Challenge Your Creativity Everday

 Last fall I had a meltdown, a reawakening and a transformation all within about a week I think.  I changed my creative direction to a simpler method of assemblage.  It was fun and the items were cute, but it didn't challenge me enough.  I am not content to just put stuff together, I want to create it, from nothing, or next to nothing.

So I'm back to metal!  Who knew it would grab hold of me like super glue.  I'm pretty sure it's just in my DNA now. 

What I tried first was working with sterling silver, which I hadn't up till now mostly because it's expensive and might go wrong.  I knew I had to do it anyway.  I asked a few seasoned jewelers how to work with it and they reassured me I could do it.  OK then, and I did!  All these years I put off working with it because I was afraid of it, lol, the laugh is on me because it's not scary and in fact seemed easier to work with than copper, at least in the same medium I'd been using - which was my fail-safe.  

In the end it was a perfect piece, I listed it in my Etsy shop and it sold two days later.  This my friends, is the lesson we all need to learn:  do it anyway, whatever it is that makes your heart sing.

Challenge your creativity everyday.

Sterling silver foldform cuff.

Re-Create Yourself - Change It Up

 Recently I was in a creative funk.  Sales were down and so was my morale.  I had a choice;  give up or change it up.

Another creative friend of mine recommended a movie that I hadn't seen, it came out in 2019 I think, and I'm surprised this got past me.  Where'd You Go Bernadette?  The humorous and enlightening story of a highly creative woman who hadn't been creating and was slowly driving herself mad.  Hmm, any correlations I wondered??  

This got me to thinking about my own creative journey, of course, and it wasn't hard to understand the message that we Must create if we are creative people, driven by design, vision, innovation.  Whatever the medium is (and you may have several like I do), it's just part of our DNA, our soul, our reason for existence.  

You may be thinking my next paragraph would involve a fairy tale account of selling my home and moving to Italy (not that it hasn't occurred to me) but it was much more down to earth than that.  After a few days of self reflection (and my 67th birthday!) I decided to just change the direction of my jewelry medium.  While I Love the art and craft of foldform, it has lost it's appeal, or gone out of fashion, at least for now.  Oh I will still make and use this method, but my first directional shift is to use what I have all around me.

I live in the Olympic Mountains of the Pacific Northwest, home to rich natural resources, beautiful scenery, lush rain forests and more rivers, lakes and wild coastline than you have time to visit.  I thought, why not focus on this as my theme?
 
My new work will reflect the diversity of environments here; fish, birds, trees, mountains, etc.  While I do plan to design and manufacture my own charms and supplies within this theme at some point, I do have access to a plethora of supplies that will get me through.  

All of the adorable wildlife creatures are available in charms and pendants, PNW themed jewelry will be my goal.  I can still create with metal around this theme.

My new business name is now Olympic Jewelry Studio (formerly J Gray Design).  You'll see this in my Etsy shop and on Instagram.  

I feel good about this direction.  It feels right.

I highly encourage you to examine your lows and see where you need a change before you give up.

As always, thank you for reading this blog.

 

More Metal and New Designs

 Heading into my second year with the Port Townsend gallery and nearly a year with the second venue in Uptown.  It's been a good year but I won't be quitting my day job anytime soon.  

I made some new pieces out of bronze for the gallery and tried some new foldform designs for copper.

These two cuffs are bronze.  Harder to work with, not as flexible as copper, takes longer to heat up for the folding process, but it has a lovely warm look in the end.  A subtle gold comes through on the lines when sanded.

These two necklaces are new designs in foldform copper.  The top image has some interesting pieces of brown turquoise and tumbled citrine added.  

I'm also using a new technique for the finish.  Instead of going with whatever scale comes through after all the heating and cooling, I'm now cleaning the metal with the homemade pickle solution of vinegar and salt, giving me a clean and mostly consistent color.  I can then either heat patina or use Liver of Sulfur for the final finish. 

I reopened my Etsy shop in March of this year hoping to add more revenue for this side gig.  It hasn't generated the income I was looking for however.  Apparently the pandemic exploded the cottage industry and now the market is saturated, online anyway.  Galleries and gift shops aren't thriving again yet either, but the economy fluctuates constantly anyway.  I'm sure we'll see a return to art buying.

Meanwhile I shall shuffle along in my little studio creating, because that's what I enjoy doing.  

Marketing Art in a New Era

 We are now almost completely digitized in our communication forms, both verbally and visually.  Artists must adapt to this new way of showing and sharing our work if we want to be seen.

We are beyond blogging and newsletters, the new age wants their information fast and visual.

Recently I have been watching artists in the fields of photography, paint, sculpture, jewelry and crafts.  It appears the most successful ones are not only prolific creators, but know how to share quickly and efficiently over social media formats.  Messages are brief (if any), short, to the point presentations of stills or video, or both.  

Another quality I'm seeing is probably the only one where old school marketing still applies - don't overload your audience.  One or two posts a day will hold their attention and keep them coming back to see what you're up to. 

I've been watching a photographer I met last month on the coast, who seems to have the best formula yet.  He uses Stories in Instagram, posting almost daily with brief videos of how he's setting up a shot with a few of the finished stills.  This is brilliant as it doesn't clog up his profile or the main feed. 
Stories go away in a day, so if you teach or give workshops you're advertising your abilities but you're not giving away all your trade secrets in the feed.

