Creative Benefits / Creativa Beneficio

Jewelry is a luxury. 

Creating art is a privilege.

I often think about this when I am at my workbench designing a new piece of seaglass jewelry, picturing the woman who may someday wear it to work or on vacation or out to dinner.  I am lucky to earn my living creatively and I am grateful to my customers for appreciating my unique designs and quality workmanship.

The best way I can express my gratitude and celebrate this happy symbiosis is to give back to those less fortunate. With the resources I have (time and materials), I can try to make a small difference.  Most charitable organizations have a fundraiser in the form of an auction or raffle.  By creating a few extra pieces of high-end jewelry and donating them to the auctions, I can make a contribution.

One charity I am especially proud to support is The Career Wardrobe, based in my former hometown, Philadelphia.   Their organizing principle is simple and effective: help women transition to the workplace by providing professional attire and career training.  The Career Wardrobe will be hosting its annual celebrity fashion show and  auction on June 3^{rd, 2009} .

Click here for other ways to help this worthy cause: 

  

Creativa Beneficio

La joyería es un lujo.   La creación de arte es un privilegio.   

A menudo pienso sobre esto, cuando estoy en mi mesa de trabajo diseñando una nueva pieza de joyería de vidrio de mar, imaginando la mujer que algún día podría usando y llevarlo al trabajo, de vacaciones o a una cena.   Tengo la suerte de ganar mi dinero creativamente y estoy agradecida a mis clientes por apreciar mis diseños únicos y su calidad artesinal. 

La mejor manera de expresar mi gratitud y celebrar esta feliz simbiosis es cuando puedo compartir con los menos afortunados.   Con los recursos que tengo (el tiempo y los materiales), intento hacer una pequeña diferencia.   La mayoría de las organizaciones de caridad recaudan fondos en forma de subastas o sorteos.  Al crear  piezas de joyería de alta calidad y donarlas a estas subastas, puedo hacer una contribución.

Una entidad de la cual me siento especialmente orgullosa de apoyar es “The Career Wardrobe”, basada en mi ciudad natal, Filadelfia.   Su principio de organización es simple y eficaz: ayudar mujeres a conseguier trabajos darle entrenamiento y proporcionarles vestimenta adecuade.   The Career Wardrobe  llevara a cabo su  annual de fondos y desfile de moda con celebridades y subastas el 3 de junio 2009.

Para ayudar a esta noble causa, click here.

Translation assistance by Magha
Muchísimas gracias!
(any errors the responsibility of oceano)

Dead Man's Fingers

Along the shore, where others might see just a pile of dark and wet high-tide debris, I am drawn in for a better look. Up close, the heap reveals itself to be an assortment of sea and beach life - shells, crabs, pebbles, plants, sand ants, algae, leaves, bits of roots and bamboo... Most often I comb through this tangle searching for the colorful and luminescent chunks of rounded seaglass.

Yet, these remains of the ocean were so visually compelling; colorful, delicate and odd. Sea plants, rich in mythology, have long been given whimsical and romantic names; Dead Man's Fingers, Knotted Wrack, Mermaid's Locks, Boot Lace -- calling to mind everything from water nymphs to a brave ship captain lost at sea. Handling the seaweeds to examine and admire their minute details caused their delicate and fragile structure to crumble. So I began exploring ways to highlight and preserve the lacy tendrils and beautiful organic forms.



Using a molding compound, I created multidimensional impressions of the coral and fibrous algaes. The texture of the uncured compound allowed me to fully imbed the tiny plants, without breaking them. With the molds cured, I created silver replicas, capturing the true scale and accurate details. The lacy fronds of some seaweeds were too fine and thread-like to make a mold. To capture theses fronds, I rolled each onto fine silver clay. Then I re-etched the precise lines using an engraving tool, leaving behind a true representation of the original plant.

The final silver creations are formed into shapes, polished and drilled for use as a pendant. The crowning jewel, of course, is a glowing gem of natural seaglass. The pendants possess the simplicity and the complexity of the ocean and each is completely unique.






Residuos Marinos

A la orilla del mar, donde alguna gente puede ver tan sólo una pila de residuos marinos, oscuros y mojados, yo me siento atraída y la miro más cercano con detenimiento. Me cuando aceco puedo ver una amalgama de organismos del mar. Caracoles, cangrejos, piedras, plantas, hormigas de arena, algas, hojas, raíces y bambú. Usualmente busco coloridos y luminiscentes trozos de vidrios de mar perfectamente pulidos.

Sin embargo, estos residuos del mar son igualmente interesantes y merecedores de mi atención. Los al a tocar residuos marinos para examinar y admirar sus detalles delicados, fragiles y deteriorados, comienzo a estudiar métodos de exploración para destacar y preservar las lianas marinas y sus formas naturales hermosas.

Usando un compuesto especial para la fabricación de moldes, hago impresiones multidimensionales de corales y algas fibrosas. La textura del compuesto blando me permite imprimir completamente las corales diminutos, sin romper los. Cuando los moldes se secan, obtengo réplicas de plata sólido, capturando la escala real y sus detalles. Plantas algunas marinas son muy fragiles para hacer un molde. En este caso, imprimo los residuos marinos directamentsen la arcilla de plata. Luego dibujo las líneas exactas usando un instrumento de grabado haciendo una representación verdadera de la planta original.

