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Post by stephan on Oct 25, 2018 22:50:23 GMT -5
I have found myself making more freeforms than symmetrical shapes, and I started to wonder why. Here's what I came up with:
1. Ovals and circles are boring. As a Safety Engineer, my work life is defined by rules. When I cab, I want to let the creative juices flow
2. While #1 is partially true, what it also means is: I suck at symmetrical shapes. If you make an oops with a freeform, no one will ever know. With an oval, it's painfully obvious. why not start off easy.
3. Freeforms are a great way to rescue an "80 grit oops" when I forget about reason #2. "Um, yeah. I meant to do that."
4. Freeforms are the only way to rescue broken cabs. A number of times friends have brought me cabs that they dropped and asked me to fix them. With pieces missing. They got new shapes.
5. Freeforms are great for working with small rough. Minimal cuts. Minimal waste. Especially when said small rough sells by the gram. Ouch.
6. Freeforms are great for fractured slabs. I distinctly remember when I was first learning to cab at the Sacramento Gem and Mineral Society. The club had given me a small sab of jasper to work on. I proudly showed the shop foreman the slab with all my templates drawn. He pointed out that each one had a fracture running through it. He said, "let me show you something," and proceeded to drop the slab onto the concrete floor. It broke into 5 pieces. He said, "there are your pre-forms."
7. Freeforms are a great way to deal with punky or uninteresting matrix.
8. Assymetry really does appeal to me. The is a wabi-sabi element to it.
Why do you like making freeforms? Or not?
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Post by Pat on Oct 25, 2018 23:25:46 GMT -5
Agree. Freeforms are freeing.
I also like circles and rectangles.
No ovals here.
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 25, 2018 23:42:07 GMT -5
I like more triangular shapes but freeform a lot of my stones this way.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,816
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Post by gemfeller on Oct 25, 2018 23:47:23 GMT -5
With me it depends on the nature of the rough and the ultimate purpose cab will have. I'm pretty good at cutting calibrated shapes and I often cut small ovals, antique cushion, rectangular shapes etc. to fit a particular setting.
My main reason for cutting freeforms is to be able to choose the best and most interesting patterns in a given slab. I often cut a single stone from a slab to capture the best, most colorful, most interesting pattern. A lot depends on the size of patterns as well: big patterns, big cabs whatever shape; small patterns, smaller cabs both symmetrical and freeform.
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Post by stephan on Oct 26, 2018 0:39:13 GMT -5
I like more triangular shapes but freeform a lot of my stones this way. Yep. If I'm going to do a symmetrical shape, it's often a shield-shape, which is sort of a rounded triangle(ish?), I guess. I also like irregular, assymetrical triangles when I do free-forms. A strong shape. I guess I picked that up from composing photos.
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Post by stephan on Oct 26, 2018 0:40:57 GMT -5
With me it depends on the nature of the rough and the ultimate purpose cab will have. I'm pretty good at cutting calibrated shapes and I often cut small ovals, antique cushion, rectangular shapes etc. to fit a particular setting. My main reason for cutting freeforms is to be able to choose the best and most interesting patterns in a given slab. I often cut a single stone from a slab to capture the best, most colorful, most interesting pattern. A lot depends on the size of patterns as well: big patterns, big cabs whatever shape; small patterns, smaller cabs both symmetrical and freeform. The nature of the rough/slab does have a lot to do with it. Patterns. Fractures. Pitting. Picking up an interesting vug....
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Post by stephan on Oct 26, 2018 0:45:42 GMT -5
Agree. Freeforms are freeing. I also like circles and rectangles. No ovals here. This thread is now reminding me of something from work. There is a personality test they give called psychogeometrics. It gives your personality as a shape (circle, square, triangle, rectangle or squiggle). It's supposed to teach people how to interact with different personality types by knowing their shape(s). Sounds hokey, but for the most part, it describes people well. Almost eerily so. I'm a rectangle (deals well with change) and a bit of squiggle (creative).
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Post by pauls on Oct 26, 2018 4:53:53 GMT -5
I never do a calibrated shape from a template, I always let the stone guide what it's going to be. I do ovals fairly regularly because the Agate nodules I work with tend to be that shape but the size of the oval is dictated by whatever it takes to get the best out of the stone. Anything with a crack or dirty spot becomes whatever shape it needs to be to be without the blemish, often the blemish free shape needs to be fiddled a bit so it doesn't look ugly lumpy.
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bitterbrook
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Always remember STEP NUMBER ONE!
Member since September 2006
Posts: 99
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Post by bitterbrook on Oct 26, 2018 5:40:18 GMT -5
Absolutely.
Freeforming is an invaluable tool. It lets (as Rain Silverhawk related to me years ago) the rock tell you what to do with it.
My only difference with stephan is that I enjoy making symmetrical freeform cabochons as well. Good eye-hand coordination practice for this aging lapidary.
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Post by opalpyrexia on Oct 26, 2018 9:44:43 GMT -5
I like symmetry as much as anyone, but give me a freeform when I'm making jewelry and I can really get creative. Those odd angles, strange curves, and mismatched dimensions provide much more creative potential.
