Enjoy the Process

In a perfect example of synchronicity, I recently had the privilege of watching Tibetan Monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery in India conduct the opening ceremonies and initial chalk drawing of a sand mandala. I didn't really know that much about mandalas before that, other than that they were works of art with some spiritual meaning behind them. I was aware you could take classes to learn how to make your own, but I never really investigated it. Intrigued as I am by new things, different cultures, and various interpretations of personal spirituality, I was drawn to this event hosted a few weeks ago by one of our local technical colleges.

For those of you who are not familiar with sand mandalas, they are intricate colored sand "paintings" that take hours or even days to create. After they are finished, the sands are swept up by the Buddhist monks and placed in an urn. Some of that sand is given to those watching the closing ceremony and the rest is released into a nearby water body. The waters then carry the healing blessing to the ocean, and from there it spreads throughout the world for planetary healing. There are a number of videos on You Tube showing this process, including this one of the same Tibetan monks that I saw at Fox Valley Technical College. (photos courtesy of FVTC)

Going back to Chapter 2 of The Artist Way, I pondered what I would write my blog entry about. This chapter didn't speak to me as much as many of the others (I've read ahead!) and I struggled to find a good theme. However, after re-browsing the chapter I noticed that I had made a mark next to one paragraph, "You will learn to enjoy the process of being a creative channel and to surrender your need to control the result. You will discover the joy of practicing your creativity. The process, not the product, will become the final result." The Tibetan monk sand mandala immediately popped into my mind. Mandalas are a PERFECT example of this principle. The Tibetan monks have had to train their minds to concentrate on and to enjoy the process of making their artistic masterpieces, because as soon as they are completed, they are destroyed. This is meant to symbolically represent the impermanence of life.

How many of us are so goal-oriented that we fail to enjoy the process of learning and creating?We want to be perfect artists immediately. We expect our first attempts to be masterpieces. Maybe we shouldn't place unrealistic expectations on our finished products. Goodness knows many of us are so paralyzed by the prospect of the finished product and what is going to become of it that we never even start it in the first place. We need to learn to play, to experiment, to practice and to appreciate the moment, and not focus on the goal line. Do you think these Tibetan monks will look back and say their life was wasted because all they did was make art with no permanence? I think not. We can learn a lot from them.

More about synchronicity in a future post...

****For those of you who make jewelry, here's a really cool demonstration by Camille Sharon on how to make a wire mandala that can be manipulated into different forms.*****

Are you an "Artist?"

"One of our chief needs as creative beings is support", writes Julia Cameron in her book, The Artist's Way. Are you an artist that never got the encouragement necessary to pursue your dream? That's what happened to me. I didn't realize that I had the makings of an artist until I got into graphic design and marketing in high school. I won numerous awards for my advertising layout and design, winning 1st place in the state DECA competition, and was the first student in my high school to earn a trip to Nationals in Miami. I thought my future was made, so I enrolled in college to earn a B.A. in Marketing & Management with a Minor in Graphic Communication (art). When I graduated, I was going to get a job as an Account Executive in an advertising agency.

Or so I thought. The perfect storm of negative people/situations smacked me right in the face (or should I say, infiltrated my mind). In the Artist's Way, Julia encourages people to write about these negative influences, or "Monsters" and turn the negatives into positives.

In my case, it was my college graphics art teacher. She said to me at one critique, "Your drawings have a child-like quality " (meaning they looked like they were drawn by a 6 year old). Gee, thanks. Add to that we had a very talented artist in that class that did make my work look like it was done by a child. No matter what grades I got in my other art classes (mostly A's to my surprise, since I really still didn't think I was an artist), that negative comment really stuck with me, as did my personal comparison against "Joe" the REAL artist.

Graduating in the midst of the recession of the mid-1980's was another negative blow to my art career. Every job outlook I looked at for Advertising Execs stated how highly competitive the hiring situation was. I would be competing for jobs against REAL artists. I didn't have a chance. Due to the bad economy, I couldn't even get a graphics job in the local copy shop without any work experience. Eventually I ended up in retail management and other career pursuits and gave up completely on creating art.

