Designing with: Ideas, Ideas, Ideas
Written by: Lisa Kan

I often get asked where I find inspiration and ideas for my work in both glass and finished jewelry. Maybe I am lucky, but I see inspiration everywhere and in very ordinary things. Hey, I've gotten inspired by the twists of a tree branch! I must admit that I have a vivid imagination.

I also happen to be an information sponge and have a voracious appetite for knowledge. This of course means that no art or jewelry book is safe from me. One of my missions in life is to find elusive out of print design and jewelry books to add to my reference library. I have books and magazines on four bookshelves already, with more on the floor in just about every room of the house. And like dessert there is always room for just one more!

And these books are not just about glass or jewelry design. The books run the gamut of topics ranging from satellite and aerial photography to textiles and quilting. How's that for eclectic book tastes? But all the books do have one thing in common and are my most treasured possessions because they provide me with endless visual stimuli, helping to inspire me by flooding my mind with images that tease me to create.

You don't have to be a bibliophile to find inspiration. But if you want to start looking for books or magazines at the local bookstore or at your library, here are ten topics to get you started. And no, they are not all jewelry related:

Interior Design

Graphic and Ad Design

Color Harmony series

Dover Publications

Gardening/Flower/Nature photography

Lighting and furniture catalog

Fashion and Accessories

Textiles/Yarn/Fiber/Quilt

Jewelry history

Auction Catalogs

Interior Design - Interior design books showcase how rooms are decorated. They help provide ideas on how to "set the mood" and create a theme to the colors you select to use in your piece.

Graphic and Ad Design - Ads have only a few seconds to catch your attention. Paying attention to how graphic artists use color and images to their advantage is a plus in our craft.

Color Harmony series - This is a series of color harmony books published by Rockport Publisher. I reference mine periodically when I want a color boost. I enjoy looking at the swatches of 2-3 colors that suggest ideas for harmonious color appeal. There are themes for Natural, Jewels, and Pastel color palettes. Also part of the series is color harmony for digital photography and the web.

Dover Publications - Dover is a great resource for copyright free clipart, nostalgic and ephemera images and design motifs to use for your craft. Some of these motifs are great for polymer clay and PMC designs. Think beyond what you see in these books. For instance, I've used a 19th century wrought iron gate design and modified it to a silver filigree bracelet.

Gardening, Flower and Nature photography - Nature is one of the best resources to draw inspiration. For example, study a close-up of a flower and see how colors variegated from one to the next. Then, look at an aerial or satellite photograph for inspiration on how to create texture and natural gradation to your work.

Lighting and furniture catalogs - Furniture catalogs like Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, West Elm, and the like showcase textures and colors in beautiful room settings through textiles or decorative room accessories. Lighting designs also show interesting shapes that may be translated to jewelry designs.

Fashion and Accessories - The fashion runway has some quirky fashions and accessories but they give you an idea of the seasonal color trends and styles. Use these as guidance but don't lock yourself into following trends.

Textiles/Yarn/Fiber/Quilt - Textiles and quilt books are great for color inspiration as well. Yarn and knitting designs can sometimes be translated to beadwork with some re-engineering. What you can do with a crochet hook or knitting needles can be modified to work with beads and fibers.

Jewelry history - They say styles come back en vogue every ten years. Knowing the history of jewelry designs can add a unique twist and story to your designs. Knowing the history of the beads you use or the types of stones also adds new dimension to the finished design.

Auction Catalogs - Jewelry and decorative art catalogs are great resources to learn about the history of jewelry. They contain beautiful photographs of private collections that would otherwise be unknown to the general public. The catalogs often provide a short history of the piece, the owner, the designer and estimated values. Even if you can't afford one of these jewels, you can translate their inspiration by using more affordable beads and findings to make a design of your own.

Another idea is to start clipping pages from old magazines and catalogs that catch your eye because these images can contribute to a future design. I put these clippings in sheet protectors and then in a 3-ring binder. Even though I may only go to this binder once in awhile, I have a central place to thumb though for inspiration. The internet is also full of resources in finding interesting tidbits of historical information or research. Ebay is a great free resource so even if you're not in the market to bid and buy, you can easily browse with a click of the mouse.

With all this being said and suggested, I'm not going to go into the legalese of copyrighted laws because we all "should" know from right and wrong. This is especially the case if you are drawing inspiration from another artist's work. No matter where you get your ideas for your designs, make sure to make them your own. Just know that if you are duplicating a design from a magazine to teach yourself a technique, that's one thing but using the same design to replicate, teach and sell, is just darn wrong. Many designers, teachers and authors give a lot of themselves to share a design in the classroom, in a magazine or a book. They did all the hard work so that you can benefit in learning. That is their gift to you without asking for much in return. Value that instead of disrespecting their art. Unfortunately there are still unscrupulous people out there and some of them have no problems doing just that. The beading community is relatively small and this behavior will come back to bite them later. The key to your own artistic growth is to challenge yourself to come up with new ideas, to take what you learn up a notch, and then when possible, to give back to the creative community.

Next month, I'll be sharing additional design ideas.

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Lisa Kan is a glass bead artist, jewelry designer and writer. As an avid researcher and bead purveyor, she hopes to share her knowledge about beads through her writings. Look for her first book, Bead Romantique, published by Interweave Press to be released April 2008. Her book is available for pre-ordering on Amazon.com and Interweave Press. You may view more of her work on her website, www.LisaKan.com or email comments about this article to LisaKanDesigns@yahoo.com