The Journey…Jewellery Making
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Heather McNair Horsey www.swaysilver.ca
If by chance we’ve met, I may have asked you a little about yourself, what you do and if you enjoy it. I ask this of almost everyone I freshly meet because I love to hear how they came to their vocation whether it be a teacher, an artist or whatever career or hobby they are pursuing at the time. It’s interesting to learn how an interest developed from a young age or how an opportunity came from out of the blue or how new circumstances pivoted someone to a completely new direction in life! I want to know if they are satisfied in their job, fulfilled and happy. Perhaps I was just being curious, but up until a few years ago a part of me wondered if by asking all the right people about all the possible job descriptions out there if there might be something out there suited to me!
Heart pendant "Married"
I suffered for most of my 20s (ok I’ll admit most of my 30s too) with the I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up syndrome. Oh, don’t think I didn’t launch from my parent’s cozy nest! I was out of there as soon as I had that B.A. Fine Arts in my hand. I was never one to think of catching up on soaps on my parent’s couch until I was 30. I just really didn’t know what I wanted to BE. So I found a creative job or two and worked away making just enough to survive, not quite enough to travel to see the world, but enough to pay the rent, drive and eat and take a jewellery making class from Louise Jarvis a local silversmith. After a few years I found myself travelling the U.S. as a design representative for a textile art company on commission…creative with plenty of free time to explore the North Eastern States. On those trips I had the rare chance to explore museums, galleries, artisan shops and bead shops (beading was an obsession I developed as a late teen) wherever I went. It really was the best part of the job except for meeting and designing for the clients who offered me rich stories and divine spaces to design for.
Twig Skipping Stone Labradourite Necklace (Sold)
All the traveling alone became tiresome, I was away as much as I was home and that takes a toll and makes it hard to have stability no matter how good the pay cheque. So with a very specialized skill set what was I to do? I could have gone back to the world of retail display that had sustained me in my early career or I could take a chance and pursue the one thing that filled my head and kept my hands busy whenever I had the chance – jewellery making. Entrepreneurship was calling me. To be completely honest it was at the same point in time that I met my adoring husband who supported my decision with encouragement and financial backing, IT know-how and a lot of strengths that balance my creative mind. I used to feel complete and utter guilt over this until it occurred to me that there isn’t an artist gracing the pages of art history books that hasn’t had some form of benefactor whether it was church or state, a wealthy bloodline or a savvy art dealer with the right connections. And now, I am holding my own.
Twig charm catcher with my personal charms. Cross, Birds, A leaf and round W charms.
As the story goes, along the path there have been ups and downs, struggles and victories as I wrestled with doubts, practiced my soldering and cutting skills, sought a personal style, pondered pricing formulas business models and carved out time while raising two little boys to devote to creativity. (Which seems frivolous at times until one realizes that as a creative I’m a like a fish without water when I set my art aside for long.) There have been carrots dangled, promising better pay, security, benefits, ladders to climb, fountains of validation and someone else to do the books. Sometimes I took those opportunities but after awhile I’ve always been drawn back to my jewellery work bench feeling more empowered that this was the right path for me all along. Jewellery making provides me with opportunities to explore stories with design that I’m just barely scratching the surface of. It offers chances for me to study and grow. It provides me a link to connect with people and create pieces that speak to them of memories, loved ones and moments. It allows me to guide others to explore their personal creativity and unlock the power of art in their lives. Let the naysayers “nay”, there have been plenty of critics….I know where I am going! It is a daily discipline, a constant in my life a lot more work than most people realize, and at this time and place my studio is where I am meant to be. So the journey continues.
peridot and leather bracelet (Sold) www.swaysilver.ca
You can find my lines of creative jewellery at Strata Gallery in Elora, Renann Isaacs Contemporary Art in Guelph or Cambridge Centre for the Arts. For fingerprint jewellery or commissions contact me via email heather@swaysilver.ca
