Salad Days

I feel like I have entered into the magic period in life they call  "Salad Days". That magical place where good fortune seems abundant. My studio business is five years old, and I have reached the point where I can finally clear all debt. I have plenty of merchandise, and money in the bank to grow. It is unbelievable that I started my business at the beginning of " the great recession" and have any notion that I can continue in business at all!

 I have more custom work in my day job than I can figure out how to do. While normally that would be a source of great anxiety to me, we've added an employee who works in CAD. She is the greatest partner I could have ever asked for. Her ability to interpret designs and create models is a huge gift that frees me from much of the tedious work at the bench. She is talented and patient not to mention a pleasure to know. It makes that part of my life much more pleasurable.

As if all those things don't make life joyful enough, there is more! I have just  received confirmation that I will be giving a stone setting workshop at the Columbus College of Art and Design in April. With all I am busy with in life, I'm sure there are those that don't understand why I would want to add more. There is  something special about sharing information and helping others to grow. I've visited the college on two occasions to give critiques for the competition hosted by the Diamond Cellar. On both occasion I have found inspiration from the creative energy of these young artist that has helped me to return to my own work with a fresh point of view. I am looking forward to giving these students another skill set in their arsenal to grow in their own creativity! I look forward to this being something I can do with regularity, and hope that the process will help to give me open eyes were my own designs are concerned even as my experience can help others in their work.

Spring seems to be determined to come early this year and the awakening completely matches my mood.
After years of worry that the economy brought, and doubts as to how I would find success on my chosen career path, I feel like the winter is ending. The birds are singing, and the flowers are coming up! Welcome Salad Days! I love you!

Why DO I do what I do for a living?

I know most people can relate to the question "Why DO I do this for a living?". It's inevitable that we reach that point where one more straw and the camel's back will break. That's the last week of my life working on this bracelet in fifteen minute increments, between interruptions, as the due date loomed closer and closer!

I pride myself on my flexibility with people and keeping a positive attitude while I'm working, but as the deadline approached, and the inner grill to the bracelet had not arrived back from the caster, I could see my calm slip away. Then the nights that I couldn't sleep through started. When I did sleep the dreams were epic searches to find the one class I've missed all semester, or my locker in high school ( the last place I'd ever want to be again), or some crazy work dream where nothing is going right and I'm sitting naked at my bench. I got to the point, when I was remaking the catch for the third time (it should be easy, I've made a million!), and someone wanted me to drop everything to look at something for them, that I started thinking "I cannot stand this another second"!

Happily, I finished the bracelet today. The catch works perfectly... the grill installed beautifully...the opal set easily, and  it polished up to perfection! As I cleaned the bracelet off after polish and held it complete, it was no longer the difficult bits and pieces that needed to be fabricated and assembled. It was it's own complete object, whole and beautiful. It didn't reflect the struggle or worry that had brought it into it's own. I chatted with a few people about it, called the client to arrange for shipping, and started to relax again.

So this is why I do what I do. Because I am a maker of things, at the end of every project I have something tangible, durable, and beautiful to show for the efforts I have made.

Connections

I've been accused for many years of being a person who over analyzes things. It's true and I have no problem owning it. It comes from being an introvert and the feeling of always being an "outsider". Why
am I not comfortable in that group where everyone else is relaxed, laughing, and grooving on the collective vibe? It's just how I am, and at 47 it's probably not going to change!
   Last night while working in my shop with a friend, she asked me if I was familiar with the music she was playing. I wasn't, but thought it was pretty. The conversation continued with her asking what I do listen to. (This is where the over analyzing comes in.) So, I started listing the artists that I enjoy most. I am most drawn to singer/ songwriter music, often with a folk, bluegrass feel to them. I love the way my favorite artists craft the words. They have a turn of phrase that makes me stop and say "good line". Definitely, without the music behind, the words are poetry!
  I also find I am drawn to the subject that the artist is speaking of. Iris Dement is one of my favorites, as she write songs about her life, how she relates to the process of aging and changing, loss of parents, working and balancing life. Her work speaks to the reality of my own life. Ten years ago I was working in my studio listening to her song that expressed the sorrow of her fathers impending passing. I was wrestling with my own fathers illness, and looking for the strength to become his kidney donor. She, like a dear best friend, helped me make the choice, through her song! I'll never be able to thank her, but I'll always love her for her words!
   To me, this is art at it's very finest. I love a song, a book, a painting that lifts that veil of separation, and let's us see we are all the same. We all have the same needs, suffer the same losses, lose our youth, and move on to the next sphere.

