Nicole Hanna Jewelry
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Favorites to Follow On Instagram

6/14/2018

2 Comments

 
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I am not exactly an Instagram addict, but I can easily lose 30 minutes of my life scrolling through my feed. Wait... that doesn't exactly support my original assertion, does it? 

Moving along.

I wanted to share with you my favorite Instagram feeds to follow. Maybe you'll find them as inspiring as I do! Just click their names to view their feeds!

1. Joybird. I'm not going to lie. I love Joybird furniture. I want to outfit my entire house with it. I want to live in their Instagram feed, wrap myself up in art deco light fixtures beneath a brilliant blue couch. 

2. Pitch Pine Pottery. I have a weakness for pottery... specifically coffee mugs. Probably born of my addiction to coffee, but I'm fairly certain if (gods forbid) coffee was striped from the earth, I'd still own a ridiculous number of handcrafted mugs. I love having them on my desk, being inspired by their art while I work, and feel a little indulgent when drinking from them. 

3. Ravens Meadow. One of these days, I'll own all her work and may not even put a single one in wire, because they tell such powerful stories on their own. 

4. Tammy Kanat. Five years ago, if you'd asked me, I'd say that I'd never much bothered to decorate my walls. I was, you could say, severely practical in home decor. But this artist's work with fibers is absolutely inspirational. I could easily cover every wall, ceiling to floor, with her work and live in a fantasy. 

5. Gracemerewoods. So much detail on such tiny canvases. I could imagine myself with an entire family of these creatures in my home, keeping me company, taunting my cats, and generally just being awesome. 

6. Spirit Nectar. If ever there was jewelry that captured pure magic, this would be it. Any single piece and I'm lost in the woods with the fey. 

7. Terri Foss. And keeping with the theme of mysticism and magic, check out the amazing artwork of Terri Foss, where everything is a fairy tale and all those tales include witches!

8. Sculpted From Nothing. It's like holding a world in the palm of your hand. 

9. Moonchild Tarot. I have a problem. I collect tarot decks. A lot of them. To be fair, I've downsized my collection from over 200 decks to (a respectable, I think) 50. And until I get my hands on a copy of the Moonchild Tarot, their Instagram feed will have to do. 

10. Homesweethell. Everything about this appeals to my inner goth. So very very much.
2 Comments

Why I Don't Strive For Creative Perfection

6/7/2018

4 Comments

 
Perfectionism. The creative spirit in all of us has, at one time or another, fallen victim to the pursuit of perfection. While I use the word "victim" dramatically, it's also  honest, because striving for perfection is one of the most damaging habits creators can build in themselves.
When I create, no matter what medium I choose to use, I am telling a story. Every story should (if it's a good one) tell a certain truth, express in its telling an honest representation of its author, even if through fictional, mystical or metaphorical means. These stories aren't always unicorns and rainbows. There is pain. There is sadness and loss. There may be anger and frustration. And these are all valid aspects to include and represent in our work, because what we create is a direct mirror of our lives and what happens behind the creative process. 
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"Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough - that we should try again." - Julia Cameron

When I create a piece of jewelry, I am not just making jewelry, something functional or impersonal, but am expressing the day I've had, or the month or the year, which all translates into the wire I weave. When you see an extra turn of the wire in a weave, a visible join or a kink, for instance, that is the part in my story when I was thinking about how my son was hit by a drunk driver while riding his bike home from work (he's thankfully very much okay), or realizing that my dinner has burned (again), or enjoying the constant distraction of my cats. 
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And, while many a jewelry artist may disagree with me here, I'm not keen to edit that from my story. I don't want to undo the pages I've just written until what the audience sees is a superficial, staged look at my life. There's no shame in accidents, and I'm never likely to call much of anything a "mistake". Don't get me wrong... if it's meant to be worn, it should serve that purpose without hindrance... poking wires or jiggling stones. This isn't an invitation to be intentionally sloppy, after all. But to nitpick the number of coils, or the kink in a wire, seems to strip from the story a truth.
So no. I will not fall into the trap that perfectionism sets. I will not lose the parts of my story that make me real and keep me honest. I have a feeling there's an audience out there who appreciates the imperfections of others.

Stay creative. Be a superhero in how you express yourself. Be fearless and unapologetic and embrace your story from start to finish.
Creativity is about the expression of a vision, and those visions are a direct reflection of our lives. Sometimes, life is messy. Life is imperfect. 
4 Comments

GIVEAWAY for Newsletter Subscribers!

6/1/2018

10 Comments

 
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That's right, folks! It's time for my first VIP newsletter subscriber giveaway! I realized this past month, after the "Finish It!" contest closed, that I've done a giveaway for Instagram, for my Facebook page and group, and held contests, but never hosted a giveaway for my newsletter peeps who graciously accept my rambling into their email inbox a couple times a month. And it was high time I changed that! So I'm giving away this copper and labradorite pendant, with the giveaway closing to new subscribers June 30th and a winner announced July 1st! 
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Click HERE to subscribe and enter for your chance to win! 
If you're already subscribed, no worries, you're automatically entered to win! And not only are you in the running for this prize, but I have four video tutorials planned in the coming months exclusively for subscribers, as well as awesomesauce holiday coupon codes and PDF lessons, all only available through my newsletter. But I promise... I wont hit your inbox with general ramblings five times a week or anything excessive. I like to keep things mellow and on point and only share with you goodies, deals and new releases. 

  • Giveaway is open world-wide. I'll ship anywhere! 
  • All you have to do is click the link above and subscribe! 
  • Giveaway is available to new subscribers through June 30th, 2018. 

Thank you so much for all your continued support, for being part of my creative family here on my site and my social media platforms. Every day I'm blessed to read your comments, your encouragement, learn about you and share a bit of myself with you in return.

​Check it out and good luck! 

​Nicole
10 Comments
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  • Home
  • Blog
  • Gallery
  • Learn To Wire Wrap
    • PDF Tutorials
    • Video Tutorials
    • Tutorial Membership 2022
  • Shop
    • SIGNATURE COLLECTION
    • GODDESS COLLECTION
    • PDF Tutorials >
      • Beginner Wire Weaving
      • Intermediate Weaving
      • PDFs for Cabochons
      • Advanced Weaving
      • Wire Wrap Workshops