One year ago, I felt like I had lost my spirit and my sense of Spirit. I had worked so hard to find her before, and it was as if she had slipped through my fingers again. I was in a deep depression and often felt like darkness was encroaching.
As the months went by, I searched and found spirit in small moments: through moments in nature, through dance, through painting, through wrapping wire around stones. The frequency of those moments grew, fed by my desire to build a new life for myself. It was new, and at the same time, it had its roots in my childhood, when my artroom was my main playground. I decided that it was time to truly commit to my art. It was time to follow the path that I had hesitated to take time after time, thinking that I should perhaps pursue something else.
Now, a year later, I have more moments of discovery. My life is a process of seeking and finding my own spirit, and the greater Spirit around me. Art is, and has always been, a part of my life. Life is art. I seek, I lead, I create, and I follow.
When I was in late elementary school through middle school, my father dated an artist – a potter, to be specific. She made everything from teapots to bowls to rattles, all with a fanciful and semi-Southwestern flair.
I always got the feeling that she didn’t know what to do with me as an adolescent. However, she did know what to do with me as an artist.
Her studio was an artist’s playground. Of course, she had clay. She also had the materials for stained glass, jewelry making, collage, and much more. I could spend hours there creating. She also showed and taught me some things: how to make a bowl from a mold. How to solder stain glass together. How to make earrings with beads and headpins.
Earring I made, age 12
Of the techniques she taught me, jewelry making stuck with me most. I made several pairs of earrings and put them up for sale at my dad’s yoga studio. While it would be years before I would return to the basic wirewrapping techniques, they somehow stayed with me. Years, later, my boyfriend’s mother gave me a wirewrapped pendant. I loved it and wondered if I could make something like it. She gave me some copper wire to experiment with.
I didn’t until I held a piece of blue kyanite in my hand, a stone that my mentor told me would be good for psychic protection. “Are you going to wire wrap that?” She asked. I resolved to try, and used the copper wire to wrap the piece, complete with a spiral in the center. And that was my more recent beginning with playing with wire and stones.
I wrapped a few stones after that, and then resolved to really learn and refine my techniques this past fall. I took classes. I spent hours experimenting and practicing, and discovered what worked for me.
Agate Pendant I made after taking a class in February
Now, I have my own materials and a solid collection of stones. I am still learning and playing. Sometimes, I have a design in mind. At other times, the wire and stones speak to me and turn into something that surprises me.
Sometimes, I think about when I started making jewelry, how exciting and rewarding it was to create a finished piece. And honestly, it still is. It’s often the activities that I enjoyed when I was younger that suit me best now as an adult.
Quartz and Copper Pendant from March 2015
Someday, I hope to have my own studio, full of all kinds of arts and craft supplies. There, perhaps I will teach someone else a technique, and this will inspire them to create for years to come.
My first arts & craft fair yesterday was unfortunately interrupted by the weather, intense gusts of wind that threatened to topple over my entire display. Also, it was unseasonably cold for Albuquerque in May.
Necklaces and earrings display
However, I did it! I learned so much about how to prepare and what to expect. I made a few sales, too. I met other vendors and make some good connections. I need to practice setting up the table and display – I didn’t anticipate the amount of time it would take.
Necklace display
I’ve had fun gathering my display items together – I found a few pieces at yard sales, one at a discount store, and I gathered the branches from a local park. I’ve been enjoying looking at objects in a different way and imagining how I can repurpose them. I absolutely love the dish that I used to show off my rings:
Spiral ring display
While it was disappointing to have the fair end so abruptly, I’m really grateful to now have a solid inventory of jewelry. It’s been good for me to get into the rhythm of creating. I’m looking forward to future craft fairs – and hopefully, if they’re outside, the weather will cooperate.
Official launch on Etsy and Facebook!
Seeking Spirit Designs 