Media (Precious Stones and Metals)

As a jeweller it should be obvious that the media I use more often than any other would be precious metals and gemstones. There is a far greater variety of materials for a jeweller to work with than one might expect. Different coloured gold alloys, coloured gems and several not so traditional materials like wood and even plastic are all possible as successful jewellery elements. 

Gold and Diamonds

The most obvious and also most classic and spectacular medium remains the traditional gold and diamonds. The most often "variant" that one encounters here would be the options of white gold alloys and platinum.

There is nothing more classic than the combination of a white metal and a diamond.

Typically the most commonly accepted form of gold is in its standard, naturally occurring yellow colour. 

White and yellow gold successfully combine in a single jewellery piece as well. 

In this traditional sphere, the adding of traditionally accepted precious stones like Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby and Pearl are also often used materials. in these photos above we can see a sapphire at left and rubies at right.

Silver and Precious Stones

Silver is far more common and cheaper than gold but not cheap outright. It also qualifies as a noble metal and its "white" colour makes it far more versatile than the limited yellow colour of traditional gold. Contrary to some popular myths, diamonds may and can be set in silver with no adverse results. The rose ring pictured here is set with a diamond.

Silver may be polished gloss or be textured and combines easily with any coloured stone whether genuine or synthetic. 

Here, very rough worked silver sections is combined with uncut Tourmaline crystals. 

Silver and Synthetic Stones

Due to silver's low cost it is far more accessable in large quantities and thus allows for "bigger"and more austentatious jewels. If you combine it with synthetic stones, the effect can me quite spectacular and at a very reasonable price like in this tiara above.

The necklace is set with coloured Cubic Zirconias. When using silver, most of the client's budget can go to craftsmanship rather than a gram or two of gold.

Gold and Silver Combined

Gold may be combined with silver and then allows for a budget to be stretched with amazing results. This ring uses gold, silver and synthetic stones. 

Silver may also be oxidized allowing for a "blackened" effect that is impossible with white gold. The stones in this ring are Tanzanite and diamonds. 

Other Materials

Many other materials may be combined with the more traditional jewellery materials. I have use many innovative materials ranging from wood to liquid filled vials. Here follows some of the more "professional" options.

The dark blue stripe in this ring is resin enamel.

The red patches in these cuff links are perpex. 

The beads in the chain are glass, the wings of the scarab are resin enamel and the rest is silver, a blue Cubic Zirconia and a genuine Lapis Lazuli Scarab. 

The necklace is made of rubber. 

Work Stages (Design Inspiration 2)

It must be partly due to my grandfather's influence as he was a great fan of the grace and beauty of swans and also because of the obvious fact that our surname is Swanepoel (loosely translated to Pool of Swans), that I too am very inspired by swans in general. You will find me always doodling, whenever I am sitting in conversation or when needing to relax with a sketch pad. Inevitably the first things flowing from my pen will be either a crown, or wings or swans. 

My most recent swan "doodle", done in Oct 2013, involves the idea of combining a swan with the mythical concept of the phoenix. This will make a great tattoo or perhaps could become a neckpiece.

Done around 2003, this copy of a rough ballpoint pen sketch was inspired as part of my comic book project. 

This A2 pencil sketch was done in  2012 as a full drawing meant to tell the story of how our actions, whether graceful or not, have a ripple effect that can be far reaching into our lives. 

Different swan inspirations of which the top is a pre-sketch for a digital painting, the middle is an idea for a personal monogram that includes the letters "D" and "S" and the bottom one could end up being a jewellery piece like a brooch. 

My personal monogram/logo design has the obvious swan as the main theme coupled with the letters "S" and "D". It also includes a Royal Crown and lightning bolts, both symbols very dear to my heart.

The swan as one of my greatest inspirations had no other option other than to be included in what I, as a jeweller consider to be the apex jewellery piece, the tiara.  

These ideas are meant to represent hairpin tops. the swan and eagle motifs are obvious.  

