I want to give everybody examples of how the design process works for me in my head. I'm always SO curious how the artists I look up to do their thing, so I hope this helps some of you. (Or some of you can help me!) I've read many manuals, and have taken "professional" classes, (which were fantastic and work great for many artist friends of mine) but for some reason I do much better just going for it. It's the same way with music. I Sort of skipped the school and the lessons and hopped right to it. I'm sure that's apparent all throughout my songs to all of you classically trained musicians!
I think it's not just my learning style, but it's mainly my impatience to get the idea I have in my head out!
When I was living in Austin, before I dived into the world of jewelry making, I had a dream to design engagement rings. Not one of those "I had a dream..." in which that opera singer is singing from the top of her lungs in your background and the birds are floating around your head as you search deep within your soul to capture your passion.
No... I literally had a dream. When I woke up I drew these sketches, signed up for some diamond certification classes online, and found that incredible jewelry school in Austin: Creative side (which is where the first crude prototype of Chandler the Robot was born of course).
The name is that idea written down that I can focus on throughout the completion of the song or piece. It keeps the creative process flowing fluidly with a specific direction.
These two designs were my first designs. I've seen engagement rings in the past and they all seemed to boring and unimaginative. There's the diamond. Here you go. I wanted something that focused on the gold surrounding the diamond. So I created these. So, while I went to class ready to focus on new-age engagement rings, somehow I came home with a mini copper robot.

That's the thing. You never know where your passions are going to take you. That's why I love doing what I do. The surprises never stop and always keep you on your toes.
The design at the bottom of the blog is the next design I am working on. I'm calling it "Racheal the Robot Earrings", but that's only a preliminary name, since I'm still figuring out if "Friends" would ever sue a poor innocent jewelry maker. We will see how I feel about it. She hopefully be available in January.
Honestly,
Meg
P.S. I'm going to expose my inexperience with the "blogging thingy" and ask if there is any way I can reply to your comments you guys leave on my blogs??? Until, I figure out how to do it or if it is even possible I want you all to know that I read every single one of them and look forward to reading your input. And until I figure out how to do it, I would like to reply to Mike's comment on my "Merry Christmas" blog and say that I really agree with you on realizing that it's good we haven't "figured it out" yet, because it is very true: "figuring it out" is the biggest part of the adventure.