Resolve

Oh my, still too long between posts!  So much going on here, and yet also, so little.  We are busy hibernating (and recuperating)….

Ever since 2007, I’ve wrestled with a new perspective on resolutions.  I’ve wanted something different from a to-do list, or a collection of goals which are either a pass or a fail.  I’m sick of the “should’s”.  And yet, I want to initiate change.  Last year I did some thinking, gave myself credit for the year, and re-doubled my efforts. The 2008-9 resolutions were in large part about figuring out the conditions I need to create rather than having specific creative resolutions.  I worked on “the progression of  dissonance into consonance.”  And generally, it went very well.  Not all the resolutions were fulfilled to the letter, but I’m well settled in to my new day job, and ready to dedicate more creative energy to projects.

There’s always an inundation of such things this time of year, but I was struck by these very helpful points on making resolutions.

“Ask: ‘What would make me happier?‘”

Because isn’t that what it comes down to?  I’m unlikely to change something unless it makes me happier than I already am.  Period.

So I think I’m ready for more specific goals.  I’ll still review how I did on last years, and list unplanned accomplishments, but things are still moving slowly here, as you can see.  So let’s get the 2010 resolutions out there before January is suddenly over:

1. Retain the good habits of the 2008-9 resolutions. (to be clarified in a future post)
2. Do more art with other people.  Collaboration.  Teaching.  Shopping for materials.  Talking.  Making.  Anything.
3. Apply to one new show/sale that I have never done before.
4. Make things to sell for the holiday season.  Perhaps at a holiday sale or perhaps not.  But make some things with gifting and the holidays in mind.
5. Work on four major projects.  (also to be clarified in a future post)
6. Use my volunteer hours. I have 20 hours of paid time from my employer that I can use for volunteering.  I want to do something a little outside the box of my normal schedule.  Something with kids, making, gardening, science, art, anything!

How about you?  How do you feel about resolutions?  Did you make any this year?  Is there another way you like to initiate change in your life?

A Happy and Creative Holiday Season to all!

a huge thanks to everyone that wanders though my little blog!

xoxoKait

the beginning

A quick shopping trip.  A few new tools, a little wood and some simple shapes to start with.  New medium, new motions, new ways to think about shapes.  Subtraction after working in addition for so long.  No  power tools for this project, just hands and blades, maybe a little sandpaper.  Thinking ahead to colors, stains, and finishes.

New projects marinating…

I often think that random curiosity (and a trip to the library) can be my downfall.  It is so hard to resist exciting new ideas which beckon, even while I’ve only just begun to explore the previous one.  I’ve no desire to rope in my wandering brain, but rather to figure out some miracle method of time management, so that each one gets its due.  Anyone have any helpful thoughts?

Surface

Inspired by Martha, I recently stepped outside my normal short list when perusing magazines recently.  Fortunate timing!  I’d glanced at Surface before, but never really picked it up and looked.  Well, it was the right time.  I’ve no idea if they have an ongoing commitment to covering jewelry, but this issue had several fantastically inspiring stories.

A nicely broad pictorial piece on American-made/designed avant garde jewelry.  Images by Akihiko Tagayasu. Jewelry by Phillip Lim, Jiro Kamata, And Erica Rosenfeld and more.

A four page spread of jewelry by Sergey Jivetin, hair by Ryoji Imaizumi (Shu Uemura), make-up by Nadine Luke (M.A.C), images by Walling & McGarity.

The non-jewelry related content was inspirational too.  You could dress me up in this any day, and I’d be more than willing to take a stab at being a “Cosmic Nomad”.  With the addition of some jewelry, of course.  Hooded jumpsuit/skirt by TSE, wool boots by Lacoste.  Image by Mark Gong.

Speaking of fashion magazines and jewelry, does anyone know if Elle Accessories still exists?  There was many a time when boots and shoes really dominated an issue, but when it actually covered jewelry, I loved it.  I know last year they went from two special issues a year to just one, but I haven’t seen any concrete evidence of a Fall 2009 issue yet.  It would be such a shame if Elle Accessories were killed by the current economic crisis in magazine publishing, just when fashion designers have started paying attention to jewelry again.

Inching along

It turns out, if you paste together enough sheets of newsprint, you can actually build up some thickness and structure.

How many layers is this?  Don’t know, I forgot to count. A whopping 2mm worth, though….:)

The prospect of added durability and strength has spawned more complex ideas, leading me away from the chain links themselves, making a sideways shift to things which hang from chains.

But this just a little side-trip, an embellishment, a little shiny thing which has caught my eye, so-to-speak.  We’ll get back to the chain links soon enough….

P.S. Yes, those two middle images are more from this.

Jewelry in everyday things

Is it me, or was there a pearl earring in that lamp post?

Text and images

Working with newsprint gives one a whole new perspective on words and images.  Both become patterns, fields of color, purely visual.  They are seen for their potential, to be built up, layer upon layer.  Links and connections, secrets obscured and revealed.  A locket and chain in the making.

Many thanks to all who stop by….

For more on this project, see the challenge here, individual photos in this weeks photoset
or all the One-a-Week posts here.

Inspiration Strikes Again

A new season of Project Runway has finally started again, and Etsy Metal is hosting one-a-week jewelry challenges this time.  I can’t commit to the whole series right now, or to finishing in only one week, but I couldn’t resist episode 5: Fashion Headliners. The unconventional materials challenges are always my favorites, and this time the medium was newsprint.  Click on the pics for more notes at Flickr, or see the whole set here.  Stay tuned…..

Sometimes progress is silent

Wow, away so long!

But things flickering and growing. Slowly, beneath the surface.  Ripening.

More soon.