One of many swan tiara ideas. 

This is one of my favourite tiara concepts....

...it can be seen here in the original drawing where it first manifested. 

More....

...and more.

This was one of the most comprehensive designs I ever embarked on and even included full cost of manufacture as can be seen in the photo. It was completed somewhere in 2003 but never manufactured as a piece of jewellery. 

This is my latest design for a swan tiara and is almost complete as an idea. I love the idea of a swan taking off into flight from a body of water. It is often forgotten that swans can fly. I like expressing the hidden aspects of swans, not just their obvious graces. 

I would really like the opportunity to make one of these tiaras one day, cost permitting. 

Collection of Work (My Best Work Since 2005)

Here follows a gallery of what I consider to be my best work for the last 8years.

18ct White Gold and Diamond Ring 2013

A3 Pencil Drawing 2007

Silver "Sphere"Ring 2010

Digital Painting 2013

Acrylic Painting 2011

Silver Holy Spirit Ring 2011

9ct White Gold and Diamond Cameo Pendant Brooch 2013

Water Colour, Marker Pen and Ball Point Pen A3 Sketch 2007

Icicle Tiara in 1\6th scale 2010

Silver and Red Cubic, DNA Neckpiece and Earrings 2011

Silver and Garnet Thunder Ring 2007

Flaming Skull Digital Painting in Microsoft Paint 2013

Media (Digital Art 1)

I have recently discovered digital art but only on the level of Microsoft Paint and a very rudimentary exposure to the free online program GIMP. I love digital art and wish I could afford a proper rendering program and a course in utilizing it. One of the aspects of digital art that I really appreciate is that you can upload any of your "real" art or even a doodle and work it further ad infinitum in digital. This allows for even the oldest or most arbitrary scribble to be photographed with your phone and then to be worked into the phenomenal piece it was meant to be. I also appreciate the process as you can save at every pivotal junction leaving a series of artwork as the art develops. Lets see what I mean in visual by looking at some of my digital attempts. 

In my Spanish dance digital project already blogged before I reached several significant juncture of this was one. the picture evolved from a pen and ink sketch into the final artwork that I sold to a paying client. 

This was the final product. 

After the sale I decided that I'd like a full length version. This is its current state and as far as I'm concerned its not finished. this is the wonder of digital. you can keep going and save at any stage, leading to many different artworks.  

I often doodle, especially in ballpoint pen, my favourite medium. Digital allows me to use my phone camera to take these doodles to a much further level. 

This pen drawing was destined to be turned into a digital artwork. 

The digital rendering of the lion done in pen seems more like a real painting now. 

This artwork is one of my favourites. It started as an acrylic painting. I hate acrylics and gave up even though I loved the concept. So my Blackberry camera and MS Paint and GIMP came to the rescue. I loved doing it. 

Digital really is the future, but don't think lack of skill for actual art principles will help you if you can only work the program. You must still be a real artist, digital is just a tool. 

Work Stages (Design Inspiration 1)

A famous ancient proverb states: "There is nothing new under the sun." Any designer worth his salt will admit to this or he is just taking you for a ride. The best definition of design I have every encountered states that; design is merely the rearrangement of existing elements. I agree, nothing new under the sun but an infinity of possible rearrangements. One has two sides to design, contrived and inspired and neither is worse than the other, it boils down to function and personal enjoyment. Typically any designer will be artistic and pursue joy in exercising his skills and expressing his talent. When he is paid to do so it may be more contrived and functional and about making a client happy while in his spare time it will be for his own pleasure and might never be sold.

So what sources may a designer draw from in order to get inspiration or ideas for either a client job or for pleasure? The word inspiration literally means to be filled with a spirit, or to be stimulated to feel and do. There are several sources of inspiration.

Even your imagination cannot conceive from nothing. Just like a bank account cannot give you money if you don't first deposit but it can give you back what you've put in and can even give you interest. The biggest source and constant input into our minds is our daily surroundings and even if you live in a city, you are surrounded by air, dust, insects and the sky is over your head. Therefore nature must be our biggest source.

