What Inspires My Work?
I don’t know about you, wild ones, but in the quarantined days of this global pandemic I am welcoming all the inspiration I can find. All the hope. All the light. All the juicy creativity I can get my hands on.
Last weekend as I was working in my metalsmitning studio, a little solar-powered trailer my partner and I built from scratch this past year, I noticed the books I keep in there. I see these books every day. I read and reference them constantly. But last weekend I saw them with fresh eyes.
This stack of books is actually my inspiring bliss list.
Whenever my energy feels stagnant or off-kilter, I need look no further than these titles and everything they represent. I’d imagine you may have a similar stack of books on your nightstand or, if you’re like me, piled in several stacks throughout multiple rooms in the house.
So what inspires me and my work?
Torching and transforming metal. I’m especially drawn to silver, the witch’s metal, the metal of the moon.
The studio spaces and the creations of other artistic women.
Knowing that someday my partner and I will collaborate on jewelry crafted from wood, especially driftwood. This guide from Sarah King is where we plan to start.
Stone medicine and the metaphysical properties of crystals. The little girl who stashed rocks in her pockets grew up to be an energy worker who crafts wearable altars of metal and stone. It’s been a winding path, but it all seems so obvious now.
Boss babes. Studying how other women run their companies provides endless inspiration.
Perfecting my craft and learning more and more about metalsmithing every time I step into the studio. It’s an endless road and in one way or another, I will always be a beginner. That’s what I love about it.
Gutsy women. Nasty women. Wild women. Unapologetic women. Women who take up space and fight for the rights of others to do the same. The book that Chelsea and Hillary Clinton wrote together is my go-to when I need a booster shot of bravery.
Earth. Air. Fire. Water. Spirit. Alchemy. Tangible magic. Co-creating with the moon. My craft.
Rituals. Ceremonies. Rites of passage. The witch’s wheel of the year. Living in harmony not with clocks and calendars made arbitrarily by men a couple thousand years ago, but by the rhythms of the earth that both pre-date us and will outlast all of us.
Rings. Rings. Rings. Rings. And more rings. Forging power rings is my absolute favorite manifestation of my skills as a smith. Working one-on-one with clients to narrow down just the right intention, craft just the right spell, and find just the right stone to support their becoming, nothing inspires me more. I like to say they aren’t only rings, they’re reminders.
My deep Scandinavian roots. My blood. My bones. My immigrant grandparents. My ancestors. My guide Freyja. Winter, winter, and more winter. The North Sea. The Runes.
Divination. Archetypes. Jungian psychology. Tarot cards. My long-time favorite deck is The Wildwood Tarot. My newest deck obsession is The Muse Tarot. It’s feminine and lush. It’s poetry and mixed media collage. It’s endlessly inspiring to me.
And of course, The Goddess. In all forms. In all cultures. I resonate most with the dark goddesses, the yagas, the psychopomps, the crones, the wild ones who live at the crossroads.