Back on track for Tina's Sedona

Well the Levy's have left St. George and landed for at least nine months, this time in La Verkin, Utah. We're hoping this might be the place to settle down for a year or more. Having no furniture, we have scoured local consignment shops and Facebook marketplace to furnish our compact, yet lovely, two story abode. High up on a hill, overlooking a valley of neighbors, we can see nearby mountain ranges and crisp night stars on a regular basis. The sunsets are also heavenly...

La Verkin, Utah, at sundown...

Viking Knit for future wearable art jewelry projects

My new studio, while still coming together, is getting back into action and I'm chomping at the bit to make artistic jewelry one of a kind for upcoming holiday shopping. That said, and as many jewelry artists can attest, there is no toggle switch on one's creative flow. When that flow gets disrupted by life--especially involving a move of one's work space-- it's not always easy to flip the switch "on". I tend to be one of those artists so I've started busying myself by knitting wire for future wearable art jewelry projects, working my hands--and eventually my creativity-- towards "the zone". That night sky is definitely working on me... and here is my studio--still in transformation--along with a view that will continue to inspire. So much fresh air too!

Tina's Sedona studio in transition

View from my second story studio

In the midst of our move, I stumbled into a lovely gallery--Gallery 873-- in Ivins, Utah, that prides itself on selling eclectic art in Utah. They have taken about a quarter of my collection on consignment. I feel very fortunate to have found a proprietor who sees me as a unique jewelry artist and is willing to price my earth tone organic jewelry accordingly. Two pieces have already sold! I have been envisioning a gallery setting for the past few years. At last, a setting that promotes artistic-crafted and southwestern-inspired jewelry like mine! Amen.

Gallery 873 in Ivans, Utah

So if Tina's Sedona online jewelry looks a bit "light" right now, it is because, in addition to the consignment arrangement, today (9/30/19) I am attending a gallery event and selling additional pieces taken from the website. After that the unsold pieces will re-appear. Poof!

I hope you are enjoying my jewelry store blog. Thank you!

Tina Levy,

Blogging Jewelry Artist @ www.tinassedona.com

Making Our Move

What you may not know about Nathan and I is that we left Florida in May 2019 to live in St. George, Utah, population 61,096, for four months, and then adventure on to a new location. Our vacation rental is ending soon and we will be moving to La Verkin, about 20 miles away. There will be much less traffic and much fewer people (population 4,398). What does all this have to do with my making artistic-crafted and southwestern-inspired jewelry?

Well, my artistic jewelry studio is preparing to move again. This has caused me to reflect on the studio I had in Florida and how challenging it was then to shed beads I would never use and take only what I had to have "for the road". That decision is serving me well right now as I am truly a mobile jewelry artist. This is going to be easy! I thought you might enjoy seeing my studio of past and present. The next studio is going to have fabulous mountainous views in La Verkin. Stay tuned! #tinassedona #southwesterninspiredjewelry #mobilejewelryartist #artisticcraftedjewelry

My Florida studio preparing to move.

My Florida studio in action before I painted my Sedona colors!

My final goodbye Florida photo... boo hoo... (but yayy!)

St. George studio in the guestroom. Hey, when its temporary...

But who cares when the view from my window is so spectacular?!

From Nothing to Something

Ever wonder how an artist designs jewelry? I sure do. Do they draw it all out? Do they count every bead or coil of wire to be sure they have all they need for the project? When I am itching to wrap a stone, I follow my own approach but wonder how other artists approach their work.

I can tell you that I don't look for clasps in my stash until I'm done with the piece. If I don't have the right clasp then I will either make one or buy one when I know what the finished piece demands. Besides, often times I don't know if my wire wrapping will swallow up a stone or get shaped into earrings or a bracelet.

I've just realized that this weave is too stiff and bulky for earrings, and I hear the rocks calling! At this stage I'm wondering if I want such a sharp contrast between the stone and the woven wires... Is this stone "the one"?Too many factors can distract me from the excitement of wire wrapping, and the anticipation of what I will produce! Ah, distractions, the biggest challenge to my attention span, easily influence my design and the artist within is good at resisting them. I wish I did as well in my day-to-day activities! But I digress...My design process is difficult to describe. The only plan I have, at the outset, is to gather wire, beads, and a rock that enhance each other-- in some odd way-- and then I start wrapping. I tend to let the piece create itself. I just tell myself it is an experiment and I'm not to worry about the end result. I can make it work, in the end!Though the backside tips are wrapped tightly, they will not hold long term without a strong foundation to hold them in place. What to do?

This additional weave will do the trick! Stay tuned...

The good news is that I always find a way to recover when the piece is not balanced or not strong enough to hold its shape and its cloak of wire. If I'm not struggling a bit with the ensuing design issues that present themselves then the piece just isn't worth making. This piece? I've got a plan to tie it all together securely and beautifully!

But I'm left wondering... How does the artist in you approach your creative process?

Inspiration is all around me!

