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Okay, so Im going to take a stab at this... keep in mind, I have a
glass of the finest vodka and lemonciello (made by our very own Lisa
Bilac-Jehle) on the planet, in my hand.....Thanks Lisa!! you ^*$#
rock!
Why CAD is needed in our classes. well, to be honest, its a matter
of personal interest. and almost necessity for today's generation....
Lets look at our current artists and their endeavors. In addition to
the mindset, skill set and technological influence of the next
generation of artists/jewelers.
Ill be hitting 40 years of age in 6 days, I have been making jewelry
for 25 years. I'm "that" generation caught in the middle, being
trained as a traditional southwest silversmith, I do have
appreciation, respect, and still use for those "old world" skills of
hand fabrication. In addition, served a very brief apprenticeship
under a master machinist off the boat from Poland. I have been using
"CAD" in some form or another for the past 20 years. Granted I'm not
using the super tech versions of Rhino, or GemVision (although I am
determined to learn Rhino, and recently purchased version 5) I am
using a stupid simple version 9 of Corel Draw for most of my work
(Version 16 is the current version). Part of my interest comes from
the materials I work with, Stainless Steel, Titanium, and Zirconium.
These are materials that, in most cases cannot be worked in a
traditional "goldsmith/silversmith" fashion. Hence, CAD and CAM are
pretty much a necessity to do what I consider "fine jewelry"or"fine
art"
Those of you demanding works created via CAD/CAM, here are a couple
of examples....
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep7zxwhttp://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep7zxxhttp://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep7zxyhttp://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep7zxzhttp://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep7zy0http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep7zy1
You will notice in some of the examples, the clean, smooth flowing
lines created via CAD, that look like they were hand wrought, and
implemented via CAM (computer aided machining), and others very
ridged, crisp interpolations of the concept and execution. Yet all
these pieces have those skill sets of hand finishing and hand
working, much like smiths of old...
Yes, there is a percentage of the population that appreciates the
traditional hand fabrication techniques, sweat, blood and tears,
that go into each and every piece made by an artist. I truly applaud
those individuals, because it provides individuals like James, Lisa,
Noel, Leonid, and others the ability to do what they do for a living.
Yet, there is another percentage of the population that appreciates
the final product in its purest form that do not care how it was
created. They look at the final piece purely for what it is and do
not want to know it was designed on a quad core i7 processor with 32G
of RAM being viewed on dual 32" displays, being cut on a Hass CNC 4
axis machining center...
Then there are those that are "reviving" the old traditional ways. A
good friend of mine is starting to melt coin silver via charcoal and
bellows to prep for tufa casting (please google tufa casting if you
dont know what that is). Hand carving designs into volcanic ash and
producing "fine jewelry"and"fine art". Granted we are both
"established" artists and have the privilege to explore, does not
negate what is ahead of us.....
Today's "youth" have technology at their finger tips. Generation AO
(always online) is fluent, or can be, in almost every electronic
media available, including design software. This is a generation that
has grown up, not knowing what an answering machine is, nor what life
is like without the internet. Granted, I can rant and rave about
having the bench skills and baseline knowledge base behind them, but
for those that swim with ease in this electronic media, kudos!!! They
do not know what "cant" be done, they only see their vision and have
the tools (CAD/CAM) to create their vision in its entirety, with
outsourcing, 3D print labs and contractual casting, they can achieve
their vision. They do not have the time, ability, or interest to
pursue what a lot of us have had in the form of apprenticeships and
schooling, and why would they. Having powerful, and inexpensive
hardware/software at their fingertips allows them to achieve their
vision in a straight line... point A to point B without the hassle of
having to know what cant be done. I truly applaud them for having
that ability to just not care....
In the be all end all, CAD is here to stay, it is not just a tool,
but an extension of our expression and a means to achieve what we
envision. So, yes, it is an option, and a very easy technical
endeavor for the next generation of
designers/smiths/artists/jewelers/metalsmiths/fabricators to embark
on because that is what, and all they know. So yes, CAD must be
taught, but it should be the choice of the individual to embark on
that path.
I sometimes wish all of us that have been taught or learned
traditionally, did not have the drawbacks of limitation. just imagine
what we could produce if our minds were free....
P AT
www.patpruitt.com
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