Four Seasons of Jewelry: Wk 1: Autumn Bangle

I was one of many participants in the initial incarnation of the Year of Jewelry project (2004 - 2005), sponsored by the Creative Wire Jewelry forum. Jewelry artists from around the world participated, each committing to make one piece of jewelry per week for 52 weeks to contribute to the gallery. The project was a huge sucess, pushing all of the participants forward in their progress and growth as artists.

I am also a participant in the second incarnation of the YOJ project, now renamed as the Four Seasons of jewelry. I look forward to another year of growth as I seek to experiment with new techniques, refine and revamp old techniques and search for ways to express myself as an artist. For the first week, the theme (which is optional) was counting your blessings. Two great blessings in my life are first and foremost, my beautiful three year old son, Dakota. Through having him, I have grown as a person in ways that I never imagined. He remains the number one blessing in my life. The second blessing which is represented in my work this week is discovering Eni Oken. Eni is a very talented jewelry artist who gives of herself freely, sharing her techniques which has helped me to grow as an artist in uncountable ways. In tribute to the blessing that her work has been to my life and my own work, I created a bangle using her coiled frame technique for the first weeks entry into the FSOJ for the Autumn quarter.