Sunday, February 7, 2010

The Dreaded Learning Curve

One of the most challenging but also the most rewarding aspect of metalsmithing is the gradual evolution of the skill, the way you constantly learn and improve the quality of what you're able to do. Any new skill usually takes me at least 3 attempts to master, or if not master, at least make something I'm not embarrassed to show in public. I usually hide my failures (after much lamentation) deep in my scrap box never to see the light of day again. My good friend Veronica is so much braver than I, and she has been kind enough to document and share pictures of her learning curve with the rest of us. Captions are mine, so don't blame her for any words I've put in her mouth!

Veronica is learning to saw. She's also discovering that learning to saw is harder than it looks. Sometimes what you end up with doesn't look anything like the picture you had in your head, and when you get done you feel like you've made the world's ugliest tin can.



Sometimes, you discover you can't cut metal to save your life, but you would have made a fantastic butcher.




So you clean up the blood, find yourself a bandaid, give yourself a pep talk, and you try again. This time you're happier (read: less horrified) but the straight parts are still a little wavy and the wavy parts a bit too straight.



By now you have a blister to go with your cut and you're wondering just how much blood and skin the Metalsmithing Gods require in sacrifice before they give their blessing. Sometimes, the learning process hurts.



Finally, you try one last time. Before you start you tell yourself that this is the last time, if you can't make something wearable this time around you'll give up. You give it all you've got and do your very best work, and finally you're satisfied with the end result.




The sun shines and the little birdies sing and you sleep the sleep of the righteous that night because you've finally mastered the beast. You head to the forums to brag about your hard-won skillz, and on the way you notice this.




You realize you've just scratched the surface of what can be done with a simple saw and accept that you'll be learning for the rest of your life.

And we could all do worse than to be learning for the rest of our lives. There is nothing more satisfying than climbing a personal Mount Everest, and metalsmithing offers a thousand mountain climbing opportunities every time you turn around.

I'm glad to have each and every one of you along for the ride. Enjoy the climb!

17 comments:

  1. A totally cool post! I'm glad you stuck with it Veronica!

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  2. Awwwww, thank you for showing my unfinished pendants. LOL, and yeah, wounds come with the job. They are healing, and I barely remember I have them anymore, and those pendants will get fixed, refined and finished next class!

    There is a learning curve, definetly! But yeah, we climb those hills, and eventually we do find ourselves at the top of the mountain!

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  3. Oh, and that butterfly is gorgeous! My sawing will get there. ;)

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  4. Veronica- I used to think I was at sawing 101- now I realize I haven't even begun- you go girl!

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  5. Great post! I think everyone can relate to that. I look at the old jewelry I made and feel the need to take it apart and start over. The better you get at something the more you notice how terrible you were at it a week, month or year ago. But if we had nothing to learn, metalsmithing would get very boring very quickly.

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  6. how wonderful to see that someone else is learning too. I am struggling with sawing and thought it was only me! How DO you get that little blade in the saw straight? It always seems to veer left...or right....and, yes, it cuts metal so why would I be surprised it cuts skin, too?

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  7. thanks guys for your comments! Thirtysix, why don't you ask this sawing question over on the proboards site so when we give you all the tips and tricks we'll be able to find them later? Also, I just typed you this big long thing and stupid blogger ate it :P

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  8. jamauerer--I totally agree. I think back to things I've sold and want to call people and ask for them back so I can make them better! I look at the work of masters in my art jewelry books, and try to remember that they started where we are now!

    Awesome for sharing, Veronica.

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  9. Great post. I'm a newbie as well. I will have to try the sawing next after the rings. Keep up the good work!

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  10. Thank you for sharing your sawing adventures with us, Veronica. Your trio of pendants documents how quickly you improved! It's heartening to see that others are struggling to climb the seemingly insurmountable "sawing mountain", and that it is possible (that butterfly is incredible).
    And Clarity, thank you for once again writing and fun and informative post. You are a woman of many talents!

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  11. Loved the post, Clarity! And thanks so much for sharing, Veronica - you've inspired me to get out my saw again...I was so disappointed in what I'd managed to do the first time...I'll keep trying!

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  12. I loved seeing Veronica's progress...the 3rd attempt is really a keeper. I suspect that with a little elbow grease the first 2 pieces would be quite nice, too.

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  13. What a great post! Gorgeous butterfly!

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  14. Its nice to see that others too suffer through the learning curve. At home in the wee hours of the night or in the middle of the day when its you and your work, it can feel like you truly are alone and seriously physically challenged. You know what you want but your hand eye coordination went the way of Donkey Kong. Thanks for the pep blog!

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  15. Wow! You made me cry! Thank you for considering my piece as an example of someone who has mastered a skill. I certainly don't feel I have mastered any skill and you just have to search through Etsy to see that you haven't but what I love about this group is that we can help each other learn different skills and push ourselves to get to that Aha moment where we get it.

    Thank you Clarity!

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  16. I've been so frustrated with this part of the learning curve...I am going to hang in there after reading this post! Thanks for sharing!!

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  17. Tip: Use oil. Makes the blade speed through. Keep blade straight up and down and let it move forward. Of course, be sure you are using the correct blade for the sheet's gauge.

    I spent 13 years sawing before using oil. I'd like to have some of that energy back!

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