My Design Themes
Sometimes inspiration comes of its own accord - maybe a shape that I've seen or just an idle thought (a G&T can help). Sometimes a design will evolve around the shape of a particular stone. But there are two themes that I keep returning to as a source of inspiration: "Silver" and "Kiss". Both have turned out to be fertile starting points for designs; kiss especially.
There are lots of expressions and quotations that refer to this simple act of human expression. We kiss our children, parents, friends, spouses and (or?) lovers; we kiss on the lips, the cheeks, the air, the hand, the ring. We kiss hello, goodbye, thank you, and I love you; we kiss with passion, tenderness, joy and sorrow; we...... well, you get the idea.
It is surprising where
taking one of these expressions as a starting point can lead.
Even one as potentially beautiful as the "the
Kiss of Life" can result in something potentially quite
macabre. Or
how about "We used to kiss on the lips, but it's all over now"? -
title of a song by someone called Cheryl, apparently. Made me
laugh, anyway (but I'm still working on a design based on it).
You can see the "Kiss" pieces that I have made so far by starting at the "Browse by Theme" page.
You'll also see a couple of items to the theme of "Silver Machine". That's the beginning of another thread of work taking expressions with the word "Silver" in them (silver fox, shadow, phantom etc) as inspiration for a range of men's jewellery. More to come on that.
Anyhow, as a bit of fun, here is a list of the kiss expressions and quotations that I have come up with so far. Feel free to chip in with some of your own. And, if any really catch your imagination, you could always commission something.
Kiss Expressions
(Many of these will actually be quotations, of course, but they have entered our language anyway)
Air kiss
A butterfly kissFrench Kiss
A Glasgow Kiss
Kiss (the band)
K.I.S.S
The Kiss
Kiss away the tears
Kiss chase
Kiss curls
Kiss it goodbye
Kiss me Hardy
Kiss me quick, hold me tight/close
A kiss moon
Kiss my arse
The kiss of life
The kiss of death
Kiss the Blarney stone
A kiss under the mistletoe
Kiss off the red (black, blue, green etc)
The kissing game
A kissing gate
The long kiss goodbye
My first kiss
A stolen kiss
Sun-kissed
Sweet 16, and never been kissed
Kiss Quotations - Songs
(Well, the potential list is just about endless, but here are some that caught my eye.)
9 for a Kiss (Magpie)
Aye fond kiss
Blow me a kiss ('cos that's lucky, too)
Huggin' and a kissin' with Fred
Save all your kisses for me
Teardrops Will Kiss The Morning Dew (Alison Krauss/Paul Craft)
Three words, two hearts, one kiss (song by Billy Gilman)
We used to kiss on the lips, but its all over now.
Kiss Quotations - Literature
(Literature? Well, maybe; but not all highbrow stuff
Always kiss your children goodnight, even if they're already asleep" (H. Jackson Brown, Jr. American best selling writer, author of Life's Little Instruction Book)
The soul that can speak through the eyes, can also kiss with a gaze. Gustav Adolfo Becquer
All the legislation in the world will not abolish kissing. Elinor Glyn
A kiss may ruin a human life. Oscar Wilde
The sick do not ask if the hand that smoothes their pillow is pure, nor the dying care if the lips that touch their brow have known the kiss of sin. Oscar Wilde
It takes a lot of experience for a girl to kiss like a beginner.
If you are ever in doubt as to whether to kiss a pretty girl, always give her the benefit of the doubt. Thomas Carlyle
Who ran to help me when I fell, And would some pretty story tell, Or kiss the place to make it well? My mother. Ann Taylor (English Author She wrote, with sister Jane, Original Poems for Infant Minds (1804), 1782-1866)
Words are a wonderful form of communication, but they will never replace kisses and punches. Ashleigh Brilliant (English Author and Cartoonist, b.1933)
When women kiss, it always reminds one of prizefighters shaking hands. Henry Louis Mencken
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss. Christopher Marlowe
O innocent victims of Cupid, Remember this terse little verse: To let a fool kiss you is stupid, To let a kiss fool you is worse. E. Y. Harburg quotes (American Lyricist, Librettist and Song Writer, 1896-1981).
Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a teardrop.
For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul. Judy Garland.
Her kisses left something to be desired - the rest of her.
Will you love me in December as you do in May, Will you love me in the good old fashioned way? When my hair has all turned gray, Will you kiss me then and say, That you love me in December as you do in May? BaylorBound James Walker
A man loses his sense of direction after four drinks; a woman loses hers after four kisses. Henry Louis Mencken