One of the main reasons that my husband and I moved from the Southeastern US to the Southwestern US is our attraction to the mountainous desert here. We were bored with the humid jungle of Florida so we opted for arid Utah to make a change. And what a change it is! We currently live in the Northeast corner of the Mohave Desert and thought we would be here six months or so before moving on to other explorations of the West. We were wrong! We are fascinated with the landscapes that are flush with desert colors and splashed with green life here and there. Whenever we hike these areas, my chest gets full of excitement as I absorb the sights and listen to the sounds, or lack thereof. What peaceful places we are finding! And we expect to stay here at least another year.

I come home from our adventures full of fresh air and an ache to pick up my jewelry making where I left off. You see, one seems to feed the other. I hope you will enjoy this blog from time to time as I progress with my artistry. Enjoy the view of our latest jaunt to Hell's Hole in Ivin's, Utah.

Moving into the Now Moment

Much has been written about the Now Moment so I'm not going to explain it here. I just want to say that I think I've been inducted into this special space in the past few weeks. I haven't had much to write about from a philosophical angle and I am not into writing a travel log or sharing all the daily details of life so I've been remiss in posting to my blog. I really haven't had much to say. Then it hit me this morning that I've been busy "being" instead of "doing". Yes, I've been active during many of the "being" moments but the joy in those moments has been constant and timeless.  To me timelessness resides in a Now Moment. There is no past and no future, just now.  This my life now. My goal is to keep it that way.

So for those not on Facebook, you've missed a number of posts that I will present here pictorially... while I was "being". We have continued to hike and, more recently, bike!  And I've made some phenomenal necklaces which you can see on my website.  I am working on connecting with retailers downtown to sell it all. I have to make room for more!  This one is my current favorite.

I'm learning to control my bike before I risk live and limb on local bike trails which exist all over St. George. Right now I ride the local neighborhood streets and do figure eights in the parking lot where we live. This is a biking town! It is energizing and youth-ifying...  (a made up word). 

Sunday morning's walk took us to the Crosby Family Confluence Park where the Santa Clara runs into the Virgin River. Some bike trails are shared with pedestrians (like us) but the bikes get priority. This helped us decide to go get some bikes.

The skies, clouds, and sunsets here are phenomenal...  Until next time, savor your Now Moments!

Settling In

Settling in isn't as easy as it sounds.  The occasional uneasiness I feel during any one day tells me that I am in the process of settling in, whatever that is supposed to mean. We've only been here 17 days now. As you know, patience isn't one of my virtues so I have been (naively?) hoping that after unpacking the car and arranging our things, finding the grocery stores that suit our lifestyle, and setting a daily routine of walking these incredible St. George trails, some of the foreignness would melt away. And some of it has, actually. I can now take a shower and have all my things at my fingertips instead of searching through a travel cosmetic bag.  My pots and pans have taken over the kitchen here and the resident pots are stored away. Luckily, our furnished condo has the best of furniture and we sleep so well in its king size bed.  I was not expecting a plug and play experience when we moved away from everything we owned and everyone we knew, don't get me wrong. In fact, I wanted a complete change and that's what I'm getting. I'm not saying that any one thing is bothering me just that I feel like a fish out of water.

My studio is setup here but it is not the same studio I had there. Far from it. My creative energy wants there and it cannot have it. So I am ignoring the new studio and have moved to the living room couch in front of the TV (not) watching with Nathan but working on jewelry there. There is a sort of "clingy-ness" between myself and Nathan, me to him. I have a studio here but it's not that studio.  Something about sitting in my domain, that studio was feeding my soul. Now something is missing.  I spent a large portion of my day in there and that part of my life has to be recreated.  We will move from here in four months so this is really just an interim studio. I am learning from this rental just how to manage the next one. Until we decide to settle down in one place, this will be the drill.

I am missing the companionship of my girlfriends even though we did not see each other all that often. One month ago, a phone call could mean a lunch date or at least a nice phone chat over coffee. Those phone chats over coffee are something I am beginning to reach out for now that I'm (a little more) settled.  As I reread this I realize that settling in (for me) literally means transitioning into a new environment.  And so this is the way it must be for now.  I thank my lucky stars I still have all my jewelry making supplies to feed my creative needs, and I am pleasantly surprised that my creativity does not get derailed by the television in front of me.  I am wrapping stones and creating some gorgeous original pieces!  The energy in the mountainous trails we explore is feeding me.

I am beginning to enjoy cooking again with MY pots and pans. (smile). In past years I was preoccupied for so long with other activities--usually business related-- that cooking became more of a have-to than a want-to. Nathan did much of the cooking (thank God)! Now unencumbered, I have time to focus more on preparing fresh foods for cooking and returning to the cooking ritual that always soothed me.  I am more aware of what I am feeding my body. I feel better physically. Mentally is up for grabs (for now).

I just wanted to share the reality of what is happening here in our new location. I don't quite know how to end this post other than to try to say something funny.  How about "Mama said there'd be days like this.."? My Love to all of you...