I'll challenge myself by asking, what would it look like if I only used turquoise in these pieces? to allow me to order to limit my options visually and create a path forward. My creative brain gets overwhelmed easily, so I have to continuously remember to limit the "inputs" when designing something new. When I'm experiencing heavier and more prolonged weeks of feeling blocked, ironically, it's usually after I learn a new skillset or have lots of different elements to choose from. A lot of times just physically moving allows that stuck feeling to pass through me and I can settle back into my work. Hayley: How do you combat "artist's block?"Īmanda: When I come to a specific point in my workday where I'm feeling stuck, I try to go for a walk or a run, even if the weather sucks.
The space also houses a professional kitchen, so there's always some sort of delicious smell wafting through. There are painters, printmakers, woodworkers and metalsmiths all working in one big open space. The space caters to lots of mediums and it's really fun to work in an interdisciplinary environment. Hayley: What’s the vibe like in your studio?Īmanda: Although this year I'm primarily working from home to be safe, I split my time between working on my kitchen table and a shared studio space on East Colfax called the Art Gym. While making the move to full-time required lots of savings and planning, it helps immensely to take the pressure off if I view it as an ebb-and-flow of where I'm focusing my time and energy in the short term - after a few more years of doing this work maybe I'll feel confident enough to call it my career - or maybe I never will! Either way, I feel so lucky to be able to do what I love right now, especially when the world feels upside down. I think other people sense that enthusiasm too, and eventually it got to the point where I was busier and had more projects going in my jewelry project world than any of my consulting work, so I decided to try Fancy Boheme as a full-time focus. I love being able to take a found object, like a raw piece of turquoise and turn it into something wearable that someone can pass down to their grandchildren. What I lacked, or continue to lack in metalsmithing ability or business acumen has always been outweighed by my enthusiasm for making things with my hands. Gradually, I began to make more and more room for metalsmithing in my life by taking classes to learn a new technique or signing up for an event to see if my pieces were interesting to a broader range of people beyond just my (very supportive!) friends and coworkers. Like so many people, I felt limited by my day job and sought to do something with my hands after a long day of being at a computer. Hayley: When did you know you wanted to pursue being a metalsmith as a career?Īmanda: For me, there was never a resounding moment that I knew metalsmithing had to be my career, or a profound confidence that I was talented enough to make it my calling.