MIXING MEDIA / MIXING TECHNIQUES IN JEWELRY DESIGN: Some Do’s And Don’ts

From my book: SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER
Merging Your Voice With Form, Ebook , Kindle or Print formats

Abstract:

For some jewelry designs, the incorporation of mixed media or mixed techniques can have a synergistic effect — increasing the appeal and/or functionality of the piece better than any one media or technique alone. It can feel more playful and experimental and fun to mix media or techniques. But there may be adverse effects, as well. Each media or technique will have its own structural and support requirements — that is, its own special characteristics and its own philosophy of technique. Each will react differently to various physical forces impacting the piece when worn. So it becomes more difficult for the designer to successfully coordinate and integrate more than one media or technique.

MIXED MEDIA / MIXED TECHNIQUES

It’s my belief that you cannot combine two different media or two different techniques to make a piece of jewelry without letting one of them predominate over the other.