It was 20 long years before I considered being an artist again. But in the meantime, I was a shadow artist. I would watch TV commercials or look at art in galleries and say, "I could do better than that!" "How did they get a job in some prestigious ad agency, only to turn out those boring, non-creative commercials?" Even worse, some company was paying that ad agency for those crappy commercials and passing the costs on to me, the consumer! It was a double insult.

Eventually, the anger turned into action. I went back to art. I started taking lessons and workshops to build up my skills. I recently ran into several positive and supportive people, who encourage my painting and jewelry making endeavors. I no longer want to be an ad exec, just an artist who makes attractive art that other people can enjoy and possibly purchase.

Who were some of the people who discouraged your growth as an artist? Write about it and mentally rid yourself of those "monsters" so you can focus on creating art NOW. Sharing your stories with other artists can help others in the same boat, so please leave a comment and become a part of this support network.

"The Artist's Way" - Come Journey Along With Me

A good friend of mine, who is also a wonderful watercolorist, recently recommended this book by Julia Cameron. I had asked her if she could mentor me in my budding watercolor career and this book was her first suggestion. WOW. This book has immensely helped me already and I've only had it a week. It is a twelve week program designed to jump start or restart your creativity. You can learn more about it at The Artist's Way website. Someone on their forum suggested blogging about your journey, and I thought, what a perfect fit for my Artist Motivation Blog! I hope you will join with me in going through this process and let me and others know how your creativity has benefitted from this experience.

The Artist's Way is not new, it was first published in 1992, but at the time I was a newlywed and had strayed away from any artistic pursuits. It was not until 2003 that I began to feel the creative urge to paint again (and in 2006 to start making jewelry). So to those that have been artists a long time this may be nothing new. But a lot of people like me are just discovering this treasure now.

She suggests 2 main ways to get your creative juices flowing: morning pages and artist's dates. Since she is a writer, her focus is on writing or journaling every day. I easily did my morning pages last Monday and said to myself, "writing is NOT my problem", gaining skills in drawing and painting is my roadblock. So instead of morning pages, I will be doodling and drawing whatever comes to mind. The creative ideas I come up with will then be present on paper for later reference instead of filed away in my brain never to be retrieved again. Anyone who is an artist knows it takes PRACTICE to be really good at something (see my post titled Practice, Practice, Practice from July 7, 2009). The artist dates will be no problem for me, as I do them already. I love to go to museums and view artwork, I like experiencing new things and trying out new skills. But maybe these "dates" will be something new for you, and I want to be the first one to encourage you to start "dating" again.

I will begin posting weekly blogs in conjunction with the chapters of the book starting in early November. I know this is a busy time of year, but I encourage you to pick up the book and join me on the journey. It would be great to have some artist friends to compare notes with. The paperback book can be purchased on Amazon.com for less than $12. I bought the workbook to go with it, so I'd have some place to record my activities and experiments, and to get my free shipping from Amazon. I actually bought the Complete Artist's Way which is a very nice hardcover book that also includes two of her other books, Walking in this World, and Finding Water, and it costs less than $20, and is printed in the USA!

FYI: I do not receive any compensation for mentioning these books or for providing links to Amazon. This is purely for my creative benefit and yours.

So get your books and I'll see you in November!

FINISHED DRAGONFLY PENDANT

As promised, here is the finished pendant. The photo does not do it justice. The irridescent patina on the fine silver is so colorful- pinks and golds and blues. One of the eyes changed color from orange to gold when I fired it in the kiln. What are you gonna do? :^) Sometimes things are out of your control despite your best efforts.

Dragonfly Pendant Deadline

Top: Fired & Polished PMC pendant. Middle: Fired PMC pendant. Bottom: Unfired PMC pendant

Sometimes it just takes a deadline to put a fire under your butt and get something finished. Such was the case with this Precious Metal Clay (PMC) Fine Silver dragonfly pin, still in progress, that I promised as a silent auction item to our local Alzheimer's Association fundraiser. Because the PMC is so fragile before it is fired, I accidentally broke off one or more wings and finally succeeded on the FOURTH version. Version one, in the middle with the blue eyes, also turned out all right, but I thought it was too big. Little did I know the smaller wings would cause me so much trouble.

