Hi Lisa:
The woman next to her didn't use stones at all--colored pencil on base metal, completely gorgeous.
I think the work of Deb Karash (if this is who you mean) beautiful.
Kim, you say you wouldn't buy synthetic stones but, in many ways, glass beads are "imitation" stones. Why are they so saleable? Why do you create with them? They aren't any more "natural" than a Chatham Created emerald.
This is a good point (and I think someone else brought this up too).
This is why (sad) I don’t respect and, therefore, don’t wear what I
make. It sells and it brings me money to take metals classes and buy
equipment. Up until now, if a customer says to me “you are so bare,
you make great jewelry and don’t have anything on” I make a dumb
excuse like “I didn’t have anything that matched today”. It’s very
silly, I know.
There is something driving me forward to the goal of making
something outstanding. Every day, I wake up and the first thought
that comes to me is “how can I get closer to making something
beautiful?” I have been a translator of Russian for the USAF, I have
been an accountant, I have been (and always will be) a Mom, and I
have been an owner of a small business. Never have I felt this way of
anything else. My goal is elusive, I know. When I say “I wouldn’t
wear a synthetic stone” it’s true and I also don’t wear what I create
either. It’s that certain “I don’t know”. It’s a feeling that is so
mysterious to me that I couldn’t even tell you the reason why. From
the outside, my attitude looks a bit snobby, but I don’t know how to
make it sound better. When I can look at something I have made and
see all the beauty in it and wonder at the whole concept “how did I
get to the point where I can create something like that” then i will
be where I want to go. But who knows, then I may look at the whole
situation and say “well, I’ve done that, what’s next?” Maybe it’s
better to always strive towards a goal without completely reaching
it.
I’m going to stop trying to make sense now.
Kim Starbard