Nature

Nature has often inspired my work and I find it easiest to do as references are ready available in my head. Even a small child can recognizably draw a spider or the sun.

Viper drawn on A3 paper with ball point pen. 

Ring design rendered in colour pencil and pen inspired by a skull which counts as a nature reference.

The floral and vine motif surrounding this cameo can be said to be nature inspired. By the way, humans are "natural" and as such fall in the same category. 

Upbringing
Next up I would say our biggest influencer or inspiration source must be our upbringing. Every person has a reference from his personal demographic whilst growing up. For example a city slicker may be inspired by high rise buildings while a farm upbringing give you a penchant for nature. In this sphere religious, financial and social demographics also play a huge part. The political leanings of parent, whether they were strict or not and so forth shapes our database of references in our minds that will be available to a designer/artist when he does his work.

This logo concept I designed for myself as a monogram exemplifies my upbringing. My surname is Swanepoel and it clearly alludes to a swan. The crown links it with a European descent and still hints at imperialism and colonization as part of my history. The swan also looks like a letter "D" which stands for my name Daniel but shows my subtle artistic ability and finally the lightning bolts come from a Biblical reference that has deep personal meaning to me. 

I grew up wealthy and my grandfather's smart cars inspired me as a child and to this day gives me an eye for automotive design. I like Rolls Royce above all cars and enjoy drawing them. The picture above is in marker pen and ballpoint. 

As a young child I loved animated series on television and one of my favourite was the Three Musketeers. This inspired me to eventually do fencing. The particular European Royal court with swords, knights and crowns serves as a massive inspiration throughout my life. The above picture was done in Microsoft Paint and touched up in GIMP. 

World History
World history plays a massive role in everybody's life and mind. This may also inspire an artist especially propoganda art. However, historic reference influences fashion and by extension the fields of design . One particular aspect that I enjoy is the historic reference of a tiara as worn by a bride/princess. I wish I got far more commissions to design tiaras.

This tiara was made for a client to wear on her wedding. It is in solid silver and set with synthetic cubic zirconias. 

One of my favourite historic references is ancient Egypt. The above sketch is of recognizable Egyptian inspiration and was a quick sketch done in marker and ballpoint for fun. I tried to capture the arrogance a Pharoah might experience when considered to be a god. 

Media
The media bombards us daily with adverts and entertainment on our phones, billboards, movies, television and newspapers. Almost anything goes and it is hard to distinguish between fact and fiction. However it is a massive source of inspiration and if your filters are up it is a goldmine rivaling nature itself and may be used very effectively.

This picture in water colour and ballpoint, was directly inspired by the television. I was watching Fashion TV and as a model came down the runway she paused, struck this pose and turned to walk away. The pose was so inspiring to me that from memory within an hour and a half or so, this picture was completed. My aim was to allude to the famous "Babylon the Great"  from the Bible. 

When the soccer world cup came to South Africa, even I was inspired to do this picture with the intent that it may carry a very deep symbolism of the idea of teamwork as exemplified in a successful soccer team. It is done in acrylic on canvas. 

Other People
One of the most direct sources of inspiration is other people. We all have idols, mentors, teachers and far away celebrities that we look up to. Artist/designers have celebrities too and in today's information age we have these people's work on call. Growing up comic book artists and anime was a huge influence and remains a constant and permanent inspiration.

This picture in water colour and ballpoint is of obvious comic book inspiration. One might say, it's very " Iron Man".

Personal Preference
Our own personal preferences develop from our upbringing into our old age. We pick up things that we like as time goes by and these elements receive a lot of our attention. As such these areas of data in our minds are often the most developed and exercised and may serve our work as one of the best sources of inspiration.

I think crowns, doodle crowns, draw crowns and want to make crowns all the time. The one here is doen in ballpoint. 

