Lately I have been making a lot more things than I usually do. Chains, bracelets, head badges (lots of head badges), earrings, pendants, you name it I have been trying it lately. While my work is not always that good, its getting better. I have been trying a lot of new stuff (at least for me). Tube riveting, etching, found objects, forging, chain making, all sorts of new things.
Its been amazing. I am really starting to enjoy the process. Making jewelry is not so much about skill as it is about forcing yourself to be patient. You can’t rush, rushing almost guarantees failure. I have been enjoying the sanding, and the filing, and the assembling of this little part that goes into that little part. I have been enjoying all the sawing and the copper dust, and well…the whole process.
I have found myself staring at every piece of jewelry I see now. Looking at trees differently. Seeing patterns in places I used to just see roads. I mean I am still crap at making stuff, but at least I am starting to appreciate other really well made things. You will never appreciate jewelry until you try to make something, then you realize just how stunningly hard this shit can be sometimes.
As the little pieces of stuff pile up before me, I feel a little twinge that I might be getting just a bit better at this stuff, and it makes me happy. Now I just have to keep making as much stuff as I can and hope that I can manage to eek out a bit more improvement, cause I still got a long way to go.
