A Bangle of Tears Forms The Way

A Bangle of ‘Tears’ Forms The Way

This is a bangle I made in 2012 for an exhibition. I found myself at this point living back in N. Ireland after having moved myself and my family from Australia due to the untimely deaths of both my grandmother followed by my father! A really really hard time full of emotion and tears!

As I had lived away from N. Ireland for a number of years I wasn’t sure what I was going to do ‘next’ or what type of work I was going to focus on. 2012 was hard to get through but with a 3 year old and a newborn to keep me sane I soon found my groove, and my customers for that matter.

I wasn’t really sure how to ‘get started’ again. Thankfully I had lots of great friends and clients and I began to immerse myself in the ‘local art community’ again. Forging and re-forging links is vital when you are new to an area – whats the art/craft scene like? N. Ireland is a small place and I had been away for a good number of years – before I left, I had run a contemporary jewellery gallery but since I’d been away the ‘recession’ had hit and many of the outlets and galleries I knew previously were all gone…BUT, the artists and makers were all still there!

In general I choose not to do much exhibition work as I’m usually really busy with commission work and as this type of work pays money I ALWAYS put it first. However I felt I needed to rebuild my ‘artistic profile’ within the local community and I wanted to support it. My head was also slightly all over the place!!!

So I made this bangle for a local yearly show – Made 2012 – supported by our Craft & Design Collective. It features an anti-clastic raised silver bangle formed into a tear-drop shape. I then covered the back of the bangle with little moving granules so that the bangle made a noise when shaken or worn. The tear-drop shape and the little granules representing all the tears that I had shed during the year. This was a concpet piece that was not made with the intention of selling – for me it was a little statement to mark the sad passing of time I had experienced. A tearful memento…

Little did I know that this bangle would go on to inspire a series of pieces I made for a client AND I sold it the next year to the Arts Council N. Ireland for their permanent collections.

So don’t underestimate the power of making concept work – whilst it may not always be a ‘top seller’ it can often inspire other ‘more sellable’ work and it showcases your talent and creative mind!!!

#concept #tears #makemoney #changeyourmindset #mentortip

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