Chapter 7. DESIGNING

All good designers, consciously or unconsciously, are influenced by the design of the past and by the art forms and practices of their contemporaries.

The designer not only studies the objects made of the material in which he works, but also designs made in other mediums. Natural forms also give him inspiration.

As the fashion in dress changes through the years, so will the styles in jewelry change, but a beautifully designed and well constructed piece of jewelry is always good. It may be laid aside for a time in favor of a newer piece, but will be treasured and worn again, as we might wear our grandmother's charms and lockets with pleasure and pride.

The illustrations on the following pages show a number of designs which may interest the beginner and give him ideas for the use of the materials and the skills which he has learned by following the instructions in this book. They will show him how other designers create original designs, using these same materials and skills.

The spiral

The spiral, one of the oldest design motifs, has given pleasure to people for hundreds of years. We find it decorating Grecian pottery, Chinese stone sculpture, primitive wood carving, Spanish iron work and Egyptian and Indian jewelry. We are able to make this form with a wire coil to construct and decorate jewelry.

After working in wire, flat and raised metal, beads and disks, and becoming familiar with the possibilities of the material, the shapes and rhythms around us suggest many designs which can be translated into metal and made into jewelry. It is necessary to simplify the real forms. As a rule, the more abstract and symbolic designs are the most interesting.

Navajo Jewelry

Many of today's craftsmen are inspired by the simple designs of the Navajo jewelry. Over the past hundred years its individuality has remained intact. The Navajo makes handsome jewelry using the more difficult processes of casting and stone setting, but much of their jewelry is of the simple type shown here. The stamps similar to those used by the Nava-jos to decorate the surface of their jewelry can be purchased commercially.

As the result of the vision of an American artist and the inherent skill of the Mexican craftsman, the making of silver jewelry has grown to be a fine art and an important industry in Mexico. Many of the designs have been inspired by religious and historic symbols. The jewelry on this page has been selected for its simple construction from a collection of pieces of great variety and originality.