Author
Tim McCreight
Website: http://www.snagmetalsmith.org
Articles and Videos by Tim McCreight:
Beyond the Bench: Contemporary Studio Jewelry
Contemporary Studio Jewelry There are few faster ways to clear a room than to invite a conversation about the difference between Art and Craft. Not only are these conversations tedious and unproductive, but they generally work from the defensive premise…
Art and Technics: Superstitious Beliefs
This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship and design. For this 1992 Spring issue, Tim McCreight talks about superstitions and superstitious beliefs. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Somewhere in our childhood each…
Art and Technics: Materials
This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship and design. For this 1990 Summer issue, Tim McCreight talks about the materials that can be found from other fields. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~…
Art and Technics: Technical Mastery
This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship and design. For this 1989 Fall issue, Tim McCreight talks about technical mastery. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Technical mastery is almost always a…
Metalsmith ’89 Summer: Book Reviews
This article is a book review published in the 1989 Summer issue of the Metalsmith Magazine including “Power and Gold: Jewelry from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Power and Gold: Jewelry from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines text by…
Art and Technics: Language of Art
This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship and design. For this 1989 Summer issue, Tim McCreight talks about the language of art dialogue.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Did you ever…
Art and Technics: Experience
This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship and design. For this 1989 Spring issue, Tim McCreight talks about experience and how and what it teaches you to hone your…
Art and Technics: Color
Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past five years, you are aware of the current interest in color among metalsmiths and jewelers. From the lichen-green of a copper patina blue to the hot red of anodized aluminum,…
Art and Technics: Act of Technique
This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship and design. For this 1988 Summerissue, Tim McCreight talks about the act of technique rather than the learning of techniques….
Art and Technics: Learning from History
This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship and design. For this 1987 Spring issue, Tim McCreight talks about learning from history and using it to reflect your…
Roll Printing Technique
Roll printing, or texture transfer, has been around a long time. The ancient Greeks and Romans used various dies and, of course, every well-appointed Sumerian had a cylinder seal with which to authenticate his signature. Both of these employ the…
Art and Technics: Brooch Pin
Often the paramount achievement of technical mastery is the ability to “remain invisible.” The virtuoso violinist is heralded less for his pyrotechnic fingering than his subtle grace in purifying each note within a seamless composition. It is the music we…
Art and Technics: Finishing
This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship and design. For this 1987 Spring issue, Tim McCreight talks about finishing up with your work. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There comes a…
Art and Technics: Broaching Subjects
This article is one of a series of articles from Metalsmith Magazine “Art and Technics” talking about techniques in craftsmanship and design. For this 1987 Fall issue, Tim McCreight talks about broaching subjects. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Picture this: A room in a…
Technical Briefs: Fluxes
Technical Briefs deals with technical concerns of interest to a wide audience, addressing topics as diverse as vanguard technology and ancient arts. It will also answer questions from readers and respond to suggestions, always trying to explain in simple terms the…
Technical Briefs: Dealing with Firescale
Technical Briefs deals with technical concerns of interest to a wide audience, addressing topics as diverse as vanguard technology and ancient arts. It will also answer questions from readers and respond to suggestions, always trying to explain in simple terms the…
Creative Thinking in the Arts
An Assessment of a Lecture Series and Panel Discussion at the Program in Artisanry of the Swain School of Design. Creativity is almost universally regarded as a good thing to have. From corporate business to cooking on a campstove, creativity…
Technical Briefs: Understanding Sandpaper
Technical Briefs deals with technical concerns of interest to a wide audience, addressing topics as diverse as vanguard technology and ancient arts. It will also answer questions from readers and respond to suggestions, always trying to explain in simple terms the…
Technical Briefs: Fire Stain on Brass
Technical Briefs deals with technical concerns of interest to a wide audience, addressing topics as diverse as vanguard technology and ancient arts. It will also answer questions from readers and respond to suggestions, always trying to explain in simple terms the…
Book Review – Silversmithing
Silversmithing is a big topic. While I have a few reservations about this book, my overall response is that it handles its content with thoroughness and detail. Let me deal with the shortcomings first. Silversmithing By Rupert Finegold and William…
1983 Artpark Experience
About 30 miles north of Buffalo, New York, less than 10 miles downstream from Niagara Falls, is a unique facility called Artpark. It is not so much a place as a program; in fact more than that, it is a…
Jonathan Bonner: Whimsy and Vision
Jonathan Bonner is a pleasant young man with a quick smile and an easygoing manner. If you saw him in the grocery store you might think he was a teacher or a doctor. If you walked by his house in…
Book Review – Setting of Gemstones
This article is a book review by Tim McCreight for the book “Setting of Gemstones”, written by Walter Zeiss, for the 1984 Fall issue of Metalsmith Magazine. Setting of Gemstones By Walter Zeiss, Ruhle-Diebener-Verlag Stuttgart, Germany, 1984 125 pages $18.75…
Technical Briefs: All About Metals
This entry marks the beginning of a new, regular column in Metalsmith. It will deal with technical concerns of interest to a wide audience, addressing topics as diverse as vanguard technology and ancient arts. It will answer questions from readers…
Gorham Masterpieces in Metal Exhibition
Gorham Company was 45 years old when its 2,000-ounce “Century Vase” celebrating the nation’s centennial won great acclaim at the Philadelphia Exposition Over the next hundred years Gorham maintained its prominent position through both its design innovation and industrial development….
