The Art of Occam’s Razor
April 20, 2013
Inspirational Art
If you aren’t familiar with the concept, Occam’s Razor is, at its essence the idea that, all other things being equal, the simplest solution is the better option. It’s a hard concept to wrap around the creation of art but I have found the idea to be a life saver … or an art saver. I have these words taped above my studio table: When you can’t decide … Occam’s Razor! It’s a reminder for those times I get really wound up over a design and can’t figure out how to fix it. The inclination is often to add more or overwork what I’ve done but it usually works out much better when I can step back, look at the basics of what I am doing and pare down the work to its simple essence.
After talking about pushing the construction of your work this week, I did wonder if some readers might think complexity would be the way to break out from any standard forms they had been adhering to, but complexity is not what it’s about. So here is a great example of pushing a standard necklace design in the most simple and yet highly impactful manner. This piece was created by Kaytie Johnson, a curator of contemporary art who professes to be obsessed with design. I can see that … this is all about the design not about the polymer at all.
She’s taken a dangling bead necklace design and pushed it by repeating the chains of beads but with a carefully measured change in color from one to the next. The beads themselves are very basic but done well, with a good eye for color so that the piece looks anything but basic. It’s simply simple design executed well.
So if you have been inspired by the construction and form ideas this week, just keep in mind you don’t have to go crazy. And only push the design when it makes sense for the effect and use of the piece you are creating. Sometimes it’s better to not deviate from the standards. They became standards for a good reason. Occam’s Razor … sometimes the simple solution–using a proven form–is the best answer. Just keep in mind, that it’s not always going to be the case.
Bracelet Form Blending
April 17, 2013
Inspirational Art
So today let’s talk bracelets. Bracelets have a consideration that necklaces and earrings do not in that they will regularly be knocked and rubbed against a wide variety of objects so they need to be durable and their surfaces need to be able to take some wear. That is probably why the three primary constructions used in polymer bracelets are a string of beads, the bangle and the cuff–good standards and well suited for showing off bead work and surface designs as well as being strong. But what other approaches can we take?
The more exciting construction designs I’ve seen combine common approaches. Below we have a modified cuff made of two halves that could be called beads since they are strung together with a band of elastic through their center. (There is a tutorial on how to make these in the July 2010 issue of Art Jewelry magazine and on AJM’s website.) So it’s a combination of cuff and bead really.
You may have recognized these bracelets as the work of Helen Breil, an amazing artist with an intensely creative yet practical approach to jewelry art. She is the author of one of the most unique how-to books for polymer, Shapes. Her sophisticated bracelets popped directly to mind when I started thinking about what we have to consider when constructing bracelets.
Bettina Welker was the other that came to mind. I introduced you to one of her more ingenious bracelet constructions in February. Bettina has quite a number of interesting and problem solving ways to build, hinge and close a bracelet in her book Polymer Clay Bracelets. If you have an interest in pushing beyond the usual with bracelets, you’ll really want to get your hands on this book.
By the way, both Helen and Bettina’s books were reviewed in our Spring issue of The Polymer Arts magazine with sample pages and titillating previews of some of the ideas inside. Get your copy at www.thepolymerarts.com.
If you aren’t familiar with the concept, Occam’s Razor is, at its essence the idea that, all other things being equal, the simplest solution is the better option. It’s a hard concept to wrap around the creation of art but I have found the idea to be a life saver … or an art saver. I have these words taped above my studio table: When you can’t decide … Occam’s Razor! It’s a reminder for those times I get really wound up over a design and can’t figure out how to fix it. The inclination is often to add more or overwork what I’ve done but it usually works out much better when I can step back, look at the basics of what I am doing and pare down the work to its simple essence.
After talking about pushing the construction of your work this week, I did wonder if some readers might think complexity would be the way to break out from any standard forms they had been adhering to, but complexity is not what it’s about. So here is a great example of pushing a standard necklace design in the most simple and yet highly impactful manner. This piece was created by Kaytie Johnson, a curator of contemporary art who professes to be obsessed with design. I can see that … this is all about the design not about the polymer at all.
She’s taken a dangling bead necklace design and pushed it by repeating the chains of beads but with a carefully measured change in color from one to the next. The beads themselves are very basic but done well, with a good eye for color so that the piece looks anything but basic. It’s simply simple design executed well.
So if you have been inspired by the construction and form ideas this week, just keep in mind you don’t have to go crazy. And only push the design when it makes sense for the effect and use of the piece you are creating. Sometimes it’s better to not deviate from the standards. They became standards for a good reason. Occam’s Razor … sometimes the simple solution–using a proven form–is the best answer. Just keep in mind, that it’s not always going to be the case.
Read MoreSo today let’s talk bracelets. Bracelets have a consideration that necklaces and earrings do not in that they will regularly be knocked and rubbed against a wide variety of objects so they need to be durable and their surfaces need to be able to take some wear. That is probably why the three primary constructions used in polymer bracelets are a string of beads, the bangle and the cuff–good standards and well suited for showing off bead work and surface designs as well as being strong. But what other approaches can we take?
The more exciting construction designs I’ve seen combine common approaches. Below we have a modified cuff made of two halves that could be called beads since they are strung together with a band of elastic through their center. (There is a tutorial on how to make these in the July 2010 issue of Art Jewelry magazine and on AJM’s website.) So it’s a combination of cuff and bead really.
You may have recognized these bracelets as the work of Helen Breil, an amazing artist with an intensely creative yet practical approach to jewelry art. She is the author of one of the most unique how-to books for polymer, Shapes. Her sophisticated bracelets popped directly to mind when I started thinking about what we have to consider when constructing bracelets.
Bettina Welker was the other that came to mind. I introduced you to one of her more ingenious bracelet constructions in February. Bettina has quite a number of interesting and problem solving ways to build, hinge and close a bracelet in her book Polymer Clay Bracelets. If you have an interest in pushing beyond the usual with bracelets, you’ll really want to get your hands on this book.
By the way, both Helen and Bettina’s books were reviewed in our Spring issue of The Polymer Arts magazine with sample pages and titillating previews of some of the ideas inside. Get your copy at www.thepolymerarts.com.
Read More
