My friend Ivy, of Edera Jewelry, belongs to this group, out of Australia, that posts photos of their 'creative spaces' or what they are working on every thursday. This is the first time I am playing! I thought I might provide a snapshot of where I spend most of my time in my studio...After sitting uncomfortably at a "real" jewelers bench for years ( they are all the same height...about 36" off the ground...built for a tall MAN!)...my friend Peter built me the bench of my dreams...nothing fancy, but it is the right height for my 5' 1" self....
Jewlers have lots and lots of tools.....( if I have to admit, I do have something of a little addiction...always gotta check out the 'new stuff' when the catalogs come). This bench is mostly where my small things live, like tiny files and carving tools...but I have BIG stuff on the other side of the room, like a bench grinder and lots of hammers, and a welding torch!....
People are often surprised when they see jewelry workshops, as they can be sort of messy....at very least, the sheer amount of tools we have seems to surprise!....I don't know if they expect something a bit more 'chic' or cool to hang out in?.... I know there are jewelers out there who are a bit more organized and systematic than me...but I tell you, this setup is of a reflection of how my mind works...
And YES, I know where everything is! I will post more about works in progress next time I play, and if you have the time to search my archives here, there are some posts about my process and some of the pieces already completed..
I have to admit, I am often a bit befuddled when folks ask to 'see my studio'...I forget that how I do what I do, my process, is interesting to someone who is curious...when you do it a lot the 'making' part just feels so ingrained, like your native language, so its fun sometimes to look at it with new eyes...thanks for visiting! Namaste
ps...if you can see the bottle of purple nail polish on the bench...a visitor asked what I DO with that...and I had to tell them I have this weird habit of always doing my toes while I am working! You can slap it on, and I know I will be sitting very still while I am carving for an hour..sort of my own way of multitasking...she thought there was some mysterious multi purpose use in jewelry making and was a little disappointed...pretty funny!