Please have a look and if you have a story that you would like to share with me, I would be honored to share it on my blog with creds and links to you.
Showing posts with label Patsy Kolesar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patsy Kolesar. Show all posts
Friday, September 14, 2012
My Life In Jewels
I've been working on a new side project for the past little while. I have started a new blog called My Life In Jewels. I created My Life In Jewels because I wanted a place to tell my personal jewellery history and I wanted to learn other stories of jewellery. I know that lots of people have pieces of jewellery that mean something to them and I want to learn about those stories.
Please have a look and if you have a story that you would like to share with me, I would be honored to share it on my blog with creds and links to you.
Please have a look and if you have a story that you would like to share with me, I would be honored to share it on my blog with creds and links to you.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Telling The Truth
"Telling the truth is like spreading the underside of your wings, you see that part only when you fly"
- Sabrina Ward Harrison.
I brought the above words with me on my artist residency.
I also brought images of birds in flight, wings, butterflies, flowers, flying sculptures........
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| Sculptures by Ranjani Shettar |
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| Papaya Art |
My life for the past couple of years has been moving. At times I've been pushing it..... and dragging it forward. At other times its been tunneling right over me and I haven't been sure if I can catch up with it.
Through-out all of this movement I've had my feet firmly planted on an earth that was familiar, my home, my life, my apartment, my street.
Until now. I needed to firmly step off of solid ground - on my terms this time......and fly.
For these reasons my work while in Holland has been influenced by the ideas of flight, moving, propelling forward, leaping, taking risks, changing, evolving, wings, wheels, growth, petals, freedom, letting go, growth, renewal.......
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| "Telling The Truth", Brooch - copper, wire, felt, thread |
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Artist Residencies
I'm preparing to go on my first Artist Residency this spring. Since deciding to go, I've had lots of questions from people about the why, what, who, and how of of it. So, I'm going to tell you all more about it here and hopefully inspire some of you to start looking for your own residency experience.
I first really learned about Artist residencies last spring when I attended my first Society of North American Goldsmith's conference in Seattle. We heard an artist named Heidi Schwegler speak. She talked about her experience of doing 4 residencies in 1 year. I remember feeling inspired. How blissful it sounded to travel to another country to make art. She said she wasn't sure how she would be able to do the residencies financially and work wise, but she just started applying. When she got accepted to 4 in a 1 year period, she said everything just started coming together for her. This got my mind ticking a little.....
When I got home from that conference I started to look into residencies. Being a Jewelry Artist, I have always had some trouble calling myself an "Artist"........ I didn't go to Emily Carr, I don't have my Masters in Fine Arts....... I went to VCC a local community college and earned a Diploma in Jewelry Art and Design, I've taken numerous art and jewelry classes from other local artists, I've participated in national and international exhibitions......but still I have some trouble calling myself an Artist, weird yes. So to even look into artist residencies I felt somehow like an impostor. I found some really great websites, (listed below) that had tons of information on them. I was excited to see that there are residency opportunities all over the world and that they all have different requirements. For some you might need your masters in fine art, while others really want to offer space to emerging artists. Some are communal experiences, some are more solo driven. Some you can go for a couple of weeks, others can be months or a year.
After finding a handful of residencies that interested me I asked my beau if he would be interested in applying too and going together to one if possible. His response was, "But I'm not an artist, only you are", hmmm, interesting. My response to him, "But you've made a movie, and you have played and toured in bands nationally and internationally, and you haven't worked for anyone but yourself in over 15 years"............So.......we started applying...... two "non artists" started to apply to artist residencies, submitting proposals of work we wanted to create while on the residencies. And we started to get accepted.
We are now getting ready to go to Renkum, a small town in The Netherlands. Where I will create 30 (gasp) new one of a kind pieces of wearable art, using various types of metal wire, fabric, and found objects and he will write a script for a new movie. You know non artist type stuff!
