Showing posts with label experimentation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label experimentation. Show all posts

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Simplicity, Texture, and Experimentation


Simplicity, texture, and experimentation are what drive Heather's gorgeous jewelry designs. She has sold through galleries and shops for many years. She personally designs all of her jewelry and her designs are hand-made using various techniques of metalsmithing. She is currently running a SALE on all items till Oct 1st with FREE shipping. Be sure to stop by her Etsy shop http://www.hgjewelry.etsy.com/

Heather Grandmont Jewelry 2009








Simplicity, texture, and experimentation are what drive my jewelry designs. I enjoy working with many materials but feel especially drawn to metal. Color is one aspect I miss most with what I do but jewelry does lend the ability to add color in the form of enamels, beads, and mixed media. Most of my designs are developed through playing with different forms that I already have made, and sometimes from my sketches- but mostly by putting pieces together till I like what I see. I love metal that has that raw, organic, makers-mark to it. The look of old, worn, time brought to the present. I studied art at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. I was a double major in metalsmithing and painting. I was lucky enough to have received many awards, scholarships, and recognition while attending, both for my painting and metalwork. I haven’t painted in a long time but have managed to continue my focus with jewelry and design. Being an artist you have to get creative with finances which sometimes mean working a job other than your art. I’ve tried numerous times to make it full-time but because of health insurance or cash flow have found myself working at different places part-time such as The Cleveland Institute of Art, Kohl’s, and my current job as a dental receptionist. These jobs have provided me with connections and a group of supportive friends. Without them I might have become a hermit. About a year and a half ago I had a son with my husband Marcus.
I decided to take a short break from my business during pregnancy and right after because I wanted to focus all of my time and energy to my new family and health. I was still in stores during that time but had cut way back. It helped that I had a lot of inventory on hand. Now my little guy is a “little” older and I have been able to sneak down to my studio during his naps and at night. I have been getting that creative bug- you know the one that sticks in your head 24 hours a day till you allow yourself to play again! It feels great to be back and being a mom! Etsy has become a great place to find fantastic artists who are supportive and enthusiastic, not to mention all the great stuff you can buy! So if I find myself in the studio full-time again I won’t have to worry about becoming a hermit. Thanks for everyone’s support and encouragement.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

My "Second Career" !

Designing and creating jewelry is Naked Jewelry's “second career”. She loves to design with techniques that create organic textures and finds it a privilege to use the precious metals and stones of the earth to create personal adornments that bring people happiness. Her Etsy shop offers many beautiful pieces http://www.nakedjewelry.etsy.com/ .

























Designing and creating jewelry is my “second career”. For 26 years, I co-owned a video production company (www.onthescene.com) headquartered in Los Angeles. I loved the company and the employees who called it home, but my partner and I did not want to grow old “propped up at our desks” as we used to say and so in 2006 we sold the company to investors and I was able to pursue my growing passion for jewelry making.I took my first beading class in 2006 and was hooked!













































After about six months, I realized that I wanted to have a design range that required metalsmithing skills so for the past two years, I have been taking a variety of classes along with book learning and plain old experimentation. I find that I gravitate to techniques that create organic textures. I love to use my rolling mill to imprint grasses, bark and leaves into silver. I figure you just can’t improve upon Mother Nature so why not use it, along with natural gemstones, to create beautiful jewelry!My bucolic studio is perched atop a hill in our backyard. From there I watch squirrels, hummingbirds and spiders go about their business. I can hear the next door neighbor's baby burble and coo. And, as I pass by our vegetable garden, I am able to watch the plants grow almost imperceptibly day by day.I did not imagine even five years ago that I would be making jewelry. Life has a way of taking some unexpected twists and turns. I was never interested in science or chemistry, yet as a jeweler, I am now fascinated by the characteristics of stones and the use of heat to manipulate precious metals. After nearly three decades working in a service industry under tight deadlines, spinning pie plates and huge pressure, I love the peace and solitude of creating a piece of wearable art that is all my own, entirely with my own hands; relying only upon myself to conceive, design, execute and sell. For me, it is a privilege to use the precious metals and stones of the earth to create personal adornments that bring people happiness.
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