How I fell in Love with Creating

I grew up in a military family. We moved every 2 years during my childhood and I attended 6 different schools. Somehow in all of the moving I don't remember ever taking an art class. I never considered this a problem or felt that I had missed something.  If I thought about creativity at all I didn't think of myself as artistic or creative. 
I wanted to be though, it was the 70's after all!

As a young adult I learned to knit and crochet as well as how use a sewing machine.I took some ceramic classes and asked a favorite Aunt to teach me the basics of decorative painting.


An old key takes on new life as a necklace.

 I enjoyed exploring artistic possibilities. It was fun to follow a pattern and complete a project.
I took a watercolor class and tried to teach myself to draw by following the exercises in a book called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.  I still find drawing even a simple form a daunting task but while doing these exercises, for the first time in my life I felt like I was letting go and allowing myself to create.
For the first time I felt the focus of artistic pursuit.

In January of 2006 I enrolled in a community sponsored class about jewelry making. The class was fun and the beads were addictive. Google searches lead me to jewelry designers Eni Oken, Preston Reuther and Sharilyn Miller whose work with beads and gemstones showcases them with wire.
  
My imagination soared. I fell in love with wire wrapping and other cold connections. They allowed me  to use unconventional materials to create jewelry.

I began incorporating small treasures into my pieces.
Beach glass, pretty stones, old coins, vintage hardware, game tokens, fossils and pieces of old Valentines all found their way into my designs. 

Yes, my designs.  I am finally an artist, a person who loves to create. A person who designs jewelry as wearable art because she doesn't know how to stop.