Hello, Tucson!

We relocated! We're now planted in sunny (and hot) Tucson. Things are still very chaotic here, organization-wise, but I'm getting back in the studio and developing some new designs.

Having a bit of trouble with some of them, actually. A timely reminder for me that a good part of this thing I do is problem-solving. It's particularly a battle when my desire to use my favorite materials-- paper, resin, thread-- collides with the desiderata for wearable jewelry. Sometimes they don't look all that impressive, frankly. It's a problem, now-- How I can make it 'special' enough, yet still appropriate to the piece? The easy way out is to throw it on a chain and be done with it. And sometimes that works. Other times, not so much. And I have to risk facing the fact that I may have to set it aside or scrap it completely until I come up with an actual solution. It's particularly frustrating when the centerpiece is done and it's the details-- what you think of as the background architecture, the closure, the neckpiece-- that are the source of the trouble. When done well, they are harmonious with the focal point. But when the solution is wrong, they jump out at you.