To summarize, nowadays less is more.  The new attention span is short, so keep your message minimal and don't over post. 
To save time, set up your Instagram account to automatically post to your Facebook page or profile.  Minimum work, maximum exposure. 

I'm reserving my opinion of the plethora of Facebook groups there are available to share art.  I'd suggest if you also follow artists, you'll see their work there, and leave the groups for buyers.

I'll be working on a follow up post about what I think is coming for artists in 2023.  Until then, please feel free to share your marketing tips in the comments. 

Seasons of Creativity

 I created a ton of work in the early Spring and made all my deadlines for venues, let it go and put it all on autopilot, leaving the sales and marketing to the experts.

I focused my creativity on my house and yard for the Summer and found it refreshing and invigorating.  It allowed me a different way to express myself using my left brain for construction and repairs, while still using my right brain for the design aspects.

This experience was the perfect balance to my in-studio detail work, almost the complete opposite kind of creativity, working outdoors and physically moving about.  I really enjoyed this and toyed with the idea of quitting the jewelry business all together.  

Later I saw the big picture of creative expression.  Those with many interests (like myself) need to express and experience different things, trying our hand (and stretching our minds) on new projects.  Gardening can be very meditative and exhilarating at the same time.  Building and repairing can use a part of our brain that figures things out, using new tools and testing our dexterity and patience. 

The point being that perhaps different mediums have their season.  Why not, everything else does.  Look at the earth and Mother Nature, nothing is stagnant, it's always moving, changing, renewing. 
This insight has lead me to the conclusion that perhaps nothing really has to end, just change. 
It's also helped me to lighten up and not take things so seriously, it's only art, a means of expressing ourselves.  Having said that however, I would also add that we can't really live without it either, making it or looking at it.  We all need to experience art.

But I digress, I am not a writer, I am a creator of things mostly, so forgive me for rambling.  My hope is to bring other artists some insight into their own process by sharing mine.  Perhaps you are facing similar challenges, asking yourself questions about your own endeavors.  I suggest we relax, calm down, don't take it too seriously and just enjoy the journey.

When I did this I found that as summer wound down I started thinking about the studio again.  Much to my surprise I had some new design ideas flow through me, huh, well that was interesting.  Perhaps all I really needed was a little break from the studio work, some diversity to shake things up, or calm things down, what ever is needed. 

So I for one, will be looking farther ahead from now on, into the next season, the next year, but also staying in the moment of inspiration. 

Happy Creating!

Another New Venue and Exhibit

 May wrapped up to be very successful for J Gray Design!  After installing many new pieces at The Take 5 Art Gallery on Water Street in Port Townsend, I was introduced to the new owners of a beautiful vintage home decor shop in Uptown PT.  Rust & Relics Vintage carries many local artisans and offers vintage home decor as well.  So I am excited to join them there with a small collection of my Stones and Metal jewelry work.

I created these five pieces specifically for Rust & Relics Vintage, all in my signature foldform design.  The earrings are made with sterling silver ear wires.

This month I also applied for this quarter's rotating art exhibit in the next town.  Shelton is 28 miles south but within the same county.  After their jury process and city council approval, I was notified that I had been accepted to showcase my jewelry along with two other artists, from June through August.  They have displayed the pieces inside the glass case.  

All of these pieces were created for this exhibit except the two cuffs which are from my personal collection.

I'm taking a much needed break from the studio in early June but will be back creating some new designs that have been swirling around in my head.  Hopefully the next round of work will make it to the Etsy shop!  

Meanwhile if you are traveling to Port Townsend, WA. this summer, please stop in the new shops and take home a hand crafted jewelry piece from the Pacific Northwest.

New Work and a New Venue

 Last week I had a serendipitous encounter at a Port Townsend Gallery where I made an instant connection with Mara, the owner.  The conversation flowed from art to her background to her plans for the future of the gallery.  Included were plans to bring in jewelry!  This lead the conversation to my work in metal and a quick viewing of my photos.  Please note here artists, you should always have photos of your work on your phone as you never know when you'll need to show them!
She loved the work, invited me to exhibit there and we agreed I'd return in a week.

One week later to the day, I returned with new pieces I'd made especially for the gallery and a few I'd taken from my Etsy shop listings.  This made a well rounded collection and representation of the work I am producing this year in stones and metal.  

This experience is a testament to synchronicity.  Always be ready for the unexpected magic that can happen at any time!  

I met artist friends of Mara's and could see the kinship she had with them that I too felt instantly.  These are my people, artists, kindred souls.  Right away a pair of my earrings sold out of the box.  Mara went to work on plans for a display while I unpacked the items and chatted with shoppers.  I love art appreciators!  

Here are the new items that are now represented in the Take 5 Art Gallery in Port Townsend, WA on Water Street.

Please plan to visit the Take 5 Art Gallery on your next trip to Port Townsend, currently open Thursday through Sunday and 6 days a week come summer.  The gallery is a short walk from the ferry so if you come over from Seattle on the new fast ferry you can come on foot.  Take 5 is the first gallery on the right side of Water street in the Flagship Landing building.

Mara brings her knowledge and expertise from the San Francisco art scene.  Take 5 opened in June of 2021 and has grown into a magical hidden gem of quality art.

Here are some images of the fabulous space that Mara has so lovingly created at Take 5, including big name artists from the west coast and Paris!  

I hope you'll put the gallery on your destination list for the summer of 2022!