FLUENCY IN DESIGN: I Am A Jewelry Designer

I am a Jewelry Designer.

I have been designing jewelry and teaching classes for over 38 years now.

What excites me is finding answers to such questions as:

• What does it mean to be fluent and literate in design?
• What are the implications for defining jewelry as an “object” versus as an “intent”?
• Why does some jewelry draw your attention, and others do not?
• How does jewelry design take you beyond art or craft?
• How do you judge a piece as finished and successful?
• Why is disciplinary literacy in design important for introducing your works publicly, as well as selling your works in the creative marketplace?

My ideas have developed and evolved over time. These are ideas about jewelry, its design, and the necessary tradeoffs between appeal and functionality. These are ideas which express the why and the how jewelry design differs from art or craft. These are ideas which are embedded in and emerge from the special disciplinary and literacy requirements all jewelry designers need to learn so that they can think and speak and work like designers. These are ideas about how to introduce jewelry into the creative marketplace. These ideas center on fluency, flexibility and…