One of the best ways of making art is serendipity. It’s the most enjoyable way for me, and the most liberating. Instead of constructing a rigid plan and trying to fulfill it, which makes me feel stressed, I like to just start making things and see where it leads. Maybe a vague plan, a general idea, but definitely open to change. Joy and Renewal.
Serendipity played a large part in its creation
I’ve got it! The thing that I’ve been groping towards. It’s been percolating in the back of my mind for a while. I’ve been struggling with it for years: what buyers and viewers see as valuable as opposed to what I as the artist think is valuable. It come to light suddenly during an assignment for sculpture class. We were assigned to make multiples of objects. I was thinking about (for her assignment in 2019) how my multiples of plaster castings spray-painted metallic did end up looking like metal to some people. I was thinking also about my family, and the story of the gold bracelets: how my grandmother sold them to buy our family rice during war time. My grandmother traded gold bracelets for rice. What does that mean about value? Is rice worth more than gold? How are objects perceived as valuable simply based on their surroundings? I remember the time when Banksy sold one of his paintings on the streets of NYC for a laughable amount ($20?) as a street artist and no one bought it. He was already famous. He did it as a prank. How do people assign value? Is bitcoin valuable? Is gold valuable? Or is it the art behind the gold? The sculpture behind the material? The story behind the sculpture? The person behind the story?
What is real and what is fake and how do we assign value because of it?
Gold artifact.
October 31, 2021
It’s Halloween today. Summer ends, Winter begins. For me, anyways, a time of thinking about change. I’ve thought about all the “careers” I’ve had and how they’re related to each other. What does making art have to do with studying history, trying for a doctorate in literature, and trading stock options? For me, they’re all a series of pattern recognition and manipulation. Recognizing and categorizing the patterns of historical events, linking patterns between literary texts and their social milieu, manipulating and recombining visual patterns in art, and perceiving the web of patterns in the options and equities markets.
I recognize and manipulate patterns. I’m not really changing what I’m doing for work; rather, I’m changing the material that I work with. Some of these materials pay much better than others. So, now I spend most of my time manipulating patterns in the stock market. I am grateful for this opportunity.
Pattern recognition is satisfying in itself. But art lets me have something more than pure puzzles to solve. There is something in making art that is a transformative and mystical process. It’s satisfying to the soul. It’s a connection with the nature spirit, the one soul of the universe, the divine.
I still make art, but I don’t make it for sale anymore. I still make art, but I make it for myself. I hope the pictures of my art can help contribute to humanity’s cultures.
My body is breaking down. I have many old injuries. Repetitive stress injuries in my fingers, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. I know the resources of my body are not infinite. I have to save my body’s resources for the art that really matters to me, the art that pushes me forward and through the veil.
Life is short, so the saying goes. Somehow, I've gotten stuck in a rut where my work is no longer creative to me. I have a lot of ideas for new, one-of-a-kind, and experimental projects, but I don't have enough time to make them.
When I first started, I wanted to practice certain techniques over and over again. Now that I've mastered these techniques, I want to move on. I've decided to retire most of my old collections, and focus on producing art for art's sake. I'll make all the pieces that I have ideas for, but didn't have time to make. While I may decide at some point that it would be fun to go back to making my old designs, I'd like to try something new right now.
Art for Art's Sake. 22k Vine Ring.
February 2016
I'm working on a heart charm and pyramid bangle... Pointy!
April 2015
Melting Down a Client's Ring to Repurpose into Wedding Rings
I sawed the ring into small pieces so it will melt easier.
I made a rough mold of wire in sand and poured in the liquid gold to get a rough wire.
My rolling mill. I begin making the wire smooth and thinner to get the right size wire to fabricate the new rings.
Eventually, the wire is too small for my rolling mill. I have to pull the wire through successively smaller holes in a steel drawplate to get it small enough to make the new rings.
March 2015
CAD Class
I finished my CAD class, part two, last week. It was pretty intense, but I've learned a lot and can make plenty of great designs now. I plan to keep my CAD-produced line separate from my hand-fabricated line. My CAD line is called Emily Wiser Jewelry Modern. Here's a picture of some of our CAD homework. The software we're using is 3Design.
February 2015
Melting 14k Gold for a Ring
February 2015
Melting Silver Granules
January 2015
Soldering a Bezel Tutorial
September 2014
Diamond Grading at the Gemological Institute of America
View from my lab bench at the GIA.
Last week I traveled to Carlsbad, California to take a week-long diamond grading laboratory at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). GIA is the leading diamond grading lab in the world, and their headquarters are in Carlsbad.
I graded diamonds all week long, and I definitely have a better appreciation for diamonds' rarity, value, and beauty. I also learned about colored diamonds, including fancy black and fancy white diamonds.
Fancy white diamonds are gorgeous. They look like ice with a little opalescent shimmer to it. I'm absolutely fascinated with them.
August 2014
Maker's Mark
I've finally designed a symbol for my studio, called a "maker's mark." Makers' marks are symbols stamped on jewelry handmade by a specific studio. Makers' marks have a rich history, stretching as far back as the Middle Ages.
My mark is inspired by an ocean wave, a crescent moon, the lotus form, and my initials EW.
August 2014
Chicago Inspiration
There’s nothing like art to inspire. Last month, I toured the Art Institute of Chicago and found tons of inspiration by looking at the shapes, colors, and forms of sculpture, architecture, prints, and (of course) jewelry.
I love the pattern of swirls on the stonework outside the museum. It’s a perfect texture for wide metal bangles.
I love the repetition of motif in these animal figurines and the character their rough forms convey – inspiration for creating ancient looking jewelry.