I have - at various times in my life - been called anal-retentive, uptight and a perfectionist. And yes, when it comes to some things, I admit I can be all 3. I brought this 'I need to make things perfect' mindset to my jewellery making too. Especially when I first started out. But slowly, I've been learning to let go, to embrace the imperfections that come with making things by hand and to just have fun.
This is a pic I would not have posted a year or even 6 months ago since every item you see in it has several flaws and isn't 'finished'. I wasn't guided by any particular design or vision; I just sat down with some clay and made what my hands felt like making. I also tried not to overthink the colours when it came time to paint the lil critters. Looking back, the one area where I should have put in more thought was the 'dunking them in resin' stage. The resin basically pooled at the bottom of each charm/pendant and pulled away from the clay so I'm having to snip away excess hardened resin and file the edges.
What I learned from this spur-of-the-moment project was:
a) not knowing how something will turn out when you start making it can be both enjoyable and therapeutic.
b) resin reacts weirdly with air-dry clay. It makes the beads look like they've been shrink wrapped in plastic. I don't know if this is due to some strange chemical reaction or if it's because my resin is (shh! don't tell anyone) well past its 'best before' date or possibly a result of my amateurish technique.
c) flawed objects have their own innate charm.
Now you've seen my perfectly imperfect charms/pendants, what do you think I should do with them? I'm leaning towards the idea of key chains or phone charms myself. Or maybe use them to pretty up presents and gifts.
I think the colours r bright and fun and will certainly brighten up anything u put them with. : )
ReplyDeleteI think these are GREAT! Especially since you were experimenting. . .these really turned out with a lot of fun to them (old Resin or not) ;)
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