Creative Reinvention

            Over the last couple of months, Mark and I have been working on a totally new collection of jewelry.  I love the silver spirals that we have been working with over the last few years, but after making several thousand similar pieces, it feels fantastic to transition into a completely different body of work.

            We both view the Earth as sacred and our primary inspiration, so this new collection of organic nature inspired pieces is a source of tremendous expressive satisfaction.  The reason that we got involved in art to begin with is for joy, independence and expression.  Over last year especially, we found ourselves feeling more stressed out and weighed down by our business than anything.

            2011 feels like a powerful renewal year in a lot of ways, and the new collection of jewelry really punctuates the positive transition that we have been going through.

            I really enjoy creating patinas on copper with a torch. When I heat up a piece of metal, it goes through an entire rainbow of colors over the course of a few seconds.  I am still learning the subtleties of timing and temperature, but it is very exciting to start with a solid color piece of metal and end up with such a diversity of colors and designs.  The copper has a much more organic feel than other metals that I have worked with in the past.  All metal comes from the Earth, but there is something about copper that really brings that to front and center.

            Many of the new pieces center around animals and landscapes.  Nature is the greatest teacher available, and seeing a bird fly overhead or a beautiful sunset communicates a tremendous amount of wisdom and awe at how good it is to be alive.  It is my goal to translate some of the magic from those instances into a piece of jewelry that you can keep with you all the time as a reminder of your joy, and the lessons you are going through in your life. 

            The feeling of joy and fullness that comes from growth throughout my life is one of the primary things that gets me excited about waking up every morning.  This new collection of jewelry has been a great way to connect with that joy and hopefully reach out to people who are in a similar space. 

            Often, I feel that it is unprofessional to be too human, emotional, or vulnerable while talking with customers at an art show.  I think that that fear is one thing that has really held me back from building real connections.  A lot of these pieces are inspired from that authentic human space, so it is going to be next to impossible to avoid “going there” and hopefully will be a real gift for building authenticity and connection.