Why do we wear jewelry?  Why do we adorn ourselves with the simple and the outrageous?

Throughout my career I have sold my work at art shows and, for a while, I attended an affair called The Whole Life Expo. One year, at the Pasadena event, I was sitting in my booth, watching the crowd. Across the room I noticed a woman. Disheveled, sweaty, wild-eyed, weighed-down by shopping bags stuffed, straining and warped, she stood and searched the room. I felt the beam of her attention sweep across my jewelry cases, continue to scan the room then shift and zoom in on me.

I felt like a rabbit, snared.

She ran to my booth and skidded to a stop before my cases, the shopping bags swinging like wrecking balls. Her nose pressed against the glass. "What do they do?" she asked.

I felt my eyebrows knit together. "Do??"  I had a comic vision of my cameos springing to life, winking and smirking in their bezels.   

"Yea, you  know... do they heal? Are they protection amulets? What do they DO?" She scanned the jewelry, sure she'd find a miracle cure hiding amongst the rose quartz and azurite-malachite. 

I sighed. "It's just jewelry. It doesn't DO anything."

The woman's face contorted as if she'd smelled something foul. She spun on her heals and, bags banging her legs, sprinted off in a new direction.

Now, years and years later, I know I gave the woman an incorrect answer. I should have said, "Yes. It does all of it." For, indeed, jewelry heals -- a balm for the broken heart, a copper bracelet for arthritic joints. Indeed, it protects us -- from unwanted advances, from feeling bland. Jewelry makes a statement, makes us feel special, makes us feel powerful, or loved, or part of a group. It connects us to our past through hand-me-downs and to our culture through common symbols or designs. It is one of the oldest forms of commerce and, in a crisis, brings us safety and resolution through its bargaining and purchasing power. 

But most important -- jewelry is beauty, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.    

I make jewelry because I love things of beauty. Sparkling stones and rocks of incredible color. The richness of gold and the brightness of silver.

I make jewelry because I adore the look on my customers' faces when they discover a piece that "speaks" to them. There is magic in making another human being feel special. 

And I live for magic. 

Here, I've placed a few select photos of my creations. I hope they suggest "beauty." I pray they do whatever it is they're going to do for the people who find them. If a little bit of magic happens for you and you're interested in owning a piece, contact me through this web site.  If you're lucky enough to live near one of the select galleries that sell my work, drop in and explore the work in person. 

I share my creations with you and invite you to share your thoughts on Why Jewelry?  If I don't answer or respond to  your comment, rest assured it is only because I'm in my shop, creating more jewelry.  Or, mayhap, I'm in the forest, writing...
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GALLERIES

Breach the Moon Gallery

434 S.W. Bay Boulevard

Newport, Oregon  97365

(541) 265-9698

The Celtic Shoppe

21269 Stevens Creek Boulevard

Cupertino, California  95014

(408) 252-3046

Stargazer

12727 N.E. 20th, Suite 10

Bellevue, Washington  98005

(425) 885-7289