Friday, July 30, 2010

Merry-Go-Round


It''s time for another ride on the merry-go-round! Jump on and join a group of 9 artists/crafts-women as they link around the world and tell you a little about their lives in art and craft.

This month's question that we will answer is:
How much, if at all, does your geographical location affect your art/craft?

Quite a lot, especially on a practical level.
I started making silver jewellery a few years ago when I was still living in the UK. I went to a silversmithing evening class, and thought nothing of working with silver as all the material and tools I needed were readily available.
Our relocation to Turkey changed all that. Silver is of course available here too, but not in so many forms, the sheets of silver I could find only had one thickness and wires are not all packed in different gauges and softness/hardness. You had to be a fully-fledged silversmith to work with silver in this country, not play at it like I was… it was difficult and very frustrating, and after a few months’ battle, I gave up. No jewellery for a year…

Then I discovered wire-wrapping and was hooked instantly. I played around with the silver wire I had left over, but I knew I had to look for an alternative if I wanted to continue. Luckily I found a local stone supplier who stocked artistic wires, it took a while but finally the adventure started :)

On an ‘inspiration’ level, Turkey is a beautiful country, with a rich history, stunning landscapes, and amazing beaches, where people are friendly and life is simple. My priorities have changed tremendously since living here, and of course my surroundings play an important part in inspiring jewelry pieces, but it is more the relocating and adapting to a totally new life that has the biggest impact on what I create.
I used to want to shock, but now I just do what feels right, because life’s too short.



Don't forget to visit the rest of the Merries, you'll find direct links in the sidebar. Happy reading and thanks for looking!

8 comments:

SISSY said...

Je n'ai pas de mot pour dire à quel point je trouve ce pendentif sublime ! C'est un vrai bonheur !

Florcita said...

your jewellery is just so beautiful...and you can taste the simple life in the sparkling beauty of your designs!

Kim van Waardenburg said...

Wonderfull!!
I think we aren't always aware of what we have around till we move away ....

Tweed Thoughts said...

Lovely post Fabs - interesting to hear how you got started on wire-wrapping too, lovely technique. I can see the beautiful colours of Turkey reflected in your jewellery! See you next month :) x

Ruth said...

Great post. I wonder if you moved away you'd get back into silversmith work more or now stay with your wire wrapping? You certainly have developed such a strong style.

Easterya said...

Thanks everyone!
Ruth, I thought about it, and I would definitely try to combine the two!! I would go back to using silver, without a doubt...

Mitsy / ArtMind said...

How lovely to read about your change of direction in your creative work when moving to Turkey. It would be lovely to combine both worlds I suppose! :)

meherio68 said...

I love this pendant with the starfish!