I spent so many years learning about and teaching about creative thinking that it’s really fun to get to actually “DO” creative thinking. No matter what I’m making, I find myself asking “how many different ways can I ……?” This phrase is generated following the ideas of Alex Osborne about fluency. One of my other favorite phrases from the formal Creative Problem Solving procedure (Trefinger) is “In what ways might I . . . ?”

One of the tasks this week has been considering those two questioning phrases in terms of a new woven bracelet I’m developing. The form utilizes a simple weave wherein two outer pieces of wire are woven together with a copper strip about 1/2 inch wide. I’ve been punching holes in the copper strip so it could be part of the weave.

The prototype bracelet is the one at the bottom of the photo. I torch painted the copper strip to get the red color and left the copper wire its natural color. It will, of course, oxidize later based on the environment. The other two are the first answers to the “how many ways” question. I embellished the one on the top right with some natural turquoise cut in button shapes with two holes. The bracelet on the top left has fewer holes and I cut them all in the center rather than on both sides of the copper strip. It has quite a different look from the other two when viewed close up. Both stone embellished bracelets were dipped in liver of sulphur to which I added a tablespoon of ammonia. It gives it a slightly different patina from plain liver of suphur.

Now the challenge will be in finding other ways to change this basic design without losing its simplicity. I may just have to conger up some basic creative thinking processes to help me continue to vary this design. Hmm . . . there’s something about fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration . . . and then there were those Six Thinking Hats (DeBono) . . . (so many choices).

I couldn’t just stop at “same old, same old;” so I explored alternative shapes and finally chose the rectangular shape, also in graduated sizes. I layered smaller rectangles on top of the first group and then balled some sterling silver for embellishment. I like the way this piece lays on the neck when worn.

Finally, I went a bit overboard with the mixed metals and started dapping and dimpling various circles before also layering them. These are soldered onto a piece of copper tubing that I annealed and hammered. I found this piece much more difficult to make than the first two necklaces. It was next to impossible to clean the layered/soldered/dapped discs and in soldering one part of the necklace, a silver disc decided to partially melt. Hmm . . . Then I had to go back and melt part of another one in order for this artistic flaw to appear planned. Shush – don’t tell anyone!

I want to experiment with some other shapes as well, but am aware that shapes with severe angles, such as diamonds, may not conform as well in multiples. Currently, I considering some free-form shaped ovals and hoping they won’t just look like funny little ghosts. Do you have any shape ideas?

You just never know what might hatch in this studio.

I’m not a joiner. I don’t do clubs and only belong to one “society”. Yet, I think that once in a while we all need to join. I join my family for lots of gatherings and even plan a “join” now and then. I also enjoy “joining” with friends who share a common interest or endeavor.

I think it’s the rules that usually come with clubs and societies that bother me. I also find that as these groups plan events there are often conflicting opinions of how to do or run things leading to hurt feelings and sour faces. I guess that’s why I enjoy the “Faux” bead group that I meet with monthly (no dues, no officers, no minutes, no bylaws . . . get the picture?) This enables to group to be dynamic and continually bending towards the needs of those who are participating at the time. I wrote a brief description of this group  http://www.magpiegemstones.com/san_marcos_faux_bead_society.html  

I guess I’m thinking about “joining” because I’ve been working on joins with my jewelry designs this week. Perhaps it’s a stretch, but I keep running into parallels between the two types of “joining”. Just as groups have rules and procedures, soldering has them too and when I don’t follow them, the join usually doesn’t work. I guess there really is a need for them. This week, it seems that each time I tried to skip things in the soldering process, I failed and had to return to the rules.

I did, however, realize that at times, when I’m trying to create something new and different, I must come up with my own rules and procedures. Often what I’m doing doesn’t exactly follow the guidelines for soldering and I just have to figure it out. In other words, this process is also dynamic and that’s what makes it intriguing.

My thought is that both types of “joining” require flexibility and problem solving. Just as I have to step away from the soldering at times in order to get a fresh perspective, I think I often need to step away from groups that cause consternation. But then, if I enjoy the metalsmith “join” perhaps I should try a bit more of joining with a group. What do you think? . . . (no, I think I’ll just keep soldering – ha!)

