There are all sorts of way to work with wire. You could do the ever popular wire wrapping technique or indulge in intricate wire weaving. But if you like design spontaneity, consider free form wire jewelry making.
A new book, which I just received for review, encourages you to go with the flow with wire. It is
Freeform Wire Art Jewelry
by Gayle Bird, a Nova Scotian designer. The book contains clearl step-by-step photographs for 20 projects for earrings, rings, pendants and necklaces. There are no bracelet projects in this book.
The essence of this designer's approach are the curls and double curls in the pieces. These form the basis of her free form work. She includes the directions of how to use just fingers to create these curls. This will take practice to accomplish but once mastered can be used for unique organic designs of your own and not copies of what Gayle does.
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| Curl Burst Earrings |
This instructor really made an effort to help more hesitant jewelry makers by sharing tips on the design process. In the beginning of her book, she covers
Color Theory which assists on color selection and particularly combinations. Most of us instinctly come up with designs but her
Design Principles section was excellent because it shows you the elements - like contrast, symmetry, continuance, proximity, similarity and so which make a design much stronger. Her 5
Steps to Creating a Jewelry Design is also helpful for newbies who might be staring at empty bead boards and not know how to start!
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| Rosette Ring |
A few of the designs are very basic. The
Rosette ring though is a nice variation of the ever popular wire wrapped ring design with wire curls around the crystal. A sort of faux bezel. I also liked her
Tumbling Twists necklace which featured sea glass nuggets all in a row.
Some of the final project photographs did not portray the designs well because of the shallow depth of field of used. This meant that the focusing was largely forefront and parts of the design itself were out of focus. For example, the bail area of the
Double Strand pendant was blurry. This particular design really accentuated the drilled focal very well!
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| Double Strand Pendant |
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| Tumbling Twists Bib Necklace |
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| Statement Necklace |
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| Window Frame Earrings |
This book will suit those who like a more organic look to wire work and aren't afraid to go with the flow!
Giveaway If you'd like to win
a copy of Freeform Wire Art Jewelry, please make a comment below. Make sure you leave contact info below if you do not have an online shop or blog.
Email subscribers need to scroll down the post they receive, click on Share Comment and enter your comment. Pick Name/URL. If you don't have a store or blog, leave the URL blank.
This giveaway is international. If the winner has a non-post box US address, the prize will be a physical book. Otherwise it will be an eBook. Extra entries if you become or are a blog subscriber or follower etc. If you also do shout outs about this giveaway, those will count as additional entries too! Please say so in the comments.
It ends in a week's time at
6 pm EST Monday, March 23, 2015 . I will pick the winner randomly and announce the results as soon as possible after. So be sure to leave a contact email if you don't have an online link or make sure you come back and check! Otherwise I will redraw in a week. Good luck!
Disclosure Before You Go: ______________________________
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