process — K. Claire MacDonald Jewellery Design & Sculpture Blog

Have you ever wondered how it was made? Take a peek behind the scenes!

One of my biggest aha! moments during my journey to becoming a jewellery designer happened about eleven years ago when I was watching a demonstration in the metal studio at NSCAD University. I distinctly remember the sudden feeling of my mind racing and expanding as I watched my professor execute a number of basic techniques that lay the foundation for creating jewellery.

Although I never wore much jewellery growing up, I have always been drawn to it. As a child I had a few special pieces of jewellery that had been passed down to me, and I loved looking at them and thinking about where they had been, and who had worn them. One thing I never really thought much about was how they were made–whose hands made them, and how exactly did they come to be?

Process WorkK. Claire MacDonaldOctober 1, 2019studio, process, sketchbook, sketches, techniques, lost wax casting, casting

Finding Moments of Calm Through Jewellery

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how my surroundings have a significant effect on my day-to-day life, and in particular, on the work I create in my studio. Over time, I’ve come to understand how physical and emotional states influence creativity and focus; paying closer attention to this connection and learning how to better nurture each is something I’m always striving towards. I try to begin each day by embracing those aspects of my surrounding that put me at greatest ease in order to set the tone for a calm and productive day.

Process WorkK. Claire MacDonaldMay 26, 2019inspiration, studio, eastcoast, process, wave collection, ocean

Standing Up to Creative Burnout

Nova Scotia is a province with four very distinct seasons. Seeing as there are only twelve months of the year, we find ourselves in seasonal transition about once every three months. As a creative person, my practice also goes through different “seasons”, and just as some seasons, like summer, tend to be more enjoyable than others (ahem..winter) not all seasons of my creative practice are filled with easy, breezy, sunny days.

updates from the benchK. Claire MacDonaldMarch 17, 2019creativity, burnout, motivation, process, studio, inspiration

Behind the Scenes: Fading Vestiges

The main reason I’ve worked towards maintaining a blog over the past few years is that I love sharing insight into the process behind my work. I’ve always been a huge advocate for taking the time to offer others a glimpse into the “behind-the-scenes” of my art practice; I believe educating others is this is the first step towards fostering greater appreciation for craftsmanship, and all things made by hand.

While I currently have a body of sculptural works on exhibition in a show titled “Fading Vestiges” at the Mary E. Black Gallery in Halifax, I wanted to take the opportunity to share some insight into the creation of some of these works. For me, the process of designing and troubleshooting the technical implications of each piece was in most cases, even more satisfying than the finished pieces themselves.

Updates From the Bench: A Peek Into My Design Process

One of the most common questions I get asked about my work is “How do you come up with your designs?”. I’m going to guess that a lot of creative people get asked this question or similar ones often. “Where do your designs originate? How do you start when faced with a blank canvas?” All valid questions, but ones for which I find it hard to come up with quick, succinct, and satisfying answers.

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