It's really amazing how I started designing jewelry.  About 25 years ago I went to a small fair one summer with a friend.  She bought me a small pin with a Jack-O-Lantern picture in it.  (I love Halloween things!)  It was glass on both sides and had a metal "frame" around it.  I thought it was just the neatest little thing and tried to find out for years how it was made and finally just gave up.  About two years ago while browsing the internet I came upon some pins like that once again and found out it was actually soldered.  So I read all I could on soldering and took a class at a local stained glass shop.  After that I took a couple of classes on jewelry making and then started doing my own thing.

I turned a spare bedroom into my "Jewelry Room".  Although the rest of my house is usually spotless, this room is always a mess!  But somehow looking at piles of jewelry pieces inspires me.  Sometimes two pieces will have accidentally landed beside each other and I'll think, "Hey, that looks good together!"

How does your family support and/or participate in your artistic endeavors?

My mother has always been very creative.  She has always encouraged me in whatever I've done and helped me in any way she could.  I think I got my "creative gene" from her.  I've dabbled in almost everything… painting, photography, working with clay, you name it!  My husband is pretty encouraging too and sometimes will give me advice on a piece.  I'm very lucky!

When the well runs dry how do you recharge your creative spark?

You know, it NEVER runs dry!  I've had people ask me "How do you keep coming up with new pieces all of the time?"  I don't know, I just love it so much and every time I sit down to begin a piece I always come up easily with something "new".  Of course I always have new pieces from estate sales etc. to work with, so since a lot of my pieces are antiques they're always different which helps.

What is your life motto?

I guess it would be that you're never too old to begin something new.  I'm almost 50 and here I've just begun a new jewelry business that's doing really well and I'm having so much fun with it and meeting all kinds of new people!  I even learned how to create my own website which I NEVER thought I would be able to do!

 

What is the biggest enemy of your creativity?

TIME!  There just never seems to be enough time to do all I want to do.  By the time I work a fulltime job and do all of the daily things at home that have to be done sometimes I have to make myself begin a piece even though I'm tired at the moment.  But once I start, things begin to flow and everything falls into place.

What are some of your inspirations? 

Antique pieces are very inspirational.  I always wonder who had them years ago and what that person was like.  And I'm always looking on the internet for new sites and new ideas.  For some reason I've fallen in love with anything to do with birds and eggs!  I like to solder charms with antique photos of people and pictures of birds etc.

 

List some of your favorite inspirational and creative websites or blogs for us to bask in.

Some of my favorite sites are The French Cupboard (www.frenchcupboard.com)

Noodle and Lou (http://noodleandlou.blogspot.com), Karen Eileen (http://kareneileen.blogspot.com) and Pfatt Marketplace (http://www.pfattmarketplace.com).

Who influences you?

I would have to say my mother influences me the most.  She never stops trying new things and getting excited about creating things!  She's in her seventies and she runs rings around me!  I don't know where she gets her energy!

What was your first job?

My first job was at Sears Department Store.  I worked in shoes and accessories.  I was so excited to get a real job!  And I made lots of new friends and actually met my husband through that job.  My boss fixed me up with him as a blind date!  First blind date I ever went on and we got married within 10 months!  It's lasted 30 years now so I guess I'll keep him!

What do you know for sure about the creative process?

Wow, that's a tough one…  I think everyone is creative in some way and you just have to surround yourself with things that bring it out.  I have to put on peaceful, creative music and be in my "jewelry room".  I can't concentrate and get in a creative mood if the television is on and there are things distracting me.  You just have to find what you love and go for it!

What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you were younger?

That all of your ducks don't have to be in a row to start something.  That many times all you have to do is ask for something and it will happen.  That you need to just go ahead and dive in and just "do it"!

Is there any current or upcoming project that you'd like our readers to know about?

I'm having my second "annual" Moondog Cottage Open House July 18^th!  The first one was a huge success and I'm really looking forward to it.  We'll have wonderful desserts for everyone while they browse my jewelry which will be displayed on glass cake stands and this year I'm also featuring Janniev's birdhouses and folk art pieces from Tole Mountain.   It's advertised in the July and August issues of Romantic Homes and also on my website.

You can visit Sheri at her website, MoondogCottage and on her lovely blogs, Moondog Cottage and her other Moondog Cottage blog.  Sheri also has a fun Halloween Blog that is simply delightful and her delicious etsy store is to die for!

Are you interested in being a Featured Artist of the Month or know someone who you'd like to see Featured?  Please contact me with the details including your name, website or blog, and a brief description of your creative inspiration and talent.  Please submit your email with Featured Artist of the Month in the subject line!


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