Three Years In The Making
Three years ago I had an idea.
I have lots of ideas. Most are good, some sound fantastic. Then my interest changes and I move on. This time I didn’t move on; rather I put it to the side to gestate. I knew one day the time would be right for me to bring my art out of my studio and out into the world. And so I waited. The time has arrived.
Small Art…Portable Creation
I love the idea of portable art. I want to be able to take my work with me wherever I go. If I feel like working in a coffee shop, a park, or in the car, I can grab my little work bag and head out the door. This was just one of the attractions of freeform crochet. Scraps of yarn and a hook are all that are required to entertain me for hours. I first discovered freeform in 2000 while perusing the internet for anything related to crochet. I was mesmerized and knew this was going to be a big part of my creative life.
Through the years, I have waxed and waned in the time I have devoted to freeform. I always come back, and now I have found the perfect vehicle for sharing my art with you. I have a relatively short attention span and love the dopamine hit of finishing a project; small works of crochet art, worked in freeform style is my idea of nirvana. The problem was…what to do with all these little art pieces? That is when the idea of making earrings came to me.
Earrings have always been my favorite accessory. I keep my hair short, in part, to show off my earring collection. This is the idea that has been tucked away in my mind for three years. I continued to crochet. I participated in a couple 100 Day Projects. And I waited. One day recently I knew the time was right. Just like a mother knows when her baby is ready to be born, my baby art is ready to launch.
I will be taking some of my earrings with me to Allegan, Michigan next week. I will be at The Bear and Fox Yarn Den August 14th - 18th during the Michigan Fiber Fest which is held each year at the fairgrounds in Allegan. Once I return home I will go back to work on creating more pieces for my online shop.
Vision
My vision and business plan is that of a working artist. I am not a “maker” in the sense that I create multiples of the same item. Each pair is unique. In fact each earring is a one of a kind piece of art. The pair will, at first glance, look alike. But upon further inspection, each one will be slightly different. This is my way of acknowledging the unique nature of every person. We are not completely symmetrical creations. I celebrate that with my art.
I will work on collections and launch when I have several pairs ready. You can follow me on Instagram at @sherylmeanscrochet to see how collections are conceived and created. I hope you come back soon and find something that stirs your soul.
