Two More Addresses

Wayfinder, detail

I moved to San Francisco from San Jose on Friday. I'm now in a place I will be in for awhile and have a chance to find my way around a little before grad school starts. This move got me thinking about the piece I made in 2014 about all the places I have lived in the United States since the first time I went to school. Wayfinder is a visual record of my homes and is composed of tools to help me find my way back to each of them, to aid my memory of each place. A map, an address book complete with every address of every apartment, a pencil, a compass, and the key to my childhood home. The topmost form represents the four states I have lived in combined to create a new state, my own state, complete with lakes, mountains, and low lands. Delicately inscribed on this map is the path of my movement from one city to the next, each represented by the tiniest of piercings. Now, after only one month, I can add two more addresses to the list for a grand total of 27 places, 12 cities, and five states. I won't alter Wayfinder, but I've been imagining how it would change if I did.

Moving is something I'm used to and something I've come to accept as part of my life. It may not be this way always, but as long as it is I will continue to just go with it, and enjoy it. I dig into a new place with fervor regardless of how long I will be there. I treat each place as if it were a long-term spot. I unpack and nest, I walk everywhere, I figure out where the grocery store is and which coffee shop I like best. I try to learn as much as I can and be as present as possible. San Francisco is a city I have admired for a long time and I'm thrilled to have a chance to get to know it better. It's also the most urban and populated city I have ever lived in, and, most definitely, the opposite of where I was living before, a small town of 1,200 people in the middle of farm country. As I stated with a recent Instagram post, I'm looking forward to the fog, and so much more.

foggy view on the Golden Gate Bridge

Wayfinder, 2014

wearing Wayfinder the day I completed it

detail

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Recent Customs

wedding necklace of spray painted pearls for Adrienne

Some of the last things I made before I moved were custom pieces: an 18K gold wedding ring, a 14K gold bracelet, a spray-painted pearl necklace. Custom pieces are always fun, often a challenge, and a great way to connect with clients. I think my favorite requests are those in which I get to use gold, alter a production design, or play with spray paint. I made a few other customs last fall and winter and thought I would share them with you now as well. You can view the collection of custom pieces I've made in the last few years on Facebook.

18K 8mm wedding band with dot detail for Brad and Katey

14K hammered gold chain bracelet for Elizabeth

Small Arc earrings with 14K gold ear wires with catch, Bouquet Necklace on a 14K gold chain, Tokens Necklace with two roses and hot pink teardrop on a 14K gold chain for Olga

"Mother and Child" ring with garnet and tourmaline for Christy

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C A L I F O R N I A

Here are a few first observations of my new California home. I'm living in San Jose about an hour south of San Francisco. I'll be here temporarily as I look for a good place in San Francisco and hope to move before school begins in September. Every day I go for a walk in the morning before it gets too hot. There isn't a lot of shade here so the sun can be intense and I prefer the morning quiet regardless. I'm enjoying observing the highly textured bark of native trees, the unusual and often strange desert plants, fantastic graffiti and street art, colorful buildings, and intriguing abandoned spaces. I'm also beginning to understand the layout of the city and where I live in relation to all sorts of places--walking is so good for this! My favorite places so far include the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens and the San Jose 

Institute of Contemporary Art.

See more pictures on Flickr:

Thanks for reading.

Final Days, Part 4

I moved across the country for the third time on Monday from Upstate, NY to central California. I'll be living in San Jose for a time until I find the right place in San Francisco. I'm in no rush, really, and have no interest in stressing out over finding an apartment. I'll take my time, settle in, figure out where things are and how to get around, get to know my new home state of California... 

The move was challenging, of course, and not without trials. Weather caused many flights into and out of O'Hare to be delayed or cancelled. My first flight was rerouted and after a few hours on the tarmac, refueling, and a damage inspection due to hail, we made it to Chicago. I spent the night in a hotel and got on a plane to California the next day. 

As for my things, my two 50lb suitcases made it, remarkably. The rest of my things were packed into a storage unit that is now so disorganized the mere thought of it makes my skin crawl. A friend and I joked that it just wasn't a move without random things in your pockets after moving everything (like the key to my acetylene tank), or the last few things thrown haphazardly into the back of the car and then thrown randomly into boxes with out packaging materials or labeling.

It was bittersweet to leave my little Lake Street Studio. The moment before I left I stood in the empty room and thought about the things I made there, some really special, important things... work about my family and my home, most specifically. I discovered a great deal about myself and my practice in the year and a half that I was there. I revisited important spots, uncovered memories, and reconnected with the place that will always be my home. 

Thanks for reading.

But First, a Show... This Friday!

Landmarks, brooch in sterling and brass

I moved to California on Monday, but before I say anything about that I have to tell you, or remind you, that I have an opening at Crown Nine in Oakland, CA this Friday! I will be showing pieces from my 2013 body of work, Parallel Constellations, along with a few new pieces. The work is inspired by maps and cartography, relying on the repetition and accumulation of different elements to convey distances, patterns, natural phenomena, and connections... which all seems very appropriate given moving here just days ago. I will be at the show Friday night, ready to spend some time with you. If you live in the Bay Area, please visit the shop and say hello, try on some pieces, and maybe even walk away with a new favorite for your collection. The opening is this Friday, June 12 from 6-9pm. Hope to see you there. It's just a few days away!

