Inspiration
I am often asked what inspires my work. That question stops me short every time.
The act of designing jewelry is not a direct path for me. The things I create that I
love best, are rarely the items that sell the quickest, or fit into a trend that would bring
commercial success.
The Lily of the Valley Locket I created last summer is the perfect example. It is dear to me because of the memory it evokes and the process that brought it into being. I will not set the fashion or jewelry world on fire making such items, but some things are good for the soul.
The design evolved over the course of a year. It began on a day in my studio when I was frustrated with a task I was working on. (Probably assembling the handmade catches I use in my limited edition pieces, they take extra patience!) It was a warm day in late spring. I grabbed a sketch book and went out into the garden to soothe my mood. Sitting on the stone wall in the sun, next to a bed of flowers I started to sketch what I saw. These little drawings are purely for the pleasure of observing beautiful things and translating them.
I can still remember the breeze in the hemlocks, and hear the argument that is always going on between the small red squirrels that live there and their arch enemies, the
bigger, gray squirrels who live in the gingko tree. The blue jays usually come along to add their two cents. One of the churches bells chime, signaling the time in fifteen minute intervals.
From that day I evolved a small drawing of lily of the valleys in a graphic design, with the intention of creating a print to make my own little note cards. I want to do a whole botanical series to include daffodils, irises, and bleeding hearts as well. I'll get to that one day!
Almost a year later, I found myself looking for some new thing to work on. I often thumb through old sketches and books. I knew I wanted to make a new locket. I love the special intimacy of lockets because they hold what is dearest to you inside. When I came across the drawing I had done the year before it seemed obvious a relief carving of the design I had planned for my note cards would work beautifully.
I had a professor in college who used to speak of the transcendent nature of art. At the time I really couldn't grasp his meaning. Through the process of life, I am beginning to understand. I find inspiration in the beauty of nature and the world around me. I am dazzled by the way other artists translate that beauty into images and objects. Through my own craft, I wish to translate and communicate the beauty I see.
