Silence and Solitude

I find it hard to begin to write and I am never sure how to start this blog.  So I just sit in silence and tune into the sounds in my new apartment.  The wind is strong tonight causing my window to shake I know that the cold frigid air is near.  My bench is quite tonight as I contemplate and look over my latest designs.  I feel the smoothness of the freshly polished silver in my hand and the glint of light reflecting in the stones.  It's moments of reflection like this when I stare at my work thinking to myself.  "Wow I actually made this." I love looking at the coils of sterling silver and other various raw materials while sitting at my bench and get excited about what these will eventually become.  

There are times when my design process is very specific with a clear idea of what I want the outcome to be.  When I create pieces that I know customers love and sell well I become a jewerly making machine.  Every thing is lined up and I create in an assembly line style.  

Then there are days when  I slow down, take the time to touch different stones laying a variety of colors and textures next to each other and then I just let go and create not knowing if it will work out, but always excited for what can happen. Like any artist I have days where I get stuck, I melt a crucial piece of metal in the last stage of a design, or I end up scrapping the idea all together and it ends up in the "pile".  But that pile of unfinished work serves a purpose too and eventually will become the catalist and spark a new idea for something beautiful.

 

 

Moving Strides

I know it has been a while since I have dedicated time to write but the past three weeks have been a whirl wind of activity.  The foremost being that I have moved!!!  I am proud to announce that I have acheived one of my lifes goals. (Before turning 40!!)  That is to reside in a live/work artists loft space.

Minneapolis happens to be the head quarters of ArtSpace  an organization that develops property into great spaces for artists to live and work.  I am excited to live with an artist community in NE Minneapolis at the Jackson Flats.

I am thrilled to be on the third floor and when the leaves fall I will gain a nice view of the down town skyline which is a nice silver lining to the fact that winter is around the corner. (Again). 

My creative space will be a work in progress.  I am still in the process of organizing my jewelers work area and I haven't begun any jewelry work just yet but will be very soon.  Meanwhile as key pieces of furniture and shelving arrive I will post more pictures of my space.  For now though you can enjoy a sneak peek of the empty space before I began making it my home. 

                                   

 

                                  

                                     

                                  

Something Blue

The clock rings at 7 am. I wake st 7:34, Stretch throw on my favorite maxi dress and a couple of pieces of jewelry and walk to the Coffee Shop NE and grab a large pecan roast to go. The car is packed with three colorful totes and my gym shoes (just in case) and I'm ready to hit the road.

I drive three and a half hours west towards Fargo ND for the annual Fargo Blues Fest, a tradition my family has kept alive since it began in 1999. Our traditional party includes my Uncle Keith whose robust laughter is contagious, my Aunt Terri, cousin Luke, my sister Robin and of course my mom and dad. Occasionally friends of mine join us for  the weekend.

One thing I can count on is my Uncle Keith's colorful "blues fest" shirt which he wears only one time a year. The second one pictured is a brand new shirt that debuted this year. Very stylish!

A day of good music is always followed up by a campfire and juicy grilled burgers or sausages by Uncle Keith. Stories and silly jokes and memories took place over cold beers and a passing bottle of Jack Daniels or Jim Beam. Over the years the drinking has become less of a social staple but the stories, and laughter never leaves the group.

This year my sister is missing from the group for understandable reasons: this adorable little man.

While I had hoped for some bonus time with my nephew and a chance to share some snarky laughs with my sister as we people- watch and vote for best shirtless beer gut. I realize that managing a 1 year old would be challenging in this environment of loud music, hot sun, and a crowd of strangers... It could be a mother’s nightmare.

But I miss my sister,  my blues fest companion, the one I can count on for sarcasm and wit, the one who will scoff at my big hat or how many shoes I packed (only three pairs this time).

