Oh there has been some hard work being done around these parts: I am learning how fun and liberating it can be to make small pairs of earrings: gentle little pretties - I think I've made 20 pairs of varying degree of complexity this weekend.
I also finished two ring designs that were started around the same time as the leaf ring - I wanted to make intricate sprout rings with monochromatic stones, and since I have over one thousand said rocks, I knew I had the perfect combinations.
What I didn't know was how their completion would make me feel:
I see in them my own unique creative voice: sprouts, flattened granules, cutouts and bezels combined in a way that feels unique to my hands and my mind.
It took a very long time to get here.
It took near alienation from beloved friends when I stepped too close to their designs on my epic journey to authenticity, took fumbling hundreds of hours and wasting metric tons of silver
in melting accidents and a big bushel of that sinking feeling you get in your belly when something fails.
There have been a ton of failures and yet somehow a million victories.
All the design ideas I hold near to my heart came at various times when driving, walking, showering or going to sleep, which is when the best songs have always come to be written, so I knew them to be of my heart and of His.
Anything we've done has always been done before and will always be done again, but with each creative birth I think God delights in us and with us:
a good sermon
a wonderful necklace
a baby
that first knitted scarf
The Great American Novel
some really good Plum, Grape or Raspberry Jam (yes, in capital letters, Michelle and Jillian!!!)
a small company
a song
bread
a dinner party...
When I finished the Boulder Opal Ring (the blue of the two) and set it reverently next to its sister (Rhodonite and Peruvian Pink Opal) I burst into tears of such joy and such relief:
I got here.
I arrived at this place.
I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings!!!
These two rings will be listed in the Metal Shop on Monday sometime in the morning Pacific Time - the Pink is a size 7 and the Blue is a size 9.5.
I am so grateful for them, and for the inspiration to have been able to create them.
6 comments:
Your words always speak to me so. We learn, sometimes first through emulation, with help in the form of inspiration from others before we dig deeper and find our own voice. You, make a joyful noise.
Wow, what you wrote are some things I have been thinking lately. I think I need to bounce myself back up. How inspiring are your words. And those pieces, I absolutley would not know where to begin to capture there beauty with words.
Sooooooooooo beautifull!!!
So pure and so unique.
xo S.
ps ~ the cuff is working!!!
Oh, these rings have something so special, each will make someone happy for so many years. The swirls, cut-outs, and sprouts capture the ups and downs of a journey beautifully. Vibrant, moving, fabulous!!!
So you, even though I only know you through your own eyes and descriptions...
xx
Aw, this made me teary. I know exactly how you feel - my work feels more like me every day, and it's amazing! It's still so hard to say, to the internet at large, 'I love this piece, isn't it amazing?!', but reading your blog and a few others is helping me get there.
Thanks. You're great.
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