This amazing opportunity is through an arts organization called OBRAS. They have residency opportunities in both The Netherlands and in Portugal.
The most comprehensive list of artist residencies that I found was this:
www.resartis.org
You have to just start looking through them to see if you want them and if they might want you. Some of them do require a lot of experience, and some prefer that you are emerging.
Here is a video that Heidi Schwegler made during one of her residencies. It was really this video and hearing her speak that inspired it all for me.
I first really learned about Artist residencies last spring when I attended my first Society of North American Goldsmith's conference in Seattle. We heard an artist named Heidi Schwegler speak. She talked about her experience of doing 4 residencies in 1 year. I remember feeling inspired. How blissful it sounded to travel to another country to make art. She said she wasn't sure how she would be able to do the residencies financially and work wise, but she just started applying. When she got accepted to 4 in a 1 year period, she said everything just started coming together for her. This got my mind ticking a little.....
When I got home from that conference I started to look into residencies. Being a Jewelry Artist, I have always had some trouble calling myself an "Artist"........ I didn't go to Emily Carr, I don't have my Masters in Fine Arts....... I went to VCC a local community college and earned a Diploma in Jewelry Art and Design, I've taken numerous art and jewelry classes from other local artists, I've participated in national and international exhibitions......but still I have some trouble calling myself an Artist, weird yes. So to even look into artist residencies I felt somehow like an impostor. I found some really great websites, (listed below) that had tons of information on them. I was excited to see that there are residency opportunities all over the world and that they all have different requirements. For some you might need your masters in fine art, while others really want to offer space to emerging artists. Some are communal experiences, some are more solo driven. Some you can go for a couple of weeks, others can be months or a year.
After finding a handful of residencies that interested me I asked my beau if he would be interested in applying too and going together to one if possible. His response was, "But I'm not an artist, only you are", hmmm, interesting. My response to him, "But you've made a movie, and you have played and toured in bands nationally and internationally, and you haven't worked for anyone but yourself in over 15 years"............So.......we started applying...... two "non artists" started to apply to artist residencies, submitting proposals of work we wanted to create while on the residencies. And we started to get accepted.
We are now getting ready to go to Renkum, a small town in The Netherlands. Where I will create 30 (gasp) new one of a kind pieces of wearable art, using various types of metal wire, fabric, and found objects and he will write a script for a new movie. You know non artist type stuff!
This amazing opportunity is through an arts organization called OBRAS. They have residency opportunities in both The Netherlands and in Portugal.
The most comprehensive list of artist residencies that I found was this:
www.resartis.org
You have to just start looking through them to see if you want them and if they might want you. Some of them do require a lot of experience, and some prefer that you are emerging.
Here is a video that Heidi Schwegler made during one of her residencies. It was really this video and hearing her speak that inspired it all for me.
Wrest 01 from heidi schwegler on Vimeo.
And........There's still time to help me make the most of this experience. I have a little crowd funding project going on Rocket Hub right now. $20 of support gets you a hand written post card from Holland, and who doesn't want that?
Monday, January 23, 2012
You can feel the past in precious metal......
Jewelry has a history. It has a past. It has experienced love and hope. It has experienced heartbreak and painful endings.
I often have people asking me if I can make something old into something new. I get it. We have jewelry that once was and now is not. We have jewelry that just sits somewhere dusty.
I appreciate the desire to turn it into something we actually want to wear. But I also appreciate the history of a piece of jewelry. You can feel the past in precious metal, it has an energy. Even the pieces that ended in heartbreak once experienced the energy of great love. And heartbreak also has a painful honest pure energy that is beautiful.
So, I'm mixed about turning our history in jewels into new pieces.......
Here are two pieces of my history in jewels. These are my two earliest memories of jewelry. They were both given to me by my Nana and Grandpa, who lived in Australia. The brooch was the first piece of jewelry I ever got. It is hand engraved. It is not perfect, which makes me love it that much more. The bird necklace is enameled, some of the blue enamel in the middle of the bird has chipped off, but I would never try to fix it because that chip is part of my history.
