Ramblings About my Life Path

Jewellery making has only been a part of my life for a very short while. Just about a year, in fact. But I just fell into it so naturally.

I’m a very curious person. I get easily fascinated, especially with creative fields and I like change and new inspiration. Over the years I have consumed courses in all manner of areas. I started with illustration, my very first serious love. From there it is an easy step into storytelling and writing short stories and fairy tales. 

With stories came interactive stories and computer games. I remember playing adventure games (the ones that mostly tell a story, with some good cerebral challenges thrown in) with my dad and sister and being awed with the thought – Some people do this for a living, getting paid to write adventures, paint lovely pictures to go with them and program them to work. I love writing, programming and illustrating in almost equal measures. The thought of having such a versatile job where all the parts of the brain were being challenged seemed like a dream to me.

I was brought up with a very practical sense, though, and everyone told me that illustrators don’t make money – they just scrape by and working in the game industry was like saying “I want to be a rockstar”. Yet I knew I wanted something creative, so I searched for a niche that I would be happy with. I had a brief fling with fashion design. I spent a year in Florence learning the language and hand sewing complicated outfits. The stay in Italy was awesome, the sewing not so much.

I then got a Masters Degree in Interactive Multimedia – Well, almost. They didn’t pass me on that final project. I think they wanted to see something more arty than a musical computer game. My creations never seem to conform to what the establishment call “real” art. Since then I have worked as a game designer (Turns out the games industry loves what I can do). It has been tons of fun, but my eye always strays towards new things and challenges. 
I have taken courses in writing, photography, drawing, painting, mixed media, jewellery making (of course), altering, journaling and Leonardo da Vinci. He is my idol – always looking to new things, fluttering like a butterfly – flirting with new subjects and new possibilities. I think he was looking for a better understanding of everything  - the bigger picture.

This is what drives me too. I think all my different obsessions feed into the same understanding. My painting feeds my writing, feeds my jewellery feeds my photography feeds my game design.

Besides the bigger picture, what I am seeking is first of all expression. Everyone has a unique voice; however they choose to use it. I like trying new areas and finding that voice again in a new outfit. Does that make sense?

When I started making jewellery it didn’t feel like a completely new career – it felt like a new set of techniques to say the same thing. I absolutely love it. Jewellery Design is going to be with me for a very long time.