Before and During….the Pandemic. The first picture is of me when I last had a haircut…pre-quarantine, back in March. Which seems like EONS ago, doesn’t it? The second image is of me today looking well, older (who doesn’t feel like they’ve aged 10 years in the last 5 months?).
Today I want to introduce myself. I live in Bend, Oregon and I’m an artist. Most of you probably know me more as an encaustic painter. I still identify myself that way. I also co-own and run a small physical therapy practice with my husband Burke. Over the years as life got more complicated, finding the motivation to paint as a serious, professional fine artist felt more elusive. I’m not going to apologize for that even though it can feel like a failure (more on that below). What many of you probably don’t know is that for many years after college I had a small business creating jewelry using primarily semi-precious stone beads and sterling silver wire. About a year ago, I felt called back to jewelry but sought what I had always found lacking in my former beadworking skills: being able to create my own components from scratch.
Learning Metalsmithing quickly energized me creatively and now I am obsessed. I am tool-crazy. I am in love with designing, learning by feel and FAILURE-the most necessary learning tool I can think of. When I am overwhelmed by the uncertainties of our Pandemic world, I can find peace by using my hands, I can distract myself by making headpins and chains. I can work out my fear and frustration and hammer metal, really really hard. With small successes comes the limitless feeling I have when working with metal, and the hunger to keep learning more more more. As far as I know, true creativity means continual change, and what we need is change.
So here I am, hoping to bring a little art, a little beauty into my life, maybe even your life. I promise I’ll get back to painting too. And learning Ukelele. And exploring nature by bike and on foot. And doing random sculpture projects. Oh, and I want to learn Joni Mitchell’s Blue on the piano (no I don’t know how to play). And get a haircut- at some point…