I often have people asking me if I can make something old into something new. I get it. We have jewelry that once was and now is not. We have jewelry that just sits somewhere dusty.
I appreciate the desire to turn it into something we actually want to wear. But I also appreciate the history of a piece of jewelry. You can feel the past in precious metal, it has an energy. Even the pieces that ended in heartbreak once experienced the energy of great love. And heartbreak also has a painful honest pure energy that is beautiful.
So, I'm mixed about turning our history in jewels into new pieces.......
Here are two pieces of my history in jewels. These are my two earliest memories of jewelry. They were both given to me by my Nana and Grandpa, who lived in Australia. The brooch was the first piece of jewelry I ever got. It is hand engraved. It is not perfect, which makes me love it that much more. The bird necklace is enameled, some of the blue enamel in the middle of the bird has chipped off, but I would never try to fix it because that chip is part of my history.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Inspired. Connected. Nourished. Creative Spirit.
Inspired. Connected. Nourished. Creative Spirit.
These are my words.
These are the words that hang taped to my hallway wall above the painting that my 2 year old nephew and I created together.
These are the words that represent the way I want to feel EVERYDAY of my life which came to me via Danielle Laporte's Spark Kit.
My past 4 days were spent in Seattle at the the SNAG conference and I felt these words fill me up and take me to a place of enthralling enjoyment that I don't get to very often.
Inspired. Well, hello Lola Brooks. We listened to her speak on the first day of the conference and this really set the tone for me. She was engaging, intelligent, incredibly witty, and desperately inspiring. She also was wearing a denim pant suit and after she spoke I had to resist the urge to run up to her, tell her that I loved her and that I too own a denim pant suit.
Connected. I took the train down with 3 other jewelers. Simone Richmond, Stephanie Menard, and Brendalynn Avender. We shared a room together and we shared the experience. I don't remember the last time I giggled so much, had so much fun and so little sleep. We talked art, jewelry, geeked out on tool and stone shopping, shared our passions and dreams, analysed love and boys, and helped each other to navigate the twisted path of being an artist.
Nourished. Sharon Massey took one of my cards and told me she really liked my work. Deb Stoner took one of my cards and told me I had great images. The fact that I'm even near their radar makes me believe in possibilities and confirms that I'm moving in the right direction.
Creative Spirit. Everywhere you looked at this conference people were wearing art. Amazing, beautiful, creative, interesting, innovative, hand made art jewelry. I was submerged for 4 days with a thousand other people who all share my passion for taking risks, and trying new things.
Lola Brooks. Image taken from the American Craft Magazine article about her.
Here we are. Stephanie ($27 dollar Sandwich) Menard, Patsy (what happens at SNAG stays at SNAG) Kolesar, Simone (we love drunk Simone) Richmond, and Brenda Lynn (WTFBL?) Avender.
This ring was my favourite ring from the many amazing pieces at the Ring A Day show at the Punch Gallery. It's created by Victoria Takahashi, made of wood, mixed metals, polymer clay, dyed leather, and acorn cap.
A very sweet girl gave me this hand made patch. (I don't have her name, so if anyone knows who she was please let me know and I will give her the credit and link on my blog) I love this. This captures the feeling of my whole conference experience.
Metalsmithing IS for Lovers.
Thank-you to everyone who made my first ever SNAG conference one of the most Inspiring, Connecting, Nourishing, and Creative weekends of my life. xo -patsy.
These are my words.
These are the words that hang taped to my hallway wall above the painting that my 2 year old nephew and I created together.
These are the words that represent the way I want to feel EVERYDAY of my life which came to me via Danielle Laporte's Spark Kit.
My past 4 days were spent in Seattle at the the SNAG conference and I felt these words fill me up and take me to a place of enthralling enjoyment that I don't get to very often.
