Tutorials and giving back

I recently prepared another tutorial for www.artisanjewelrytimes.com, this time for a pair or earrings that I came up with some time ago, wanting to surprise a friend with a piece that was made just for her. And so the earrings say so.

This follows the first tutorial I prepared for the magazine back in July, which was featured on the cover and the Focus on Fabulous article - you can see it in my last post.
Working on the tutorials holds special meaning for me. I'll explain.

Paying it forward
The magazine caters to the jewelry artist at the beginner level; those who are hungry for knowledge and to expand their skills. I recognize the feeling.

Back when I first started making jewelry, and living in a country where no classes were available, no jewelry books could be found or ordered by mail, and internet was so slow that downloading a video was but a dream, purchasing tutorials from other artists was my main source to acquire the knowledge I craved and satisfy my curiosity of the workings behind the pieces I aspired to do.

I usually did not replicate the pieces, but rather just learnt the techniques that I couldn't figure out on my own.

I have moved on quite a bit since then. Still learning, still exploring, but I have acquired enough knowledge to allow me to work a lot out on my own and not rely so much on others.

But I remember well.

And so it is particularly satisfying to me, this sort of "paying it forward", of carefully preparing the instructions, taking and editing all of the photos, thinking of what I would like to know about making a piece if I was learning from scratch, and making sure to provide all the information that student might need.

I do hope I am helping someone I don't even know; someone who is perhaps on the other side of the world; someone who shares this passion about manipulating materials and using tools, of feeling creative and accomplished at the end.

If you are that person, if you use my tutorial, I hope it helps you not only to create this piece but to expand your skills and open up other ideas and possibilities. Enjoy it as much as I enjoyed preparing it for you.

Plus I love seeing my name in the cover of magazines!

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Introvert quote of the day:

​“Quiet people have the loudest minds.” Stephen Hawking