...with the New Year

work-in-progress table

I am back from a wonderful Holiday break with my family in Upstate, NY. I haven't done anything at my bench for a few weeks but I have been thinking about my work a lot; and by work I mean not only my jewelry, but my accomplishments, my goals, and the fact that I am about to begin my final year as a Penland Resident Artist.

This Holiday season was very different for me simply because I no longer make my collections. There was no sale, no website preparations, no sale newsletter, no big orders to fill. Instead, I made work for my galleries and enjoyed a very quiet December. I had time to get organized, prepare my books for tax time, and do some archiving. But mostly I've had time to think about what I've done so far and what I want to do in the coming year.

My main goal is to create a major body of work, the culmination of everything I have learned since I began my residency. I spent the first two years exploring techniques, materials, and concepts in order to develop a strong formal vocabulary and aesthetic. This vocabulary now encompasses my interest in the layering of line, specific shapes, and negative space and my use of alternative materials, namely spray paint. Now I believe it is time to add personal content and meaning to my work, using my formal approach as the foundation. This new work will be about my personal history with jewelry and I plan to draw on my memories of jewelry since childhood. This will be the first work I have made that includes truly personal content and I am really excited about it. I want to approach the project slow and steady and would like to take the entire year to complete it. I will present more information as the work develops, of course.

Over the next week or so I will bring 2010 to a close by catching up on things I haven't had a chance to blog about yet. Then it will be to new projects and events.

Thanks for reading.