Composed of sterling, 14 karat gold, chrysoprase, pearl, aquamarine and elk ivory.
100% handcrafted in every way.
Not a single prefabricated piece of metal was used to create this necklace (with the exception of the chain, of course).
Elk ivory jewelry is a big deal in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Whenever locals find out I’m a bench jeweler they nearly always ask if I work with elk ivory. Elk ivory is actually an elk molar! They are deliciously smooth to the touch and are creamy white in color. They have to be prepared before they are set — essentially they need to be “back cabbed” so that they’ll sit flat in a bezel setting. To prepare this elk ivory I had to saw the root off the molar and then sand the back of the ivory until it was perfectly flat. I’m not sure if that’s the ideal and most technical way to do it but I work intuitively when it comes to experimentation and it seemed right to me. This is my first elk ivory design and it’s VERY unconventional compared to other such designs I’ve seen.
What I really wanted to talk to you about is where this design came from!
I have doubted myself and my work so much in the past few weeks. I have doubted my voice — thought that it might be weak, frail, flaccid, unoriginal. I have wondered why I’m doing what I’m doing. I thought my creativity was broken, atrophied, dissolved.
I thought all of these things over and over again. I’ve been unproductive (or so it feels) and my productivity is tied tight to my self worth.
On top of this, I have been tired. Tired of being alone. Tired of holding the fort. Tired of carrying all of these things by myself with him so far away. Tired of mowing the lawn. Tired of cooking meals. Tired of being tired.
Yesterday I dropped those shackles, unwound them from my wrists, claimed my title as an artist once again. I stripped down to the bare essentials, I found my inspiration once more and I saw myself as:
of the sea
of the sky
of the field
Feet firmly planted.
Wings tasting wind.
Skin bathed in salt water.
This piece is hefty, organic, original, natural
and creating it today lifted me up and felt 100% right.
In other news, I was finally FINALLY able to talk with RW last night.
He’ll be heading back down from Canada to the North Cascades Base on Friday. On Saturday I will drive to Washington to spend time with him on his days off. The thought of a two day drive is torturous. It makes me want to cry. But I have to see him. I need to see him. So I’m going to make the trip — the last trip of summer and I’m going to make it a grand old adventure that’s worth regaling you with upon my return home.
I will try to have a shop update prepared for tomorrow but I can’t make any promises! I’m running on fumes and it may have to wait until my return from Winthrop.
Thank you all, so much, for supporting me this week. For your letters, for your emails, for….everything. If I could, I’d mail you all a golden egg laying baby chicken as a thank you.
Lovelove,
Jillian Sue