My obsession with crowns has led me to make tiaras and crowns for Barbie dolls. This hobby started when I was 12 and eventually led to me becoming a jeweller. 

I love Spanish dancing. I do Spanish dancing and drawing it is a favourite. 

Paying Clients
Practically speaking there is no greater source of inspiration than a paying client. Where this keeps the pot boiling it is very rare that you will enjoy this inspiration as it has nothing to do with your personal preferences or expression. Here the client is to be kept happy and you may find solace in your payment but far more importantly you may find inspiration in you quality of work. It give me great pleasure to make a ring to an exceptional level of quality even though the style might not be to my liking.

A silver and gold dress ring set with synthetic stones as per design requirements of a client.

You will note that even though most of my time is spent working a regular day and week like everybody else, very little of this money-for-a-living aspect serves to inspire me. Which brings me to my personal greatest inspiration and also the last category in our discussion.

Abstract/Spiritual
There are unconventional, one might even say abstract or esoteric forms of inspiration. These may scare some or at least challenge some people but they are and have always been part of the human social experience. Many people go to church or the like, seeking something spiritual and even physical science allows for the field of scientific study called quantum physics which is the closets science has ever ventured to what may seem a spiritual study. All our minds struggle or even entertain the abstract. We all fear, have doubt or worse become irrational. This weird world of the human psyche may even inspire design and art. I love this particular source especially if you take it to the max and consider the ultimate, GOD.

Remember, we are talking about inspiration. This enigmatic word that attempts to define, conjuring thoughts, seemingly from nowhere and then manifesting those ideas in actions and creations that may be shared by others. It seems very weird and spiritual to me. To explain my interaction with this " source" I will share an experience of I had that began with a picture that came to my mind. This picture I described in a poem.

City of Gold. 

A breathtaking landscape sculpted by the Maker
Wildlife serene
Potential, eternally supreme

A hillside ridge, contains a blessing
Arrogant man
Will never obtain it

There is a black and ancient worm
Beneath the ridge
In bowels of gold

The darkness chokes the treasures shining
Presumptions keep
The blessed in bondage

Upon his back a city sprawls
Its people consumed
Consumed by boring

The worm bleeds dry their toil
And sweat
Blinds them with false gleaming

Great is the treasure held in this nest
More so
Those kept in his bondage

But God

The Maker of the ridge in beauty
Calls forth
The gold to shining!!!!!

Fire comes rushing pure and bright
Consuming dross
Consuming filth

The city shakes, the worm’s grip breaks
Blackness flees
Before the light

Bent knees as man turn to the Maker
Who waits
Who always loves

His design is spoken to ears
Now open
Golden chains fall broken

The worm as master was your own lies
The gold
As glory, rot and flies

See now prepare as vision breaks open
The worm
Purple wings of fire disperses

All treasure, belongs to its Maker
Oh man
To serve His mighty purpose

Your hearts in freedom will be His crown
The gold
Eternal roads to fly on

Then I drew the picture somewhere in 2003/2004.

I believe I was inspired by a socio-political economic atmosphere. Subconsciously, my mind tried to congeal my experience of South Africa at the time of the early millennium and even dared to postulate a future. This future also, very spiritually, had the option of including or excluding the God-factor. Weird or not, I drew it, shared it with one or two friend who can cope with my weirdness and I left it. 

In 2013, I was asked by Beakthru Life Church to do what they call prophetic art. i was going to do a digital work in Microsoft Paint projected directly on the wall during the service.

This is what I was " inspired" to do. I had forgotten about my Black Worm and a butterfly seemingly popped out of the 10 year old chrysalis.

Again, I think my mind was manifesting a subconscious idea. The struggle with a worldwide economic crunch. The laziness and greed that led the human race into it. A seemingly miracle requiring hope to get through it. Funny how something as weird and spiritual as this is actually just a plain and simple inspiration from nature. A butterfly's metamorphosis is plain to see by any child who has ever had silk worms. It brings the whole package of " inspiration" full circle.