INTRO TO BEADS & COLOR

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THIS CLASS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN ONLINE TUTORIAL

This class helps the student answer the question:  
How can we pick and use certain colors, color combinations and color effects that are pleasing, and avoid others which are not?

Beads are not the same as using paints.   We can’t blend beads.  There are significant boundary issues as the eye moves from bead to bead.  There are issues associated with shapes, faceting, edges, crevices.   There are limits in the range of colors you can pick from.   There are issues associated with the fact that jewelry as worn, takes many shapes/positions, as the person moves, and the jewelry still has to maintain its “power and appeal”.   When the eye jumps from bead to bead, the viewer's mind has to fill in where there are gaps of color.

In this class, unlike the typical Art class on Color, we focus on how the Bead asserts its need for Color.

JEWELRY DESIGN I
PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION

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piece by Lisa Klakulak

In this class, we focus primarily on Principles of Composition. These include,
a. Rhythm
b. Pointers
c. Planar Relationships
d. Interest
e. Statistical Distribution
f. Balance
g. Dimensionality
h. Temporal Extension
i. Physical Extension/Finishing
j. Parsimony

The jewelry artist applies these Principles of Composition by manipulating the elements of the piece.

Read about:  Good Jewelry Design: Principles of Composition

JEWELRY DESIGN DISCUSSION SEMINARS

Beaders' Circle / Meetup Group 

One Saturday each month, usually the first Saturday
...Discussion Seminar on a Jewelry Design Topic, from 1-2:30pm


Anyone can come.  Limited to 12 particiants. No fees. Bring your own lunch.

For each discussion seminar, PLEASE RSVP to Warren that you will be coming, so he can have sufficient materials ready. Phone (615-292-0610), or Email (warren@landofodds.com). -- Thanks.



The Jewelry Design Discussion Seminars are monthly discussions of important topics related to the idea of "Good Jewelry Design". What is it? How does it come into play? How do we empower good jewelry designers? How does good jewelry design influence what materials we select or what techniques we select? What do we look for? How do we know something is well-designed, or not well-designed? What is good "contemporary" design and how does it differ from good "traditional" design?

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JEWELRY DESIGN II
PRINCIPLES OF FORM, FUNCTION, STRUCTURE,
BODY, MIND, MOVEMENT

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Jewelry must withstand the forces that usage places on the piece. Design strategies must anticipate whether the piece would be worn daily or occasionally; was expected to last a year, more than a year, a lifetime; was to be worn in situations where there was little movement/activity by the wearer or a lot of movement/activity.

The designer does not want the piece to pose any kind of problem of manipulation. The Design and Construction should be conditioned by anatomy and situation.

PHYSICAL FUNCTION is understood in terms of MOVEMENT, Flow, Drapery, Flexibility, Rigidity, Volume, Weight, and Torque.

PSYCHO-SOCIAL FUNCTION:  Jewelry has many uses, including meeting the individual's needs for self-esteem, self-actualization, sex and sexuality, a sense of oneness and uniqueness, a sense of being a part of a larger group or community, a sense of survival and protection, a re-affirmation of values and perspectives, a connection to a higher power or spirituality, fantasy, personal use-goals.

FORMS: It is important for the jewelry designer to think in terms of "parts", "forms", and the "piece as a whole". Forms are inter-related objects. For example, they might be sections of beads that seem to be thematically inter-related.Design-control over forms enables the designer to create a "whole" that is more than the sum of its "parts".

JEWELRY SUPPORT SYSTEMS: In the marriage of thought to process, the jewelry designer needs to focus on how the piece is constructed, and to understand how to construct the piece in anticipation of how it is to be worn.

BezelWorks Pendant w/Strap
Intermediate/Advanced
DESIGN ELEMENTS: FRINGE, STRAP, BAIL, STRAP, SURFACE EMBELLISHMENT
Kit with Instructions on CD or CD Instructions Only
Instructions Digital Download
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CATENARY ARCHES BRACELET
Advanced
Peyote, Right Angle Weave, Square, Ladder, Brick, Ndebele

Coming soon...
Order Kit
Download Instructions Only
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Learn how to reinterpret and implement Bead Weaving Stitches in Architectural Terms.

ETRUSCAN COLLAR
Intermediate/Advanced
Kit with Instructions on CD or CD Instructions Only
Instructions Digital Download
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The Etruscan Butterfly Bracelet
Coming soon...
Order Kit
Download Instructions Only
(no class)

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED

Adapt the beauty and craftsmanship of the classical world to contemporary style! Learn to apply contemporary principles of design, using Peyote Stitch, Brick Stitch and simple Wire Working, to create and arrange Butterfly Bracelet components.

OTHER JEWELRY DESIGN TOPICS COVERED:
   - Revitalizing Vintage Jewelry
   - Dimensional Beadwork
   - Mixed Media Beadwork
   - Materials and Techniques
   - Jewelry Support Systems
   - Architectural Bases of Bead Weaving Stitches