When Life Gives You a Mini Cake, Eat the Whole Damn Thing //

On days like these, I make sure I'm ready. I know the day will be blissful, and so I make sure I have everything in order. 

My coffee and pickle are equally hot. 

My favorite Pandora station is on. 

The studio is clean and organized. 

What awaited me was all the hard work from a late night the evening before. 

All the leaves were ready, the sawing and texturing done. 

This morning was going to be epic. and I couldn't wait to complete this ring that I had been dreaming about for the past few days. 

Magic was going to happen.

Although the first few attempts at soldering could have gone more to plan, I failed to see any red flags. I kept pushing, adjusting, making it right. 

Finally as all the the elements came together. 

Just as all the elements were soldered on, I took a step back to looked at what I had created.

It was then that I realized I had made a god damn mini wedding cake.

Progress shot.

The first tier so perfectly round. 

Topped with lovely fondant leaves and gum paste flowers. 

I can almost taste the sugary sweet buttercream now. 

At first I was a little frustrated. The hours I spent on this thing were too numerous and too sad to count now. 

In the past, I would have let this thing eat me alive. I would have pouted for days at my design choices. I would have questioned my ability as an artist. I would have sunk into a serious slump.

 But I didn't, and I'm glad I didn't.

Instead I posted it, for sale. I was ready to move on to the next thing, not dwell in the past.

I also allowed myself the freedom to joke about my little cake ring, imagining it sitting beautifully on the table as Barbie & Ken exchange vows. 

What surprised me about it all was the response I got. 

Messages, emails and texts came pouring in:

I was too hard on myself.

It was still gloriously beautiful.

They didn't see it as a cake.

----

First off, let me say, it is absolutely a mini cake. I mean seriously, this isn't even an argument.

Secondly, I never said it wasn't beautiful.

In fact it IS beautiful because of so many reasons.

Sterling and Turquoise...

YUM.

Oxidized and slightly polished...

YUM. 

Heavily textured and detailed...

YUM.

Mini cake...

YUM.

Thirdly, it's ok that it's a freaking cake. 

Because what I have learned over the years is that it's all ok. 

Not to take it all so seriously. 

To live lightly and freely and less dramatic. 

No matter what is happening in your life, it's all ok.

It'll all work out.

Mini cakes.

Mini dramas.

Big dramas.

They all work out.

Tomorrow I'll be a better designer because of this. Plus I secretly love it now for what it reminded me of. 

That it's ok for things to go wrong.

That I don't have to be perfect.

That sometimes I'm going to make stuff that doesn't go as planned.

And when this inevitably happens again, that I make something that frustrates the hell out of me, I'm going to eat that cake too, and the next one and the next one.

Because when life gives you a mini cake, I highly suggest you eat the whole damn thing.

♥  Carin 

P.S. The mini cake ring has found a home. With a wonderful lovely supporter who will cherish it for all it's mini-cake qualities and more. 

Makers for Makers /// A Blog Feature

I'm so incredibly honored to be up on the Sea of Atlas blog today! An incredible space created for makers by makers. I deeply believe in the community aspect of this creative life, and hope my words help inspire others on their creative journey. Please go check out the Makers for Makers series here. 

Reclamation // A shop update.

For those times when we feel undervalued and under appreciated.

May these nuggets of beauty remind you to reclaim your spirit.

Stay true to your bold, beautiful and unique self.

Orientate yourself towards positivity.

Seek a haven where you can shine just like you always knew you could.

___

Reclaimed.

Recycled.

Renewed.

From trash to treasure these surfite stones have found their haven.

___

More on those stunning special stones: 

Surfite is a brand spankin' new material! These are some of the very first ever pieces made with it. It is the resin and epoxy that has gathered after glazing surfboards. It was collected and cabbed by a lovely artist couple out of California!

It is a similar idea to Fordite, which is left over car paint that artists have been cabbing for years. This is so much prettier though! The coloring for one is spectacular. Bright glittery pinks, olive greens and bold blues. The clear portions of the resin allow the back of the sterling silver setting to shine through.

Available on 5/11/15 at 1pm PST at www.jonesingforjewelry.etsy.com

Carin

Progression // A Shop Update

This past year I've really taken notice of the community around me. 

I played a small part in a the "Cab it Forward" project in which fellow smithies pass on stones to one another as a sign of support, I made a few friends during my first smithing classes, and I've reached out to some fellow artists that I really admire.

