Who's A Lousy Blogger?

I am. I started off attempting to share a bit of what was going into our jewelry shoot and got so engrossed in everything we were working on, that (much to Chad’s chagrin) I neglected my blogging duties. I can either be creating, or blogging…I have done a lousy job of doing both….So, effective today, I am going to do everyone proud here at the 408 studio and WRITE my FIRST blog (if you could only hear the facetious whoo hoo’s!! and clapping going on out in the halls here) AND make a commitment to post regularly. (That's right, my friends, I'm coming clean.......all previous posts were graciously written by someone else, (thanks, Chad) and he has informed me that it is now time for me to Do It Myself! I really want whatever we’re posting to be useful, of interest, and empowering, and I guess my struggle has always been with what to blog about…which is ridiculous because we are making so many cool discoveries around here on a daily basis, that that, in and of itself, is exciting stuff to be sharing. As with any new project, I just need to sit down and DO IT…
So, off I go….with a little diddy about breakin’ the rules. George Bernard Shaw’s quote sums it up best with “You see things; and say “Why?” But I dream things that never were; and I say “Why not?” Flooring on the ceiling… “Why not!” Stones out of solder…. “Why not!”; Toolbench for a bathroom vanity… “Why not!” If no one ever dangles their creative limbs out there and tries something different, everything will always be same-0, same-0. How b0ring. I can't even begin to express the fulfillment that comes from exploring new ideas, experimenting, and using materials in unexpected ways. I just spent a few weeks fiddling with every material under the sun to create jewelry with and I now ask…….Who says jewelry has to be made up of shiny, polished metals? A rusty patina can be just as amazing. As a matter of fact, I purposely make shiny things darkened and distressed and find that that makes them all the more interesting. Most jewelry books will tell you NOT to use wire from the hardware store…. “why not!” Even baling wire has found a special place in my jewelry box.
Why make jewelry out of a material that may not last forever…. “why not!” Whatever time I have with it, is time well spent. Being creative and artful should be FUN. So many people get hung up on the rules and the rights and wrongs, or what 'other people' think, that it could suck the fun out of any project or idea. Not everyone is going to like all of your ideas all of the time, and that's OK. What I have found is that giving myself the freedom to make a mistake, to be wrong, to go out on that proverbial limb, has been the most liberating experience creatively. Some of my best discoveries have surfaced smack dab in the middle of a big, messy mistake. So, whatever mistakes I’m makin’ and whatever rules I’m breakin’, I’ll be sharin’, HERE!
I now leave you with a brief snippet of some of the sights and sounds that I shamefully neglected to blog about over the past few weeks….one of a kind jewelry -- in the making.
Enjoy!
michele..(really)