Chandelier - The Preamble

 Chandelier - The Preamble...

The thing that caused me to re-start this blog in the first place is largely the same thing that started me in on the realization that writing about the depressive cycle so many of us face is part of the parcel. This business – particularly the metalworking end of it has not been a full-time venture for me so far. There are a number of reasons for that and the plain truth is that – whether I realized it or not – that depressive cycle is one of them. Time is one – I also have a longstanding career in the theatre industry....but being the theatre industry and given the area I work in, that has only very rarely provided me with full time employment. So I've filled in the gaps as something of a dog's body and girl friday...but my hope has always been that I could fill more of it in with the various facets of the creative side of Elfworks, particularly the metalworking.

As I write this I am working my way through the largest commission I have ever had, and the sheer amount of learning that has forced me into was the thrust to start writing this blog. The truth about the full impact that the depressive cycle has on me and my ability to work is one of the biggest realizations I've come to.

At the point I am writing this the project is so overdue and so different from what was in my hopes that I don't even know if the customers will still want it. But the truth is that I have to finish it if I don't want it to be the thing that stops me doing this forever.

There are so many reasons for it being overdue that come out sounding like excuses to me. Yes, it is true that I have had work contracts in my theatre job, that I moved, that I have travelled, that there has been a wave of people who have passed away – it is true that life has happened with a vengeance during this commission. It is absolutely true that I have had my life undergo change in pretty much every area of my existence and once it had turned a complete 360 it went another 190 degrees in each of the areas just for good measure. But so what? How much leeway do I get for life? Everyone has stuff happen.

Each of those things have built their own delays in to the project. And each time I came back to the project at hand those delays have caused doubt and depression and fear. Which has caused more delays.

And then there are the errors.

There are many errors – and I will try to make this as coherent as I can as I work through my meal of hunble pie...

The piece is a large octagonal chandelier, with art glass inserts (like windowpanes). And it is not going smoothly.

I'm taking a risk here...people reading this blog might well decide that if I didn't even know that much I am not the person they want to buy anything from. At this moment, I'm not sure I blame them. However, up until now most everything I have done has been more about form than function. I have not had to construct anything. My strong suit is masks and jewellery and small decorative objects. So this is a significant jump for me...from a bracelet to a 3 foot chandelier. Some of the reason I haven't done anything else like this on a smaller scale is frankly because I didn't think I could and I was too scared.

Those who know me will likely shake their heads and laugh … at me, not with me. (Trust me, I'm not even close to being able to laugh about this yet.) I may lose some respect for my sheer lack of knowledge. The people who commissioned this might well be appalled. I figure I will take my lumps. Maybe this will help someone else realize they are not alone in making a stupid mistake (or 20). Maybe someone who wants to get something made by someone will have a better understanding of the process of design and creation of what we take for granted as a simple object – which will only serve to help everyone. Maybe no one but me will read this.

Perhaps my original error was that in my excitement about the project I did not fully understand the scope of what I was undertaking and how much of a learning curve I was really facing. And for all my original work toward the design – 3 view drawings, paper mockup full size, materials list, elements list...somehow in there I failed to communicate the real concept of what my plan was to the experienced smith who was going to help me through the rough spots. Which has lead to a whole mess of problems. More on that later...

Some of the first things I ought to have done also got left until far too late in the project – of course I didn't realize it at the time.

Thing one...do a full scale layout drawing. Obvious, right? I had thought that my mock-up and my 3 view drawings would be enough. I was so very, very wrong. Particularly because of the glass. Had I started here, even given the other difficulties I would have been much further ahead. This would have given me the dimensions of the actual cut pieces of glass and I could have designed to those. I tried to work three quarters of the project the other way around. Did I mention that this is art glass? And this is a large chandelier? Nearly half the cost of the project turns out to be the glass...and it is glass. Once it is cut you can't change it. Start with the things you can't change and design around them.

And it is a chandelier. I thought it would be simple to find the light fixture that would fit into it nicely – I was sure I'd seen dozens that would work. But lighting trends change rapidly. Start with the things

can't change and design around them.

Start with the bones. Then flesh it out. You'd have thought that a make-up artist would have automatically gone to that approach....