Inspired. Well, hello Lola Brooks. We listened to her speak on the first day of the conference and this really set the tone for me. She was engaging, intelligent, incredibly witty, and desperately inspiring. She also was wearing a denim pant suit and after she spoke I had to resist the urge to run up to her, tell her that I loved her and that I too own a denim pant suit.
Connected. I took the train down with 3 other jewelers. Simone Richmond, Stephanie Menard, and Brendalynn Avender. We shared a room together and we shared the experience. I don't remember the last time I giggled so much, had so much fun and so little sleep. We talked art, jewelry, geeked out on tool and stone shopping, shared our passions and dreams, analysed love and boys, and helped each other to navigate the twisted path of being an artist.
Nourished. Sharon Massey took one of my cards and told me she really liked my work. Deb Stoner took one of my cards and told me I had great images. The fact that I'm even near their radar makes me believe in possibilities and confirms that I'm moving in the right direction.
Creative Spirit. Everywhere you looked at this conference people were wearing art. Amazing, beautiful, creative, interesting, innovative, hand made art jewelry. I was submerged for 4 days with a thousand other people who all share my passion for taking risks, and trying new things.
Lola Brooks. Image taken from the American Craft Magazine article about her.
Here we are. Stephanie ($27 dollar Sandwich) Menard, Patsy (what happens at SNAG stays at SNAG) Kolesar, Simone (we love drunk Simone) Richmond, and Brenda Lynn (WTFBL?) Avender.
This ring was my favourite ring from the many amazing pieces at the Ring A Day show at the Punch Gallery. It's created by Victoria Takahashi, made of wood, mixed metals, polymer clay, dyed leather, and acorn cap.
A very sweet girl gave me this hand made patch. (I don't have her name, so if anyone knows who she was please let me know and I will give her the credit and link on my blog) I love this. This captures the feeling of my whole conference experience.Metalsmithing IS for Lovers.
Thank-you to everyone who made my first ever SNAG conference one of the most Inspiring, Connecting, Nourishing, and Creative weekends of my life. xo -patsy.
Monday, May 2, 2011
A Ring A Week
I'm very excited about a new little jewelry project that I am a part of!
Starting this week until the Culture Crawl in November I will making "A Ring A Week". Myself and 4 other jewelry artists at The Onion Studio will be participating in this project. Our rules are:
And now the unveiling of my Week 1 Ring:
"Finding Balance" - A quirky fun little ring made as a reminder that "Finding Balance" isn't as important as being able to laugh at yourself and know that you are real - flaws, neurosis, bleeding heart and all - accept it, laugh at your not so cool moments, and move on.
Starting this week until the Culture Crawl in November I will making "A Ring A Week". Myself and 4 other jewelry artists at The Onion Studio will be participating in this project. Our rules are:
- We each have to make one new ring every week starting May 1st until the week of the Culture Crawl - all designs have to be one of a kind and something that we've never made before.
- They can be made out of any materials - not just metal. They crazy, bizarre, experimental, functional or non-functional- As long as they go around your finger.
- They all must be for sale during the Culture Crawl - This is the exciting part for all of you! I have to warn you though - that I will likely be making all of mine in my ring size, which is a 5.5 - 6.5 depending on the finger. I know this is slightly unfair, but getting to wear a new ring each week will make this project even more exciting for me. People think that I have a huge stock of personal jewelry, but I am always making jewelry for other people, so I really only keep a few pieces to wear myself. If you are my same ring size then come early to the crawl this year, cause there will be lots of pretty rings made just for you, tehehe.
And now the unveiling of my Week 1 Ring:
"Finding Balance" - A quirky fun little ring made as a reminder that "Finding Balance" isn't as important as being able to laugh at yourself and know that you are real - flaws, neurosis, bleeding heart and all - accept it, laugh at your not so cool moments, and move on.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
How The Rise In Silver Prices Will Effect My Business
I've talked a lot about fear on my blog and about trying to move beyond fear.......
