Why I Make Jewelry
Cut three 3 inch pieces of wire. With one or two strikes, hammer the tip of each wire into a paddle shape. File the edges. My desk is organized; several pairs of pliers are lined up with wire shears, files, and hammers. Containers of beads sit next to coils of wire and both are next to the stack of design books. A fuzzy bead mat covers most of my free space and keeps the beads from rolling onto the floor. Scraps of wire litter the floor around my workspace. Unfinished projects wait for the inspiration to strike again, begging to be finished.
On one wire, string a 3 mm round, a furnace glass disc, and a 3 mm round. On the other wires, string a 2 mm round, a 4 mm bicone, and a 2 mm round. My journey into jewelry making began eighteen months ago when I picked up a kit with all of the components necessary to make six pairs of earrings. I was aimlessly wandering through Walmart, contemplating the changes in my life. I was newly transplanted from Phoenix, Arizona, to Banks, Oregon. My career as a financial aid officer was over, ended at the whim of an unstable boss. Everything lined up like the beads on my wire to prepare me for my new job that was thirteen hundred miles away. My new job was to be caregiver to my cousin on life support, substitute mommy to her daughters, and live in housekeeper, laundry maid, and kitchen queen for her husband.
Begin with the furnace glass dangle. With chain nose pliers, bend the wire about 2 mm above the top bead. When I agreed to move to Oregon, I did not realize how difficult my new job was going to be. I started my day at 6:30 a.m. getting the girls ready for school. This was followed by a round of medicines and respiratory treatments for my cousin. These medical treatments were scheduled for every four hours throughout the day and into the night. In between the treatments I worked on the never-ending laundry pile, meal preparations, homework help, and discipline. My day did not end until after 10:30 p.m., and at times even went into the night. I was running on empty, lacking sleep and energy.
Bend the wire back to begin a zigzag pattern. Continue until the zigzag portion is about ¾ inch long. I felt like a piece of wire bent in a zigzag pattern. I was always rushing from one end of the house to the other. One particularly stressful night I remembered that I had bought the earring kit and it was waiting for me to open it. I had been drowning in stress; that kit became my lifesaver. It gave me a chance to relax and unwind for the only thing in the world was me, a few inches of wire, and beads. Joy was found in the bending of wire to follow a pattern. Peace was found in stringing beads on the bent wire. Healing happened in the completion of the project. Pride came in selling the final result.
Trim the zigzag wire 3/8 inch above the top bend and make a plain loop. Trim one of the other wires to 1 3/8 inch and the third wire to 1 1/8 inch. Make a plain loop at the end of each wire. I grew confident in my skills as a fledgling jewelry maker. My paycheck went towards buying design books and beads, always more beads. I started recreating the patterns in the books I had. Once I had confidence in myself with my re-creations, I branched out into free designing. I started creating my own designs and what surprised me most of all was that people wanted to buy my creations.
Open the loop on an earring wire and attach the dangles, stringing the shortest one first and the zigzag last. Close the loop. Make a second earring to match the first. My cousin is no longer with us as she made the decision to turn off life support in July. Her death caused me to go into a depression, a grief so deep I grew suicidal. There was no joy in life for me. I did not know what my purpose was. Jewelry making once again became my outlet with a little bit of grief left behind with each twist of the pliers, each bend of the wire, each finished product. It’s for this reason that I make jewelry
