Tools for Making Decisions

Tools for Making Decisions

When I was considering choice, I asked myself, as well as my friends on Facebook, what kind of tools help us make decisions. I brainstormed my own list and considered the opinion of scores of friends who responded. What I noticed was the underlying presence of the senses in both my ideas and my friends' so I began reading about the traditional and combined senses. I realized our senses are the most basic tools we have to observe and perceive our world and to make choices every day. I thought of a tool for each sense, choosing objects with layers of meaning, and forming a group that allows information to be studied and measured. In addition, I deliberately chose to focus on my love of collecting, searching the Bay Area and Etsy for just the right level or leather gloves, for example. Finally, I carefully arranged these nine necklaces for the installation, placing them atop a table, ready for use, as intuition hovers above and gathers below. 

Sight, brass, vintage bi-focal lens

Hearing, brass

Touch, vintage leather gloves

Taste, brass

Smell, brass, glass test tubes, cork, ground garlic, dried blueberries, lemon rind, lavender, vanilla bean, mint, dirt and rotting leaves, Comet cleanser, popcorn, oak tree bark

Temperature, vintage water thermometer

Kinesthetics, brass, antique dividers

Balance, brass, vintage level

Pain, brass, Dolorimeter

See more pictures on Flickr.

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Etsy Monday

Large and Small Arc Necklace $106

Today's Etsy Monday picks: my Line Drawing elements as pendants in different combinations…All five variations are now available in my Etsy shop.

 Large Circle and Large Arc Necklace $104

 Large and Small Circle Necklace $102

Small Circle and Small Arc Necklace $100

All Four Necklace $200

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Alone/Together

Last week I posted a glimpse of a new embroidered necklace and now here it is in full view along with its companion pieces. I call this new series "Alone/Together" and each necklace is made of wool sweaters scraps I found stuffed in a garbage bag here at Nes. I love working with what I have and using materials that echo my environment. I felt compelled to work with these pieces as soon as I found them, which, I think, was the first week I was here. I tried some different things out once June arrived but nothing seemed quite right. Even when I started stitching together the first necklace I continued to struggle. I knew it would require a lot of time and I was feeling impatient. I also knew I did not have enough thread and, although I usually like the challenge of using what's available, the lack worked against me. I tried negotiating a compromise as both limitations felt bigger than they actually were. However, one evening very late at night I knew I had to push forward, I knew I had to commit to the time and to obtaining more thread. So the next day I jumped in a friend's car and drove to Reykjavik just so I could go to Erla for more white DMC floss. Over the course of a few more nights I stayed up very, very late. As I stitched I knew I wanted to make a third piece, but there wasn't a third sweater pattern. I struggled with this for a bit, too, but finally decided to try combining the patterns as alternating links. This final piece will be three times as long as the first and feels rather decadent to wear even as a work-in-progress. I will complete it when I return to the U.S.

I realize now these necklaces are all about the forgotten, the discarded, the unused...They are a vestige of something that once was and I find all of this incredibly appealing and relatable. By turning these throw-aways into jewelry, I'm giving them identity and purpose and I'm remembering them. They are further inspired by the iconic Icelandic wool sweater itself, the cold weather I have experienced here, and the stark color palette of my surroundings.

The pieces measure approximately 66" x 3"x 3", 120" x 3" x 3", and 204" x 3" x 3".

More images on Flickr.

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I Can Only Stay Away for So Long

During just the second week of being here at Nes I got itchy to make jewelry. I hadn't made any since a few days before I left the U.S. and so about a month had passed...I see now I can only stay away for so long. I started making some simple necklaces with Icelandic wool that had been left behind in the studio. This exercise was similar to ones I've done in the past in which I established a few simple parameters and challenged myself to work within them. I made one necklace with each color I had, seven in total. Each one is knotted and layered in a different way. For a few I cut a number of lengths while for others I used one continuous piece, and for all of them I used all the yarn available. I made several in a row, one per night, and gave myself an hour or two to complete them. It was a fun process and I like the results. I would keep going if I had more wool...

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