How jewellery making saved my life…

10 years ago, I was hit by the “middle age crisis wave”, a wave that almost knocked me down. I had to do something that would do good to me, and that was an emergency!

For me the choice was clear as to “what would do good to me”, and I headed toward jewellery making, as it was my favourite “hobby” and I had already taken a couple of classes in that field.

The power of creativity is huge, and for me, the joy of seeing something coming alive out of my hands was a very important wellness trigger. So actually, the more I made, the better I felt! I cannot thank enough the psychologist who told me to « do more of what does good to you »! Creativity and jewellery making was my best medicine.

But why ? how come ? Is there anything magical?

The act of creating has more than one positive effects, and here are a few of them:

• It creates a “Time-Space Capsule” 

To take time to create transforms the feeling of time and space. Have you already noticed how you can ignore the sounds or the agitation around you when you create? You get into your own world, and there are no worries there. Being immerged in creation is actually living the NOW totally… No before, no after, just “NOW, a moment that’s very powerful (read “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle!)

• It creates a unity of body and mind

While the body is touching the medium, while the fingers are busy, there is a unification of the body and the mind. Intuition is called, as well as movement, ideas, which empower oneself. Being in touch with the medium helps materializing the intentions, thoughts, pains that are afloat in the air, and helps one taking back the reins of one’s life. To shape the medium « outside » helps emptying the inside from all the worries. Creating helps digest the past events, and give them a sense.

• It helps one transgress fixed schemas that have become burdensome

To transgress, meaning to go past the inherited orders or past the tendency to keep things as they are, to keep doing the same things, and entertain the same ideas. On the opposite, to create allows the unconscious mind to shake things up. Neurologically, to create also breaks barriers, as it’s established that it helps connect parts of the brain to work together, and also improves the secretions of “well being hormones”, like dopamine and serotonin. “Choose a Job You Love, and You Will Never Have To Work a Day in Your Life». The jury’s still out about who first said this very true sentence… but it doesn’t matter. It’s a reality, if you love what you do, you won’t have the feeling that you are « at work ».

Now for one year I’ve been working as an independent in my workshop. I create happy jewellery for happy people! My most used medium is metal clay, which is one of the newest techniques in the long history of jewellery. It was invented in the last part of the 20^th century and is made of metal powder (can be silver, bronze, brass, copper, steel), a binder and water. It’s a clay and is worked while soft. It can be shaped while soft, carved and refined while dry, and is then fired in a kiln. The end product is 100% metal, be it silver, bronze, brass, copper or steel!

Passionate about this medium, I love to teach this technique too.

But what I love most is to see my students beam at the end of the day, amazed at what they did! They never see the day go by, they are intensely in the creative process and the end result is always something beautiful. So I know that creativity is not only good for me, and I see that it’s a process that’s good for all who come to my studio

The classes are taught on a regular basis and can be custom taught in German or in English as well. As the journey starts with the first step, there are introduction classes (1 day), and also certification classes (3 days).

About the author:

Born in the French part of Switzerland, I’m thankful to have lived in the German part as well as in the US for a while. I was trained as a RN and worked in various hospitals until I became a mom. Always creative and needing to keep my hands busy, I started making jewellery as a kid. While in the US, I discovered metal clay and that was the start of a long love story, that I live in my studio “Tulipes en Janvier”, where I teach this technique and … of course, create happy jewellery for happy people!

 

 

• best medecine
• body and mind
• creativity
• jewellery
• metal clay
• middle life crisis
• survival
• time space capsule
• Tulipes en Janvier
• workshop