Having a few shows under my belt already this year, (7 to be exact), one thing has remained constant throughout all of them. When people look at my wire work, they constantly ask the question of, "How did you get into this?" or "How did you learn to do this?" I want to go into that here today. I want you all to know how I got into this and how I learned to do what I do. First though, you need to know a little about what I used to do...
I used to work for a wealthy family. I took care of their personal needs and coordinated events and helped out with many things that they needed. I did more than just this, but you get the idea. I absolutely LOVED it! For you see, it wasn't only a job, it was my career. I wanted to do what I was doing for the rest of my working days. I had found what I loved and I wanted to do it forever. I felt like there was nothing I could do better than what I was doing at that point in my life. I was a professional, I had the world by the tail. I had made my mark! And then it all ended...poof...in the blink of an eye.
I lost my job on June 15, 2009, and I was devastated. I felt as if a part of my soul was lost. I had never been fired, never been looked at with anything but respect and gratitude; now I was unemployed, unable to find work, and having nightmares of being in a room with a bunch of men in suits telling me that I was not good enough, walking past me with anger in their eyes and anger in their voices and me, not really knowing the reason why. I was haunted by nightmares for a long time. I saw my boss many times, in my dreams, and I was plagued by what he did and said to me, in my dreams, for many months. Mostly I was plagued with not understanding. I didn't understand what I had done to deserve this. I couldn't understand why this happened to me. I left my job without ever knowing the real reason why I was asked to leave and this fact still haunts me from time to time. I cried myself to sleep more than once over what had happened. Even though I was told it wasn't personal, it was extremely personal to me and it really tore me apart.
I went on with my life and got through the days. I wrote a couple books that didn't go where I wanted them to go and, as many of you know, I had been creating beaded jewelry for a good long time. I worked on stuff in my free time. I beaded jewelry for friends and family, but never really did more than that. I dabbled in wire a bit but never really took it very far. I had done a few pieces here and there, but never really felt that I had anything that anyone else would care much to wear, let alone purchase. I had had a job, so creating jewelry was just a hobby for me. I never really took it very serious.
I am not one to let grass grow under foot though, so I wrote and kept making jewelry because if I did nothing, then I felt that I was giving up. I had to keep going. I sent my book out to some publishing companies, but it was rejected time and time again. All through the book writing, I was creating jewelry as well.
Now I was creating jewelry for therapy. I would scour the internet trying to find job opportunities, but found nothing. I would leave the computer and sit down at my kitchen table and create something out of beads or wire, or whatever else I was in the mood to create with. I found peace in jewelry making. It truly was therapy.
One morning, when I rose out of bed and went to the computer to find work, I changed from exploring non available work opportunities to googling jewelry. Oh, I found many things that made my heart beat a little faster, but nothing really screamed at me from the cyber world until I found this...
This is what I created...
This ring sparked something in me. I had to see more, I had to LEARN more! This piece of work brought more peace to my soul than I had had in months. I sold this piece the day I posted pictures of it on Facebook. This sparked something in me as well.
I began to scour the internet further. I wanted to feed my appetite. I needed to make more of this delightful wire stuff.
As I searched and searched for things to appease my appetite for more, I came across www.wire-sculpture.com. I found the wire I needed here, but I also found someone very special here. I credit her with bringing me out of a place that I dwelled in for quite some time. An unhappy place where I was plagued with nightmares and bad dreams. Though I have never met this woman, I appreciate her more than any words could ever say. She has touched my soul in a way that I will never be able to repay.
I was not on the verge of suicide or anything like that. I love myself too much for anything such as this, and I love my family, so this was never contemplated in my world of misery, but I did have pain and I did cry and I needed more than I had at this point in my life. I needed PEACE! This woman gave me what I needed. She taught me what I was craving and with that, she gave me PEACE! She gave me light when I felt there was only darkness to be had in my life. She taught me the art of wire wrapping, as I have come to know it, and this in turn has brought the peace I needed to my soul. This woman is wonderful and her name is Dale "Cougar" Armstrong.
As I tore through the pages of http://www.wire-sculpture.com I found THESE. At the time, the only ones on the website were the ones taught by this woman...
I had some money saved from my job that I used to have. My credit cards were paid off, and I NEEDED something to get my mind off of what was happening in my life at the time. I could not find work, my book was going nowhere, and I needed THERAPY!
I hurriedly bought every single DVD this woman had to offer. The moment I received them in the mail, I plugged them into the computer and gobbled up the techniques that she taught and the pictures of the amazing trinkets that she created. I went to my kitchen table and picked up the tools. I had to try these things for myself. I had to try some of the pattens and see if I could do it. She made it look so EASY!
I had been creating these little rings for quite some time...
I found Dale's DVD that taught me this...
I was scared to make one of these...
I thought for sure that I would mess it up. I watched the DVD over and over again to get it down. I waited weeks before I even attempted it. Then I gave in to the urge to HAVE TO DO IT! It turned out AMAZING! I couldn't believe that I had done it!
I made more things too. I made these...
I knew that the craft shows were gearing up in my area, it was September after all. I started researching them and trying to figure out how to sign up for them. I did my first craft show in November of 2009. I sold some stuff and I caught a bug~a bug that I have never gotten rid of. I am addicted to creating wire jewelry and selling it!
I sold that first prong ring I ever did for $50.00 at the Country Christmas craft show in December 2009 to a gentleman who bought it for his girlfriend. He raved about my jewelry and gave me courage to keep moving forward with it. I have never stopped.
I won't say that I owe my life to Dale "Cougar" Armstrong, because my life was never in jeopardy, but I will say that I owe everything that I am to her. She has taught me more than I could have ever imagined. I talk about her almost everyday, and I definitely talk about her at the craft shows.
I have a full time job again, after being out of work for a year. I have not made it as a jewelry artist...yet, but it is my dream to someday be a jewelry artist exclusively. I want to run my own life, be in charge of my own destiny, never leave myself open to being fired ever again.
I get tons of compliments on my jewelry and I just sold this piece at my last show...
'SNOW AND ICE'
I have taken what Dale has taught me and I have put my own spin on it. Her techniques have gotten me where I am now, and I could not have done any of it without her. My kitchen table turned into a work bench in 2009 and it has never been the same since. This is what it looks like now...
These are my tools, in an upside down CD rack, and you can see the mountain of beads in the background. This is the kitchen table where my tools are sitting and they have been there for 3 years now. We never really used the kitchen table to eat at, so it is where I create now. We have an island in the kitchen, so our family still has a place to sit and eat our meals. I just decided to take up the space we weren't really using and make it into my workspace to create works of art such as this...
And this...
All created using techniques taught to me by Dale "Cougar" Armstrong.
I have been doing craft shows since 2009. I have many under my belt now and have moved to doing home shows as well. I sell jewelry throughout the year to people that see my pieces and want to have one for themselves.
Wire work has become the most satisfying thing in my life, next to family and hiking. I crave the moments that I am able to sit down and fashion something amazing with my own two hands and some wire. It brings so much peace to my soul.
Dale is constantly in my thoughts and I think of her often when I sit to create. After all, she has taught me everything when it comes to wire wrapping. I love that she urges you to make her patterns and sell what you make. It is very encouraging.
I teach jewelry classes through Community Education courses here in my hometown. I have been teaching classes on jewelry for quite some time, but now I teach with a new perspective. I know what Dale's teaching has done for me and my one and only hope is that my classes may touch one person as Dale's teaching have touched me.
Dale "Cougar" Armstrong~My Hero!
And now for the DAILY WIRE TRANSFER be sure to hit the NEXT button when you get there to see some of the amazing art that Dale has created!
