Garumph! (that's my cranky noise!)

At art school,the whole idea of "design by making" is not all that welcome. Sadly, as a largely self-taught artist, this happens to be my most oft used modus operandi. Generally, I like the way a piece evolves as it is made and because I am often not using expensive materials, I can afford a few mistakes. Of course not designing a piece on paper has its drawbacks - it is hard to repeat and when you make just one cut too many after several hours of creating - well lets just say that the expletives that fill the air of the studio would make a rap-artist blush! The fact is I am driven by the materiality of the stuff I am working with and although I will make some rough sketches so I have some idea of what I am trying to achieve, more often than not, I will write and draw the 'how to' after the event. I do see the sense in what my teachers tell me and I do try (sometimes) to design first. Today I was reminded why drawing the design first is a good plan - especially when you are making ear-rings - sigh - it seems they are supposed to match. I started out with a bit of old tray that was lurking about and thought "ho ho this could be something fun" ...

.. and  turned it into these ...

I didn't start out with a drawing or even a clear idea and really I just kept hacking about until I had something passable - of course trying to make the second one the same was impossible so whilst these look ok, they are far from uniform. I like the one on the right but just look at the dodgy one on the left! It seemed no amount of filing was gonna make that one  pair up! ggrrrr! Usually, I am pretty cool with asymmetrical and 'organic' but really, these just make me a bit cranky! Perhaps I should only make ear-rings for one eared people - I could call it my Van Gogh range! Never mind - back to the drawing board for me  - literally!