So ever since I started to create jewelry I’ve also had to do the photography for my own jewelry. I have a passion for jewelry and making crafts that I’ve literally done this my whole life. I used to play with clay in my backyard growing up. I did leather work, and cloth bracelets for friends. Then there was a time I lived in Lao P.D.R. for a few years. There I learned silversmithing with the locals. I melted the silver down into bars, rolled it out and then drew it out into wire. From there we would make these really cool belts. I look back at this and am amazed at all the work that goes into making these. The torches used gasoline in a glass bottle that had a bellow to pump the gas through another bottle and use the fumes for the torch. Not safe as I saw many times the bottle bust or some disasters happen.

silver Lao belt — Handmade Silver Lao Belt

Once back in the US I was wanting to continue my education in silversmithing. I brought back as many tools as I could and then went to a jewelry supplier in Oakland, CA called Otto Frei and spent the most money I had ever spent at once in my life. About $1,000 dollars. I was nervous and excited. I then started to practice those skills I learned over in Laos.

Then I found a job at Anasazi Foundation where I learned and honed in more of my passionate skills with leatherwork, flint knapping, pottery and more. I could have worked a job like this forever. Not only to help the youth grow and learn principles in life that are life changing, but also to be out in nature and to feel at peace with me and those around me. Such a memorable experience that will stay with me forever.

Then I got married and needed a job that would be a closer to the city. I thought to myself, “I need to work in the jewelry field if I want to learn it.” So I went looking around all the greater Phoenix area for a jeweler job. I mean I had a little experience working with silver, how hard could it be to get a job in this related field? Well, it took me everywhere throughout the valley and you know what they all told me? They said that working with gold is much different and harder than working with silver and we don’t have the time to teach you. No one would hire me. I think I must have gone to almost every jewelry store in the valley with all rejecting me. I finally found someone in Ahwatukee, AZ. He was willing to teach me and help me learn getting paid minimum wage and I was making $6 an hour. I took it and was learning how to size rings and more. I was so happy. I also found out that gold is so much easier to work with than silver. So why did they all reject me? I have no idea. Gold is much easier to work with, although I still love working with silver.

I sill was doing my best to create my own jewelry at home in the evenings. I was poor and newly married. I have always found ways to make things work though. I built my own jewelers bench. I continued to hand make jewelry. The internet was just starting to come about and I had no way of utilizing it to help me. My little side business never really went anywhere. Then one day at a new job working with jewelry I was advancing more in the field. I even stared to work with CAD to help build jewelry. I’ve never looked back and that is where I now do most all my jewelry. I still fully handmake jewelry at times, but I also love to create in CAD with the more freedom it has given me to create designs that I can imagine up.

By this time went to school for web design. I tried building my own site to sell my jewelry. Still nothing. Since then I have gone away from building and coding my own site to using a templated service where I can design using their templates, but not have to do the backend coding.

Yes I’ve done all this just to try and save money instead of hiring someone to do it for me. I have this mindset that is probably preventing me from advancing. I’m trying to do it all my self because I try and make the time for it all, but don’t have the money to pay anyone. So progress is slow. I’m no expert and so the evil cycle keeps going as I continue to try and grow my business alone with no help and me trying to do everything from design, making, photography, web design, writing descriptions, bookwork to every part that is part of a business. This is probably why I still to this day have not progressed as much as one would hope. It’s a passion of mine and I’m sure whether I am greatly successful or not at it, I’ll continue to do it till I am no longer on this earth.

So now that you know my life story, I’m going to focus on jewelry photography. I’ve been at it for all these years is what all the blabbing off was about. It’s not easy to capture jewelry on film because of all the reflections around. So many reflections that can get into the stones and then the photo does not look good. I still struggle with it. I guess I learn very slow. I guess what I have learned is to create a white box to keep reflections out. Use good lighting and use photoshop to help clean up the photos. Still not easy, but you can get some decent results. I still don’t have a light box and use a white background with paper as my walls. Lol. Still trying to do it the cheap way.

Lately I’ve been thinking to do photo shots with a model. My daughter is that willing participant. Again, I’m being cheap and don’t want to hire a model. So she is my model for now till she moves out. This is my most recent photo.

