[Jewelry making - Article 00508] - Re: [Orchid] Ecommerce and Repairs

[David L. Huffman]

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Hello Hans;

>     So I ask any proper goldsmith this question: So, you have never
>     made a ring from a picture? 

    I've confessed this before on Orchid. For years, when I worked for
    retailers, I was told to make copies from pictures. I got real good
    at it, eventually earning the nickname "the chameleon". At first it
    was an ego trip to be able to copy anybody's work, then I got to hate
    it, especially when I came to believe that what I could design myself
    was better than most of what I copied. You see, I started in
    metalsmithing in 1971 as a blacksmith in an historical village. All I
    did was make dead-bang copies of historical iron articles. I once got
    chewed out because I forgot to mark a reproduction of a rare iron
    lamp, because my copy was so hard to distinguish from the original
    that, had it gotten out, it would have devalued the piece by there
    being now more than one of them. Of course, modern metallurgical
    analysis might have found the phony. I once made an iron piece in
    the style of African iron work. This time, not a copy, but a
    conglomeration of elements typical of the work of a particular people
    and time. It fooled the head of the university's Art History
    department, but I did finally admit to the fraud when he showed an
    interest in buying it. 

    So, these are some of the reasons I went into business on my own. I
    no longer have to copy if I don't want to. And I really don't
    anymore. What I do with this talent I've developed is this: as a
    sub-contractor working for other artists, I have the ability to
    comprehend an artist's style and become a second set of eyes for him
    or her. I can solve design and technical problems in such a way as to
    support the artist's concepts and designs. And I usually have the
    skill set to pull off technical challenges beyond the abilities of
    the artists I work for. So my nefarious training has paid off, and I
    seriously doubt I have put a dent in the pocket books of any of the
    people who's work I copied. At least I hope not. But I wouldn't
    suggest that anyone train in this manner. Better to copy historical
    work. Here's why: After decades of playing the music of other
    composers, trying to get inside their heads, one finds that one's own
    style becomes elusive. You end up with a vast vocabulary of stylistic
    elements, always handy to you, but what of it is yours and yours
    alone? When you become a chameleon, it's hard to remember what color
    you really are! 

David L. Huffman

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