Well, what did I learn through this? For one thing, perseverance, since I had promised this to a fundraiser, I had to finish it. I couldn't just get frustrated and quit. I just had to keep on keeping on. What else? Well, I took all the broken off wings, "glued" them together with syringe clay, and I'm going to fire them first THEN attach them to the bodies. If this works, I'm much more likely to make more of these in the future.

As long as you learn something from your mistakes, nothing is lost but a little time.

I'll post a photo of the finished dragonfly pendant in my next blog. This project taken from Irina Miech's book, "Inventive Metal Clay for Beaders".

Stop and then get to work!

(Another great post from Alyson Stanfield's blog)

►Do you ever find yourself looking for more information than you need?



►Do you catch yourself reading and reading (and clicking and clicking) and never taking action?



►Are you looking for the magic bullet--that one thing (as if there were one thing) that will propel your art career forward faster than you could have imagined?

Stop!

Stop gathering information, stop looking for something that doesn't exist, and start doing. 

There is no single thing you can do to "make it" in the art world. A successful career is the result of years of labor--both in and out of the studio. It is the sum of hundreds and thousands of actions, regardless of how small the actions seem at the moment. 

It's easy to get lost in the quest for knowledge. You search on the Internet, and one link leads to another. Before you know it, you can't remember what you were looking for. This is a sign that you're either procrastinating on taking action, or you aren't focused on your goal. It's also an indication that it's time to stop gathering information and start taking action.

There are two other signs that you have the know-how you need.

1) Messages start repeating themselves. It never hurts to hear something multiple times in order to learn it, but it does hurt to hear something multiple times and not act on or benefit from the knowledge.

2) You have consumed multiple viewpoints and maybe even conflicting advice. It's useful to have more than one opinion about how to do something. Sure, this might create confusion, but it will also force you to make a decision about what's best for you.

Don't stop gathering knowledge forever, but catch yourself. If you find yourself getting lost in a sea of information and advice, it's time to call forth your wise inner self and give it a voice: "I have the knowledge I need. I can get to work now."


Know This . . . You have the knowledge you need to accomplish a great deal. Think About This . . . Have the messages been repeating themselves? Are you hearing the same thing over and over again? Do This . . . Stop looking for knowledge that you already have and then get to work. Listen to your wise inner self. If you get stuck, you can return to your information bank and review what you know. © 2009 Alyson B. Stanfield. Alyson takes the mystery out of marketing your art and making more money as an artist. Visit http://www.ArtBizCoach.com to get articles just like this one delivered to your inbox.

You've got to read this blog link!

Sometimes you run across someone else's blog post which smacks you alongside the head and snaps you out of your comfort zone. Patti Digh's post from March 11th is one of them. Here are a few of my favorite snippets:

(substitute "make art" for writing or whatever it is that you want to do)

"sit back down and stay in the room. SURE, I know the laundry just got fascinating, but sit the hell down and write (make art)."

“I haven’t been able to write,” people say to me all the time. “No, actually,” I respond, “You have been able to write, but you have chosen not to.”

"sit the hell down and write. Sit alone with yourself and a piece of paper without thinking about an audience, your database, the best way to market using social media."

"Sit with yourself and your unique place in the world and write it all down. Write it all down. Speak your voice. So many people say they need to find their voice. You have a voice, now use it, damn it."

"Can’t say what you want because people won’t understand or like it? Who are you living for? Yourself or people with wallets? Yourself or applause? Yourself or validation?"

“People won’t like what I’ve written. They won’t buy it. It’ll never get published.” WHO CARES? Who cares."

For the full impact of the blog, please read the entire blog post at this link:

http://www.37days.com/2010/03/how-to-write-a-book-a-wee-rant.html

GET THE ENERGY!

