Yes! That's right this month marks one whole year that my site had been up and running. When I originally planned my own site it was to merely be a shop front to sell my book but I knew it could be so much more. When I had that spark to make it a resource for others then things really expanded. This site has bought me so much joy and all the people who have participated in newsletters each month have been a huge part of that. Each interview has shown me what amazing people there are around the globe creating with joy and magic. I am constantly in awe at what they share and that they are happy to do so on my site!
This month I have a jeweller from England, Amity Roach, to speak about her amazing creations. Amity's work is mystical and timeless. It conjures images of Arthurian courts yet is fresh and new at the same time. Amity is yet another new energy creator who is successfully using the internet to share her creations with the rest of the world upon the Etsy network. (Check out Amity's site to see how!) Another brilliant example of how the internet has dissolved the 'tyranny of distance' is in the collaboration between Chris Simon and Lars Anton Lautenslager. Both Lars and Chris were past interviewees in newsletters and ended up working together. Chris joins us to speak about the experience and has generously provided some streaming audio so you can listen to their beautiful creation. When I first heard it I just melted in my chair!
The video site YouTube is another amazing example of the internet's ability to create and share. I love getting lost within that site as it is a treasure trove of creativity, nostalgia, inspiration and some great laughs. This month I am sharing with you a short animated film called 'Hedgehog in the Fog"
As I put together the newsletter I am always amazed that the people I have interviewed seem to show me something beyond their words. This month I felt it as I was placing Amity's and Chris's photos. Suddenly I thought "These guys are really beautiful." This isn't beauty in the sense of Cinderella or Prince Charming but a beauty that is so much more than what we 'see'. It is a beauty that embraces joy, creativity, wisdom, sharing, expansion, teaching and so much more. It is not a beauty that is measured just by sight but by all our senses and beyond. When Kuthumi says,"you are kind of good looking" this is what he means. It is a beauty to be felt and in the new energy the more we choose to feel then the more of this beauty we will experience both within and around us.
Featured Artist; AmityRoach
How did you begin making jewellery? It’s something that has evolved through my experimentation with various different forms of expressing my creativity. At some point I made a decision to just intuitively follow what I was enjoying, whatever that may be, and that meandering path eventually brought me to my love for crystals. I actually started out creating wood and gemstone mobile type art pieces, which led to gemstone photography, which led to me finding a little place called Etsy.com where I had my eyes opened to what I perceive to be a revolution of sorts. It’s a handmade-only buying and selling venue with great style, character and spirit. Somewhere along the way I got inspired to make some completely ridiculous, although pretty, wire and gemstone earrings, which kept getting tangled in people’s hair and would pull out of shape. I think it was probably these faults in my designs that got me hooked in the first place; I discovered a driving desire to stick with it and be a better designer. That’s a character trait I’d had trouble locating for quite some time. I’ve studied a multitude of things; make-up artistry, Reflexology, web design, etc… I am a passion seeker. If it doesn’t fit me, doesn’t fire me up, then I have a difficult time sticking with it. Experience is finally teaching me to see that as a talent rather than a flaw.
When did you decide that you would create pieces to sell? What is it like seeing someone wear one of your creations? The designing and selling aspects came into play simultaneously since I was already exploring ecommerce. The independence and wide open potentials that come with running your own business were just irresistible to me. I love time in solitude and have a grand passion with the internet, so it really suits me well. I also supply pieces to a few brick & mortar galleries and shops, which is great fun and a totally different experience. It’s such a pleasure to see my designs being presented in a physical store environment and it has been known to inspire me to dream that one day I’ll take the leap and open my own café-shop! It always blows my mind a little to think of all the different countries my Jewellery is being worn in, that’s the beauty of selling online. Actually seeing my Jewellery worn in person is really the ultimate compliment. I’ve also had a few international customers send me photos of them wearing their Jewellery, which is so awesome…it touches me deeply, it really does. That people take the time to do that is just so sweet.
I love that you describe that your pieces are “direct from my two hands to yours”. There is a real sense of joy in this. What does this contact with your customers mean to you? Oh I love it, it’s very fulfilling being able to ship directly to my customers and in return get feedback directly from them. Many times my customers have helped me to be a better designer. Take Swallow’s Journey Ring for example, it was so well received as a concept piece but the original design was somewhat impractical and awkward to wear because the Turquoise ball was so huge.