All this to say, the community is real. And I'm happy to be a part of it.

I imagine us as a giant robot, my fellow artists and me. Each of us playing a part, but needing to work together as a whole to function properly. And I think of the structure built to hold this art community up. The bones and the frame on which we stand. Built bolt after bolt by those that came before us.

Entrepreneurs, 

boundary pushers,

artists.

And I bow to their bravery and creativity.

This summer, after studying up on some more traditional native american work, I fell in love with silver in a way I hadn't before. A deeper more intense relationship with the metal. I was inspired by the way the silver pieces and forms nestled the stone. Making a sanctuary for it to thrive, and highlighting it's natural beauty.

I, the apprentice, really wanted to pay homage to those master's work. So after tinkering with it a bit, my "In Tradition" series was born. A thank you to all the artists who went before me.  A realization of all their sweat and tears that went into their work.

While making the "In Tradition" series, I felt as though I was embodying the masters, and in ways emulating their moves. The swings of their hammers, the chattering of their saws, the grinding of their files.  But what was born of this process was something more than that, something completely my own.

And so, although this leaf shape was born out of replication, I can't rightfully package it the same. It no longer belongs in the "In  Tradition" series, where my heart was looking to the past. 

These leaves, might take the same shape, but they were born out of individuality and progression. They look to the future. 

They are a mark, my mark, my bolt in the art community robot.

Until someone else builds upon this work, and together we move in unison. 

All pieces and more available here: www.jonesingforjewelry.etsy.com

on Thursday October 29th at 5pm PT.

Hope to see you there!

♥ Carin

LURE.

 I keep thinking about how luscious & tempting things in this life can be. 

Intriguing us with beautiful forms,

pungent perfumes,

bold, stunning colors. 

All things that promise rushes of dopamine through our blood stream.  That addictive, powerful flow which excites each and every one of our cells. 

It makes us feel alive.

It makes us feel happy.

Often when we speak of these types of things, we talk about how indulgent they are. Each of them carrying a sense of negativity with them. We hope we are strong enough to evade their pull, and somehow that ability would make us better human beings. 

__

It brings me back almost 20 years, neatly sorting seed beads into their own little compartments. I'd pick up a few, gently sliding my fingers back and forth across their glassy surface. Letting a few of them at a time all back into their designated spot. 

That's when the tug began for me, I got sight at what I consider my life long lure. A glimpse at what a dreamy, sexy life this career would be. 

But as with most things that bring us happiness, as a good strong human, I stopped myself from daydreaming too long or too hard.  I'd think about how much fun it was as a hobby, but never, ever would I allow myself to dream beyond that. 

Perhaps, I thought, too much daydreaming would somehow get in the way of "real" work. 

But oh how wrong I was.

How wrong we are.

My only regret is how long it took me to allow myself the freedom to explore. 

Explore my truth,

Explore my passion,

Explore my life. 

I regret so much, how long and how hard I struggled against the urge. 

Now, when I daydream, it's more frequently about the past than the future.

I remember my 18 year old self standing at the top of a set of stairs that led to an art department. 

A set of stairs I was too coward to walk down. 

An 18 year old too afraid to speak her truth and too fearful to take the leap. 

Now as I daydream, I find myself telling that youngster this,

"Now is always the time for happy." 

___

NOW IS ALWAYS THE TIME FOR HAPPY.

NOW IS ALWAYS THE  TIME FOR HAPPY.

NOW.

I challenge you this, why not indulge? 

______

These beasts are meant to be big and bold.

For those of us willing to take the bait.

Go against the norm.

Take the less worn path.

To you, I applaud.

I send my highest praises.

They are more than that though.

A side story if you will. 

Of a friendship that started while sorting those seed beads 2 decades ago. 

A person who, despite what she says, was by far one of the biggest artistic influences of my life. 

She gifted me a pair of articulated fish earrings over a decade ago.

They were my favorite.

I rarely took them out.

But then there was that one time I did, and sadly they were never to be seen again.

I've thought about those earrings for 10 years.

So I bring you my, bigger, bolder version all these years later.

I think appropriately, they are sized to represent my unwavering announcement that I will not follow the well worn path. 

I will embrace my indulging, dreamy, sexy career with all it's ups and downs.

I took the bait. 

will you? 

___

Watch them move here: https://instagram.com/p/9EYtRCHuzV/

--

Available in the shop update Thursday 10/29 at 5pm PT
www.jonesingforjewelry.etsy.com

Carin