Master Metalsmith John Prip
One observation on the career of John Prip (more often called Jack) is the way in which the man and his times have grown together. In some people this might be a coincidence; in others it would indicate an ability…
Book Review – Art and Design in Modern Custom Folding Knives
This book is not only very good, it is important. In the introduction, author David Darom, who is a marine biologist, photographer and collector of knives, describes becoming aware of a gap between the exquisite work he saw in shows and a general perception of folding knives primarily as practical tools. As a successful author of 20 books on a wide range of subjects, Darom took what was for him a logical route to close this gap; he made a showcase book to exhibit what he calls a Hall of Fame of leading knifemakers..
Kiln Questions
First, the ‘n’ really is silent, at least according to the American Heritage Dictionary. There are kilns as big as your house, used for cooking everything from grain to stone, but we don’t need to concern ourselves with those. Even in the sub-sub-category of benchtop electric kilns there are plenty of questions. Let’s take a look at a few.
Practical Jewelry Rendering
Gems are a lot of fun to render, but because they require some precision, you might want to render a gem first before spending much time on the whole piece, Transfer the outline and paint the stone first. When you like the effect, complete the rest of the rendering around the stone. Where appropriate, use a template to create a delicate colored pencil outline of the stone.
Build an Advanced Jeweler’s Bench
This sophisticated bench costs a little more and is a bit more difficult to make than the one on the preceding page, but the extra effort will be repaid by years of efficient work. Use this pattern as a starting point, but feel free to make changes to suit your individual needs.
Build a Basic Jeweler’s Bench
This bench has been designed so it can be made from easily available materials without sophisticated woodworking equipment. People with woodworking skills might use these ideas as a point of departure.
Stone Setting Tools FAQs
Tim McCreight answers 13 of the questions about stone-setting tools most frequently asked by his metalsmithing students.
Setting a Stone with Cold Connections
In the jewelry world the term cold connections usually describes mechanical joining techniques that are used to fasten together parts that cannot be soldered. In many cases, cold connections fall into a “layer-this-onto-that” approach. Cold connections are more than a roster of techniques – they can trigger new ways to think about design. By combining function, engineering, and aesthetics, cold connections lead us to fresh ideas. The pendant described here has only four parts but it uses three kinds of cold connections.
Anticlastic Raising Basics
The word synclastic describes a form in which the dominant curves both move in the same direction. When the two dominant axes curve in opposite directions the result is known as an anticlastic form. A bowl is a synclastic form and a saddle is an anticlastic form.
Observations on Innovation
Like many other metalsmiths, I am a time traveler. I am writing this on a computer, skipping over to the Internet to search the web as I go, while across the studio I have an anvil and hammers that havent changed in the last 500 years. In the course of the day, I toggle between poles that are centuries apart, regularly using ancient tools with twenty-first-century techniques. The situation is familiar to jewelers around the world as we embrace the rich legacy of our past while simultaneously extending our reach to encompass the latest innovation. In a universe of such extreme contrasts, the very concept of “new” comes into question.
Full eBook: Practical Jewelry Rendering
This practical tool-in-a-book combines instruction on rendering techniques with unique guides that assist designers as they conceive jewelry and other works for the body. An envelop on the inside back cover contains a useful plastic template of circles, squares and other shapes as well as a ruler.
This unusual book is offers not only instruction, but dozens of illustrations of the human figure that can be used as armatures upon which to design jewelry. By placing a sketch paper over one of these figures, a designer is able to see how a shape relates to the ear, shoulder or neck. The effect is dramatic, and leads to instant improvement in designing wearable jewelry.