There is nothing I find more energizing than taking a workshop with an artist whose style I absolutely love. I decided last fall I wanted to pursue the art of precious metal clay (PMC). I went through all the articles, recommendations for tools and materials, made an Excel sheet of what the vendors carried and their prices, and chose the kiln and tools that I would order. I bought a book or two on PMC jewelry and read tutorials and watched videos.

I even tried making a few pieces. One I am very proud of, as it was not a beginner project, is my 5 peas in a pod. Yet I still had doubts about my ability to remember everything I’d learned and put it into practice. And I certainly didn’t want to waste PMC on practices or failures, given its not inexpensive price.

So, after being in the energetic doldrums for what seemed like forever (I think they call it “winter”), I went to a PMC Certification class in mid-March, conveniently located in my home state of Wisconsin. But not just any class, though. This one was being taught by my very favorite PMC artist, Irina Miech.

We made earrings out of sheet clay using scrapbooking stamp cutters. Other projects included a leaf-shaped pendant with a dichroic glass bead, a filigree style leaf made out of syringe clay, a pendant with a prong-set faceted stone, a band style ring, a hollow metal bead, and a pod bead made from a dried flower pod.

I left this class so energized, I immediately registered for the PMC Level 2 class next weekend. What did I learn from this experience? Find an artist whose work you love and take a workshop from them. Having someone there to demonstrate the techniques in person and to answer questions is invaluable! The encouragement from the instructor is uplifting and energizing. Interacting with other artists is stimulating.

I have found that this is what works best for me.

What works best for you in inspiring your creative energy? Comments?

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2010. It’s hard to believe we’ve lived through a whole decade in the 2000’s already. Time sure does fly. Its that time of year when everyone thinks about what they did or didn’t accomplish in the past year. How did you do on your home business goals? I found a very helpful post on Alyson Stanfield’s website, ArtBizBlog. She suggests focusing on your ACCOMPLISHMENTS and gives you several good questions to think about. I went through, listed my accomplishments, and read them over. It made me feel really good. Good progress was made in many areas in 2009, including trying new sales venues, like an outdoor show and placing my jewelry in businesses, such as a salon, an art gallery, and a winery. I even took my own advice and got a job teaching jewelry making at our local technical college. I got interested in Precious Metal Clay and threw myself wholeheartedly into learning this fairly new metal media, buying all the tools and equipment required to create fine silver jewelry. I even cleaned a space on the counter in my laundry room so I could work on it there without having to go down into the dark and cold basement. In March I plan to take the Level 1 PMC certification class. Now there is some positive motivation!

What was the most glaring thing I didn’t do in 2009? Enter my art work in shows and competitions. I really would have liked to have increased my body of work more. That is my goal for 2010: create and make more jewelry and get it out there and noticed. Isn’t that supposed to be the fun part, anyway?

What major goal did YOU accomplish in 2009? What’s YOUR big goal for 2010? Let us know!

Hello Everyone,

It's been awhile since I've had time to blog. So much to do... so little time!

I recently received this article from Alyson Stanfield at http://www.artbizcoach.com.

It has a slight Halloween theme, but hey, I'm only a few days late! Since Thanksgiving is coming soon, now would be a great time to write thank you notes!

Trick and Treat Yourself

Chrysti Hydeck, The Stirring of Birds. Photograph and mixed-media painting. ©The Artist http://chrysti.wordpress.com/

What chores, tasks, or jobs do you find yourself delaying or ignoring altogether? What do you dread so much that you neglect? Sadly, it’s often the stuff you really need to do--the things you can’t afford to ignore. See if you’re overlooking any of these.

• Making follow-up calls

• Writing thank-you notes

• Updating your mailing list

• Overhauling your inventory

• Cleaning your studio or office

• Balancing your books

• Researching your next series

• Making art (It happens!)

If you’ve been procrastinating something, identify it. Don’t be afraid! Just name it. After you’ve confessed, you can trick yourself into completing it and getting it off your mind. Of course, your tricks can be followed by treats. Here are some tricks that have worked for me.

TRICK - - - > Adjust your perspective.
Starting a task you don’t enjoy with a bad attitude won’t help anything. Instead, look at it differently. If you don’t like packing artwork to ship to new owners, don’t think about it as packing artwork. Think of it with a $ in front of it. “Yea! I’m shipping out a $500 sale!” is a better approach than “I really don’t want to go to the store to get more bubble wrap.”

