Unique, Eclectic, Quirky, Fun, Edgy, Chaotic, One-of-a-Kind, Whimsical. These are the words often used to describe my work. These are also words, with great fondness, I use to describe my grandmother. Dolly Wilson--Nanny to us--set me on a path that helped me to explore my creativity early in life.
It is an age-old question whether creativity is innate or whether it is learned; it is my belief that it is both. I'm sure I was born with some creativity, but Nanny was the one who cultivated it! She watered and weeded, and gave it sunshine and nourishment. When my two brothers and I were very young and we remained home from school due to illness or snow days--a normal experience growing up in upstate New York--Nanny would not allow us to languish for too long. No; Nanny would drag out her needles and thread, crochet hooks, knitting needles and yarn, buttons, contact paper, and anything else she could think of to keep our minds and little hands busy. I was five when I became hooked. I guess one could say, Nanny was my muse.
My Muse About She Felt Fine FiberArts & Jewelry Unique, Eclectic, Quirky, Fun, Edgy, Chaotic, One-of-a-Kind, Whimsical. These are the words often used to describe my work. These are also words, with great fondness, I use to describe my grandmother. Dolly Wilson--Nanny to us--set me on a path that helped me to explore my creativity early in life.
It is an age-old question whether creativity is innate or whether it is learned; it is my belief that it is both. I'm sure I was born with some creativity, but Nanny was the one who cultivated it! She watered and weeded, and gave it sunshine and nourishment. When my two brothers and I were very young and we remained home from school due to illness or snow days--a normal experience growing up in upstate New York--Nanny would not allow us to languish for too long. No; Nanny would drag out her needles and thread, crochet hooks, knitting needles and yarn, buttons, contact paper, and anything else she could think of to keep our minds and little hands busy. I was five when I became hooked. I guess one could say, Nanny was my muse.
My Muse
In its true essence, a muse is someone whom influences another so that he or she becomes the focus and inspiration for that person's creative work; it is, or historically speaking was, often men who described their muse as a woman that they had been in love with and who they had made the subject of their work.
In a generic use of the word muse, many artists, writers, poets and musicians have referred to their muse as the person that inspired their creative work. It is in this more generic term that I identify my muse as my grandmother, Nanny.
Nanny lived through the Depression as the eldest of ten children. I was raised on her hot cups of tea and stories about her very spirited life. Nanny and her five sisters danced for a living (pictured with four, Nanny is 1st on the left).
The Watson Sisters made their mark in Vaudeville and danced throughout Canada during the Roaring Twenties. Towards the end of the decade, the Great Depression made a huge impact on their lives. They ate what was available, sometimes even onion sandwiches or whatever else the root cellar held. Although not poor--my great-grandfather owned a moving company--they did not waste anything, either. What the Great Depression did was to make them frugal and industrious.
The Watson family: my great-grandfather, great-grandmother, their children--six girls (Dolly, Winona, Eleanor, Merla, Wanda, and Violet) and four boys
(Howard, Lee, Tommy and Jack)--and my mother or as they say in Canada, "My Mum," Peggy, the offspring of Dolly and a confirmed bigamist--that's a story for another day--all lived in Toronto, Canada. Each autumn the family purchased a few winter coats. Nanny would painstakingly open the seams and disassemble each garment. Placing the pieces on butcher paper, she would cut patterns in the various sizes for her siblings not fortunate to have received a coat. The eldest girls would then go to work on the family sewing machine, a Singer Featherweight, fashioning winter coats for all!
The Depression, and its impact on our family, lingered on through two more generations. Growing up, I never saw Nanny throw away a raggedy garment until it went through further transformation. Zippers were ripped out, dome snaps and buttons were wrestled free, and the cloth sent to the rag bin. To this day, as I donate or recycle, I find it difficult to part with something that has even a remote possibility of further use. My jewelry pieces have been adorned for decades with buttons I've collected over the years...even some from my Nanny's button tin! As I now view other artist's works on the web, it excites me to see new uses for old things: zippers, buttons, wine corks, nuts, bolts, pop tabs and pallets. Nanny would be happy to see this trend as well.
My Ideas
Although Nanny's been gone for some time, I think about how she would tease out my imagination from somewhere deep inside. "Look closer," she would say. "Closer, yet. Don't you see it?" On our backs staring at the clouds floating miles above; "Can't you see? There's a cat dancing on the moon!" Now as I view the world around me, ideas come to me from an innocuous note held by a magnet on a friend's refrigerator door. Or maybe as I watch children play in their sprinklers. An explosion of color painted across a New Mexican sunset serves as a palette of inspiration--like a shot of adrenalin to my creativity gene! A child's delight, a woman's immeasurable strength, the aqua blue and endlessness of Montana's Big Sky, a soldier's sacrifice; all serve to inspire.
My Beliefs
Be open to possibilities.
Don't limit yourself.
Imagine.
Be curious.
Embrace Imperfections in your work. Imperfections are a part of life. I think sometimes flaws appear for a reason. They're real and honest...to bear life's flaws proudly takes more guts and soul than to always strive for perfection. Sometimes flaws are simply okay.
Don't take yourself too seriously.
Laugh hard and laugh often, I say; life is too short to do otherwise.
Focus on your blessings and strengths, not your disadvantaged circumstances or your shortcomings.
I believe God gave me life; life gives me challenges; challenges are overcome by my faith in God.
Never marry your own theories; it hinders learning, growth, diversity and creativity.
Most importantly, be grateful for each and every day that you are able to use your God-given talents. Some people never locate theirs.
Unique handcrafted jewelry and fiber arts gifts for the spirited woman in mind. Each piece is a custom creation, with much of the fiber arts taking on a whimsical nature.
- Jewelry, Wall Hangings, Spirit Dolls & Angels
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