Jewelry & Beading

Do you want to design for yourself? Focal Point

by Cyndi on May 5th, 2008

Focal Point…show me where to look!

Just as it does in a painting, the focal point in a wonderful piece of jewelry captures your gaze and directs your eye where to settle. Additional focal points can create a sense of movement by guiding your eye around a piece. Having a strong focal point can create a sense of dominance and unity in your piece.

Choosing your focal point first is a common way to start for many designers: you have a beautiful cabochon, a treasured charm, or a stunning glass bead. It’s not good enough just to own this treasure…you want to be able to wear it!

The greatest challenge in designing when you start with a focal point is to feature your speical item, show it off, without overwhelming it. I often start my own design work with a focal point. I am captivated by an object and it inspries me to build it a home. My Beaded Geode Pendant, shown above, is an example of following this pathway into design. The geode was beautiful and meaningful to me, but the back was ugly and the silly thing didn’t have a hole in it, so I needed to find a creative way to be able to wear it. In this case, I chose a color palette that harmonized with the geode, and a pattern for the strap that consisted of a simple repetition that wouldn’t draw attention away from the focal point.

Tomorrow, I’ll share with you how to make a beaded geode pendant similar to the one above.  Next Monday, we’ll have the next installment in the design series, this time discussing theme  :-)

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POSTED IN: Beading, Designing, Tutorials & Techniques, Wearable Art