Wedding Bands and "Jewelry Camp"

Well, it has been a busy summer, and as Wedding Band "season" begins to quiet down, I have a little time to reflect...

Working with couples to create their symbols of love and commitment has got to be one of THE most rewarding jobs there is. We are not talking cookie cutter Wedding Rings here. You can get those just about anywhere. We are talking about sitting down and talking and expressing ideas and dreams, building upon those until we all just KNOW the perfect design and representation. Working closely with one another through the process, the couples begin to feel their ideas taking shape- as I share photos of every stage of the process with them. It is such a wonderful feeling to look at my calendar and say Oh! Today is their Wedding!! I had a part in that~ and I am most grateful. 

Inviting the children in my family to come into my workshop for a day or more of "Jewelry Camp" has also been very rewarding. I made my first piece of jewelry in my Dad's garage at age ten. It was the bare beginnings of a lifestyle for me. To introduce a child to "how we do it" is really rewarding, and who knows, maybe it will plant a seed to carry on this old time-honored craft to future generations. To realize that you can create things of meaning and durability with your hands, that will in turn be handed down to future generations, long outlasting the "maker"... that is a gift.

 I feel that being stingy with our knowledge, our craft, hurts everyone. We did not invent the wheel~ sure there are designs that are "ours" and out of respect we do not copy one another. It is my feeling that we all are given the same tools and basic "ingredients", it is what we do creatively, that feeds our souls as artists, that take us each into our own "niche", corners of the world.