Art and inspiration

I'm not sure if its moving to Chicago, my new career, or a variety of other things that has made me feel so excited about being in the studio and creating things (jewelry related) again. After I graduated from Purdue (the first time), I felt so unprepared to continue creating jewelry in the real world. Lack of tools and moving away from the guidance of a wonderful professor may have had something to do with it... Or just the confusion of graduating and having no idea what to do next...

Regardless-I am so happy to be working in my new studio! I have been sketching like crazy and feel prepared to make some tough choices regarding graduate school and business ideas.

Starting October 6, a medal I created will be exhibited at Gallery I/O in New Orleans for The Anti-War Medals Show. A little about the show as borrowed from Thomas Mann's website:

The Anti-War Medals Show was first shown in San Francisco at Velvet da Vinci Gallery as a response to the war in Iraq. The exhibition then toured for 2 years adding new pieces in each country where the show appeared. This expanded exhibition currently features 150 artists from around the world. The artists represented in Anti-War Medals have explored a wide variety of metalsmithing techniques and employed an interesting mix of materials and unique concepts in the creation of their work.

The concept for my medal came about as I researched traditional war medals, specifically Prisoner of War medals. I explored the idea of 'prisoner of war' outside of its usual context and was extremely happy with the result. Pictures to come!