Do you color within the lines? My first reaction to this question would be “absolutely not;” yet on second thought . . . the idea of coloring within the lines might be situational.  When someone poses this query, they usually don’t actually want to know about color, but rather about whether you follow the rules or parameters set for a task. While most highly creative individuals intentionally stray from the rules others try to impose on their art form, they may follow the rules in other instances. For example, this might be to pay the bills on time, get the car registration sticker to avoid a ticket, etc. Rules and parameters can be important.

This is the case with some jewelry techniques. For example, on Sunday I did some etching on copper which requires mixing an acid solution. I read the directions three times before ever opening the bottle of acid. The rules were important to keep me from burning myself. I’ve also found some of the suggested “rules” for torch enameling are quite helpful for this technique.

If I use counter enamel on the back of a metal piece, it has less of a tendency to curve under when I apply several enamel coats on the top. Also, I’ve found that it’s helpful to use the suggested liquid that helps hold the enamel powder on the surface of the metal. Go ahead. Ask me how many tiny bits of colored enamel threads rolled off my pieces and fell on the floor of the work room before I discovered this agent.

A past post showed a few examples of torch enameled pieces of jewelry, but I wanted to share some of the newer work. The necklace at the top shows a variety of techniques with which I’ve experimented. Below are a few of the earrings sets I’ve made.

The Gingerbread family below was tricky to make and I’m not sure why Gingerbread Pop has more sugar on him than the others . . . ?

It’s rather obvious that I didn’t color between the lines on these pieces but rather I often just let the enamel stay where it landed. I’ll follow the rules/lines on something else that I’m doing, but not in my art form. How about you?

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know that I make many analogies between jewelry design and music. This is yet another. Variations on a theme bring to mind classical music in which many of the great composers embellished their own basic motives to create numerous variations. Some contemporary musicians have also taken short snippets from classical music, varied these and employed them in new music.

Variations are also a big part of training in creative thinking wherein we ask participants to think flexibly and change an original idea. Sometimes the ideas that follow are better than the first and sometimes this exercise simply serves to reassure the thinker that they had the best idea in the first place.

The same is often true in jewelry design. I try many different versions of a “theme” or design to see whether it might be improved. Sometimes I initiate this process out of sheer boredom when I’m tired of the same design, yet it is still popular with customers. The following is an example of this.

You will likely recognize the bracelet on the left above that is a design I’ve been making for at least five years. I also sell the tutorial for it in my etsy shop and it has also been popular there. (Thank you customers!) https://www.etsy.com/listing/91729421/dimensional-cuff-bracelet-tutorial

When a boutique customer called to she needed more of the same, I realized it was probably time for another variation on this design. I’ve made it with square and rectangular faces in the past, but wanted something new. After experimentation with shapes, I created the bracelet shown on the above right – a variation on the theme. I plan to make this one again using more colorful gemstones that will show up better against the weaving.

Another popular bracelet, the wave, that initiated so long ago that I can’t locate a photo, also needed revamping. I changed the initial bracelet shape to triangles as shown below.

Finally, still considering the wave bracelet theme, I made a new “cursive” bracelet that proved to be a bit tricky. This one required plenty of wraps to help the 14 gauge wire hold its shape. I think this one holds further possibilities.

This was an interesting and somewhat challenging exercise and I continue to think “what if” regarding variation possibilities. But for now, I think I’ll just go play some classical music on the piano with a score that someone else wrote.

I’ve truly enjoyed the two jewelry classes that I taught last week, one in Wimberley, TX and the other in San Marcos. I worked with seven women as they learned to make a wrap bracelet in Wimberley and then four more who worked on wrapping cabachons. I enjoyed hearing from the first group about who some of them planned to pass their bracelet to as a gift. I regret not getting a photo of that group, but note the happy intensity on the faces of the second.

