 People often ask about the photography on the Gary Dawson Designs website. I do it. And it hasn’t always been this good. In the beginning stages of my business, I took archive photos of my stuff but hired a variety of excellent photographers to shoot my jewelry for promotional materials. What I found was that a photographer may capture excellent landscapes, or portraiture, or action, but the successful creation of an image of jewelry was a different animal altogether. Back when we used film, and my learning curve toward making my own images involved documenting the precise exposure settings on every image I took, it was ‘normal’ to shooting a 5 image “bracket” of exposure around a single item. I felt like it was a good day when I could get one great image on an entire roll of 36 exposure slide film. Fujichrome Provia was the ticket with beautiful saturation and fine grain. The best images usually resulted from slight underexposure. Digital, of course, has changed a lot but not the basics of image creation. The thing with shooting jewelry is that what makes shiny metal look good works as a disadvantage on gemstones, and vice-versa. My stage and lighting is complex but not rocket science. I’ve taught the technique at jewelry industry shows and conventions and don’t mind answering some specific questions if you have them….happy shooting!
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 …but the “common” name is Fawn Lilly (Erythronium). This is the very first one of the season on my place outside of Eugene, OR. When I was a child, we (my sibs and I) would compete to see who could bring the first bouquet home to Mom. I’m delighted to have a natural flower garden right outside my front door that just lights up in the spring with Lamb’s Tongues, Trillion, Shooting Star (we used to call those Birdbills) and many other Oregon Natives. Now, it just needs to warm up a bit!!
Can you hear that? The sound of me madly burning up my keyboard as I work with my co-author, the awesome Joseph T. Strauss to create my paper for the Santa Fe Symposium on Jewelry Manufacturing Technology®, 2013.  Direct Casting Photopolymer Resin Models
Photopolymers are not new and have been in some form of prototyping service for at least a couple of decades. And historically, photopolymers have not enjoyed a reputation of acceptable direct casting. With a proliferation of rapid prototyping systems evolving into the jewelry industry at prices much more accessible to smaller shops, direct casting of cured photopolymer resins has become an issue of high importance. This paper will explore the process of developing a technique for direct casting of a specific photopolymer. In consultation with the developer of this resin and the director of the University of Oregon’s CAMCOR Polymer Characterization Facility, and using practical casting tests with photomacrographic documentation, the goal of this project is to achieve optimized direct casting results from this polymer. Mr. Dawson is the founder and former owner of Goldworks Jewelry Art Studio and current owner of Gary Dawson Designs, an internet-only business that was recently named among the “Best of the Best” by Instore Magazine. Well known for his ability to showcase gemstones creatively in custom pieces, he has also explored new jewelry-making techniques and trends through his articles for MJSA Journal and his papers for the Santa Fe Symposium®. He is a recipient of the Santa Fe Symposium Ambassador Award. This is Mr. Dawson’s fifth presentation at the Symposium. That’s right, no Spring Chicken…at least in terms of working closely with my clients! I’ve been designing and manufacturing jewelry for nearly 40 years now. Gary Dawson Designs is a relatively new entity, and we’re on the cutting edge with our new CAD design software, Rhinoceros and our 3D printer. But the only Spring Chickens around here are in our new batch of laying hens, just picked up today. In a few months, these babies will be producing little orbs of golden goodness…   I’ve put Motorcycles and food together before. And shortly after Allan Karl left the comfort of his home in California to journey most of the way around the world, solo, on his motorcycle, I met him in a Starbucks near the store I had at the time in Eugene, OR. Allan’s “Nom de Moto” is Worldrider, and his story has become immense. We’ve stayed in touch intermittently, mostly through his blog posts and my occasional reply or comment. But Allan is now preparing a cookbook highlighting some of his culinary adventures along the way and posted for recipe testers…enter my passion for culinary adventure! I’ve recently tested five of his recipes, with a couple more to go. Enjoy the photos and I’d highly suggest acquiring the book, due out in the fall of this year.   I’m not a huge fan of venison, but this recipe not only made it palatable, it made it really nice! I used a Malbec for the marinade.  And this dish takes its name from the Potjie, in which it is traditionally cooked…a savory beef and pork stew… Finally, Allan knows I’m a big fan of Chimichurri, an Argentine condiment that I always have in my fridge (good on most any meat, eggs, or just on a cracker for a snack!) so he let me sample his version…  Thanks Allan, for the opportunity to ride along with you for a bit!
And just to remind you, Gary Dawson Designs is up for any design adventures that you may have to share! We love our work! |
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