Robin has been a champion supporter of my jewelry over the years. I had the honor of designing her wedding necklace. (She will likely kill me for posting this picture of her.) The necklace was a stunning multi-dangled piece of swarovski crystals. I even added a pinch of blue to the piece (her favorite color).

She is the inspiration behind my use of the color blue in my jewelry. Perhaps she was the driving force behind my bird with blue spinel stone necklace.

Recently she wore a ring that I made and loved and nearly didn’t want to sell. Yet she loved it so much and so I sold it to her, she is my sister and I love her and she deserves to rock my jewelry.

In fact she rocked my ring so well that one of her co-workers needed one for herself and I am in the process of custom making one now.

This ring design has also captivated my Facebook audience with the highest number reached in "likes" and comments.

Being at a blues  festival I can’t  help but think about how blues music moves me to create and has been  the soundtrack behind many of my pieces. While I didn't have my favorite blues fest companion with me me this year, she still  inspires my use of the color blue. Like my past beaded work pictured below I will add a little more blue to my metal work, the blue of Robin’s and my eyes, of the sea, of the sky.  

Speaking of sky, here is an image that closed a beautiful weekend with my wonderful family: a beautiful North Dakota Sunset.  

                                   

In Preparation

It has been a busy week as I have been preparing for my sale at the Mill City Farmers Market and creating a new line for the Voltage Fashion Ampliefied show at First Ave. both happening Sat. June 8th.

 This past weekend I participated in my neighborhood event known as Johnstock. It takes place on Johnson St in NE Minneapolis. There were over 40 artists and crafters selling their wares, live music and lots of activities for the kids.

I will admit I've been hesitant to look at the weather forecast for this show because lately it seems like every Saturday in Minnesota has been less then desirable with cold and rainy or god forbid cold and snowy? (Think of our early May surprise). 

So I was a bit disheartened at the news of a solid rainy, gloomy and chilly Saturday.  However, when I woke  up that morning I was stunned to see clear blue skies and sunshine. It was actually WARM out!  

Well that set the tone for a good day. I got to vend next to my friend Megan of Gold Hoax who hand etches designs on vintage glassware. You can see her work at her etsy. 

At this event I decided to try arranging my tables differently. I did this with the pretense of keeping everything in the center and out of the rain. (And it did rain!) I do like how my display worked and I plan on doing something simulation at my next Mill City Farmers Market sale this  Saturday June 8th. Again the weather promises to have some rain but I will be crossing my fingers for some much needed sunshine.

Tales from the Bench "Spinner rings"

This ring is quickly becoming a favorite of many of my customers. It begins with metal sheets and 14 kt gold filled wire. I forge the metal using traditional metal smith techniques. I texture the silver then form the ring. Next I form the bands that slide over the sterling silver base.

The gold bands I allow or be a bit organic during the forming process. Sometimes they want to have more movement with subtle waves and some designs work with a more structured straight line.

The flare to the ring band adds comfort and is smooth over the finger.

One woman told me a story she read about a spinner ring. That it can be used as a tool in meditation or to simply pause before making a decision. She said she pauses and spins the inner bands three times when in a decision making dilemma.


While this style of ring is not an original idea, I always strive to add my own unique look. I will continue to make these rings using a combination of metals and textures making each one subtly unique from the next.

Connections

A month ago I was asked to create a custom pair of necklaces based upon one of my designs. While simple in structure a lot of heart and intention went into these particular necklaces. What began as metal wire and chain was soon to become the linking symbol between two women from two different parts of the country.

One was going to adopt her first child, the other was the birth mother. I thought about both women through out the creation process. I personally knew the one adopting had gone through a lot of disappointments trying to conceive and having made the decision to adopt brought such a wave of relief upon her. However the adoption process had opened up new worries...what if the birth mother changes her mind?

I thought about the birth mother. I knew that she made the choice to place her child for adoption with the full support of her husband. They just weren't in the position to raise a child at that point in their lives. I was told that she was a positive and up beat woman who truly believed that "God brings people their children to them in many ways". I knew that the right connection was made and my friend was going to have a baby.