If you've got a fantastic symmetrical stone (or fantastic asymmetrical) why not just put a bail on it and call it good. It can be the hero and it may not need supporting metal or stones. But I think that my best work has been done with freeforms.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Oct 26, 2018 9:58:48 GMT -5
I do both, but I'm more inclined to do freeforms more than symmetrical forms because I suck at it. It takes a lot of work for me to get an oval "perfect". I do love shield shapes, though. They appeal to me and I do a lot of them.
Vince on the other hand can cut a calibrated shape without using a template. Honks me off.
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Oct 26, 2018 11:40:19 GMT -5
I can relate to just about everything all the free-formers wrote. I'd only add that I enjoy the eye appeal from the angles and curves.
Michael
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Post by stephan on Oct 26, 2018 13:40:42 GMT -5
I like symmetry as much as anyone, but give me a freeform when I'm making jewelry and I can really get creative. Those odd angles, strange curves, and mismatched dimensions provide much more creative potential. If you've got a fantastic symmetrical stone (or fantastic asymmetrical) why not just put a bail on it and call it good. It can be the hero and it may not need supporting metal or stones. But I think that my best work has been done with freeforms. One day, I'd like to learn wire-wrapping for stones not conducive to being glued to a bail. I would definitely keep it as basic as possible, though. I always like the stone to be the focal point. Currently, I am exclusively using beavertail tabs as bails.
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Post by stephan on Oct 26, 2018 13:42:41 GMT -5
I do both, but I'm more inclined to do freeforms more than symmetrical forms because I suck at it. It takes a lot of work for me to get an oval "perfect". I do love shield shapes, though. They appeal to me and I do a lot of them.
Vince on the other hand can cut a calibrated shape without using a template. Honks me off. I do like to make shield-shapes as well. It's back to the triangle shapes vegasjames mentioned. Sometimes they are asymmetrical as well.
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 26, 2018 13:48:16 GMT -5
I do both and I like each for different reasons. I agree that the freeforms are more creative to work with. For really expensive slabs though, I like to use templates to mark out the most cabs from the slab. I start with the money shot and then work around it.
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Post by stardiamond on Oct 26, 2018 15:07:05 GMT -5
I also suck at rounded or oval shapes. I prefer to find a scene and frame it with a symmetrical shape. When the scene can't be framed with a symmetrical shape, I'll cut a freeform. Freeforms are also good for rescue jobs when the cab fractures or unattractive feature appears; like a vug or a scuzzy area.
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Oct 26, 2018 21:33:21 GMT -5
I have found myself making more freeforms than symmetrical shapes, and I started to wonder why. Here's what I came up with: Why do you like making freeforms? Or not?
1) I like to get the maximum size of cab from the material without using fillers 2) I do this to relax and find that winging it by making free forms is more fun (for me)
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Post by socalagatehound on Oct 26, 2018 22:30:40 GMT -5
I like whatever the rock will allow me to do, or what makes the best looking cab in that slab. I kind of follow Tela"s idea, but I often never get more than a couple of the cabs made that I mark out, then I move on to something else. Creates bins of marked up leftover slabbettes. Plus, somehow, my symmetry always goes away somewhere in the cabbing process, even on the attempts at symmetry...LOL!
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Post by stephan on Oct 26, 2018 22:35:53 GMT -5
Plus, somehow, my symmetry always goes away somewhere in the cabbing process, even on the attempts at symmetry...LOL! Indeed!
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Oct 27, 2018 10:46:13 GMT -5
I have found myself making more freeforms than symmetrical shapes, and I started to wonder why. Here's what I came up with: 1. Ovals and circles are boring. As a Safety Engineer, my work life is defined by rules. When I cab, I want to let the creative juices flow 2. While #1 is partially true, what it also means is: I suck at symmetrical shapes. If you make an oops with a freeform, no one will ever know. With an oval, it's painfully obvious. why not start off easy.
3. Freeforms are a great way to rescue an "80 grit oops" when I forget about reason #2. "Um, yeah. I meant to do that." 4. Freeforms are the only way to rescue broken cabs. A number of times friends have brought me cabs that they dropped and asked me to fix them. With pieces missing. They got new shapes. 5. Freeforms are great for working with small rough. Minimal cuts. Minimal waste. Especially when said small rough sells by the gram. Ouch. 6. Freeforms are great for fractured slabs. I distinctly remember when I was first learning to cab at the Sacramento Gem and Mineral Society. The club had given me a small sab of jasper to work on. I proudly showed the shop foreman the slab with all my templates drawn. He pointed out that each one had a fracture running through it. He said, "let me show you something," and proceeded to drop the slab onto the concrete floor. It broke into 5 pieces. He said, "there are your pre-forms." 7. Freeforms are a great way to deal with punky or uninteresting matrix. 8. Assymetry really does appeal to me. The is a wabi-sabi element to it.
Why do you like making freeforms? Or not?
This is an interesting post. I also prefer freeforms over calibrated cabs, mostly for the reasons you mention above. Your #6 above reminds me of what my Dad told me when I first started out, "Never make a cab with fractures, pits, or crystal pockets in it. It will be worthless if you do." I've pretty-much complied with his counselling except for a vug now and then. So, avoiding those areas led me to preforms which is about all I do nowadays. I used to buy mountings from Greigers, and of course they were all for calibrated cabs, so that's what I did. I can now wire wrap and do a little silversmithing, so calibrated cabs are no longer needed.
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