The Handmade Division :: Talk About

I'm a member of a talented group of artists, the Handmade Division. Members with blogs participate in a team "Talk About," discussing a different topic each month. The topic for this month is a fascinating one and I thought it would make a great first post for this blog.

The topic question: Do you consider yourself only a jewelry artist or do you work in multi media application, and or draw techniques from other fields to use in the one you are working in?

I was a calligrapher first, before I began making jewelry, and without a doubt I do draw heavily on my calligraphy skills since I incorporate quite a bit of hand lettering into my etched jewelry. In fact, exploring a new medium for my calligraphy (metal) is what first sparked my interest in metalwork and then jewelry.

In addition to calligraphy and making jewelry, I also design and print letterpress cards with my friend, Julia. While printing on paper is quite different from metalwork, our letterpress cards and my etched jewelry share a dimensional, tactile quality. Many of our letterpress designs are deeply impressed into thick cotton paper; you can run your fingers over the card and feel the letterpress impression. Likewise, the raised or recessed etched designs and lettering on my jewelry invite touch.

Perhaps because of this similarity, I've experimented with sharing designs between the two mediums with satisfying results. I love how the same design can be interpreted so differently depending on the medium.

Below are more examples of designs used on both cards and jewelry:

Sometimes one design inspires another. I designed the "Forever and Always" for this letterpress wedding card, which inspired me to use this theme for some of my jewelry:


I enjoy discovering that a design created for one medium works well with another, or when a theme for one inspires a new design for other work. When I can share designs and ideas across mediums, it sparks new ideas and experiments and new ways of seeing. I have other creative interests, such as knitting and spinning, and perhaps one of these days I'll discover interesting ways to incorporate those techniques and ideas into my jewelry. I look forward to it!

Please visit the blogs of other Handmade Division members to read their posts on this topic:

Andes Cruz: http://andescruz.wordpress.com/
Thomasin Durgin: http://metalriot.blogspot.com/
Jewelry by Natsuko: http://jewelrybynatsuko.blogspot.com/
Maureen BZ (Cosmo's Moon) http://cosmosmoonjewelry.blogspot.com/
Abhaya Fibers http://abhayafibers.blogspot.com/
ArtJewel Designs http://www.artjeweldesigns.blogspot.com/
Susan Moloney http://susarto.blogspot.com/
Tamra Gentry http://jewelrydesignchronicles.wordpress.com/
Bill Martin http://purifiedart.blogspot.com/