New earrings and Neckline friendly Necklace

The new Reef pieces have posted to the shop! As of now, three necklaces and one style of earrings are available. Some of the earrings have already sold but I'll be adding more within the next couple of days.

Reef earrings, each pair is one of a kind. Genevieve Williamson, genevievewilliamson.com

The longest necklace has a clasp designed for versatility to allow it to be worn single and long, or doubled over and short, to accommodate different necklines. That way you get more mileage, as it were, out of one piece and I'm all for that.

Reef necklace #2, versatile two in one necklace that can be work short or long. Genevieve Williamson, genevievewilliamson.com

Reef necklace #2, versatile two in one necklace. Genevieve Williamson, genevievewilliamson.com

Due to the fact that I free form marble the clay to create the earrings, all pairs will be one of a kind and will go together but won't match exactly because...I like asymmetry. A lot. And this also means that any of the earrings will "go with" the multi-colored necklaces.

Reef necklace #3, multi-colored with and easy to use hook clasp. Genevieve Williamson. genevievewilliamson.com

Reef necklace #3. Genevieve Williamson. genevievewilliamson.com

I was very fortunate to my daughter model for me this time around (although she probably should have been the one taking the photos). Thanks Ema! 

Reef necklace #1. Like my original Reef necklace but better. Genevieve Williamson. genevievewilliamson.com

Reef Collection 2.0

I'm finding that one of the best places to find new ideas is by re-thinking my old ideas. (Recycling at its best!) The pieces from my Reef collection are still selling but I knew the designs could be pushed further. Apparently customers weren't getting bored (which is good of course!) but I was and I think eventually that feeling is going to show, right?

Three new necklaces and new drop earrings will post to my main shop site on Tuesday at noon.

In other news...I was so honored to write for the fall edition of The Polymer Arts Magazine out this month. You can find me all the way at the back, in the Muse's Corner, where I talk about how my Graves disease diagnosis affects my work and process.

Its amazing to me the number of people I've met in the past year and a half who also have some sort of autoimmune disease  - people from all walks of life and very notably, quite a few artists. Camaraderie is a powerful thing, you know, because disease of any sort can feel very lonely. (Art History side note: Not that this is one of the artists that I've met obviously but Pierre-Auguste Renoir was diagnosed with painful rheumatoid arthritis in 1892 and suffered with the disease for the last 20 years of his life but...he continued to paint.)

This is a self portrait of Renoir from 1909.

As I am learning, autoimmune diseases can be very personal and the same disease can produce differing symptoms for different people. (Which I suspect must be one of the problems in treating them.) But I'm hoping that other people with any kind of disease or physical limitation will be encouraged to take care of themselves and to look for their own adaptations in work and life.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Self-portrait, 1910 Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Renoir au XXe siècle : catalogue de l'exposition à Paris, Galeries Nationales (Grand Palais, Champs-Élysées), 23 septembre 2009 - 4 janvier 2010 , à Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 14 février - 9 mai 2010 et à Philadelphie, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 17 juin - 6 septembre 2010, p. 275. ISBN 9782711855872 Public DomainFile:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Autoportrait 5.JPG Created: 31 December 1909 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Auguste_Renoir#/media/File:Pierre-Auguste_Renoir_-_Autoportrait_5.JPG

One thing leads to another

I've finally expanded my Reef line to include post earrings.

They are pretty artsy and abstract as each pair goes together but is a mirror image. The earrings are in fact the exact same beads used to make the necklace but with the earrings you see them from the "face" of the bead rather than the side. The sides of the disks are sanded to create some contrast, rather like a bezel, and the posts are sterling silver.

I debated these earrings for quite a while and worked (without success) on designs that were exactly like the necklace and bracelets because the strength of the design is in the fact that it all colors.  But in the end I really think the earrings work and I've paired them by dominate color. (e.g. earrings that are mostly red, earrings that are mostly green)

Let me know what you think. They'll be in the Etsy shop by end of day. Maybe some dangle versions will happen next.

Have a great weekend! I'm off to the Quench opening in Belfast Maine…more on that as internet connection at our Down East accommodation allows.

New work

There'll be some new work in the shop this week finally. I still haven't heard if my Reef bracelets will be included in People Style Watch summer edition but I decided better safe than sorry and started making a stash of them and some of the matching necklaces (short and long) too.

No name for these yet - ocean "something" or wave "something...or something like that. 

Short Reef necklace with Lemon'Lime carved bead that sits off center. 

And since one of the jobs we'll have while on Saint Helena will be product photography for SHAPE's Etsy shop, I'm working on my "photos on white background skills".