The Whole Life

I just returned from vacation. I recommend it highly to everyone. There is nothing better than stepping out of our normal surroundings and daily life to rest, reflect, and recharge. Crucial, especially for those of us who are dependent on our creativity for our living.

I have to say that even as I had stepped away from my daily life, I didn't really completely stop working. I had a good giggle when one of my co-workers had sent me an email, then chastised me for my prompt response, telling me to stop working! I know that for many people it is easy to compartmentalize their lives, for me that has never been the case. Life, work, play, friends, family all blend together for me into what I think of as a whole. The ideas for some of my favorite designs come to me when I'm far away from my bench! I am looking forward to sitting down at my bench to bring  to life the scribbles I added to my sketch book while I sat on the beach and watched the pelicans in their follow the leader game!

Collaboration

My work as a custom jeweler offers me the opportunity to go where my imagination may not naturally go on it's own. It is a unique collaboration where a person entrusts me with their collected gems and dreams of a one-of-a-kind heirloom piece.

My most recently completed project was a particular joy for me to create. The client is a lovely lady who I've enjoyed a warm relationship with for years. We share a passion for beautiful jewelry and have enjoyed exploring the latest fashions in the cases of The Diamond Cellar.

Her visit to the store one afternoon this summer was the beginning of this most enjoyable project. She arrived, as many customers do, with a sandwich bag of old rings and half pairs of long forgotten earrings set with sapphires and diamonds. She had seen some vintage style jewelry in a recent fashion magazine and had fallen in love with the idea of a "spray" brooch.

I would never have thought to create a brooch because they have not been a much requested item, but think they are fabulous. They can add great drama to an outfit! It was a lively conversation and a quick game of "tic, tac, toe" where we drew out rough sketches to make sure we were on the same page. From the notes I made that day, I made a formal rendering to scale, giving her a solid view of what I was planning.

I loved the whimsy of the curving lines and the challenge of organizing the mismatched gems. I loved designing an object that reflected the richness of a bygone era. Best of all was the response last week from my client when she came in for the final unveiling. There is no question that we worked together to create this beautiful brooch and without her as the catalyst I'd have never had the opportunity to walk that path!

This Creative Brain

It's not unusual to find myself in the middle of the night, wide awake. At times, it's the effect of too much caffeine, or wine. In those cases I wake up and I know immediately that I am paying the price for too much fun. This night is different. Sleep has been interrupted by the crazy, creative mind. It's like auto pilot that won't shut off!

At 1:00 I woke up and remembered I had received notice of acceptance to attend my first trade show in Las Vegas. I had the typical range of emotions to doing something totally new and out of my comfort range, from excitement to terror! I thought about the conversation I had with the producer of the show about booth display, and that was really all it took. I've been building my booth display in my head now for four hours! The robins are starting to sing, and I have a million ideas about how to best display jewelry, to entice buyers into my booth. If only Joanne Fabrics was open right now. I could use all this creative energy and build it immediately before I am scheduled to arrive at work at 9:00.

The irony is that my brain is rarely in sync with the clock or the calendar. When I am working at the store, my brain wants to be in the studio creating. When I am in my studio, I have to wrestle my brain away from the due dates and responsibilities at the store. Somewhere

in between lie the grocery shopping list and the bills to pay. Oh to be able to head over to the Container Store to find the perfect filing organizing system and install it to organize all thoughts to the appropriate place and time!

Inspiration

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.