►Treat: Download some happy tunes to match your new ‘tude.

TRICK - - - > Take baby steps.
“Clean out my office by Thanksgiving” sounds overwhelming. Instead, focus on the smallest action. Recycle or throw away 5 things each day, organize a single drawer, or buy new files.

►Treat: Pick up a new organizing component at the thrift store--maybe a filing cabinet or shelf.

TRICK - - - > Block out time on your calendar.
Having a vague idea that you need to get something done is one thing. Creating time and space for it is quite different. When you see the time scheduled on your calendar, remember that it’s a commitment you made to yourself. Don’t change it just because you’d rather be doing something else.

►Treat: “Me Time.” Your gift for honoring the commitment you made to your professional life is time for your personal well-being. Block out more time on your calendar for a hike, a manicure, or a long hot bath.

TRICK - - - > Set your timer.
If you promise to do something for 15 or 30 minutes, you can make a game of it. It’s amazing how hard you will work to beat the clock before time runs out. It also creates a certain amount of momentum, so allow yourself the flexibility to keep going after the timer buzzes.

►Treat: Chocolate, of course. Or maybe a small new art supply.

TRICK - - - > Get out.
Sometimes it just takes fresh scenery to be inspired. Plop down at a coffee shop to write your thank-you notes. Visit the library to research your next series instead of staying at your computer. Go to any other room in the house to journal in preparation for your artist statement.

►Treat: None. Getting out is a treat in itself!

FINAL WORD: Remember that for every trick you use to complete a project, a treat is waiting for you.

© 2009 Alyson B. Stanfield

Teach A Class!

It's getting to be late summer and everyone has been very busy, including me! As we know there are only so many hours in a day, and oh so many things to do. Sometimes we need a little extra incentive to work on our art projects. So... why not sign up to TEACH a class? One of my top career goals is to teach classes and workshops, besides growing as an artist in jewelry making and watercolor. What better way to make sure things get done than having to be prepared to teach someone else?

Teaching others a new art skill can be a very rewarding experience. Seeing someone learn something new to enrich their quality of life is a reward in itself. It's a good way to get into contact with people, which can be difficult when you are an artist working at home.

Are you skilled enough to teach a class? Start with beginners, who don't know anything about the art skill. You are already a step ahead of them. Teach senior citizens. They would love to learn something different and to get out and socialize with other people. Like self-employed artists, seniors can often be isolated, as well.

So I encourage you this fall to get involved in your community and teach an art class!

Acquire new knowledge whilst thinking over the old, and you may become a teacher of others. - Confucius

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

It seems I see these words EVERYWHERE these days. From art blogs, to art books, to motivational articles and beyond. It seems I am finally getting the message. Even “naturals” had to practice to learn their craft. Sadly, the most recent example of this was Michael Jackson. No one disputes how gifted and talented a musician and dancer he was. But one of the things I kept hearing over and over again is how much he practiced and rehearsed, first as part of the Jackson 5 and then as a solo artist. They say he could spend an entire day practicing and perfecting one dance move. That is dedication and that is discipline. He WORKED to make his dreams reality. He didn’t get on stage, sing and then go sit on his couch until the next show. Why should we be any different?

For me, fear of doing a mediocre or bad piece stops me from getting around to doing a good piece. That’s ridiculous. Every famous artist has done some not so great pieces in his career. We just don’t see them. You have to create some so-so ones to get the gems in between. In beaded jewelry, it’s easy enough to pull something apart if you don’t like it, but in painting, its on a piece of paper. Either you wash it off or throw it out if you fail. That’s a scary thought. No one wants to take a piece of their art that they have invested their time and heart into and toss it into the trash can. Just because we have physical evidence of our failures during practice, whereas a singer or dancer does not, this should not stop us from creating. Your thoughts???

