Autumn Morning in Tsukahara

Autumn Morning in Tsukahara
Autumn morning in Tsukahara

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Jewelry

The people who know me can’t believe that I started making jewelry. I am far from being materialistic. I don’t like shopping or exchanging gifts. Also, I don’t have any sense of art, no patience for detailing and I’m terrible with my hands. Unlike me, George is detail oriented, patient, and has a sense of art. As an example, I included a picture of a origami that he made.  
After being laid off, I planned on having lots of extra time to do things. George was worried about me being isolated from society. Well, my communication skills with my dogs improved. George believed I was getting depressed. So, I tried to find something that I could do better than him. I knew he wouldn’t be interested in making jewelry and it just happened that I glanced at an ad for a class in making jewelry that was sitting on the table. Fate invited me to challenge myself.


The first time I made some jewelry, my mother-in-law commented, “it’s kind of boring.” She was brutally honest, but that’s one reason I liked her very much (when we are not arguing). She said, “The recent trend for earrings is for them to be long. Look at Ann Curry (who she likes), she wears long earrings.” Reacting to her comments, I made… (more like practiced) many long earrings. George shared with me his opinions, but he wasn’t much help since he thought earrings looked painful and are unnecessary. He, however, helped me assemble some of the complicated designs.
After I made a couple of long earrings, my mother-in-law liked them and offered to sell some. So, I quickly made many different long ones and mailed them to her. A month later, she sent me money for whatever she sold. I was so excited to see $$$ for my efforts. Later, she sent back some leftover earrings that she could not sell. I was surprised and disappointed to see so many. I first thought she was feeling sorry for me and that she gave me money for something I didn’t sell. I called her and asked her if that was the case. She said, “No, I don’t do that kind of thing. You sent me quite a few of them and I sold most of them.”  I had forgotten how many I had sent her. Well, I am no longer interested in selling earrings, but I want to learn some new techniques. I decided not to give up the hobby until I accomplish something. Who knows what my future will bring!!!

Erika

No comments:

Post a Comment