2023 All wrapped up
I’m always surprised when I take the time to reflect on the year. Surprised at how much I have made and that time has gone by so quickly. It seems like just last month that I began roll printing ferns and scrounged up enough gold to create some golden creatures. Fox and Owl. Simultaneously, I learned how to make a chain from directions in a 1940’s jewelry handbook. It has become a new favorite. Time consuming to make, but the silver jump rings linked together give a pleasant weight and serpentine like feel. You can find it here in the elegant and edgy Chain Drop Earrings.
I also somehow managed to complete all 100 of a 100 Day Project. Starting but never finishing a project seems to come easily. However, one thing I find social media good for is keeping me accountable. Even if only 5 people are following along; knowing that someone else out there looks forward to the next days creation keeps me going. Six inches of copper wire were all I needed to create a new image each day. The timing could not have been better as the final days coincided with the entry deadline for an Open Call with Virginia MOCA. To be included with their latest show ‘Collectors Edition’.
At the end of September I completed a ‘10 Rings in 10 Days’ challenge. It is something I began last year and I was really happy with some of the ring designs. This year was much the same. Not every ring was a success but that was never the point. I feel like I just keep filing information away for the future. Not yet sure how all of the puzzle pieces will fit together but I have truly loved some of the creations that came about from this hectic challenge. The carved Taillight Ring (carved from a broken taillight found while on a walk) and the Highly Labeled Ring were 2 that stood out this year.
Taillight Ring
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Highly Labeled Ring
Then there were the “Weightless” earrings. My first collaboration with another artist. Tim Skirven’s painting was included in Virginia MOCA’s exhibition Collector’s Edition and as soon as I saw the image I knew it would make a stunning pair of earrings. Thanks to Tim for trusting me with ‘Weightless' and for joining me on this journey. These earrings will be available for just a few more months so if you, like me, can’t live without this image make sure to order a pair before it’s too late!
I might have gone a little overboard with the challenges this year, but I’m the kind of person that works best with deadlines. Otherwise, I would probably sit around reading and watching the garden grow. Inktober is something that I have aspired to do in past years but never managed to get through the first week. Each day has a word assigned and this year I decided to tell a story. To let the daily word determine where the characters went next. Even I didn’t know what was going to happen until the end of the month. I fell a little in love with this mouse family and the journey they took through the month of October. Now that the crazy holiday season is drawing to an end, I will be re-shooting the images and finishing the borders.
After all of this I even managed to leave my solitary life in the studio and attend 2 in person events: Shop Small Saturday and Virginia MOCA’s Bazaar: A Night at the Museum. Both were really well attended and it honestly was a joy to meet so many smiling faces. Maybe it’s because I haven’t done any in person sales in over 12 years but I was pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of neighboring vendors and shoppers.
2023 might have started slow but it ended with what felt like a race to the end. I am proud of what I accomplished this year and look forward to spending more time at the bench and in the studio working on some new pieces that have been swirling around my brain for the last month.
Cheers to 2024 and Thank you all for an amazing 2023! -Jessica