"I found that the men and women who 
got to the top were those who did the jobs they had in hand, with everything they 
had of energy and enthusiasm and hard work." -Harry S. Truman

Do a little more each day than you think you can. -Lowell Thomas

Caribbean Blues & Floral Magentas

Mimi Frawley of A Thousand Dreams Designs, recently emailed me 2 of her beautiful Nature inspired jewelry projects.

The top picture is her summer free-form peyote bracelet in progress, one of a limited edition of four pieces. She was inspired by this beautiful photo of Dianthus flowers.

Mimi said the Caribbean Bay Blues Charm Bracelet was inspired by the gorgeous blues of a Carribean Bay in the US Virgin Island of St. John. The bracelet is all hand done, including the shell and starfish charms of precious metal clay fired to fine silver (.999 silver) and also includes charms of freshwater coin pearls, Amazonite gem stones, and 6mm swarovski crystals in the color Caribbean Blue Opal.

Notice in the photo of the water, that there is color palette across the top. This is the Color Schemer tool Mimi mentioned in her informative two part blog on color on the ETSY Wisconsin Street "Moo Crew" blog. If you have a MAC you can download this tool for a free 15 day trial, but after that it costs $49.99. You can insert your picture and the program automatically creates a palette from the colors in the picture. The circles (see photo) can be moved around, so you can adjust the palette until you're happy with it. I absolutely LOVE this tool, as I can use it for both my jewelry making and my watercolor painting. So far, I have only spent about 1 hour trying it out, and I am looking forward to seeing what else it can do.

For Windows users, they have a free Color Schemer Color Pix download, but that only picks colors one at a time.

Thanks Mimi, for sharing your stunning Nature-inspired jewelry pieces with us!

(I apologize for the goofy layout of this entry. These Blogspot pre-made templates apparently have a mind of their own.)

www - wonderful watercolor workshop!

Wonderful!  That’s the best word to describe my experience last week as I attended a 5 day watercolor painting workshop taught by Judy Morris.  She is a master of using textures and other design methods such as stenciling, lettering, and stamping in her watercolor painting.  (See her Tratorria painting on her home page for an example. Since my husband and I are wine fanatics and love to go out to eat when we can afford it, I just HAD to buy a giclee reproduction of this painting.)  The event was held in conjunction with the annual juried show of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America.

I had a fantastic time!  The camaraderie with other artists was great, the teaching was superb, and the organization of the workshop itself outstanding.   If you have a chance in whatever media you work in, to get away for a workshop, DO IT! 

There’s nothing better to inspire your creativity and give you new energy than getting away from real life and relaxing for a while.  It’s also inspiring hanging around in the company of other artists.  I was having dinner with 2 of the ladies in a quaint little coffeeshop/restaurant and they stood up and started taking pictures of all the stuff hanging on the walls.  A majority of people wouldn’t even notice these items, but they were seeing all of its art and design and getting inspiration to paint from it! 

If you can’t get away to a workshop, think about joining your local arts organization. You get the benefit of the camaraderie with other artists without the expense of travel and lodging. It can also open you up to other types of art, networking, and show opportunities. And quite frankly, with the current tough economic times, these organizations could really use your help.

Now I must come back down to earth and get busy on a commissioned jewelry piece, which will transform an heirloom wedding ring into a pendant to honor the ring owner’s grandparents.  I’m really getting to like doing these heirloom pieces.

Don’t forget, if you have any recent nature inspired art to email to me for use on my blog, here’s your chance to get some free publicity! (lwjlynn@frontiernet.net)

Creativity

Yesterday the temperatures were in the 80's and the leaves are almost fully out on the trees.  Now is the time to get out there and get inspired to create art! No matter what art media you are involved in (I suspect most of you are jewelry makers), inspiration can be found anywhere. Nature is probably THE best inspiration for art.  Look for the following:  colors and color harmonies; textures and patterns, especially in foliage; repetition of color & texture in a scene.  Take a trip to a botanical garden and take pictures of pleasing color combinations amongst the flowers.  Reading books on landscape design are very helpful in learning these principles of art and design.

Email me (lwjlynn@frontiernet.net) a digital .jpg photo of a Nature inspired art piece you have recently created  and I will try to post them throughout the summer on my blog. Please tell a short story of what in Nature inspired you to create your art.