It’s common for someone to ask a designer ideas come from. I have no doubt that many of mine come during preparation for teaching. I think that is why it takes me so long to get ready to teach a class. There’s something about this pre-planning that gets my creative juices flowing. I used to fight this urge, trying to stay on task, but now I just go with it. I do, however, have to resist my propensity to want to teach the new idea instead of that which was designated for the class. I just keep wanting to pass it on.

As an example, a couple of gals came over for a little assistance in starting their journey into soldering with a torch. They hardly got off the ranch before I was cutting and planning the piece below. Yes, I know it’s a bit bird-like, but it wasn’t planned that way – oh well, it’s definitely different!

I’ve also done a new soldered design that someone on Facebook suggested is Bohemian. The legs on this piece are soldered to the bottom half of the arc and then wire wrapped. I was tickled that the very first sale of this went to my good friend who often calls and says “is the Dreamcatcher Designs shop open?”  (Of course you know I don’t have a shop!) Sometimes she just runs out to the ranch and gets what she needs. This piece was gifted from her to a co-friend of ours and I’m pleased for her to have it. Do you think you can wear “Bohemian” at the Lutheran Church?

As you read, many things, both concrete and ideational, were passed on last week. From teacher to student, student to teach and friend to friend. I think life was very productive.

Lately, I’ve seemed to be in need of some of the Division’s spontaneity. At this point in December, I’m feeling a bit spent and my productivity has waned. It’s obvious to me that creativity and productivity are inextricably linked for me. If I’m not producing, I’m not problem solving and therefore am not being creative.

Yesterday, I got a little help with this problem from a friend . . . my mother. When I arrived at the nursing home to visit her, she informed me that it was about time I got there. She had on one earring and was trying to get the other stud on. I couldn’t help but wonder how long she had been at it. We laughed when she was finally “fixed”.

Then I asked her what she wanted for Christmas. Without missing a beat she said, “my TWO FRONT TEETH” and flashed me a big toothless grin. Indeed, her two front teeth are missing and she does need a couple! Again, we laughed and laughed. I think it was her spontaneity as well as her answer that got me. We went shopping together and then grabbed some lunch, but I just kept thinking about her Christmas wish.

This little episode reminded me of last year when we asked her where she was when she and my father got married. Again, without missing a beat, she said, “Out of My MIND!” The woman, who will be 91 in January, is quite clever.

When I got home yesterday, I continued to chuckle and decided to try a bit or jewelry work. That’s when things began to flow nicely and the ideas became present again. Was it just time to design or did the laughter really help. I vote that it was the latter.

I mainly worked with cabochons yesterday, but was pleased with a couple of the new wrappings and the bezel I created.  The first stone is a boulder opal and all the rest are turquoise (yes, even the brown one). See what you think.

I’m hoping to hang on to this productive thinking and continue to get some good work completed. I’m a believer that for me, at least, laughter leads to productivity and creative thinking.

I guess that the moral of this entry is . . . find something to laugh about and if you can’t find anything, go visit my mother!

Frequent and long time readers may recall that fold forming was the new technique I chose to develop last December and January during the winter lull between completion of the Fall products and the development of the Spring designs. Unfortunately, I may have moved too quickly from fold forming last year and back into rapid production for my customers. Also, I “closed” on the technique partly because I couldn’t figure out new things to do with it. I chose not to face the somewhat discouraging struggle that forces one into creative generation. I currently have renewed interest in fold forming due to a couple of happenings. Two of my lucky friends took a recent workshop with Kim St. Jean at the Texas Beadfest and their discussion of the class helped add to my refinement of the technique. Also, I gave a demonstration on the technique at a recent gathering of wire workers. Therefore, I had to practice.

The trick for me with fold forming has been trying to make something besides a leaf that would comfortably work as a piece of jewelry. First, I practiced some different ways to hammer on a few leaves and learned how to better ruffle the edges. Then I created a couple of copper cuff bracelets. I like using a long diagonal fold to start the bracelet design and following this with appropriate texture. I quickly learned that it’s important to begin with a longer and wider piece of metal than the size of the anticipated product. I folded the metal first and then cut the final bracelet shape. When I annealed the metal bracelets with a torch during the fold forming process, beautiful colors appeared on the pieces.

