Why I love making Jewelry

I often get asked what exactly it is that I love so much about making jewelry. And the answer is both hard and simple.

Partially I love it because I'm good at it. My whole life I've been drawn to creative pursuits. I've tried drawing, painting, calligraphy, clay, sewing, flower arranging, knitting, crochet, singing, dancing, piano, hand bells, writing, acting, all manner of crafts, etc etc etc. And some things I was good at, some things I wasn't so good at. Somethings I was good at if I worked VERY hard at it. But nothing was completely natural. And most things I was only good at parroting other peoples good ideas. I can play a beautiful piece of music well on the piano but I could never create my own no matter how hard I tried. I've seen people who can't even read music, sit down to a piano and the notes seem to just flow from their hands into beautiful melodies.

And it frustrated me. I was decent at most of the visual arts, but nothing ever came close to the picture in my head. And that too was frustrating. I can sing moderately well but I've never had the voice to do the music justice. And I am rarely capable of writing lyrics that don't suck.

It was frustrating. I had the soul of an artist with none of the talent.

I love jewelry. I've always loved jewelry. I have been all about the sparkly objects for as long as I can remember. Even as a little girl I was all about my bling.

And then I was on my mission in 2003 and went with an investigator to an activity where I was taught how to make a bracelet. It was just a simple stringing job but it was beautiful and so much fun. And it was an absolute revelation. After that I had a hard time buying jewelry from the stores b/c I'd look at how it was made and go "I can SO make that!".

So when the opportunity presented itself to join Kathleen and Lynn and I finally got to sit and just CREATE, the experience was life changing. For the first time ever my art finally matched the picture in my head. In fact it was often even better than the image in my mind. The delight was tangible. I could so do this and it was EASY. It just flows.

I can make beautiful, wearable art and I relish every minute of it.

And I've always been a kudos person. I will work like a squirrel after the last nut on earth to get kudos from other people. Jewelry gets me LOTS of kudos which is just the icing on the cake for me. I've had so many problems with low self esteem in my life that having something that gives me amazing levels of positives is just... wonderful.

Even if I can't make jewelry as a profession I will make jewelry for the rest of my life b/c I love it. Its a passion, obsession, love affair and a real joy.

On one other level, I like jewelry b/c I don't get bored with it. There are always new techniques to learn. I can geek out learning all the properties and applications of a new material we're using. I learn the compositions of the metals, their different qualities and why they are alloyed the way they are. I get a new idea and make version 1. Usually while I"m making version 1, I get ideas for alternate versions and I make 3 or 4 more (or more) until I've tried every possible combination and I get bored. Then I move on to my next design. And the possibilities are endless. I get bored VERY easily which is why this is such a big deal for me.

So I'm good at it, I dont' have to fight for it, it just flows naturally and gets my creative mojo out. I get lots of kudos. And I can't get bored. What is NOT to love about this?