The Unbroken Circle

As a jewelry designer, I guess it's time to start blogging a little about my work. I made these circle posts before I left on my trip to add to my collection at Black Dog Salvage in Roanoke, VA.

I've taken the last three weeks off of work to travel, and reflect upon my life.

As much as I want some things to stay the same forever, time keeps on marching on, doesn't it? That was evident on my trip to Colorado.

I made these earrings before I left for my trip. They are rough little circle posts with a lot of texture. They look a little worn with some patina, just like life.

The circle is a universal symbol of change.

It reminds us that what feels difficult now will become easier with time. It's also a symbol that reflects back to us that when things are going great, they will change to not so great.

That's just how life works.

What's so neat about a circle is that every point on the circle always leads back to being in balance, no matter where you are on the circle.

The promise of the future carries us forward even if the present feels like it will never get better.

But it will.

Our lives are filled with circles.

We live in different phases of life daily, watching as the sun fades in the evening turning into dark, then the future brings us the dawn of a new day.

Relationships change. They are strong, then become weak, then strong again.

And on and on it goes, right?

We breathe in...we breathe out. Always in balance until the breath eventually stops, and we become part of another phase in a much bigger circle.

I've learned to grab onto life and hold on and let go as needed.

Whatever the present moment asks of me, I try to listen, even if the phase I'm presently in sucks big time.

The promise of the circle is that it will change, and I'm here for it.

Random fact about me: I cook all of my food from scratch, one ingredient at time. I feel so much better eating this way.

Time for a new pair of earrings

Every year in August since my mother passed, I fly out to Arkansas and my step-father and I drive to the 4 Corners area of the United States for a couple of weeks.

This is our 4th trip. Mom died in 2021, and this year we will be staying mostly in the Crested Butte area of Colorado. We'll be doing a lot of exploring and my step-father has a little gold-panning set-up that we will be having fun with during our daily excursions.

This is the time of year when I make myself a pair of earrings for the trip. Last year's pair, pictured below, was great fun and really captured the spirit of the trip since we spent most of our time around old ruins. I promptly sold them, however, around Christmas, and now they belong to a lovely lady who is a pottery instructor.

What design will be born this week?

I think I want some color for this trip, since the flowers should be beautiful in Colorado this time of year.

Today, I'll be doing some more experimenting with porcelain clay jewelry, and the batch of earrings I made last week go into the kiln for their first fire.

I'm really looking forward to seeing where that direction in jewelry design goes, and trying not to get too impatient with the learning curve it requires.

This week has been rough for me physically. I am dealing with a die-off reaction from the newest protocol I'm on for psoriasis. I was in the clear for 5 months, but when we started to go after the fungal stuff, my body became overburdened and I have a mild breakout on my body, and a severe breakout on my head.

Healing takes time, but man, this sucks.

I get a hair cut today and I've debated off and on all week about canceling it. Fortunately, my hairdresser has psoriasis too, so she's pretty cool about dealing with my head when I'm having a break out. I'm still self-conscious about it though.

Thank God for nice people!

Random fact about me: I would rather drive a standard shift than an automatic.

How Stringing Beads Changed My Life at 38

When I was 38, I had to stop working.

Shayne and I were about to move to Singapore due to a job transfer for his business. They are pretty strict about working there if you don't have a work visa.

Nobody in Singapore was going to sponsor me for a real estate work visa, the only career I had any experience in up to that point.

I was facing an existential moment of identity.

I'd been working in the real estate field since college, and I had no clue about where to go next.

I went to see a counselor, and she gave me the best advice.

She asked me, "What do you do when there isn't anything you have to do? You know, when the household chores are done, and you just have free time."

I blurted out, "I string beads and make simple necklaces."

She told me to keep doing that, and it would all work out.

I replied, "But don't you think I'm too old to start learning how to make serious jewelry?"

I don't know why, but 38 seemed long in the tooth to me then.

She said, "Well, if you make it to 58, you'll already have 20 years of experience. And I'm 56 and from where I'm sitting, I still have plenty of years ahead of me to work. I'd rather enjoy what I'm doing now than being stuck in a decision I made 20 years ago that I felt at the time was playing it safe."

She then advised me to do something daily to learn more about making jewelry.

She also stressed to me not to make a big deal out of it.

So I did. One thing led to another. A class here, a workshop there.

Then I started teaching others, and writing articles for magazines and before you know it, I had myself a new career.

Bead stringing guided me to other interests too.

I explored metal working, Human Design, and photography. I started writing articles for jewelry magazines, joined gallery memberships, and opened a few studios. 

I have a small card line in watercolors and gel pens.

Today, I have a studio where I share space with potters.

I'm branching out into using ceramics in my jewelry designs, because I'm taking advantage of my environment to learn something new.

I have a rich life.

I'm turning 58 this year, and yes, I now have 20 years of experience as a jewelry designer under my belt.

Her advice was worth the dough I paid her.

And it's still all working out.