Jewelry is a great way to celebrate special connections like this one. I was told that the birth mother loved her necklace and so did all the nurses and those from the agency who placed the adoption.

A simple circle, representing unity and a deep connection was made.

Around that same time I was also asked to make necklaces for two sisters both names began with an 'R'.  Again I based the look of the necklace off one of my designs but I just had to make them slightly different from each other...so each sister sharing the same intitial would have their own unique piece from Aprilierre. 

Meanwhile at another trunk show I had displayed my sterling silver Asymmetrical Circle necklaces and the irregular shape making each one unique yet uniform as a whole collection attraccted one of my customers who immediately bought two of them one to wear for herself and one to send to her sister accross the country.  Again a simple but meaningful connection made and I am honored that my jewelry is becoming a piece linking these connections together.  

Aprilierre Redux

I have been working hard the past four weeks trying to squeeze in as much extra time into my studio space and build new pieces for shows.  I had three events and one spontaneous trunk show in March.  All very successful.  It's nice to come into spring feeling a renewed sense of confidence in my work and in my goals as a business.  I have decided to do a little bit of re-branding with my logo.  It was a tough decision but after spending the past two years with the vintage glamour girl as my main logo I decided it was time to change to something a bit more soft.  My work has evolved so much since the early stages of my jewelry creating.  While I will  likely use elements of vintage pieces in my work when they inspire me so much more of my jewelry has transgressed into more sterling silver and gemstone designs.

My next show is Saturday April 13th at the Mill City Museum. It is the final indoor "winter" (please be spring by then) market. The event goes from 10am until 1 pm and I promise there will be lots of new lovely spring themed pieces gracing the table.

Marching Towards Spring???

It's been an extremely long winter in Minnesota and I am looking forward to seeing green again. I wake each morning with the hopes that THIS will be the day that gets to 40 degrees. It never does. In fact it's been going quite the opposite direction and it will be below zero wind-chills tomorrow morning. (sigh) It's been a bit disheartening.

However, I have been keeping busy with my jewelry work. Every second Saturday of the month I've been participating in the Mill City Farmers Winter Indoor Market. It has been great so far. Just being around the vendors that I see every summer has helped make this prolonged winter more manageable.

Meanwhile, to combat my winter blues I have been squeezing in time at my work bench when I can and here are some of my latest designs.

The "Heart" of the matter is...

Remember how exciting Valentines day was when you were in Elementary School? A few days before this legendary mini holiday the classroom would smell of fresh cut construction paper and paste as the children excitedly assembled their shoebox which would be receiving tiny little envelopes of sweetness. (The best ones of course included the candy!)

For me the "sweetness" of Valentines day dissipated over the years. I began feeling the social pressures of finding the "one" as more and more friends of mine were married or in serious relationships combined with my general loathing of a "holiday" that at the time I felt was essentially promoted by the capitalistic retail companies. Yes indeed over the years I kept finding the concept of valentines day to be less and less appealing. I heard one radio DJ coin it as "Single Awareness Day" (SAD) that actually made me laugh.

Lately the artist in me decided to revisit the concept of "the heart". For so many years my inner motto was "I just don't DO heart jewelry". Yet at some point during my sales season I would be asked if I would do something with hearts. So for the first time I decided to give it a whirl.

A heart, is a simplistic symbol. It's one of the first things a child learns to draw, it's symmetrical and is easily cut from paper by folding it in half. It's message is equally as simple that being "love". So why had I such disdain for it? I mean my own last name has a "Hart" in it. Perhaps I should give it a second chance.

Valentines day a simple day that does drive consumerism. But really what is wrong with that? It sets aside a day to remind someone just how dear they are to you. It provides a reason to decorate a home or a class room, to create fun little crafts, to indulge in delicious chocolates and it gives an opportunity for artists (like myself) to gain a bit of business during what would normally be a slow time of year. It's fun to think that a piece of jewelry that I spent time hand crafting may become a special trinket expressing love for someone.

