I began my wire wrapping journey more than 10 years ago. It seems ages, yet I'm still learning and inventing and designing and creating with a passion as new as the day I discovered it. This is, in part, due to the vast talents of other jewelry artists who inspired me. And sometimes, that inspiration came in the way of wire wrap tutorials. One such tutorial was the Net Bezel by Eni Oken (pictured below), which was the first tutorial (though certainly not the last) I purchased.
Eni Oken is a prolific jewelry artist and zentangle master! Her work is elegant, ethereal and totally wearable, so it's no real surprise she was the first to inspire me to begin my journey with wire.
I admit it. I fan-girled. Hard. I scoured her website for tutorials and to ogle her available jewelry, and with each new lesson or design she released, I was totally enamored.
There seems to be a rather prevalent opinion in some sub-sets of the jewelry community that work derived from tutorials is somehow "less". Less artistic. Less original. Encompassing less talent. To that I say this: Shush. We are meant to empower the creative endeavors of others. Not belittle them.
I discovered there are two popular uses for tutorials, and one is no more or less important or valid than the other:
To offer users an opportunity to create without the pressure to design. Whether or not for sale or personal enjoyment, lessons allow freedom from creative stagnation.
As inspiration for original work, a jumping-off point for the imagination.
And both of these uses are important in furthering the creative process for anyone who utilizes lessons provided by others. Don't let anyone tell you the work you create, whether original or not, is in any way "less".
And believe that these lessons are valuable tools to grow your arsenal of skills.
The bracelet pictured here is one I created using the technique learned in Eni's lovely Net Bezel tutorial, then embellished with my signature layered weaves. For the first year, however, I had no signature at all. And that was okay. My work looked very much like what she provided in her lesson (minus the elegance and finesse, of course).
But I created.
And eventually my nets became cleaner. My bails moved from a coil to a basket weave. I embellished these bezels with beaded frames. My experience with wire weaving grew.
And I created.
Now, some ten years later, I've found my voice, or am still discovering it, at any rate. And this is due in large part to the willingness of Eni and other like-minded artists who share their creative process with the masses.
"Whether or not for sale or personal enjoyment, lessons allow freedom from creative stagnation."
I provide lessons for a number of reasons. As an homage to those from whom I learned, definitely. But as an artist who experiences the same creative blocks as anyone, lessons allow me to create when my mind is too full of "life". We all worry or stress, and I always appreciated the opportunity to work with my hands without the pressure to "be an artist"... whatever that means, right?
Every tutorial I purchased and used, by Eni or Iza Malczyk, IMNIUM or Lonely Soldier (to name a few), was simply another tool in my drawer, as important and useful in my progression as my pliers, my wire, the beads I use... even my own two hands.
I owe a great deal of thanks to these talented stars in the wire wrapping world.
So thank you.
Thank you for the gift of creation, for the freedom from stress and the pressure I (all too often) placed on my shoulders. Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to find my own voice.
I hope you find your voice too.
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