Wednesday, August 15, 2012

This is the Story of a Girl -

I can never remember a time when I wasn’t creating something. When I was young I took up the art of quilling after my father’s aunt showed me one of her creations. At an early age I discovered I had the ability to sketch. When I was about ten my mother sent my twin sister and me to a couple of spinsters to learn how to sew. While my sister excelled at the art, I was a complete failure. So the women taught me the art of calligraphy instead, and I was smitten. In my teens I covered flower pots with colorful patchwork fabrics, dipped wire in some goo to make flower petals, braided a rug using fabric scraps, and made string art on little nails. In high school I took four years of art, falling in love with the potter’s wheel, learning macramé, leather tooling, watercolor, batik and so much more.



So you might be wondering what got me interested in making jewelry. In 2006 my mom was invited to the home of a lady that went to our church to see her handmade jewelry. Since the woman lived quite a way down a gravel road I offered to drive mom there. I was instantly intrigued by all the wonderful stones and beads, but thought nothing of it until the woman suggested I could actually make jewelry myself. From there I took a short beading class where we learned how to crimp and make simple and wrapped loops. At the end of the class we were invited to make our own necklace. That’s it in the photo above. Yes, I’ve kept it all these years as a reminder of how far I’ve come. In 2007 I sold my first few pieces at a church show and was thrilled!

Here are photos some of my earlier pieces. You can see my photography skills were not so hot, and I’m not sure about some of those beads I purchased. At that time I had barely discovered lampwork beads, but polymer, Czech beads, resin and enamel did not come into play until a few years later. I was using cheap beads from Hobby Lobby, and a lot of gemstones.





And here are a few of my recent pieces. You can see I’m a bit better at photography, and I’ve gone just a bit beyond stringing.

Sometimes it’s good to look back, as that might be the only way we can measure how far we’ve come.

















14 comments:

Bobbie said...

What fun to learn more about your journey, and see the souvenirs from "back in the day"!

Lela said...

It's so nice to have those pics to look back on....I wish I had some of mine. It's great to see the progress! Thanks for sharing. :)

Dori said...

So fun to read your story, Alice, and see the evolution in your jewelry. We have explored many of the same medium and art forms. :) Never have been one to waste time being bored. There is just too much to try and so many things to play with!

Cyndi J said...

Love seeing the progression. I have my early pieces hanging up in my closet and I'm a little bit embarrassed by them!

TesoriTrovati said...

It is fun to see the beginning and where you have come and to see the now and where you are going. I actually like that first necklace! You had a great grasp on color and pattern. I would keep it and wear it proudly of the start of the journey! Thanks for sharing your story. Enjoy the day. Erin

VS said...

Hi Friend...
What a great post, to remember where we started helps us grow into who we can be tomorrow. The last necklace is my favorite, I love how you attached the rings with a little bit of solder, I need to try that that!!
Thanks for sharing your journey...we are very similar. I did a lot of those things in HS too...my favorite was batiking!!! :))
Hugs,
Susie

CraftyHope said...

What a great post. I always like learning about how other artists got their start. Thank you so much for sharing your story!

Islandgirl said...

I cheated I took all my photographs today... I don't actually have pictures of a lot of my early work.. as it's 10 years before my first digital camera!

Really like the chain on that last necklace!

Jennifer Cameron said...

Great post! Love seeing the very beginning and today. I can definitely see a progression, but the early jewelry was still great!

LisaS said...

Interesting work! -Nice to hear you are involved in a number of different areas. Thanks for sharing ;)

Unknown said...

This blog hop is a great idea, and I admire each and everyone who is willing to show newcomers where we have been and how far they can go.

Monique (A Half-Baked Notion) said...

Alice, I loved your story, and when you were listing all those crafts, I kept thinking, "Oh my, I had forgotten about doing such and such". It was such stroll down Memory Lane for me. I only started making jewellery at age 50. I am determined to keep my aging brain invigorated, and some day look back at my early attempts and (hopefully) marvel again. Thank you so much for your sharing spirit, Alice!

Sharyl said...

I thought it was interesting that early on you declared yourself a failure at art, but you ended up doing so many artistic things! I always said I wasn't artistic either, but there must be a little of it in me. :-)

I find too that even though you might have been using craft store beads, you had a pretty good eye for design even at the beginning...and I certainly love your more recent pieces!

Thanks so much for sharing! --Sharyl

Unknown said...

Fun post - it is neat to see the evolution in your style!