5 Days in the Life of a Jeweler

reworking older work into new one-of-a-kind 

and limited edition pieces

A new Facebook challenge is surfacing called 5 Days in the Life of a Jeweler:

"If you get nominated, then once a day for 5 days running you post what it means to you, on a day-to-day level, to be a jeweler. Include a pic of your work if you like and each day you nominate a fellow jeweler to take part."

I was nominated by jeweler, UW alum, and friend, Michelle Jansuy.

What does it mean to me to be a jeweler? Every day is different. I spend on average half my day making work and half my day doing business. I make jewelry for my galleries, fill Etsy orders, make wedding rings and other custom jewelry, and create one-of-a-kind and conceptual work for exhibitions... I answer emails, blog and do other online marketing, prepare classes and lectures, create invoices, do my bookkeeping. I also try to sketch, write about my work, and pursue other creative projects. I don't do all of these things every day, but I often juggle many of them. I think this is typical for anyone in the field and anyone making art. The varied to-do list keeps things interesting, and challenging. It also keeps me on my toes and pretty much ready for anything. I love what I do, every bit of it.

This week I have a busier than usual schedule as I prepare to leave for 16 days but I want to participate. So, instead of five consecutive days, here are five recent images from my studio that illustrate the five-day challenge, all pictures of the making half of my life as a jeweler:

prepping production jewelry for my upcoming trunk show 

at Velouria in Seattle

making an 18K yellow gold wedding band

documenting contributions for the Pearl Piece 

for my solo exhibition at Sienna Patti Contemporary

painting a selection of Regal Graffiti in my new Iceland palette

Thanks so much to Michelle for nominating me and for the kind words she wrote about me and my work on her FB post. Please check out her gorgeous work!

Finally, my nomination... I'm going to choose only one person since I'm only posting on one day. I would like to nominate Paul Adie, my friend and fellow metalsmith from Scotland. His work is wonderful, too!

Thanks for reading.