I Did A Thing: New Projects

For a good part of the spring, I felt no inspiration and no desire to create. I still made things because doing so was part of my routine, but felt rather ho-hum about the process and the product; then my routine fell apart and I stopped altogether. I wondered if I would ever feel the pull to create again, and of course that was a part of the grief journey too. Slowly, inspiration is coming back. Without art, I feel like I have no voice. Sooner or later, what’s inside has to come out.

What’s inside? Storms of colour. But I tried painting again, without success. Rather than pushing it and being frustrated with myself, I turned my attention to other things: jewelry upcycling and embroidery. Some projects were very small, others a bit more ambitious. My goal was to rediscover the joy of making beautiful (to me) things, and ignore the voice inside my head that questioned the utility or purpose of such things.

Here are some of the things I’ve made.

This larimar stone was a pendant I found in my mom’s jewelry box. I decided to make it into a ring, using a thrifted ring as a base and some clay.

Inspired by that, I also turned a labradorite pendant (from Poshmark) into a ring. I loved the stone — its unusual blue flash, and its size. It’s hard to find large stone rings, but it turns out that making them out of pendants is relatively easy.

This was another super simple upcycle. I loved the brutalist vibe of the brooch, but it was a little tarnished. So I added some gold paint as an accent. I didn’t want to gild the whole thing, but rather to retain the distressed effect, only a bit jazzed up.

I’m loving oversized brooches, so I was immediately drawn to this one. Adding the stones really enhanced the brutalist aesthetic of the design.

This necklace was one I’d had for years and had stopped wearing. Adding the stones transformed it into something fabulous again. It reminds me of sea glass caught in a net.

This piece had a similar “washed up from the sea” vibe. It’s one of my favourite pieces, if only because of the fiery labradorite in the middle. The base necklace itself looks to have been home-made by another jewelry upcycling enthusiast, and I love the idea of adding my own flair to it.

This piece was inspired by some colourful beads that a friend sent to me. I wanted to use them in a fun, unique way – and the idea for this embroidery “portrait” was born. The turban is a scrap of silk that I got from another friend. Working with all the colours was fun.

This was a new take on an old design. I don’t often repeat design ideas, but there was something reassuring and cozy about its familiarity. I just gave myself over to the colour story.

This started off as a thrifted t-shirt. I liked the design but it was too small for me, and too big for my daughter. So I decided to make it into a “portrait” hoop. The stretchy material made the embroidering extremely difficult, but it was fun to add a few extra embellishments (beads, and the necklace).

This was a more experimental project. I wanted to do something abstract and very tactile, to make up for the paintings that didn’t seem to want to come out. I wasn’t happy with it for the first while, but as I kept adding to it, it began to take off. I love it, and I am planning to explore more in this direction.