Tuesday, November 8, 2011

My favourite season.

Fall has always been my favourite season.  Always!  And I really like the idea that the word "fall" has Old Norse derivatives - from the land of Vikings, and all.  Maybe that’s why I have such an affinity with rocks. 

So much has happened since N.E.wear’s inception.  And "N.E.wear" wasn’t the first alphabetic configuration.  Let’s go back over a year ago, to last August.  My daughter, Amy, was here visiting with our two grand boys, Ethan and Christian.  I thought it might be fun to make some jewelry with Ethan, who was about 4½ at the time.  We chose colours of polymer modeling clay and E. thought he would be good at turning the handle on the pasta roller.   After a few passes, the exact thickness was achieved.  We cut some shapes from different colours, placed them on the base, rolled again and merged them together.  Amy started cutting out shapes and by the time we were finished, we had 2 sets of earrings and pendants.  This is really when I had my first vision of making jewelry.  And of course, never mind having enough pieces to sell, or where to sell them or any sort of business plan – I needed a name.  And I wanted to use our initials:  N, A and E.  “NEA”.  ANE”.  “EAN”.  Nothing worked.  Then, suddenly – there it was.  AnE.wear.  After some testing, however, it became evident this was going to require some phonetic symbols to ensure correct pronunciation.  Argh – too complicated! 

Finally, after simplifying my medium from polymer clay to acrylic paint came the simpler spelling of N.E.wear.  It wasn't a TRUE epiphany, but it was certainly a great ah-ha!

1 comment:

  1. Hello Jewelry Artist! N.E. Wear is so catchy and meaningful! As well as functional! Nancy! I love your blog! I enjoyed learning the beginnings of your story with colorful, articulate words! Excellent job! A+ My favorite part is how meaningful the handmade pieces are and how this whole project began from your family strumming your heart strings! It's just so precious that the seeds of your work began with your offspring!! To create a piece of art to wear is a custom that's as ancient as the world. We study how civilizations old would adorn themselves with embellishments to bring beauty and significance to their family name. We can be instantly gratified by purchasing everything in this day and age as opposed to customizing and making our own. To actually be a part of the process in creating a piece to wear is original and innovative! On Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains; Creativity is the highest category thought process! May you continue to produce ideas that brighten our hurting world with colorful hues dripping with happiness!
    Carpe Diem!
    Kristie

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