Jewelry Photography

Jewelry photography is an art in itself.  Seriously.  Yesterday I gathered the remaining rocks I had left scattered around my old room.  The last thing I need to take with me is the infamous blue glass.

At least I did that much before I had to drag myself into bed at 9pm.  I swear this baby is on a growth spurt and sucking all the energy out of me.  And it was warm last night, enough that I needed to blast the AC for a few hours before it got too cold.  Jesse and I need to test it out tonight to make the bedroom at least a little bit more comfortable.  There were people hanging out around the BBQ area, so we had to close the window around 1am.  That’s when I blasted the AC, then turned it off around 6.  Bleh. :x

Anyway, I gathered my big rough rocks and Xena sword letter opener to take home with me to use as props.  I do well using props in my jewelry photos.  I’m not sure if I’m being too anal about being consistent or what, though.  I think I need to let it all go and just go with the flow.  I’ve been having a hard time with that lately, but I’m not sure why.  But here are some awesome shots with props… oh yeah, I need to bust out my sais too. :D

Jesse and I have been talking about looking for houses around October to see if there’s anything on the market worth buying.  That has got me daydreaming about my craft room.  First thing I would do, would be to take a week to observe the house and the rooms to maximize the amount of the natural light that comes into that particular room/area.  I’m actually pretty okay with my desk where it is now (in the bedroom with Jesse’s on the opposite wall), because we’re together in the same room (yes, that counts as quality time together).  What I don’t like about it, is sharing my work space with the computer because the mouse and keyboard take up a lot of space.  So I would like my new desk to be an L-shape with the computer on one side and my working area on the other side.  Maybe then I can fit my pink organizer drawers on the desk instead of below the desk.  Here’s an old picture of them sitting on my bookshelf.  That wasn’t a good idea because I think they were too heavy for the bookshelf.  Lesson for next time, I suppose.

Currently, I have 2 of these stacked on top of each other under my desk for easy access to my chainmaille rings and other misc stuff I don’t remember.  It’s very efficient and makes my engineering heart sing.  But yeah, given the little hands and feet that will most likely be rummaging around wherever we live, I need to be more careful of where I store my beads and rings.  Right now, the beads are happily tucked away into the built-in cabinets in the hallway, but where will they go after we move?  More questions to ask the Universe, in hopes of finding a solution.

As for the bedroom, dark wood bed frame that’s not too high and not too short.  I hate trying to drag myself out of bed in the morning.  Sliding off the bed onto my feet is much more preferable.  Hopefully there’ll be room for a bedside table.  I’ve always wanted a bedside table for a reading lamp, water, and book.  Then, a short but wide chest of drawers with a matching mirror.  I’ve always loved that concept, probably because it reminds me of the days when women would get ready in front of the mirror with their lipstick and jewelry.  My jewelry amoire would be a perfect match.  I’ve been doing better about not storing quite so much jewelry supplies in it.  Only chain right now.  My old jewelry box will have to go in the bathroom, assuming there’s a vanity or space around there.  I’ve figured out that all the little drawers would make good earring storage, divided into 3 categories (of course, I haven’t actually done this yet): chainmaille, Swarovski crystal, and rocks.  I need to clear out the stuff I have in the drawers, but hey, I bet I have room. ;)

Where Women Create

I’ll never forget when I found my first issue of “Where Women Create”.  It was probably November of 2009, maybe October.  My dad and I were wandering around Fashion Island as usual and we stopped at Barnes and Noble.  I was browsing the “Magazines We Love” rack and literally stumbled upon it by dumb luck (I should write a page about dumb luck).  I immediately picked it up, thumbed through it like a child discovering a new shiny toy.  I rushed to the register to pay for it so I could take it home and suck up all the information within its pages.

Being an artist and being creative is something all artists struggle with.  This is not a unique situation, but one that has challenged each artist at some point in time, maybe more than once.  But WWC gives the fledgling artist hope that we can pursue and accomplish our dreams, no matter what life throws at us.  That is a hope that should never be overlooked but should be cherished and encourage us to “keep calm and carry on”.