I’ve been reading Orchid with great interest for many months, and
would like to take a deep breath and introduce myself.
I’m a jewelry-making hobbyist. My full-time job is as a Tasting
Coordinator for a consumer wine magazine called Wine Spectator. Yes,
I have about 100 bottles of wine on my desk and we taste (and spit)
wine here nearly every day. I also write and do research, and have
done so with great joy for nearly 8 years now. I live in Napa,
California, and everything I report on is in my back yard.
Over the years, I’ve tried every artistic outlet I could think of;
mask making, stone carving, hip hop dancing (that was a mistake), and
finally I feel like I’ve found my niche with jewelry making. It’s
kind of funny because I don’t even wear that much jewelry, but I
think what I like about it is that it’s a tactile form of art. You
can touch it and play with it and really immerse yourself in it. When
I go to a bead show, I feel like I’m at an art museum, but I can
touch anything I want to.
Most of my work has been with beads; looms and some wire work. I
studied with a metal smither. And now I’m starting with PMC. And
after years of friends getting great Christmas gifts and telling me I
should sell my work, I’m beginning to think about it. Maybe.
So, that’s one of the reasons I’ve been spending more time reading
Orchid. I’m beginning to ask myself if I could really make the leap.
More than anything, I wonder if the joy of creating would be dampened
by the selling process.
Anyway, thanks for all your wisdom (direct and indirect), and I look
forward to chatting with you.