Artists Answer: Belinda Saville - Inspiration

Sometime last week, I started thinking about how I could change and re-arrange my blog to be a little more outward looking. Frankly, I'm kinda tired of talkin' just about beads! (I know, I never thought it would happen either.) So, I'm introducing a new weekly feature that I call Artists Answer. I've chosen four topics that I want to deal with:

Inspiration
Creation
Organization
Publication

I think that these are all things that interest jewelry makers and jewelry buyers. Each week I'll feature a different artist and their answers to some questions dealing with these topics.

Okay, without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to our first artist:
Belinda Saville

Belinda is a bead artist from Perth, Australia. I've been following her beadventures for a while and I'm constantly amazed by how she translates her inspiration into amazing works of art.
I asked her about her first introduction into beading and my jaw dropped when she said she started in 2008 after the birth of her daughter. Me too! (well, except the daugther part).
Belinda has kindly agreed to share with us how she gets inspired to create her art. I hope you enjoy reading the interview and that you'll stop by her blog and her Flickr gallery to peruse her amazing creations.

What inspires you?
I can find inspiration just about anywhere. My main sources of inspiration stem from colours, forms/shapes, mother nature, art, archaeology, music, history, textiles...the list is always growing! Sometimes a single word can be enough to spark an avalance of ideas. What images are conjured in your mind when you hear the word, 'Csarina'? Or 'Rockpool'? Or 'Transylvania'? I have created necklaces based on each of these words alone! Your own imagination is an endless source of inspiration and is unique to you.

Garland of Galatea

Do you sketch?
If I'm inspired by something I see when I'm out shopping, or a fleeting image on the television, I will sketch my ideas as soon as possible so I can play with those notions at a later date. Mostly I just start pulling out beads as soon as an idea hits me!

Wind Dancer

How do you find inspiration?

More often that not, inspiration comes to me! Do you receive catalogue or 'junk mail' in your letterbox? If so, don't be in such a rush to throw them into your rubbish bin! Take the time to flick through each page and tear out any images that inspire you. I have a notebook full of such images!

You may find inspiration in a beautiful arabesque quilt cover, or the swirling lines of a wrought-iron candelabra, or the multi-colored stripes of a beach towel. How about the geometric pattern on a coffee mug, or the texture of a woven basket, or the floral fabric of a pretty dress. Look for interesting colour combinations. There may be a photograph of a pile of plain-coloured towels, which individually are rather boring, but collectively offer a beautiful colour palette. Be open to possibilities and collect anything that inspires you!

If I'm researching a particular theme or subject, the internet is the best (and quickest!) resource. My local library comes a close second! I will often wander the isles of a library with no particular idea in mind, just being open to possibilities and new inspiration. I have come home with books on everything from Art Nouveau, to photography, to Ernst Hackel's Art Forms in Nature!

Symphonie de Tulipes

Can you give us an example of a piece of work that was inspired?

My 'Sunflowers bead embroidered necklace was directly inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's series of Sunflower paintings. I wanted to translate his sunflowers into something tactile, dimensional and wearable. This is still one of my favorite creations yet!

Sunflowers

I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about how another artist finds inspiration. I hope it will give you some ideas to take away for your own inspiration.
If you'd like to see more of Belinda's work, (and who wouldn't!) please visit her
blog: http://belindasaville.blogspot.com/
or spend some time browsing through her Flickr gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/belindasaville

Enjoy your Wednesday!!!

It's all about the tease...

Sorry, I've been so absent lately! I've been out of town...it's been snowing...yadda, yadda...I've been busy. However, I've still found time to do my obsessive compulsive, mindless, looking-for-things-I-can't-buy Etsy hunting and I've come to a conclusion....when it comes to jewelry photographs it's all about the tease. Here are some examples:

The first is a pendant of mine I call River Rock, the above picture is super up-close and you can see all the detail, but you don't get an idea of what the pendant would look like on the wearer until you see the next picture which is a little farther back.

Same thing here with my Ferris Wheel Bracelet only to the extreme. In this pic, you wouldn't even know how to wear it, until....

you get to this pic where you can see the clasp and the full profile of the bracelet.

Here's another example, in Beadsforever's shop the first photo you see is an up-close of her Golden Rose Netted necklace.

It's not until you keep clicking that you get the full shot of the necklace.

The Beaded Lily also does this with her equestrianne necklace. Super up-close shot with stunning detail of the beads.

Keep clicking, and you're rewarded with a great picture of what the necklace would look like if it were yours.

I tell ya' what....I am learning so much about taking pictures just by shop hoppin'. It's really helped me to understand what makes a great pic, and I'm enjoying it to boot. I hope this helps you a little or maybe just inspires you to go shop hoppin'. Either way, if you own a shop, the next time you visit one that you like think not only about their product, but also how they present it, there are so many people who have been doing this a lot longer than me and they are really good at it. Who knows, you may pick up some great tips?