Thursday, November 12, 2009

Genesis of an Idea







I discovered this row of crab apple trees a couple of winters ago. I was fascinated by the contrast between the shiny, round red fruit and the dark, kinky branches. The sight of fruit hanging from otherwise bare branches seemed like the essence of winter. These images and impressions stayed with me, inspired me, and through a little trial and error, evolved into an interpretation of this natural occurrence as several neck pieces.

I finally had the opportunity to photograph this original "source material" the other day. The apples are quite bright and fiery right now as they haven't "weathered" very much yet, haven't been snowed upon or cooked under bright sunshine...but the character of this natural construction is exactly what inspired the first versions of my original pearl neck pieces, and that I continue to create AND re-interpret to this day.

I'm fascinated by the simple, but profound, question "where did that idea come from?" Sometimes, I can pinpoint it and other times, it's much more subtle and elusive. When I can't express it with words, I generally must remind myself that this "lack of words" is why I turned to creating things, instead of writing, quite a long time ago...

20 comments:

Rick (Ratty) said...

That's an excellent idea. I'm not usually impressed by jewelry, but this comparison shows me where the beauty came from.

Patrice-The Soap Seduction said...

Beautiful! I love seeing where the artist's inspiration comes from:)

Lynda Lehmann said...

The necklaces are beautiful and DO perfectly reflect the crab apple trees you describe! As for a lack of words, well, it doesn't show here!

Sandee said...

Thinking outside the box I see. Excellent.

Have a terrific day and weekend. :)

Cher Duncombe said...

How fabulously creative of you! That is so indicative of your aesthetic talents. The necklaces are unique and lovely and a beautiful reflection of nature through your eyes.

Rose Clearfield said...

Love it! What beautiful inspiration!

Anonymous said...

Bloody brilliant, I say! Lovely pics and gorgeous jewelry...

jude8753 said...

How beautiful and I love seeing where you get your inspiration, perfect.

Unknown said...

i agree with all the other comments before me. marvelous!

Ann said...

I was admiring the beautiful pictures of the trees and when I saw the first pictures of your jewelry I was in awe of how much they look alike. You captured the trees perfectly in your work. Truly brilliant and amazing.

Amy Lilley Designs said...

Absolutely perfect translation of nature to art...just beautiful....

BeadedTail said...

I wasn't expecting to see such a connection between the two but you certainly captured your inspiration! Gorgeous!

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I love it!!! I'm looking at these and going, "Ooh," over and over again.

Theresa said...

How cool to see the photos of the crab apple trees and then to your beautiful jewelry designs. You can totally see the inspiration. In fact, when you list then you should include one of the tree photos.

Lin said...

Oh, look at you! Wow. It is an amazing gift you have.

Unknown said...

November 13th, 2009

Here's to you Karen!

I am also trying to make pieces of jewellery that are inspired by flowers or berries. And your efforts in this area challenge me to find my own interpretations. Art inspires more art.

But I work slowly. I am still working on pieces from ideas that I got months ago.

You do beautiful work - both your photo-work as well as your jewellery as artwork.

Best wishes
Anna

internet marketing said...

good article, i like to read it :D

moonstar said...

beautiful indeed. Nice work.

Sharkbytes said...

I like the pictures, and you really caught the feel of the whole thing in the jewelry.

Honey from the Bee said...

I love this post! The photos tell the story and are a window to your creative mind. Love the necklace!

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