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Thread: Is there a "wrong" in creativity?

  1. #1
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    Default Is there a "wrong" in creativity?

    I'm interested in people's opinions on this. So many times I've seen quotes along the lines of: "there's no wrong in creativity" to which I've always felt yes there is, there's bad design and bad workmanship, and that's used as an excuse for both sometimes.
    I've always felt one of the ironies of good design is no one notices it, whereas with bad design it does often feel inherently wrong somehow.
    However it's recently come to my attention I may be no judge over what I perceive to be wrong in my own work. I sent some pieces off for sale, and apparently two people were fighting over a jewellery box I'd painted with pansies on, which I'll be honest I nearly didn't send because I wasn't happy with the design or finish on it. In fact I hated the thing. Now I have a request for another one! Exactly the same with the jewellery, things I wasn't so keen on have sold in preference to what I considered better items. My niece had two pendants from my scrap box that didn't even hang straight, off the back of that I had orders for two more of those!

    So I'm interested in whether this happens to anyone else regarding people loving things you're not happy with or consider bad, and is there a wrong when you're making, or does anything go now?

  2. #2
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    Well I think you also have to allow for matters of taste. Taste is difficult to agree on, because it is influenced by your experiences, both positive and negative.

    Some things are in such bad taste that they are dismissed as kitsch, which could be translated as utter rubbish. But even that can attract a cult following. Dennis.

  3. #3
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    It's very difficult to ever be completely satisfied with a piece - and you'll invariably only see the flaws, whereas someone who hasn't sweated blood over it has a more immediate appreciation for the work that's gone into it.

    As for no wrong in creativity, that has echoes of a t shirt I saw the other day claiming "imagination beats knowledge". Sophistry - either without the other is hollow.

  4. #4
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    Not that I'm an expert but I think if it's functionally made correctly, meaning everything soldered in place and functioning clasps, stones set properly, etc. that there is no right or wrong in design. Just like an artist doing oil paintings, what's considered crap by one is considered a fantastic work of art by another. Just walk through the Tate Modern Art gallery for good examples

  5. #5
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    Sometimes I've produced pieces that I've not been completely happy with and was making up stock which have sold immediately. Taste is a funny thing.
    I had an acquaintance on FB that slated a photo of a piece of jewellery that she hadn't clicked was mine, she went through it fault by fault in her eyes and then it dawned. it had been years sold so someone loved it but she went on to justify herself by saying that nothing left her workshop unless she was completely happy with it. Well lucky her!
    As Peter says we are never happy with anything and sometimes if I'm doing a big body of work I hate most of it by the time it goes and if I happen to have it for a while I often end up refining or remaking.
    I knew the torque had a couple of design flaws but it's all a learning curve. If you are also trying to cover a wide market you are bound to have to at some time make work you wouldn't wear yourself.
    My 'friend' would appear to have unfriended me since her critique, my work must be an assault on her senses

  6. #6
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    People are so funny with their jewellery. Having started out only wanting to make "unusual arty" pieces, I've ended up only making "safe" pieces. The unusual pieces are only appreciated by a few "arty" people, whereas the safe pieces have a much wider appeal. I couldn't make a living only selling the odd more expensive "arty" piece. Shame really, cos I'm not particularly proud of most of my work these days but it sells well.

  7. #7
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    I think there is a lot of failure in creativity, which is different to wrongness. Through a process of failure and redesign/rethinking you come up with new and creative solutions. Wrongness is probably viewed as the starting point of creativity- the "urgh it looks bad" response or "that was not what I wanted" or "pool of molten metal". You then go back and try again a different way and learn a bit along the way. Likewise, all pieces have imperfections-even the masters; they just hide them better
    Taste is a whole different story- there's no accounting for it!!

  8. #8
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    I think I probably approach it from the wrong angle from a business point of view. I design things that randomly pop into my head as a good idea and make them because I love them, and just hope that other people might like them too!

    I've been working on a couple of more 'design led' and cohesive collections, mainly in my head and on paper, for a while now, but it's just finding the time to get them made in between my proper job.

  9. #9
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    I think that by definition creativity is built on failure. It is a process of rejecting what doesn't work that we end up with a pleasing design. And I don't think creativity and craftsmanship should be confused. You could make something perfectly, but if it is a displeasing design, it will leave people cold. Likewise some kind of avant garde creation will look awful unless it is reasonably well executed (I have a box-full as testament!).

  10. #10
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    That's the phrase I was looking for - "avant garde".

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