Creative Travel

Today I sit here in Prescott scratching my head in amazement at the turn of events. This year will be one of road trips and festivals (yes, I know even with the price of gas) instead of international travel. Believe me, if I get offered a chance to squeeze in some passport time, I will.

My first festival of 2011 I traveled to this past weekend in Apache Junction: the Arizona Renaissance Festival. It was a fun side priority to put my costume together for it. Some people feel it is essential that you develop a persona too (lords and ladies, maybe next year I will). A few weeks before I scouted my local thrift shops looking for the perfect, affordable dress and/or accessories. I never did find any tall lace up boots or corsets. So for simplicity's sake and because I'm not one to surround myself with a lot of drama, I wore a faux velvet smock, black hippy skirt (which I got during my travels in Thailand) and gladiator-style sandals made by Dansko. All of my jewelry I made myself.Travel, even a short road trip, is a phenomenal vehicle for personal transformation and another way of meeting interesting people. I know from experience I don't have to travel all the way around the world to reap the benefits or the fun. I've also learned to try and not plan too much ahead that way making room for changes along the way. It's so much more "organic." I let one event (at the festival) lead me to the next, and I didn't really have to think about it. Many of the interesting people I met working at the festival move from one to the next all around the US. They seem to have "organic travel" down pack and enjoy being nomadic.

Thanks for reading as I make sense of and embrace many more trips like this ahead, which really has my wheels spinning. This year I will downsize my "stuff" and learn more about sustainable living in case I ever take to the open road for a long stretch of time. Goodbye for now, you lovely gypsies! ~Sharon Marzonie

Making Jewelry by Hand: Alexander Calder

When I first discovered Calder's style of jewelry in a book in a dark corner of my library, I had fantasies of slipping back in time as a Parisian duchess with great beauty and wit one can imagine, wearing this stark metal jewelry. Then my artist-looking-for-inspiration kicked in and I wanted to know what metals were used and how it was constructed. I indulged myself and flipped through the entire book. Turns out Calder, who lived from 1898 to 1976, individually handcrafted his pieces from basic, every-day wire such as brass, steel and silver, and also used recycled bits of old glass and crockery. He composed his jewelry by hammering, broadening and squiggle-ing wire into shapes such as leaves, u-shapes, circles and especially spirals; there are no soldered joins. These basic shapes are reinvented every single time a circle or loop is made.

I really love the grounding element an artist brings to their craft, whether it be clothing, paper, clay, wood, or metal. So in honor of Calder, I created this mosaic (made via images on Flickr) of his jewelry: a rare form that is beautiful, timeless and exudes a great passion for life. xo, Sharon Marzonie

Organic alert 2009

As our society strives to be increasingly "green" so too does the discerning jewelry designers' tastes. It will come as no surprise that natural beads are enjoying the limelight these days. Wood beads, nut-derived beads, shell pendants, felted wool beads, freshwater pearls, and natural stones are all examples of natural beads. In my shop you will find these organic goodies:
1) Primavera Stone beads
2) Flower-etched blacklip shell pendant 3) Genuine cognac amber beads
Long live the environment!! xo, Sharon Marzonie

What is artisan jewelry, you might ask?

Well, I can answer that! It is classed as jewelry that has been made by the hands of a creative jewelry artist, comprised mainly of high-quality stones and metal findings. If the artistry is resonant enough by using components with meaningful words and special, rare gemstones, it can exist as a highly personalized piece of jewelry for the wearer.

Artisan jewelry is often made completely from scratch, where the artisan uses lost wax casting or prepares the metals through heating, bending and shaping, sets stones, fires enamels, as well as creates the jewelry. Some artisan jewelry is crafted with ready-made components, whereby the artisan artistically connects all the pieces together. Regardless of the techniques used, usually hours of time and concentration are given to creating a piece of handcrafted artisan jewelry to assure that it is beautiful, unique, and far from ordinary.

One of my greatest passions is creating, selling and giving artisan jewelry as gifts or wearing it myself. I especially enjoy giving it to women that appreciate having it as "their own." My favorite elements are organic sterling silver findings that are lovingly made by hand in small quantities rather than mass produced (see examples at my website at Sharonunlimited.com). Having a rare and exquisite piece of jewelry that has been made or chosen specifically for me (or my customer) is a touching and memorable gift to receive and treasure for many years to come. Xo, Sharon