Making memories

I’m what’s called “A Creative”. Although, I believe our creative God embued creativity in every person, “Creatives” live that out more than some. My whole life has been filled with creative pursuits - sewing, gardening, visual art, singing, jewelry making and more. In recent years, visual art was the focus but I felt a yearning to go in a differnt direction. As I pondered my artistic journey, memories came to mind of my love for jewelry, gems and the beauty in the small things in nature. My mom loved jewelry and had a “magical” jewelry drawer in her dresser. It was the very wide, top, center drawer and it was filled with boxes of varying sizes, colors and shapes and unboxed jewelry, too. Plain boxes, boxes with logos, cardboard, plastic, wood, small jewelry organizers and ceramic containers were stacked and placed in an almost intricate puzzle that only mom could solve. I would sit beside her on the edge of the bed, as she would select the jewelry she would wear on a special occasion. I loved the color, the sparkle and shine of the pieces. I loved that she would let me help her make a selection and I could help her put on a necklace or a bracelet. Jewelry helped us make special memories.

As I got older, she would let me wear some of her special pieces for certain occasions - Easter, Christmas, family dinner at a restaurant, birthday parties…One of my fondiest memories was when she placed her geniune pearl necklace around my neck on my wedding day. The necklace was a gift from my dad. She said it was one of the few pieces of “real jewelry” she had. Many years later, after I had a daughter of mine own, I placed that same necklace on her on HER wedding day. My mom had passed away but I know she saw us that day. Tears fill my eyes, just thinking of those special memories.

Jewelry connects us to our own beauty, the earth and each other. I hope my jewelry will help you create memories, too.

Still,

Jai