Lately I have been stuck in a pretty deep swamp of fear.
You see my industry is changing. When I started out in my jewelry career only 3 short years ago the cost of silver, my metal of choice, was around $18 an ounce. Today silver is at an all time high of $38 an ounce and it is only expected to continue rising in price. They are anticipating that it could get as high as $60 an ounce by the end of this year and in the next couple of years could rise as high as $250 an ounce.
I use sterling silver in every single piece of jewelry I make. Sterling silver chain, clasps, earring hooks, posts, wire, and sheet. It's all silver. Which means that every single component of my pieces has more then doubled in cost and is going to continue to rise. Which is really freaking scary.
When I talk about this in my circle,the average response is always "why don't you just raise your prices?" and yes, I will have to raise my prices. But this is a bigger issue then just raising my prices. Raising my prices to the extent that I will have to if silver prices get as high as predicted could completely change the market that I'm selling to. It could mean that my current market, my amazing customers that I have been selling to for the past number of years might no longer be able to buy my work, or will at least have to buy less often, or really think before buying. I really value my customers and my stores so thinking about them no longer being my target market is scary. I worry that this rise in silver prices will push out some of the businesses at my level in the industry if we don't prepare for it.
I feel like I need to get out of my frozen in fear state of mind and be proactive and protective of my business that I've built. So I've come up with some options and would love some feedback and thoughts from my customers, my fellow jewelers, my peers, other business owners, mentors, smart people, and Donald Trump (because I'm pretty sure he reads my blog).
Here are the options:
1. Continue growing my line as it is and increase my prices as needed.
2. Change to plated silver components in my jewelry, possibly even silver plated enameled pieces to keep my prices in the same price range they are in.
3. Explore alternative materials......base metals, fabrics..etc to try to keep costs down and prices low.
4. Create a gold line. Move higher end with my work and embrace a higher end market.
5. Move to Argentina, find a husband named Pablo and drink wine all day and all night.
If you want to share some feedback, ideas, tips, or just have a conversation with me please comment below or send me an email to info@pkkdesign.com
Lately I have been stuck in a pretty deep swamp of fear.
You see my industry is changing. When I started out in my jewelry career only 3 short years ago the cost of silver, my metal of choice, was around $18 an ounce. Today silver is at an all time high of $38 an ounce and it is only expected to continue rising in price. They are anticipating that it could get as high as $60 an ounce by the end of this year and in the next couple of years could rise as high as $250 an ounce.
I use sterling silver in every single piece of jewelry I make. Sterling silver chain, clasps, earring hooks, posts, wire, and sheet. It's all silver. Which means that every single component of my pieces has more then doubled in cost and is going to continue to rise. Which is really freaking scary.
When I talk about this in my circle,the average response is always "why don't you just raise your prices?" and yes, I will have to raise my prices. But this is a bigger issue then just raising my prices. Raising my prices to the extent that I will have to if silver prices get as high as predicted could completely change the market that I'm selling to. It could mean that my current market, my amazing customers that I have been selling to for the past number of years might no longer be able to buy my work, or will at least have to buy less often, or really think before buying. I really value my customers and my stores so thinking about them no longer being my target market is scary. I worry that this rise in silver prices will push out some of the businesses at my level in the industry if we don't prepare for it.
I feel like I need to get out of my frozen in fear state of mind and be proactive and protective of my business that I've built. So I've come up with some options and would love some feedback and thoughts from my customers, my fellow jewelers, my peers, other business owners, mentors, smart people, and Donald Trump (because I'm pretty sure he reads my blog).
Here are the options:
1. Continue growing my line as it is and increase my prices as needed.
2. Change to plated silver components in my jewelry, possibly even silver plated enameled pieces to keep my prices in the same price range they are in.