Through customer feedback I’ve been able to refine the design which now has a flattened Turquoise disk and wears so much more comfortably and beautifully. It’s a simple change, but it’s one that I may have overlooked had I not had that level of communication with my customers. There are a lot of different roles involved in my work because I’m solely responsible for getting my work out there.For example, the photography of my jewellery is both a challenge and a great joy depending on what day you ask me about it!It’s definitely a creative process in itself and I strive to seek a balance between presenting my pieces in an unusual and eye-catching, yet clear way. I can’t tell you how much I prefer working for myself to designing for big manufacturers.Last year I took on a job designing Jewellery for some of the biggest high street fashion retailers in the UK and I really missed the contact with customers, amongst so many things.I was working in a one-size-fits-all kind of framework, which felt very confining very quickly.No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t adhere to the idea that the general public is so limited in its taste.I have a lot of faith in the innate artistic-ness in the essence of humankind, which so often expresses itself through fashion.
Can you talk about how a new piece of jewellery may manifest for you? What inspires a new creation for you? You know, I actually find those very difficult questions because for all intents and purposes it usually happens without a lot of involvement from my mind. The act of creating something physical with my hands seems to engage my mind on a certain level which quietens it for the most part. I’m sure that most people would be familiar with the experience of being totally in the now moment with a creation, where the rest of the world fades away. It’s very experimental and playful and it’s a great place to be. Inspiration comes in many forms like nature, my customers, movies, feelings, too many to list really, but I’ve found that the inspiration for the most successful of my designs seems to pop right out from nowhere at all. No place that I can pin on a map anyway. I like it that way, it feels fresh and authentic and it’s just so exciting that people respond to it.
How do you see your work evolving? I’m hoping to be able to craft my designs in silver soon, which feels like a natural step and is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. The kit that I’ll be using to do this also opens up a whole new world of possibilities that I’ll be exploring. From what I understand at this early stage, electroforming and electroplating are techniques that enable you to turn almost anything into a piece of Jewellery. Some day I’d like to own a kiln as well, to get to grips with something called PMC (Precious Metal Clay).
In life I have a desire to go beyond my own perceived limits and boundaries of what I can create. This desire expresses itself in my work too of course, I love to teach myself new techniques and look at things from new perspectives. There’s a lot of joy in suddenly seeing things completely differently for me.I’m going to continue following what I enjoy whatever direction that takes me in, because that’s the most real, and most fun, way of living that I know of.
Hedgehog In The Fog This is a beautiful short animated film based on a Russian fairytale. Apart from being a gorgeous piece of creative art it is also a beautiful analogy for our spritual journey. Hit the "play" icon in the centre of the screen to get started.
Featured Artist; Chris Simon
When Marisa interviewed me last November about my Kuthumi Book, she asked me "What’s next for you?" and at the time the best I answer I had was something like "I just have a real sense that music is somehow going to enter my Creations". Then she interviewed Lars last December about his Kuthumi-inspired music. I read her December newsletter in January, listened to Lars' song "Old Human Ways", burst into tears and sent him an e-mail saying something about a feeling that we might be working/creating together.
A few days later, while I was working with a client, I had what I'll call a "flash" and then managed to jot down these words (that I later sent to Lars): "…it very much feels like what you and I will be working on together will be my voice (speaking, not singing), your music, "beyond relaxation", "beyond wellness", wrapped in a most beautiful energy of "New Love", such that when other Dear Humans hear our Creation, they will be exposed to the potential of their own expansion and expression…"
Then a few days later, while I was working with a different client, they made a very clear statement about how they felt my voice was calming, relaxing and seemingly healing. Shortly after that, I sent Lars a recording I had done when I was experimenting with capturing my words in audio (rather than text) and in a very short time he melded that voice-only recording of my words with some of his music. And that very recording is what Marisa is now making available for you.
The only other thing I can say is that when Lars sent me that audio, I listened to it 4 different times and cried more each time. Enjoy.
Chris's Kuthumi book "Good Blowing Job! How To Get A-Head With The Breath" is available as an E-book at http://www.lulu.com/content/1264307 I will have more on Chris's next book very soon!
