The reason behind the name. // An origin story.
Why is the jewelry line called GRAMMAR?
No, I'm not, nor was I, an english teacher (although I was an art teacher in a past life) and I don't have an obsession with the system and structure of written language. Well… a different sort of obsession… Let me explain.
What does grammar have to do with jewelry???
You see... there is a ‘language’ in our visual world, a ‘visual grammar’ of sorts. It’s a system of structures and patterns that form another way to communicate through what we see. In the art & design world, we study governing elements and principles and how they are organized to produce good design. Things like, line, shape, texture, form, balance, pattern and movement. It gets more complex, but we’ll save that lesson for another day!
Communication is important. We know this. It’s how we relate to one another and communicate who we are, what our interests are and what we stand for as an individual. This idea is extremely important to the mission of GRAMMAR, because how we choose to adorn ourselves, communicates something about our inner selves.
History behind the name GRAMMAR: Picture this (cue the voice of Sophia from Golden Girls), it’s 2003. I’m studying fine art at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and one of my focus areas was jewelry design. A professor introduced a book called, The Grammar of Ornament, by Owen Jones (1856). The book is a beautifully illustrated study of design & pattern from various cultures, which opened my eyes to the idea that grammar is not limited to spoken and written word. The author was an influential architect, designer and design theorist from the Victorian era. After being introduced to the book, I decided that I'd call my jewelry line grammar. It only took 15 years later to get there...
The book is a staple in my home.
More Resources for ‘Visual Grammar’
Medium.com - Visual Grammar, Shashank Sharma (2018)
The Basic Elements & Principles of Art
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