3. Explore alternative materials......base metals, fabrics..etc to try to keep costs down and prices low.
4. Create a gold line. Move higher end with my work and embrace a higher end market.
5. Move to Argentina, find a husband named Pablo and drink wine all day and all night.
If you want to share some feedback, ideas, tips, or just have a conversation with me please comment below or send me an email to info@pkkdesign.com
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Nothing Will Ever Be Perfect
I have always been drawn to imperfection.
When I was six years old I was at my sisters highland dance competition and my Mom treated me to a toy from the vendors to keep me content for the day. I chose a little stuffed koala bear (why a koala bear was at a highland dance competition, I'm not sure). When i brought the koala back to my seat with me I noticed that he wasn't perfect. He was missing two of his little felted black paw pads. I showed my Mom and she took me to exchange him for a perfect one. When I got back to my seat with my now perfect koala bear, instead of being content I was sad. I felt bad for the imperfect one. I worried that he wouldn't ever find a home. I told my Mom about my worries and she sweetly took me to exchange the koala again for my original imperfect one.
I have always been drawn to the imperfect. If something is twisted, crinkled, rusted, ripped or slightly off center and it finds it's way to me then it has likely found a home. I think the imperfectness of a hand made object is magical. I think that loving someone who knows the truth of their flaws is enlightening. Imperfection has so much more truth in it then perfection. At the end of the day I want to know that my day was real, raw, honest, and authentic. I don't care if it was perfect. Nothing will ever be perfect. One of my favourite writers Kelly Diels talks about how the conditions for creativity will never be ideal. I think this translates to all aspects of life - the conditions for falling in love will never be perfect, the conditions for taking risk will never be perfect.
I create objects with my two hands in a small studio space shared with 3 other jewelers, in a windowless old warehouse in east Vancouver. But when I sit at my bench and start to hammer metal I'm in the most beautiful, serene place and I create things that mean something.
When I was six years old and that little koala with the missing felted paw pads was in my arms again, I was finally content. I knew that the imperfect koala was meant to be mine. I knew that for my heart to love something it didn't have to be perfect.....It just had to feel right.
ps. This post was inspired by my online friend and fellow maker of jewelry with meaning, Amy Ambroult, you can check out her beautiful blogpost that inspired me here and you can see her authentic jewelry here. Thanks Amy.
pps. If you enjoy reading my blog, lets keep in touch.
You can tweet with me on twitter @patsykaykolesar
or join my facebook page www.facebook.com/pkkdesign
When I was six years old I was at my sisters highland dance competition and my Mom treated me to a toy from the vendors to keep me content for the day. I chose a little stuffed koala bear (why a koala bear was at a highland dance competition, I'm not sure). When i brought the koala back to my seat with me I noticed that he wasn't perfect. He was missing two of his little felted black paw pads. I showed my Mom and she took me to exchange him for a perfect one. When I got back to my seat with my now perfect koala bear, instead of being content I was sad. I felt bad for the imperfect one. I worried that he wouldn't ever find a home. I told my Mom about my worries and she sweetly took me to exchange the koala again for my original imperfect one.
I have always been drawn to the imperfect. If something is twisted, crinkled, rusted, ripped or slightly off center and it finds it's way to me then it has likely found a home. I think the imperfectness of a hand made object is magical. I think that loving someone who knows the truth of their flaws is enlightening. Imperfection has so much more truth in it then perfection. At the end of the day I want to know that my day was real, raw, honest, and authentic. I don't care if it was perfect. Nothing will ever be perfect. One of my favourite writers Kelly Diels talks about how the conditions for creativity will never be ideal. I think this translates to all aspects of life - the conditions for falling in love will never be perfect, the conditions for taking risk will never be perfect.
I create objects with my two hands in a small studio space shared with 3 other jewelers, in a windowless old warehouse in east Vancouver. But when I sit at my bench and start to hammer metal I'm in the most beautiful, serene place and I create things that mean something.
