ARTIST STATEMENT
Being creative means veering off the established path.
Thinking otherwise.
Seeing things differently.
Cauliflower in spaghetti sauce?
Old shoes as garden planters?
Wheat germ on ice cream?
Organizations that don’t fight over money?
Pearls on copper?
These new ideas feel fresh, self-affirming and a shiny present to the world.
I am not always in step with everybody else.
I don’t quite fit in sometimes.
I sound critical, seeing new ways of doing things that others like just fine as they are.
Bringing something new and beautiful into the world makes my brain sing. Perhaps it is similar to a runner’s high. The new piece brings me into a state of wonder, bordering on love. I made that? Each and every time I look at one of my creations, the surge of pleasure returns. Even when I see one of my pieces years later, the emotional connection returns and I find myself touching a woman’s neck to reconnect with my piece. Pretty embarrassing, but she knows.
I am grateful for this urge to create. I am grateful that there are people who share my love of these things that spring out of me.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Designing jewelry, especially silversmithing, is my second career. After a lifetime of work in higher education, culminating as Dean of the College of Professional Studies at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, I eased into the art world around 2000.
I like shapes that remind me of life situations, starkly simple shapes, and combinations that draw your surprised eye. I love contrast in form and similarity in color. Incorporating stones into metal designs delights me. I dream of new designs, smiling in my sleep. Most of all, I want each piece to intrigue the viewer.
I am a full time, award-winning silversmith, based in central Wisconsin. My jewelry is shown at galleries, museums and exhibits coast to coast, and I am represented by various galleries across the country.
© Joan North