I decided that I wanted to design some heart jewelry but needed to express it in a unique way. First I spent time looking up ideas for "abstract hearts". However a heart can only be manipulated a couple of ways. My first design became my "eclipsed hearts" necklaces. They are two over lapping sterling silver hearts with a faceted stone.

My second design became a simple heart ring...but I wanted mine to be different. So I decided that my hearts were going to be oxidized sterling silver making them black, with a contrasting sterling silver shiny "button" soldered on to it which gives an asymmetrical look that I like.

Each heart is shaped by hand and no two will look exactly a like. Which makes the piece extra special. A unique gift for a unique person.

After making some creations that I swore I'd NEVER do I decided that I shouldn't loath Valentines day. I may not have found a special "valentine" in my life yet but that's ok. One should just focus on the positive meaning, remember how it makes a child smile, or simply enjoy a piece of chocolate and pamper your self with a little love.

"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead." Oscar Wilde

Winter Sparkle

Winter in Minnesota can be brutal at times. January is one of my least favorite months as there are no more major holidays to look forward to. Temperatures plummet and the windchill picks up. It hurts to be outside for any significant amount of time. (Gee can you guess that winter is my least favorite season?)

However being an optimistic type of person I also look for the silver lining that winter offers. That being beauty in its starkness. When the sun shines upon freshly laden snow the ground and trees become illuminated with glittering sparkles.

When I was a child I was enchanted by these tiny glittering snow crystals. I was amazed that while standing in the snow I was surrounded by millions of these sparkling wonders yet unable to pick up and hold a single one. When I was in fourth grade I had to write a story that explained something like a myth or legend. I imagined a story of how these tiny little snow sparkles came to be....

It began with a princess (as most stories do when you are a little girl). This princess of course was beautiful and was given everything she wanted. But she was not happy. She wanted to own all the diamonds in the world and begged her father the king to have everyone in the kingdom gather and bring all the diamonds in the world to her so they would only belong to her. And it was done. The princess had an entire wing of the castle with rooms and rooms filled to the top with glittering diamonds.

Then one day a young child had been sent from a nearby poor village. He approaches the princess and asked if she'd be willing to share one of the beautiful shining diamonds with his village. The people of the village were falling ill and one diamond could afford them all food.

The princess refused to part with a single diamond. And sent the child away! The next day an old woman arrived asking the same favor and again the princess sent the old woman away. Day by day she continued to send away people who begged for her to share just one single diamond. Until one day she refused a weary old man who then turned into a magic sorcerer. He was angry at her for he had given her many chances to show kindness and selflessness and yet she continued to refuse to share her diamonds.

With the wave of his wand all her diamonds swirled up into the sky creating a large sparkling cloud. The princess leaped forward in an attempt to grab the magic wand. Suddenly all the diamonds turned a bright glowing white and gently fell to the ground. She immediately began to scoop the up but each time she did so, they'd sparkle in her hands and then melt away.

The sorcerer laughed and said "Let this be a lesson to you. You will no longer be able to keep a single diamond for yourself. Instead you will share them with the world. Every time the snow falls your diamonds will appear with such grand sparkle for all to enjoy"

And that is why the winter snow sparkles.

ExperiMetal design fresh from the bench.

I was inspired to create this ring based on a ring my friend bought in Brazil. At first I was hesitant that a double ring would even be comfortable to wear but turns out it is hardly even noticeable. My first attempt I decided to make two rings. The first ring is sterling silver which I hammered and textured and filed the edges to create ridges. The second ring has sterling silver for the ring base and copper for the top. I decided to leave these both plain with just the textured metal giving it that "modern" edge.

Future designs like this one will likely involve a faceted stone or two. Regardless it will be an edgy and fun accessory to have in your ring collection.