Celebrating the Small Successes

Nearly six weeks gone by and no post.  For shame!  Thanks, MaryBeth, for prodding me a little.

I have had my first small success.  I finally made a totally wearable piece of jewelry for a reasonable cost that I am proud to say is mine.  It was harder to get there than I expected.  The piece is a brooch, made from a vintage doily soaked in red epoxy-based resin, cured and trimmed in the form of a hemisphere and set, gemstone-like, in a simple silver bezel.

Digging into my jewelry roots, I have found it surprisingly difficult to make something unexpected.  The first pieces I made were brightly colored earrings (an example is pictured below), constructed of hollow boxes filled with resin and sanded to a smooth surface.  They are really quite cute and I have enjoyed wearing and gifting them, but they are also similar to other jewelry I've seen and I can't say I want to be defined by them.  

www.etsy.com/shop/EricaDuffyVoss

This leads me to ask:

Are we defined by what we make?

Why I am so afraid to be associated with jewelry I feel is just "average" or "the norm?"  Is it because I don't want to be viewed as average or just so-so?  I think this is, in part, the case, but I also believe I have a unique perspective--as every person does, and want to demonstrate this by what I produce.

Up until now, I have been doing this by making artwork about my own experiences--first about stuttering and more recently about handcraft itself and the power of art to communicate and transform.  This somehow seems like "important" work--that somehow I can change the perceptions and ideas of others through art.  But that may just be my ego elbowing into things.  It has also, to some extent, been the view of the art world in general--"Craft" is often viewed as the ugly stepsister to "Art."  I don't believe this, but the concept has pervaded my worldview.

I sit here imagining Snow White's stepmother as the ugly witch poisoning the apples from which Snow White will later take her fatal bite.  I was so afraid of this scene when I first saw it in the movie theater as a young child I literally ran out.  But isn't that how some ideas become part of our lens for viewing the world?  We ingest just one little piece at a time until--BOOM--it's got you!  Okay, perhaps a bit melodramatic, but my point is that what we believe about the world comes from many, many experiences over time.  We may remember some of the major ones, like the day you ran a staple right through your finger moments after your Grandma told you not to touch the stapler (I was four), but forget the minor ones, like, oh....when you burned a batch of cookies.  You don't remember the kind of cookie or how old you were or any of the other circumstances, but you learn to check your cookies' progress more often as they bake to ensure you get just the right brown.

I digress.

I am happy to report my second small success--my first sales!  I sold a few pairs of earrings through a small craft sale hosted by a friend in Alexandria, Virginia.  Onwards and upwards!