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.  

Anatomy of Creating

 As I finished up a jewelry piece the other day I wondered how it came to be created.  Sometimes I start out with something in my mind and it happens, or it develops on its own based on my intuition about it.  The latter is usually the case.  They just create themselves.  I am only the hands that try to work as fast as the ideas come.  

I believe the state of mind is called "the zone", a place where runners, musicians and artists often are.  Time flies, in fact we're not even thinking about time, we're too deeply connected to the task of creating.  

I love taking photos for the same results, I'm just guided by the scene.  In jewelry it's a little more hands on than seeing through the lens, and there are also other things to consider, like textures, weight, and materials. 

 Jewelry pieces can take days, even weeks to create.  I may find the muse has gone and have to leave it on the workbench until I'm inspired again, but it never disappoints me as I'll come back and finish with the same enthusiasm.  Sometimes I'll see it in my head first, or get an idea as I'm first waking up - or going to sleep.  That's another thing, we're obsessed with our art!  

Anyone who considers themselves an artist at any medium, knows the passion and obsession that drives us to create.  We - just - can't - help - it!  It's in us, in our core.  Nothing can remove it from us.

I tried working jobs when I was younger that were behind a desk or in a shop or factory, but the mundane routine drove me mad!  Even now I struggle a bit to get to work and perform the tasks - but I am self employed, it's my own business and I have much more flexibility than those other "jobs".  I'm also very active at work, so the time flies by.

Sometimes I worry I haven't made enough money, but honestly, I'd be dead had I worked behind a desk!  Fulfillment is far more important to me than money.  As long as I can pay the bills and have time to create, I'm completely satisfied.

I don't know where the muse comes from, if it's outside of me or part of me, it is indeed a mystery, but I am grateful for its presence in my life.