These pieces were made back in August and I took them with me on my trip to Seattle in September. A few of them ended up with friends, and some of them, along with some other work, ended up at Les Amis, a beautiful boutique in Seattles Fremont neighborhood.
I've loved this shop for over 15 years, and way before I ever started making jewelry, I would go in there and drool over their jewelry case. Whenever I'm in town I drag my friends with me to go check out what's new and try on some beautiful jewelry. I always had this secret little wish, that if I ever made jewelry that I would LOVE to be in that store...And now here we are, and it feels amazing to know that something I made is sitting on those glass shelves next to artists I have admired for years. It feels "grown up" and professional, like I'm on the path, like maybe this really work out, that I'm making it happen. It's not just that my work is in that store, but that all the hours of the actual making of the jewelry, the little bits of myself I put into this whole process, the goals I have of expanding, are actually happening. There's so much emotionally invested in the process of being an artist, and I still have a hard time really calling myself an artist. For anyone who makes anything, and puts it "out there", we are also putting our feelings, our vision, our money, our time and our souls "out there" to be looked at, judged, and hopefully loved by other people. SO, when something like this happens and you cross a milestone, one you set for yourself so many years ago, one that you never really even said out loud, however small it may seem, it feels damn good.
Thanks for listening,
S
What a great post. I've been admiring your work for some time. I can relate to that exposed feeling when you show your work, and how it's so much more than your work, how you've invested 'self' into it, and that feeling of feeling good--how important that is to the creative drive.
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