I’ve also been experimenting with a star shape shown in Newton-Brain’s book. First I made several pairs of earrings and then I created a larger star and used it as a pendant on a strand of coral. I gave the pendant a liver of suphur bath, tumbled it and then used the torch on it again. It adopted a very rich color.

Now the struggle is to try to develop some ideas of my own for fold formed shapes. Hopefully, I’ll have the time this year to stick with fold forming until I’ve either developed some new ideas or convinced myself that I CAN’T come up with anything new. Wish me luck.

As I played with a new design, I employed the SCAMPER (from Bob Eberle) creative thinking technique in which each letter stands for a different way to make a modification. Using the ‘C” verb,  combine, I wanted to put the wire cuff and some wire weaving together. The “R” verb, reverse, led me to move the swirls in the middle of the dimensional bracelet to another point on the cuff. This also helped me decide to pull in the top middle rather than expanding it as I’ve always done before. I played with the other Scamper verbs and feel they helped contribute to the final product.

I’m still contemplating which of the various versions I like the best. The weaving was probably too difficult for my current technique on the two shown below. This will need practice. Yet, I was able to do a smoother job on the first bracelet shown at the top, indicating the promise of a smooth weave. I’m hopeful that I will continue to improve my skills.

It’s interesting that these bracelets are so comfortable. I’ve been letting various people try them on and they usually comment “this feels good.” I think that means I should stick with it.

My favorite part of the design process is the development of an idea and I’m truly thankful for the many creative thinking techniques I keep tucked in my back pocket. Now I’m at that tedious stage where I simply must keep practicing without much more modifying. Let’s just hope that my technique is on a fast learning curve!

I also hope these new bracelets will be coming to a wrist near you.

If I go back to the original context of “agitation helps”, I can say that moving the solution around a bit while patinating the metal was supposed to help. What gets “moved around” when I become agitated? I think it’s usually my routine or the way I believe things should be that gets moved and this makes me agitated. Unfortunately, this context really does make agitation a negative; but is it really?

It seems to me that agitation often brings action and change. I remember years of working with volunteer forces in Louisiana trying to muster services for academically gifted youth. Our group often hunted for members when educational services were at their peak, yet when the legislature threatened to cut our funding or the schools committed some sin, our ranks swelled with eager voices. In other words, folks needed to be agitated about something in order to act. In this case isn’t the state of being complacent the opposite of being agitated? You can feel the silence when things are going well and be bowled over when people become agitated.

At this point, I might certainly break in to some political speech, but I’m not a politician, I’m a jewelry designer so how in the world can I make this big stretch? Actually, that big stretch happens almost every day when I want to be creative. I feel like I need to become agitated enough to change that with which I’m complacent and develop something new. What are the design problems that agitate me enough that I have to create something different? (I know that they say if it isn’t broken don’t mess with it. Yet, not everything unique and new comes because something was broken.) Following is an example.

Several entries ago I posted photos of a new wire weaving that I used for both necklaces and bracelet. Here’s a small photo reminder:

I liked the weaving and those designs, but was a bit agitated because I more or less copied the bracelet from a magazine and then made a necklace. Shouldn’t I be doing my own thing? What would be my own thing based upon this foundational design? How about . . .

The photo with the stone obviously shows abbreviated weaving on the sides. I thought I was being real smart by lessening the number of weaves, but found it very difficult to widen the distance between the main wires and keep a consistent weave. I actually did a better job on the first attempt as opposed to the smaller second try shown below.

My fourth attempt is progressing more easily than the others (no, you can’t see my third attempt!) if you don’t consider the fact that I got two of the main wires crossed in the middle. That’s why they are wrapped together and will soon be hidden behind a stone (psst, don’t tell anyone).

  I’m a little agitated about getting those wires crossed in the middle of this armature, but am now wondering about the possibility of intentionally crossing some wires . . . that bears consideration.

So, whether this entry leaves you agitated or complacent, I hope it at least provides food for thought the next time you get agitated. In fact, the next time you get agitated, I hope you do something creative! That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it.