J is for Jewelry
Do you buy jewelry, make it, or both? I still buy jewelry, especially pieces that I cannot make myself or that I'd never have thought to make.
The new book 500 Silver Jewelry Designs will appeal to two different audiences: jewelry collectors and jewelry designers.
500 Silver Jewelry Designs is part of the 500 series published by Lark Crafts, which covers the best contemporary art in fields like ceramics, quilting, woodworking, and jewelry making. Some other titles that have caught my eye: 500 Teapots, 500 Handmade Books, 500 Art Quilts. Lark does post open calls for submissions, so if you're an artist, you'll want to check out their submissions page.
500 Silver Jewelry Designs
For collectors, the book offers a look at a wide range of international designers. While there are no prices included in the book, it wouldn't take too much searching to find specific artists and see what they offer for sale online, in galleries, or at art shows.
Jewelry designers might try this: Open up the book to a random page. This book has been carefully put together so that the designs on facing pages somehow relate to or complement one another in some (sometimes subtle) way. Even though the jewelry is created by different designers, the designs may share a similar shape, technique, color, or motif. It's fascinating to study the designs in pairs: what makes them similar? what makes them unique? Looking at two pieces that both use free-form rings or that are both oxidized, for example, help you appreciate the huge range of creative possibilities available to you as a designer.
- You like coffee-table type books that are mostly large photos with very little text.
- You want a global view of modern silver jewelry. I loved looking through the index of this book and seeing all the geographical locations: Topeka (Kansas), Estonia, Italy, Brazil, Santa Cruz (California), and many more!
- You enjoy looking at photos of jewelry either for design inspiration ("I wonder if I could remake that shape with seed beads?") or as part of your rich fantasy life ("When I win the lottery, I'm going to buy that necklace!").
- You're curious about all the different ways that silver can be used in jewelry. (I was surprised to see a seed bead bracelet by Rachel Nelson Smith, the only seed bead piece in the book.) I loved flipping through the book and just noting all the techniques: forged, oxidized, pierced, cast, formed, fabricated, soldered, annealed, electroformed, chased, painted, crocheted . . .
- You like to have a huge, portable collection of gorgeous photos to look at. I don't know where else you could go to find such a huge collection of large photos. Even online, you'd either have to wade through a lot of not very good pieces or visit multiple small collections.
P.S. At the time I wrote this review, Amazon had this book listed at 50% off! Not sure if it will still be on sale when you read this, but I'll cross my fingers for you!
Standard Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge from Lark Books. My review is my honest opinion. I have received no compensation for my review.