I like to create. Most of us probably do, when you think about it.
For me -- and I consider myself fortunate here -- childhood was all about creation. Painting furniture, watching mom & dad in the photography darkroom, making pottery, ikebana classes, helping my parents in the woodshop, making & selling digital art (cutting edge in the mid-90s!), rubber stamping, and a thousand other crafts / hobbies / artistic endeavors.
All of my best memories involve learning how to make things.
I still crave it. I LOVE learning new trades and experimenting with new materials to create.
That's why I was so happy when I got an opportunity, through my work, to participate in a Blacksmithing Workshop at The Crucible. For those unfamiliar, The Crucible is a great industrial arts non-profit in Oakland that offers classes in everything from Blacksmithing to Glass-Blowing to Neon.
For my department's offsite, I got to hammer and twist molten metal bars into jewelry. How cool is that?!?!
The teachers were fantastic, and laid out a plan to make a bracelet. Starting with just a steel bar, we learned how to draw out and taper the ends, put a twist in the bar, curl the ends, then bend it all into a bracelet. And this was the result! Very fun and very rewarding. I'll definitely be trying blacksmithing again.
Hand-forged bracelet, 2017. @ The Crucible (thecrucible.org)
Back on my usual side of the fire-based arts, I finished making what will be a new illuminated side table. This one is much taller than the last one, and I'm really happy with how it came out. It needs to dry, then it will be ready for the first firing, glazing, and final firing.
I'm so privileged, excited, and pleased to have these opportunities to create. And I encourage everyone out there to embrace the same spirit, and see what a little creation can bring to your life.