over the lifetime of the frames. So, I went with a palladium for parts that needed the strength and hardness. And, to blend them in, I soldered a veneer of sterling, since I knew that these would have a patina.

Detail - Marshawood Frames, the hinge with a faceted amethyst tube-set on the end of the temple piece.

Marsha has green eyes and wanted purple and burgundy stones to accent her beautiful eyes. So, I worked in amethyst and rhodolites.

Detail - Marshawod Frames, a close up of one of the flowers on the rims. The vines had to be carefully draped on the front-side of the lenses.

Detail - Marshawood Frames

I have also experimented with some other aspects of frames…

Forged Suspension

Pin It
These were inspired by the architecture of bridges and the bridge piece is actually set with rivets pinning the torque of the top of the rim to the arch of the bridge, strengthening the frames. As I get more and more inquiries on custom frames, I am holding off on making custom frames via distance or email at this moment. I will make an announcement as soon as I can find a way that makes setting up individual PD (Pupil Distance measurements) and bridge placements more expedient and less confusing for the patrons. At the moment, I am producing more hand-made frames and working with patrons who can come into the shop for custom frames, but online distant orders for custom work will have to depend on a better means of sizing via emails. Oh, and I made myself a pair of new magnifiers to replace my Optivisor. I added a couple of smaller magnifiers for stone setting. Thanks to Dr. Schifanella, my optometrist, for making the lenses for me and sharing some of his knowledge with me :)

Follow Me on Pinterest

{ 4 comments }

Aesthetics on the Half Shell

by michaeljohnson on February 13, 2012

As an art teacher, my favorite section that I have to cover is aesthetics.  If you check the online dictionaries, you’ll probably find it difficult to ascertain what exactly that word means.  In art and the philosophy of art, there are two main uses for the word, and it gets a little tricky.  Aesthetics is a branch of reasoning that goes back to the first recorded philosophers.  This is where the philosopher examines the nature of subjective things, such as love, art, beauty.  These are things of which we may all define differently.  The second use in the art world is to describe an emotional reaction to something, such as, “this room has a dreary aesthetic.”  The second use is mostly used by the art snob or interior decorator, so I will discard it completely from use here  (as not to confuse).

Star Flower- sterling silver, smokey topaz, and amethyst. An example of my five petal flower design. Is it art?

So, what is art?  What is beautiful?  Why is it that one person thinks something is art, and another may discount it as just an ordinary thing?  Why is one man’s garbage another’s gold mine?  Some aestheticians chalk the differences to race, gender, socio-economics, religion, and age.  But, first, what is this thing in which we speak, art?

I define art as evidence that something extraordinary that happened within the creative process that elevates the object above the level of ordinary.  For me, this covers your different definition as well as my own.  We tend not to appreciate the things in which we have seen or used on a regular basis, because they become ordinary.  I could drivel this all over the place with examples, and descriptions, and the evolution of art within this definition.  But, this is the shoestring variety explanation.  I will try to keep it on jewelry.

Ouroboros: labradorite and sterling silver. commission. An extraordinary stone, and an ordinary symbol used in a new a creative way. Is it art?

A work can be elevated above the level of ordinary anywhere within the creative process.  Maybe, it is when a patron gives me a very unique stone, and the inspiration just pours from the rock that I have to work with.  Or, maybe it is after several sketches.  Or, maybe, it isn’t until I actually begin work, and I reach a state of satori with the tools, where every brush of the file and every punch with the hammer is a perfect pencil mark needing no further revisions (rarely do I ever reach satori, especially when I’ve had coffee all day).  Sometimes, it is just in the way that the work will be worn.  And, maybe it could be years later, when all of the mountains have worn down to hills, and the continents have shifted, someone will discover my work and define it as extraordinary because no one living in that time would have ever seen anything like it.  From inspiration, through revision, to the work being worn, some phenomena can occur that elevates the work above the level of ordinary.  Because in my world, there are two types of jewelry, ordinary jewelry, and extraordinary jewelry.  You may only find works with diamonds and gold extraordinary.  Some may think diamonds to be too cliché, and these people may only find unusual stones to be of interest, or driftwood, or plastic.  Both are valid, and neither view is wrong.

In my own work, I strive to work within narratives of folklore.  Or, at least this was what I set out to do.  Things evolve.  As I explored the gods and goddesses of ancient cultures within their folklore, I found that many of these collective aesthetics of these cultures were embodied within their gods.  Venus is the best example, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility.  Western mainstream culture has held close to the Greek aesthetic of beauty as depicted by the Greeks, but my favorite is Botticelli’s depiction of Venus on the Half Shell (as I call it).  But, all of the world doesn’t define beauty the same.  Some ancient South American cultures would prefer a flatter forehead in their women, as they  would strap planks to their children’s heads to better form them as they developed.  African cultures all had their own tribal versions of beauty, and in Western Europe at the time of Greek culture would have preferred a woman with more meat on her bones.  And, today, even within a culture of bulimic super models, some still prefer a little heftier girl, and some may prefer the more natural girl (whatever your definition of ‘natural’ may be).

