Chilean Dreamer: Guest Artist Liz Larson

Chileandreamer Jewelry and Design: Creativity Inspirations
Text and Photos by Liz Larson

My name is Liz, and I design and create artisan wire-wrapped jewelry. I know it sounds a little like an addiction meeting, and it should!  Since I opened Chileandreamer Jewelry & Design (http://www.chileandreamer.etsy.com/) on Etsy over a year ago, it’s taken all my free time. It’s lucky I love what I do! However, I have to admit there are periods where I have creativity in abundance, and periods where I feel creatively stymied. I go for a lot of walks during these periods, since inspiration is found in the strangest places! I often find inspiration outside, looking at the structure of buildings, frost patterns, waves, or the way a vine curls.

A little about me: I am truly a crafter at heart, and have so much respect for people who craft with their hands! I love to sew, both by hand and with the horribly seductive convenience of my sewing machine. Music is another passion of mine; I am a vocalist and have played piano and cello since an early age. I have a fantastic husband who is wonderfully supportive of my jewelry work, and who makes me laugh everyday!

A lot of my inspiration comes from the stone I’m working with. I am always intrigued by unique new stones with new colors and textures and patterns - I’ll see a stone and my brain instantly starts designing! Sometimes there are parts of the stone I want to feature, such as stripes I can accentuate with wire lines. 

Most of the stones I work with inadvertently fall into one of two categories. There are stones that look best wrapped very simply to feature the stone, and there are also stones where I can let my creativity flow further and create intricate wire designs that are reminiscent of nature or emotion.

 

Sometimes the wrap design reflects my state of mind, or a state of mind I want to evoke in others. I am a great fan of jewelry that speaks secretly to you; wearing a necklace that puts you in a specific state of mind, or that means something just to you.

Often I’ll idly sketch a design that seems unfeasible, and then I’ll select the right stone and see how close I can get. Sometimes I’ll be halfway through creating a design, and I’ll see other places the design could go, so I end up with inspiration for a second piece. For example, I was creating the Lorelei necklace when I saw the design for the Intertwined necklace.

Often the clients I work with have also been instrumental in my creative process. I’ve been approached several times to design for wedding or bridesmaid jewelry, and it’s a fun balance between my artistic ideas and the clients’.  I happily do custom orders, as working with someone else helps me think outside the box!

Advice for new artists? Always be stretching your creative bounds. The more you try to work around problems and create things you’ve never done before, the more possibilities you’ll see.

Happy creating! Thanks to the wonderful Toni for an amazing blog, and for hosting my guest post!

~Liz
http://www.chileandreamer.etsy.com/

THANK YOU, LIZ!!