ANOTHER GOOD PROCRASTINATION QUOTE:

Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoy it today, you can do it again tomorrow." James Michener

This is SOOOO true and fits in well with the comments below. I think I'm going to make a little sign of this one to hang on my computer.

Anybody else want to pick a quote from the post below and tell us how you can use it to increase your productivity?

PROCRASTINATION - What's Your Story?

Below are some quotes about procrastination that I really like. Pick one and tell us how it applies to your art and life: (I love to get comments!)

Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment. ~Robert Benchley

The two rules of procrastination: 1) Do it today. 2) Tomorrow will be today tomorrow. ~Author Unknown

You may delay, but time will not. ~Benjamin Franklin

Someday is not a day of the week. ~Author Unknown

If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it. ~Olin Miller

What may be done at any time will be done at no time. ~Scottish Proverb

A year from now you may wish you had started today. ~Karen Lamb

Source: www.quotegarden.com/procrastination.html

Sarah's Ring

It was no coincidence that I posted the quote below on Sunday. I knew what my next blog was going to be about: Sarah’s Ring.

Sarah and I met through the young adult singles group at a church I went to 20-25 years ago. Like most people in the group, I eventually got married and lost touch with most of my friends and acquaintances. The last time I saw Sarah was at my wedding in 1993. That was a coincidence. She was attending a banquet at the same hotel/convention complex and saw the sign for my wedding on the door and she poked her head in to say hi. In 2006, I began my jewelry training at the local technical college. I knew she taught there and I hoped I’d run into her sooner or later. Well, it was more later, but to shorten the story some, I saw her at a bake sale and invited her to our student jewelry show/sale. She brought with her a beautiful 10x14 oval jade cabachon and a mangled ring that it once was set in. She said it was her mother’s ring (she had passed away) and could I make a new setting for it?

This was my first major commissioned piece, and in 14K gold which I had less experience working with than sterling silver. I found a beautiful filigree head that was about the size of the stone. She loved it as much as I did and so I ordered it. Unfortunately, it was a fraction too small for the stone. Now, my stonesetting experience at the time was limited to about 6 rings I made in stonesetting class, barely enough to get my feet wet at the skill. I put a few inquiries out to jewelry making forums on how to do this. As you may know, it is not typical to set cabachons in 4 prong settings but it certainly can be done. Getting written advice is definitely not as good as seeing someone else do it, but I plugged on with it SLOWLY.

Being a perfectionist and knowing the trials and tribulations I went through with jewelry class projects, I did not want to get ahead of my abilities. And I did not want to have to do things over or repair them in process. I did not work on the ring when I did not feel I could give it my best, so it took me awhile to complete the ring. Just when I thought it was completed I decided the stone hung over the setting too far unprotected on the ends. Now what was I going to do? After thinking about it for a few days, it dawned upon me to use the end prongs from her old setting which were still usable. I had some difficulties getting those on the new ring and one broke off once so I had to redo it, but I persevered and yesterday I finally delivered the finished ring to Sarah. This piece is a redesigned family heirloom that she will pass on to her niece someday when she herself passes on. The original end prongs that I used to solve a problem that had arisen in process gave the ring even more beauty and sentimental value.

So what point am I trying to make? Perseverance allowed me to provide her with a beautiful heirloom ring. Taking my time allowed me to work through the challenges without having to redo things over and over, or having to replace a prong or two in the process. Was it all a joyful experience as I was working on it, and did I feel guilty for how long it was taking me? No, and you bet.

But I sure was happy yesterday when I saw the smile on her face when she got the ring. That smile and thank you made it all worth it. And I got the challenge of taking on and succeeding at a project that I would probably never had attempted or finished on my own. And, despite some minor imperfections, I was very happy with the finished product.

So don’t be afraid to take on a challenge, but remember to be patient and persevere throughout the process. I think perseverance has helped me get or achieve most all the good things I have in my life and that will probably be true in your life as well.

Patience & Perseverance

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect 
before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."   

 -John Quincy Adams

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