This months blog carnival subject is who inspires you in your work. This is an interesting topic for this month as over the years there has been many talented jewellery artists who have inspired me.
When I first started, the first book I bought was "bead on a wire" by Sharilyn Miller, her simple steps to create exquisite pieces led me to my first love of playing with wire, beads and my tools. Other amazing artists such as Delia Stone and Perri Jackson inspired me - especially as in my early days, I found they were approachable and willing to help you if you had a question. You should check out their tutorials if you haven't already done so.
Wishing to expand my horizons, an incredibly talented Holly Gage posted some pictures on our forum of her metal clay creations, I found a studio in my local area and signed up for a class, and was hooked. At the time it was only Precious Metal Clay (PMC) but then copper and bronze clays became available and our fabulous teacher, spent many hours studying and playing with these mediums so she could pass her knowledge onto us.
One medium I always vowed I would never do although held great admiration for those who were able to conquer it was seed beads. The combination of being able to create "something" out of those itty bitty seed beads and using a needle and thread just blew my mind - however, late last year one of the most talented and gifted artists I have ever met introduced me to "looming". Erin Simonetti convinced me to try and make a cuff as I was housebound after having major surgery. Through her encouragement and enduring motivation and the ongoing support by those within her beading group, I was able to conquer this "fear" and created my first cuff.
I am now in the process of designing a cuff that will incorporate my three loves - my passion for jewellery has been revitalised and I'm truly grateful to those wonderful inspirational artists who lead by example, not only by their work but their capacity and willingness to share their love of their art with those of the like of me.
To find out who others members of my team have have been inspired by check out their blogs ...
J 3 Jewelry
Islandgirl's Insights
Beadsophisticate
