The Weight of Metal

I can't help it, I love to fabricate my work with weight. I was pricing some new work recently and when I weighed this necklace was astounded to find that it weighed in at 58.6 grams. While I could recreate this piece for a lighter version.... I love the weight of it. I love to fabricate work that feels strong and durable.... pieces that will last.

I was speaking to a friend recently who too has this problem and it got me to thinking about why I create work that is so heavy and strong when I could fabricate the work much lighter with a lower selling point. I love strength.... it's so important to me in all aspects of my life. I love the strength of who I am as an individual and I love that the things I cherish will live through the chaos such as it is in my life. The things I love I use! I wear them, sit on them, drop them, use them...... they have to be things that will fit in my life as it is. I love the scratches and the dings that resemble the love I felt for them. I have never been one to purchase an item just so I could look at it. I want the things I love to be put to use in my life. This is why I cannot justify making work that is fragile no matter how much sense it makes from a business stand point..... Of course, that got me to thinking, perhaps those who purchase my work, love the weight too!

Twilight

Sometimes you create something and for whatever reason you walk away from it. Sometimes it remains as one piece never to be thought of again.... and sometimes.... the piece calls you back.

The Twilight Collection has done just that. It kept nagging at the back of my mind until a friend finally convinced me it deserved a place in my permanent collection.

Twilight has always been my favorite time of day. The last streams of light falling silent and steadily, the shadows that deepen and the brightness of the street lamps just before night swallows us whole. In honor of my love for this hour when everything feels a bit more magical and all dreams become possible I decided to name this new collection, Twilight, as it too plays with light and dark balancing them both with an elegant edge.

Just be.

Have you ever felt like you didn't belong? Like there was something missing? As a child I always felt like an oddity even among the oddities! It's something that has frustrated me all my life. This feeling of not really belonging. A few years ago I decided to give it my best shot. I really worked hard to say and do the right things until I felt like I wasn't even sure who I was anymore. My husband kept telling me that when I reached my thirties everything would change. That something shifts ever so slightly and you stop caring about what everyone else thinks. I guess he was right because as I move into my thirties I do find that I am more willing to embrace the best and less gracious aspects of who I am. I feel more willing to allow others to see me as I am.

This is why I decided to use the tag line just be. In a climate where everyone feels the need to blend within the group I wanted to embrace those who stand a part. Whether this be the individual hidden within or the outrageous that beats to her own drum. It is the ultimate challenge as a woman to love ourselves thoroughly and with a maturity that embraces the fullness of all the many facets. Yes, I am wild and crazy, Yes, I jump headfirst, Yes, I speak my mind without thinking, Yes, I make mistakes, Yes, I have regrets, but that is me. Full of life and breath and without these I would no longer be me so I embrace them. And as I allow myself to embrace the things I wished for many years I could change I realize the best parts of me stand taller and prouder than before because Yes, I am compassionate, Yes, I love animals, Yes, I give to those in need, Yes, I stand up for what I believe in, Yes, I help others.... and the image shifts creating a full portrait of an individual I admire.

So just be is just that. be. Be full, fearless, bold, and unapologetic for all of the many dynamic qualities that make you, you and me, me. A celebration of those unwilling to change for they know that without the valleys the peaks would not be near as high.

EtsyMetal Charm Swap

It can be a lot of fun to get involved in a group project with other artists. Etsymetal, a team of fabulous metalsmiths who sell their work on Etsy, started the charm swap amongst artists last year as a way to collect great work from other EM artists. The first charm swap was a great success and featured such amazing work that a charm bracelet was fabricated featuring all of the charms and is for sell in the Etsymetal shop.

I signed up to participate in the third charm swap on EM after I got tired of being jealous of all of the wonderful work! Each artist makes 22 charms and they are sent to one person who repackages them one for each artist and mailed back out. An extra set of charms is used for the EM charm bracelet and is listed on Etsy for sale. I have already gotten a sneak preview of some of the artists charms and I'm so excited I can hardly wait!

Really, 32?

I recently had the pleasure of celebrating my 32nd birthday and I keep thinking to myself, really, 32? It's hard to imagine! Of course, the best part of turning a year older is that it means my sister is as well! The slight twinge of disappointment is always traded in for the sheer glee of giving her a harder time still.

I often look at the years as a massive map with drawn out plans for my life. Though my life rarely follows the step by step instructions I have written, it helps me to realize where I am , where I thought I would be, and where I fell short. I know it is a bit neurotic and I am trying really hard to do away with this type of thinking all together but it is a bit compulsive very much like I am.

So it is up to Theo, Kai, and Maya to remind me to celebrate my youth (however fleeting)! There is always time for a long walk in the woods, a game of fetch, an extra cookie! So here is to 32, and really, it doesn't feel that different than 31!

Telling a Story

Last year I went to an emerging artist program for the Buyers Market of American Craft. One of the speakers emphasized the importance artists needed to place on telling a story. I spent a lot of time thinking about this and when given the opportunity to walk the floor I saw an artist who did it in such a way that though I did not need what he was selling, I wanted one. I wanted to be a part of his story and his vision. It was igniting and I felt like I grasped what they meant.

Since coming home, i have spent a lot of time thinking about my story. Allowing the random thoughts that jumble around in my head to be sorted into cohesive sentences and thoughts. It has really helped me to strengthen my vision and has stimulated an understanding of my collection that I had not realized previously.

After developing the story for each of my lines I couldn't contain my enthusiasm in sharing it with others. I told the story to each retail gallery and became fascinated with the changes in their facial expressions as they too became caught up in the idea behind the collection. Once I gave the collections an idea and allowed everyone to share in it's roots I was able to allow them to connect on a level usually only experienced by the artist. Previously only I was allowed to experience both the tangible and intangible merits of each piece and only I was able to enjoy the spiritual side of what I had created. By sharing the story with them I felt it truly gave meaning to the concept of art jewelry for now they could appreciate both fully.

So though they call this process, telling a story, I think it is better described as sharing the story.

Cobblestone...

There is something about coming upon a cobblestone path that excites and enchants me. A feeling of mystery steep with historic sentiment that fills my soul. When I first visited London at 21 I became positive that if there are past lives... then I must have lived in it's cold, breathless, city. A connection. I felt in awe of the city's history and enraptured with the ancient bold and beautiful amongst the modern cold and colorful, a beautiful combination.

I feel so much like the city of London. A desire for the old and ancient, a memory long and sharp, and an awakening for all the new that has not yet emerged. A twisted personal desire to stand in both time frames at once. One foot steadily held in the wisdom of the past and one looking forward to a brave new world. An oxymoron if one exists but one I delight in.

I love the idea that I have left a footprint on the world. Everywhere I have been shares a small almost untraceable stain of my energy. I feel this energy when I walk on the surfaces of the earth. Who has come before me and what did they do? Where were they going and how did they feel? I am amazed at my own imaginations ability to construct images of a time before I. Even more striking though is walking upon a cobblestone surface. Knowing that history is etched in the footprints of those long gone but still very much alive. Have my footsteps crossed the traces of historic figures I admire? Did I gain just a bit of their energy as I passed the threshold?