When I was six years old and that little koala with the missing felted paw pads was in my arms again, I was finally content. I knew that the imperfect koala was meant to be mine. I knew that for my heart to love something it didn't have to be perfect.....It just had to feel right.
ps. This post was inspired by my online friend and fellow maker of jewelry with meaning, Amy Ambroult, you can check out her beautiful blogpost that inspired me here and you can see her authentic jewelry here. Thanks Amy.
pps. If you enjoy reading my blog, lets keep in touch.
You can tweet with me on twitter @patsykaykolesar
or join my facebook page www.facebook.com/pkkdesign
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Black Diamond Engagement Ring
Making a One of a Kind Engagement Ring.....
In December I got a phone call from a friend, Mitch asking me if I could make an engagement ring. He wanted to propose to his lovely girlfriend Amanda on their 3 year anniversary.......which was two weeks away!
Mitch and Amanda are two very unique people, so I had a feeling it wasn't going to be a traditional solitaire diamond ring - which is great, because I'm not really a traditional gal myself. I met with Mitch and he had some big ideas - he wanted a ring that was scroll like in design and he wanted a black diamond. His scroll like design was inspired by a key........Mitch's Dad had given him three beautiful vintage keys from the 1920's. Mitch's Dad had passed away 3 years ago, so these keys were very sentimental to him. For Mitch and Amanda's last anniversary he had given Amanda one of the keys. I swooned a little after hearing the story behind it and I knew that I wanted to make the ring from the key. I suggested that we make a rubber mold of the key and cast the key into metal and I would cut it apart, play with it and make it into a one of a kind engagement ring.....lofty goals for a two week timeline......but life is all about love and taking risks so I was up for the challenge.
Being a metalsmith is an interesting art.....I have now worked with metal for over 5 years.....Everything should work out just perfectly all the time........but not so much......Each new one of a kind project brings with it new challenges. I couldn't figure out some important things about this ring....It was cast from a key......it had beautiful swirls, lovely curves, soft round edges.....this made it tricky to figure out how to construct a ring shank that worked with it. I tried a number of methods.....things fell apart in the ninth hour....I called my friend and fellow jeweller Simone....she came and looked at my challenge. She said some calm encouraging words and convinced me to go home and come back to it in the morning with fresh eyes, which I did.
The next day in the very early hours of the morning with my fresh eyes and fresh cup of coffee I saw things differently. Things went smoothly, everything started to work and flow and fit together. I made the shank a double shank and it still looked feminine and soft. The black diamond fit the bezel perfectly.....Everything turned out and the ring looked beautiful, unique, vintage, truly one of a kind.
Making this engagement ring was an incredible project. Just like in a marriage I hit some challenging moments, but I didn't give up because being involved in that kind of love is soul stirring.
Pulled from the blog of my always favourite inspiring writer Danielle Laporte, some words on Marriage.....
***A little side note.....Mitch is an amazing artist and tattoo artist.....I may even have some recent personal experience with how amazing his skills are.....(future blog post) - you can check out his blog here www.tattoosbymitch.blogspot.com
In December I got a phone call from a friend, Mitch asking me if I could make an engagement ring. He wanted to propose to his lovely girlfriend Amanda on their 3 year anniversary.......which was two weeks away!
Mitch and Amanda are two very unique people, so I had a feeling it wasn't going to be a traditional solitaire diamond ring - which is great, because I'm not really a traditional gal myself. I met with Mitch and he had some big ideas - he wanted a ring that was scroll like in design and he wanted a black diamond. His scroll like design was inspired by a key........Mitch's Dad had given him three beautiful vintage keys from the 1920's. Mitch's Dad had passed away 3 years ago, so these keys were very sentimental to him. For Mitch and Amanda's last anniversary he had given Amanda one of the keys. I swooned a little after hearing the story behind it and I knew that I wanted to make the ring from the key. I suggested that we make a rubber mold of the key and cast the key into metal and I would cut it apart, play with it and make it into a one of a kind engagement ring.....lofty goals for a two week timeline......but life is all about love and taking risks so I was up for the challenge.
