Flying too close to the sun.

"The scorching rays of the nearer sun softened the fragrant wax which held his wings." -Ovid

During the last few months, I have allowed my creativity to evolve. I have let myself be inspired by other artists, let my imagination wander and fly away from me. While this has indeed been an exciting trip, at one point I encountered a fearful thought: I have traveled so far--will I be able to find my way home?


Reading through some of my favourite books--the Odyssey by Homer and Ovid's Metamorphoses--I was reminded of what Grecian Goldsmith truly stands for: eternal ancient Greece, filtered slightly through modernist poetics. It is time for me to go back to the beginning.

Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enameling
...
-W. B. Yeats
quoted from memory

In the land of mythical creatures: blue mermaids and white horses.

Usually so pink, grecian goldsmith has taken a blue turn.

This jewelry is for mermaids only! ;)

Let me know what you think, my darlings.

Other news: I'm opening up a vintage shop! Shh... Still a secret. But oh, do I have some amazing goodies for you! And why am I doing this, you ask? Well, moving across the country in two months, I realized with tears in my eyes that not all of my darling possessions would be able to come along. Here is a tiny sneak peak. More info to come.

Basement dreaming.

golden age

Inspiration: etsy.

Lately I have been toying with the idea of giving up jewelry making and crafting altogether. I felt that it took a lot of time away from writing, and I felt the pressure to make sales and keep up with the business end of things. As soon as I put my supplies and tools aside, and got rid of any kind of pressure I was putting on myself to grow my business, I felt a creative itch. Ideas emerged from the darkest corners of my mind, like flashes of lighting in a dark cabin during a rainstorm.


I've made three pairs of earrings and a new necklace so far, and this new period of inspiration shows no signs of stopping. Very soon my little shop will be populated with new delights. In the meantime, I want to feature some cool etsy sellers: each of these pictures represent some element in my new designs. Enjoy the little sneak peak, darlings! Hopefully this little appetizer of inspiration will leave you hungry for the main course.

guilty pleasures

I picked up a few shark vertebrae when I was in Boston. But you can also get some at an awesome etsy shop called gultypleasures (see link above). I'm fascinated by sharks; their murderous grace has been a recent obsession of mine. Thus, I made a pair of earrings out of shark vertebrae and some lovely pink vintage pendants that resemble fins. I can't wait to show them to you!

anatomyofaskirt

This item is made by one of my absolutely favorite etsy sellers, anatomyofaskirt (see link above). This seller makes all different kinds of robot pouches, all of them strange and utterly delightful. This particular pouch is my absolute favorite! I am obsessed with the idea of (almost) invisibility. What does it mean to see "through"? If I am seeing through glass, I see the glass and that which lies behind it. But if I wanted to only see the glass, and not whatever lies behind it, how would I achieve such a feat? The glass resists my gaze, or rather, it completely submits to my gaze, so much so that it defies it. A necklace with these thoughts crystallized into it is to come.

covetandcrave

This shop, called covetandcrave (link above) sells a number of delightfully old objects, the kind that prompt transcendent time travel. This ashtray in particular appeals to me, not only because of the connotations that ashes have with death and time, but also due to its tarnish. I adore silver: depending on the state of its surface, it can look glorious or dirty. This duality interests me greatly. A pair of earrings I made involve very tarnished metallic silver tone beads together with very shiny and ornate golden ones. Whether you like them or not remains to be seen.

(The first image in this post is a painting by Rene Magritte, called "The Lost Jockey".)

Unless...

"soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing"

"for every tatter in its mortal dress"

You have denied yourself a self.

You have abstracted your flesh
into a formula of hope.

Ribbons and Gold - Inspiration Post

EfiaFair

dajoli

dinosaurtoes

Of blank minds and reeling books.

My creative journal has been flooded of late by academic musings and their respective photographs. Busy making decisions about what grad school to go to, I have utterly neglected my jewelry/art making. Even those moments of inspiration when I really wanted to create something new have been interrupted by the need to go to work, or the need to merely sleep during my non-working hours. This post will attempt to steer the blog back onto its familiar road.























You may have noticed a new type of pictures taken for my etsy shop, involving better lighting, earrings made using antique objects and books used as props. These, my friends, are symbols of things to come...
More I will not say, for then the symbols will lose their mystery. Only this: greciangoldsmith is changing.