Early July
Circling Back to Roots
When I first started making jewelry to actually sell, I explored working with wood. It was readily accessible due to my Dad having scraps in boxes from his finer woodworking projects.
And these weren’t just pine. These are small cut-off’s of really curious species like purple heart, bubinga, cherry, etc. And they all smell unique when cut/sanded and their true color surfaces the moment you slightly coat with oil!
Yes, * I * may have this love affair with the material, but I have to be realistic- accepting that society doesn’t see wood as a “finer” material to adorn one self with, ya know? I knew when I first started I couldn’t rely on just wood as my main material, unless I had a laser cutter and was cranking out some extremely precise designs. To me that took all the artistry out of it.
I also am a suuuucker for handcrafted metal jewelry that has an aged, textured, oxidized, “I have a story” feel to it. With all this said, I started with wood, but knew I was going to pivot to bring in another material at some point.
Hence, the last few years playing with brass and copper….
Now, I feel it’s time. The recent couple months of hitting a dead-end, I came to realize it was my next pivot, coming to surface. The time to bring the two materials together and paint the picture of pieces I have in me head into wearable pieces that feel more….I dunno…..complete? I am currently at the phase of playing with shapes and techniques to “decorate” the wood, allowing me to dabble back into a method I really love…pyrography.
It’s like drawing, in a sense. Basically, wood-burning with a pen….but a damn hot one!
Because different species have different amounts of oil in them and different grain patterns, the wood responds differently when heat is applied. Just a matter of getting familiar from repetition.
It’s all an evolving process to connect the two.
Who is the ‘Forager Chef’?
One of my YouTube guilty pleasure’s…
I stumbled on Alan Bergo many years ago, but dawned on me just recently, many of you may also find his approach to cuisine really inspiring and grounding. Chef Bergo goes by “Forager Chef” online, and is a humble James Beard Award-winning chef, author, forager, and show-host.
He lives in a different climate than those of us here in New England, but there are some similarities for sure. Best part, chef Bergo covers both vegetation and animal recipes. Something for everyone in his large collection of short videos. Even of the recipe’s themself aren’t of interest, his technique and knowledge of navigating the outdoors as his grocery store, is something to be admired!
Pulling inspiration from him, I’m looking at 2 jars on our kitchen shelf. One a sweet spruce tip syrup and a spruce tip infused vodka that I’ve been “cooking” for about 2 months now. They are just about ready to strain and use!
Here’s his YouTube channel
Chef Bergo’s Book
Follow him on Instagram
Originally shared via e-mail in 6/2022