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