Las creaciones de plata fina terminadas son diseñades, pulidas, perforados para utilizar como un pendiente collar. El toque final es una gema vidrio de mar brillante que refleja la simplicidad y de la complejidad del océano, cada pieza de arte es única.

Translations by Magha
Muchísimas gracias!
(any errors the responsibility of oceano)

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Sharp magic

While visiting San Francisco, I had the opportunity to wander the Museum of Asian Arts, one of the largest museums in the Western world devoted exclusively to the art and history of Asia. I was struck by a small exhibit of objects from Southeast Asia.

The placard was simply inscribed:
Daggers, approx 1850-1950 Indonesia, Sulawesi
steel, iron, wood, whale bone, copper

These knives, while at first glance menacing, were also compelling and beautifully wrought. My curiosity piqued, I explored the geography, meaning and history to understand the nuance of the objects and their creators.

Indonesia encompasses more than 17,000 islands, only two-thirds of which are inhabited and much of the archipelago’s territory remains unexplored. The distinctive daggers are indigenous to Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the southern Philippines and the keris or krises, as it is called, is both weapon and spiritual object.

The blades can take years or even a lifetime to complete -- the metal has been folded dozens or even hundreds of times and handled with the utmost precision. There are keris blades that purportedly carry the mark of the metalsmith’s thumbs and even lips, impressed upon the blade during the forging process.

Knives were considered to almost be alive, or at the very least, vessels of special powers. The kerises could be tested - if the owner slept with the blade under their pillow and had a bad dream, the blade was unlucky and had to be discarded. It was said that some kerises helped prevent fires, death, agricultural failure, and myriads of other problems. Alternately, they could also bring fortune, such as bountiful harvests.

Kerises were worn everyday, slipped in the traditional sarong folds, the hilt accessible from the right hand. For special ceremonies, heirloom blades handed down through successive generations were worn. Women sometimes wore kerises, but of a smaller size than a man’s. In battle, a warrior carried three kerises: his own, one from his father-in-law, and one a family heirloom.

The daggers celebrate craftsmanship and heritage, reveal savagery and humanity. We can view them through the process of their creators or as appreciators of art -- the perfect incarnation of practical and magical.

For more images from the Museum of Asian Arts: http://www.asianart.org/

Special thank you to Nick O’Neill at www.baliblog.com for expanding upon historical data

5 Tricks for Conquering Creative Block

The muse has left the building... now what?


Browse -
images in a media not your own. Painters look at interiors, photographers view some sculpture. I was just checking out the Manuscript Illumination images currently on exhibit at the Getty; inspiring!

Turn the beat around -
are you listening to rock and roll? Switch over to classical. Swinging to Glenn Miller? Try some Salsa. New sound, new brain waves.

Start and finish a task -
pay a bill, wash the dishes, brush the dog. A small contained chore can help remind you how it feels to actually get a job done.

Shake it -
a brisk walk around the block or just strolling into the kitchen for a snack can get the juices flowing again. Is it the change of scenery, or am I sitting on my brain?

Make a list -
break down what it is you are trying to do it in little baby bits. Things will seem more manageable than trying to tackle the ONE BIG THING. As a bonus, you get all those ++ endorphins for each line you achieve and cross out.



...inspiration!

Creative Confessions ~series~

Get to know the interesting people behind the fabulous art at 1000Markets.com



10 Questions for Cari of Wired Originals

1. Morning person or a night person?
Morning...I have it all to myself :)


2. Best book ever?
Any book of poetry by Billy Collins

3. Favorite place on earth?
A quiet spot on the Colorado National Monument, just after spring when there are waterfalls everywhere.

4. Like your birthday or dread it?
Used to like it...now I dread it!

5. Most frequently used swear word?
Shit.

6. Favorite Thanksgiving day food?
Stuffing.

7. Los Angeles or New York City?
New York City.

8. Favorite way to waste time?
Surfin' the net.

9. $250 to spend on anything – what do you buy?
Materials to make more jewelry.

10. Signature adjective?
Awesome.


Want to see more of Cari's fabulous work?
Go check it out at: Wired Originals



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Creative Confessions

Get to know the interesting people behind the fabulous art at 1000Markets.com


10 Questions for Wendy Russell of Artrussell


1. Morning person or a night person?
Morning person

2. Best book ever?
Cider House Rules by John Irving

3. Favorite place on earth?
Vermont

4. Like your birthday or dread it?
Like it

5. Most frequently used swear word?
"@*#%

6. Favorite Thanksgiving day food?
vegetarian stuffing

7. Los Angeles or New York City?
New York City

8. Favorite way to waste time?
tearing inspirational bits from magazines

9. $250 to spend on anything – what do you buy?
artsupplies and art supplies

10. Signature adjective?
tenacious



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the taste was not so sweet

I will work on an earring design for days. Making prototype after prototype, going through yards of cheap copper wire, trying to make it finish as I have it sketched or in my mind's eye. Suddenly it is there in my hands, as if by magic. That pleasant tingly rush comes and feeling remarkably clear-headed, I break out the sterling silver and fashion another and another.

But wait, the initial enthusiasm - - it's decidedly fading.
To my eye, the earrings are just as pretty, but my mind has begun to wander off in a new direction... What if I did this instead of that?... maybe if I connect it here instead of there? ... and now it is time to try something fresh.

"The human mind once stretched by a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions" said Oliver Wendell Holmes. And I'd like to amend that profound bit of wisdom to include

~ neither does silver wire.


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