Ice Flower Ring: 18K white and yellow gold with diamonds. -Commission

So, as my work has evolved, so has my objectives and my aesthetics.  Some artists will find a niche within their aesthetics and stick to it, making similar paintings or jewelry throughout their lives.  But, I am always trying to learn and explore further from my comfort zone.  When I was approached by the patron that commissioned the ring above, I almost turned it down.  She wanted her engagement ring re-purposed into something new, since she had recently finalized a divorce (Yep, so there’s jewelry for entering marriage, and jewelry for leaving it).  I had almost refused it because of the diamond.  Officially, I’m not insured for taking risks with such expensive stones, but as I thought about the idea, I was feeling pretty confident with my skills.  I just had to make sure that I didn’t lose this darn thing.

I have called the five leafed flower designs Venus flowers.  The five points of the pentagram representing the planet Venus in the night sky, and the symbol of goddess worship.  However, this patron wanted six leaves.  I will spare you the explanations of trinitas and unitates of sacred geometry, but the six petals represent life and progression, which is what the patron wanted as a symbol of her new life.
Ok, is this art?  This is what I ask myself as I am working, and especially when I am finished, or think I’m finished.  Does it fit within my aesthetic?  I never strive to be the best, as I can’t possibly even define who or what is the best within the world of jewelry.  Some artists have way more money to work with.  So, all I can do is strive to do my best.  Working with my patron’s gold, making sure every solder is well fitted before soldering, rechecking afterward.  Checking every setting.  Sanding and polishing at every appropriate interval while working.  I check and recheck every detail in sketches before I begin.  Keeping the stone in the safe until the moment I need it, and working with towels laid down around my work area to catch any of the stones if dropped. Thinking about whether this is what I would call beautiful, especially not being a gemologist and diamonds not being what I work with every day.

Is this the best diamond ring in the world.  No, but to my patron it was exactly what she wanted.  It is a symbol of her life.  It is extraordinary within her aesthetic.  It’s definitely not an ordinary diamond ring.  It is her own private Venus on the half shell.  Some may not see this style or aesthetic as art, and that’s OK.  Some may have preferred a more traditional setting.  Some may have had their own way of transforming the metals and stones into something different.  We are all different, and I like that.  If we were all the same, then the color would be too monochromatic for me.

Artists have worked with patrons to develop their ideas for centuries.  Michelangelo wasn’t just given free reign to decorate Italy with naked people.  His ideas were developed with his patrons and the church.  Artists, today, try to avoid working with patrons on commissions (especially painters and sculptors).  It is a challenge.  Some days being an artist comes easy, especially when I am making things to pacify my own whim.  But, working with a patron to develop something new and challenging that still fits both of our aesthetics has a deeper  fulfillment.  With compromise on both ends we create something bigger than each of us had thought possible.  She completes the cycle of the creative process for me by exhibiting my work on her hand, making the magic real.

Do you agree?  How do you define art? 

{ 0 comments }

I Need a “Tschict”

December 9, 2011

The new bench is finished, we’ve caught up on repairs, and we’re experimenting with new directions.  But, the best part of “right now” is that I get to work with my daughter next to me and include her into the creative process.  Of course, I can’t ask much of her at the moment, some piercing, some [...]

Read the full article →

Making a Spectacle Myself

December 6, 2011

Back in the early 80′s, I remember my dad taking in repairs of eyeglasses, cigarette lighters, money clips, watch bands, and really anything made of precious metals.  A jewelry store was much more than just jewelry.   I don’t believe he ever made a pair of glasses, but he did repair and adjust them quite a bit, [...]

Read the full article →

The New Benches in the Fishbowl

November 29, 2011

I’ve referred to it as the fishbowl, but my glassed in studio is undergoing a transformation, and we have a lot to do before Black Friday.  Ugg, black Friday always sounds like a horror movie to me, and sometimes… Anyways, this is probably the worst time of the year to do all of this, but there is [...]

Read the full article →

Eyes, Amethysts, and Updates from my Bench

November 21, 2011

Last week I was diagnosed as being old.  There’s no cure for it, and it’s terminal.  However, I have to wear glasses now, bifocals, and I should call my mother more often.  I’ve never had to wear glasses.  In fact, I’ve always prided myself on having an eagle eye for tiny detail.  A whole life [...]

Read the full article →

Rebuilding the Fishbowl

November 14, 2011

For those who have visited the studio, or at least have caught the occasional glimpse through my posts, you may have noticed that my studio area is a glassed in booth in the corner of the shop, of which I refer to as the “fishbowl” occasionally.  Before I occupied the booth, it was designed as [...]

Read the full article →

An Interview with Hammermarks

November 8, 2011

I recently had the honor of being asked to do an interview with Wendy Edsal-Kerwin of Hammermarks.  Wendy is a metalsmith, but her site not only has interesting interviews with smiths, but a variety of craftsmen from a variety of different mediums. Check out this link for the interview, and take a look around her [...]

Read the full article →

Hotlanta and Back

November 6, 2011

First off Atlanta isn’t as hot as it is here in the Birmingham area, so I’m not sure why we all call it that, unless they’re talking about the Atlanta jewelry and metal art scene. I really keep my head in my workbench for the most part, so I don’t really get out and meet [...]

Read the full article →

October and It’s Awareness

October 25, 2011

October is Energy Awareness, Breast Cancer Awareness, Cyber Security Awareness, Mental Illness Awareness, Polio Awareness, National Head Start Awareness, Disability Awareness, and Domestic Violence Awareness month.  I had no idea October was such an aware month until I double checked Domestic Violence awareness just before beginning this blog post.  I knew about Domestic Violence Awareness [...]

Read the full article →

WordPress Admin