Being a metalsmith is an interesting art.....I have now worked with metal for over 5 years.....Everything should work out just perfectly all the time........but not so much......Each new one of a kind project brings with it new challenges. I couldn't figure out some important things about this ring....It was cast from a key......it had beautiful swirls, lovely curves, soft round edges.....this made it tricky to figure out how to construct a ring shank that worked with it. I tried a number of methods.....things fell apart in the ninth hour....I called my friend and fellow jeweller Simone....she came and looked at my challenge. She said some calm encouraging words and convinced me to go home and come back to it in the morning with fresh eyes, which I did.
The next day in the very early hours of the morning with my fresh eyes and fresh cup of coffee I saw things differently. Things went smoothly, everything started to work and flow and fit together. I made the shank a double shank and it still looked feminine and soft. The black diamond fit the bezel perfectly.....Everything turned out and the ring looked beautiful, unique, vintage, truly one of a kind.
Making this engagement ring was an incredible project. Just like in a marriage I hit some challenging moments, but I didn't give up because being involved in that kind of love is soul stirring.
The original key
Mitch and Amanda's One of a Kind Black Diamond Engagement Ring
Pulled from the blog of my always favourite inspiring writer Danielle Laporte, some words on Marriage.....
Marriage is not a love affair,
it's an ordeal.
It is a religious exercise, a sacrament,
the grace of participating in another life.
If you go into marriage with a program,
you will find that it won't work.
Successful marriage
is leading innovative lives together,
being open, non-programmed.
It's a free fall: how you handle each new thing as it comes along.
As a drop of oil on the sea,
you must float,
using intellect and compassion
to ride the waves.
- Joseph Campbell
***A little side note.....Mitch is an amazing artist and tattoo artist.....I may even have some recent personal experience with how amazing his skills are.....(future blog post) - you can check out his blog here www.tattoosbymitch.blogspot.com
Thursday, December 30, 2010
A New Year A New Journal
Before Christmas I went to one of my favourite book stores and bought myself a few presents. I have never done that before - buy myself Christmas gifts. It felt fantastic and I am so thankful that I did it. One of the gifts I gave myself was a new journal. It is made by one of my favourite artists Sabrina Ward Harrison. It is called The True and the Questions. It is a beautiful combination of her drawings, collage, and writing. It gives insightful and soulful prompts so I am not left staring at a blank white page wondering which neurotic thought I should start writing about. The pages are thick, colourful and silky. I have been writing and sketching, adding my own thoughts and dreams to hers, taking her prompts and letting my own messy life flow into it.
Here are some highlights.....
I love the last line...."and trip holding your hand because I am listening so closely".
I'm not sharing my top kisses with my darling readers....but I am looking forward to flipping back through the kisses of my life so far, and filling this page in.
I changed this one to "I Want to Show The World...in 2011", I thought it was fitting since we are nearing the new year.
And one of her many beautiful drawings.
Sabrina has many other beautiful art books that she has published. You can find them all on her website www.sabrinawardharrison.com
2011......Lets do it. xoxo
Here are some highlights.....
I love the last line...."and trip holding your hand because I am listening so closely".
I'm not sharing my top kisses with my darling readers....but I am looking forward to flipping back through the kisses of my life so far, and filling this page in.
I changed this one to "I Want to Show The World...in 2011", I thought it was fitting since we are nearing the new year.
And one of her many beautiful drawings.Sabrina has many other beautiful art books that she has published. You can find them all on her website www.sabrinawardharrison.com
2011......Lets do it. xoxo
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Patsy Kolesar - Billboards & Buses
I am so thrilled that the One of a Kind Show is using one of my amazing photographs for their advertising campaign. There are at least two billboards and a few city buses that right now have my name Patsy Kolesar on them with the stunning photo of my She Said Yes necklace.This photo was one of three taken by the talented Mike Lewis of Clash Photo.
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