Celtic Ring — Anja modeling my Celtic ring design

I took this on a day that was a little overcast. All natural lighting outside in a forest. I can’t always go somewhere other than home, but it was nice to get out and it helped with inspiration. I love art and love photography just as much as jewelry or any of the other crafts that I do (Leatherwork, Pottery, Sewing, and even gardening). If you struggle at photography as I do, don’t get down on yourself. We are all learning all the time. I doubt I’ll ever be stratified 100% with the photography, jewelry or crafts that I make and do. I think that’s just part of being an artist. Just keep trying. We are all at different levels. I don’t make perfect jewelry designs. I’m flawed at certain parts of the processes. Same goes for photography. I admire the individuals that can afford to buy the good equipment and just start taking great photos. I still after all these years need to buy a professional camera. I admit I’m a bit jealous of those people and long for a camera that can help ease my efforts to a better image. Or maybe looking on the brighter side of things, just maybe there is a day I get a great camera and then nothing actually improves. LOL. Maybe the intermediate camera and some developed skills over time is just as good. I don’t know yet. I’m still figuring it all out. I probably always will be.

What is the purpose of this blog post? I don’t know. It wasn’t all about photography as I intended it to be, but I’m hoping you may get a sense of what I’ve been through to be where I am. Maybe it can help you avoid the mistakes I’ve made. Maybe it helps you do things in a better way. I hope so. Don’t try to do it all on your own. Progress is too slow. I say stick to the parts of your business that you like and do your best to farm out the rest. This way you can like what you are doing and concentrate on your passions. My issues is that it’s all a passion to me and I love to do it all myself. I don’t like help. Doing it all yourself is not the answer, but I do know I am at peace and love what I do. All we can do in life is keep going and doing our best at what we love. For me if something ever comes of my business I’d be happy to be doing what I love with less worries about the other aspects of life. If not then I already know what that’s like because I live it every day and I do love life. I am blessed and I keep doing my best to improve my skills at photography and all the other skills I desire to have.

If there is ever a topic that you wish for me to cover. A skill that I do that you are interested in. Let me know and I’ll share what I know about the topic. I don’t know everything, but we are here to learn together.

Small Gourd Canteen I made with Elk leather straps

Silver Bangle Twisted — Handmade sterling silver twisted bangle. I made this from scratch from melting silver to rolling each part into wire, etc.

So as many of you may know I love to garden even though I am really terrible at it. I do try and try though. Some years are better than others. Now that I’m in my house it should be a whole lot easier to work on the garden instead of having to travel to it all the time. This summers crops were the worst I’ve ever had as it was the building of the houses that interfered. We had no water for a long time and had to transport water. Then when we had it I had to come water it every day by hand. Plants were only surviving. We had no electricity to turn on my drip system. It was just a whole mess though I tried and tried. In the end it fail despite all my efforts. The little that may have survived died because the gophers eat or killed the plants off. So a new season is about to start so I’m excited. I just have to prep the garden and then plant for this winters crops. When I garden it inspires me so much. It uplifts me. I think it’s a combination of hard work and the care I put into it. I also love life and the plants that bring on this new life. Seeing them start out so small and then grow into beautiful plants just brings me hope and keeps me working hard to achieve all this plant life. It’s also just peaceful to be around. I love just sitting there staring at the garden. I waste too much time just staring and thinking.

This brings me to how gardening inspires me at times when I design jewelry. When I’m in that uplifted state, I’m more receptive to ideas and there are many times nature itself will be incorporated into my designs. Many times it’s the beautiful curves and shapes that blend together that make up an ever so unique and powerful design for jewelry. I usually will incorporate these patterns and designs into my pendants and rings. The rings are usually wide so that they can fit these organic patterns. There is more room for me to fill the ideas that flow from my head. Not all of them translate into a great design, but the ideas start happening and I can then jot them down and test them. If it doesn’t work then I can play with it until I find something that does work. I have so many designs I have made in CAD but have never cast into metal. As with any small business owner might know, I can’t just come out with new designs every day. I need to work on many aspects of the business to make it all work together. I do wish I could just sit and create all day. That would be the best, but for now I to it all so time is limited. Even through all that I still am inspired to design and build custom designs all the time. If I didn’t then I don’t think I would keep progressing forward one step at a time. That is where passion comes in. I do all the other non inspiring parts of the business to look forward to do the fun inspiring, joyful and satisfying parts of the artistic side of the business.

sun and wheat patterns inspired by nature

So if you ever wondered how gardening can be an inspiration to make jewelry then well now you know. Gardening does not have to be what helps you make jewelry, but it could inspire you to do whatever you are passionate about. With new life comes new ideas. Try it some time. It does not disappoint!