Glowing prehnite, an adorable ruby, crosses, ferruginous hawk talon and beautiful open framework on an opera length chain — there’s some prototyping going on in the studio this week.  I’ve returned to a frame element I used years ago in this earring design:

…the same but different.  Reinvented.  No matter how much time passes there are some design elements I simply like, some stones I prefer, some motifs I claim as creative “home” for myself.  I used to think there was something wrong with that, that I should always be moving forward at a specific pace in my work, that my exploration should have a consistent rate of speed, that I should not tarry.  But I think it’s good to linger where I feel like lingering, to explore my motifs at a rate of speed I’m comfortable with, to circle back to old ideas and redesign them.  I’m just playing around this week trying to parse out a creative direction for the month but who knows where a few days of playing will lead me.

Since taking these photos I have already altered this necklace design.  I removed the ruby.  It didn’t jive.  Which is what this is all about, I guess.  Trying things and liking them, or not, and going with it.