Part 2 - New Meadow ring

Posted by Jon - 05 August 2016

The initial sketches, capturing the feel of the ring.

So it's been a while since Part 1, I thought that I'd better get on with this ring. I have been avoiding it for about 2 years, so a few weeks are not really here or there. It probably sounds crazy to anyone reading, but what comes next is the terrifying bit, the hardest part of the whole design process - getting it to work as a 3D piece of jewellery. Now forgive me if you've read other pieces that I have written about this stage, but I don't like it, it's difficult, and probably why I have been avoiding it for so long!

The idea is the easiest bit by far, like I said before, I can see this ring in my mind, which I am pleased about, but that isn't worth anything, I can't show it off to anyone and I definitely can't sell it - whether I will want to or not is another story - letting go can be difficult once the battle is over!

However, the mind doesn't design to scale, it doesn't picture these beautiful creations with the right sized stones, I can just see the ideal, the perfect look, and everything about this next bit is trying to desperately get as near to this as possible, allowing the finished design to also work and hold together as a wearable and functioning ring.

Of course this might all be harder for me than other designers, because I hate decisions. I get there in the end, and I definitely know what I want underneath it all, but I hate the commitment. The idea that there might be something slightly different, that might look a whole lot better, just drives me crazy. Fundamentally, it's a lack of confidence, that and having a very task orientated father, who had no problem with decisions! Funnily, I don't have the same confidence issues with client's designs. I seem to find that a lot easier, I guess I feel more in control, more fluid, because that is what they have come to me for. Anyway, moving on.

I have to say that these aren't all the issues. There is also a design ego at work here. That annoying saying that you are only as good as your latest work. I hate it but it's true, each significant piece is like saying this is the best I can do in this moment, this is as good as it gets. And sometimes that can be a bit debilitating, you want it to be perfect, and they are not always as good as you wanted. But hopefully, I think I might be the only one that notices. I'm sorry this has turned into a bit of a therapy session - still I am sure it will help!

The sketches above are nothing more than the initial idea captured. They serve as a reminder of the feel, the atmosphere of the design. The rest is firmly stored in my mind, probably at the cost of other important stuff.

It is really hard to draw up a complicated ring like this perfectly to scale, I will probably sketch it up more carefully, further down the line, but for now, the next bit of exploration is playing with the blu tack, working out the scale etc.

Playing with scale and layout.

I realised that I didn't mention that this ring will be asymmetrical. Mainly due to the way the stone is cut, it just felt right to have it sitting over one side of the finger, not central. The design that grew in my mind around this idea worked really well, and I'll aim to show you that in the next part!

Thanks for reading!

Jon