Uncomplicated Path, necklace in sterling and brass

Sea and Land, Land and Sky, necklace in sterling 

Multiple Points, earrings in sterling and brass

Crown Nine is located at 515 9th Street in Oakland, CA. For questions, please call 510-251-9000.

Thanks for reading.

Final Days, Part 2

It's been unseasonably cold here the last few days but today I've got the door to my studio wide open. It's pleasant to hear the birds and various street sounds as I work at my bench rather frenetically. I find I'm working simultaneously too fast and too slow. I'm easily distracted amidst lengths of focus and find myself flitting from one thing to another. I'm getting things done, but it's a little chaotic. I just have a lot on my mind... finishing my work, packing, moving boxes into my storage unit, saying goodbye to a few friends, spending time with my mom...

Moments ago I finished the last spray painted pieces, most of which turned out beautifully. A few have to be scrapped, though. The paint wrinkled in the heat of the patina bath, something that happens occasionally and seemingly at random. Later today, I'll shift to my final custom pieces: a gold bracelet and a set of stacking rings.

It's a hustle, and I knew it would be.

Thanks for reading.

Final Days, Part 1

This is my last week in my Lake Street studio before I move to California. All week I'll be finishing up gallery work, Etsy orders, and custom pieces... and then, of course, I have to pack. Between now and Friday, I'm going to do my best to enjoy these last days, despite the hustle that must happen.

Here's a selection of some of the new work I'm sending to places like Galerie Noel Guyomarc'h in Montreal, Light Art + Design in Chapel Hill, and Signature Gallery in Atlanta.

Thanks or reading.

Everything Will Be New

my studio, all packed up

I left Asheville on Thursday in a 10-foot U-Haul truck and drove my studio, my clothes, my books, and my precious collection of art and objects to Upstate New York. The trip was absolutely wonderful and it couldn't have been easier. The weather was perfect for driving, the stereo in the truck was killer (believe it or not!), I had snacks, and I took my time, stopping every so often just so I could take pictures. I did drive through a little snow squall in the last 20 minutes of the drive, but I didn't mind. It was beautiful and it felt welcoming in a strange way. After I put most of my things in a storage unit, I made my way to my parents' house and the sky opened up. As I drove by thfields on the outskirts of town I realized the landscape is similar to Iceland. There are some vast open spaces here and it felt really good to me. I am excited to explore and relearn these places and my hometown in the coming weeks.

Virginia

West Virginia

Pennsylvania

I spent the weekend getting settled into my parents' house, shoveling show, and hanging Christmas lights. I do feel a bit out of sorts--I just uprooted my life and it's been about 20 years since I've lived at home. This will pass, though…

the sky over my storage unit

I will be laying-low the next few weeks as I transition into this new lifestyle. I won't be making any jewelry, but I will be working on ideas for my upcoming solo show in Sweden. I will be walking every day just as I do when I visit a foreign country and I plan to start today. I will collect visual information and thoughts as I observe, take pictures and make notes. Then in early January I will begin making a new body of work.

It's exciting.

Thanks for reading.

Big, Part 1

This week I will be posting a series of entries I'm calling, "Big," in which I will share some big things that are in the works for me. Here we go with Part 1... 

I am a very organized person and when it comes to preparing to travel, this trait comes in handy. I include travel prep on my to-do list so getting ready to go somewhere is as stress-free as possible. My system usually works, but not this last time. I literally ran out of time before I flew to the West Coast in late August. I had to go to the airport at 8am and was still working in my studio at 7! I ran back to my apartment at 7:50, threw a few more things in my suitcase, and jumped into a friend's car. It took me the 20 minutes from my place to AVL to calm down and let go, and I did, but it was really hard. I felt unprepared and had to leave some things unfinished. I was a stressed-out mess. I never leave like that! 

Then the day before I started teaching at The Ranch I realized I did not have my tools. I remembered packing them, or at least I thought I did. This was a terrible moment for me as it would be for anyone losing something like this. What made it worse, though, is that those tools have tremendous sentimental value for me: they were given to me by my father when I began metalsmithing 15 years ago. I tried to remain calm, thinking perhaps I had left them behind or, if they were indeed gone, I would have to let them go. It would be too hard to deal with. It was hard just thinking about it. You see, my father has Alzheimer's and everything he has given to me has become more precious, more prized, and more valuable since he was diagnosed in 2011. I put the thoughts out of my mind and chose to not worry until I got back to Asheville. The day I flew home I went to my studio and found them in their travel bag sitting next to my bench. In my haste and stress I had forgotten them. And, I was overjoyed and grateful. 

Christmas 1980

This long explanation leads me to the reason for this first Big post: I am moving back to my childhood home, Richfield Springs, NY, in December to live with my parents. I just want to be with my father and I want to help my mother care for him. This was a conclusion I came to while I was working on my "Island" in Iceland. The move is a temporary one, but necessary. My work will be put on hold for the month of December as I transition into a new way of living. I will have a studio somewhere in R.S. and will work just as I always do starting in January, but at the end of the day I will go home to two very sweet people, my dear father and mother. Just as I chose to not dwell on the possible loss of my tools, I will not dwell on what it's going to be like to care for him. I'm sure it will be hard and I'm sure it will be wonderful, and I'm just going to do it. In many ways, it's that easy. 

Thanks for reading.