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Merle White
is editorial director
of Interweave's
Gem & Jewelry Group
and editor-in-chief
of Lapidary Journal
Jewelry Artist.
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Timeless Information
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The rich colors in Helen Blythe-Hart's Watermelon Parfait Pendant from July 2007, remind me why I love watermelon tourmaline. It looks juicy enough to eat! Photo: Jim Lawson. |
When you make your own jewelry, you're constantly recycling and refining design elements and techniques. Nothing is really new, and yet you come up with such original ideas by looking at old ones again. That's why back issues of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist can be such a rich lode of material for new jewelry designs.
The trick is in being able to find that lode so you can mine it whenever you want.
Fetch That Feature!
At 11 months old, our new dog, Scooter, is (mostly) housebroken, sits, and is learning to fetch. She goes after the ball in a flash but doesn't want to let go of it. Getting it back into my hands means prying it out of her surprisingly strong little jaws.
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| Scooter is great at getting the ball, not so good at giving it back. |
I'm not much better at retrieving projects or articles from back issues of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. Sure I know we did a piece on torch setups - I can even see the layout in my mind -- but getting that feature from my mind's eye into my hands is another matter. I may not remember what issue "Set Up Your Torch" was in, or I may not be able to find my copy of June, 2007, even if I do remember.
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| When you're ready to conquer your fears and commit to your craft, "Set Up Your Torch" will help you get there. Photo: Helen Driggs. |
Learn to Make a Tapered Form
You may not have wanted to make the Tapered Tube & Bead Brooch or anything like it when it came out in November, 2007, but maybe you want to incorporate a tapered tube in a copper and silver pendant you're working on now. If only you can find the project again, it'll show you how to create this form.
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| Todd Reed's Tapered Tube & Bead Brooch uses sterling silver and diamonds. You can use whatever you want. Photo: Jim Lawson. |
Customize Stones to Make Your Designs Stand Out
Maybe you had no interest in learning to cut cabochons when that feature on cabbing equipment ran in April, 2007, but now that you want to be able to customize a few stones for your own designs, it would be a great resource.
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| Cutting a cabochon isn't hard as long as you have the right equipment. Photo: Tom Benham. |
Tumble Polish Metal Clay and More
Back in August of 2007, perhaps you were exploring rough surfaces in your jewelry designs and just skipped over the feature on tumble polishing, or you didn't have any interest in working with metal clay. But maybe now tumble polishing is just what you need to finish a new line of jewelry, or you've found a use for metal clay in your designs. You vaguely recall the article, but where is it?
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| Finishing metal in a tumbler can save time and produce great results. Photo: Jim Lawson. |
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| There's nothing new about a gingko leaf, moonstone, horn, or gold, but wow, look what Jim Kelso did with them in this Gingko Brooch! Cover, August, 2007, Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist; Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Art Museum collection. Photo by the artist. |
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That Is So Gorgeous!
Or maybe you don't know just what you want to make. Maybe what you really want to do is flip through a lot of issues looking for inspiration.
A Better Way to Retrieve
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Dogs can retrieve balls, even a rolled-up newspaper, but CDs are much better at retrieving information. |
Now you can easily flip through hundreds of pages of refreshing designs and the techniques to help you realize them on the new CD compilation that brings you the 12 issues of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist from 2007 at a click. It's simpler and faster than pulling out all the print issues, and a much better bet than trying to train your dog to retrieve them. Let her stick with fetching the morning paper!
A CD is no substitute for a warm puppy, but it sure helps with locating useful jewelry making information, whether you need to find something particular in a hurry, or just want to browse at your leisure. Order your Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist 2007 Collection CD in a flash at shop.jewelrymakingdaily.com and have all 12 issues available at your fingertips.