Watersports. Embracing the Elements and Exhilaration.

The Sea

I love the sea. I feel so free when I’m near it.

This weekend brought a trip to the beach at La Franqui, Leucate. After the cold months, a spring like day in February invited me out into the fresh air and sunshine. To emerge from winter.

An immense stretch of beach; a fantastic feeling of space.

The Surf

Although a fairly still day, the wind that usually blows at La Franqui is one that is worshipped. A haven for wind surfing, kitesurfing and sand yachting, with its long sandy beaches.

The breaking waves of surf can be appreciated from the sand or surfboard. You can see them, hear them and feel them; even taste them.

The Sport

Signs of The Mondial du Vent 2011 are all around. An amazing event for sportsmen and women including a 20km kitesurfing race.

An unmissable celebration of The Element Wind. I’ll be there, for sure.

Windsurfers scudding across the waves, their surfboards appearing as an extension of their bodies. A colourful array of high-tech sails moving with graceful rapidity. A mesmerising unity of movement.

An incredible gathering of people who embrace the elements.

The exhilaration.

The experience.

French Door in Lagrasse. Photo by: Kiff Backhouse

Open Doors

Yesterday, I saw these photographs of French doors; a small window onto my friend Jennifer’s amazing collection.

I’m often inspired by the patterns, mechanics and intricacies of such things for my jewellery creations. However, seeing these images also made me think about the doors we open and close in life.

Jennifer is someone who opened a door for me. She introduced me to Twitter! She’s also a good friend with a great attitude. A door opener, I guess.

Closed Doors

Some parts of life don’t always work out the way we hoped or planned for.

These can be challenges we wish to tackle, to turn them around into something better. Or they can be situations or relationships where, in truth, it’s best to close the door; to leave whatever it was behind and move forward.

It’s a personal choice of where to direct our energy.

Discovered Doors

Ah, the Discovered Door. This is a door that we find along the way. We weren’t looking for it, but there it was once we’d started off in one direction.

It’s the sort of door you see out of the corner of your eye and makes you wonder.

Does it open?
Where does it go?
What’s beyond?

Silver Compass Pendant: Choosing a New Direction on Your Journey in Life (Photo: Kiff Backhouse)

I can’t wait!

I want to take my puppy to the beach. I can’t wait for his first walk; to see him enjoying everything new. I look forward to taking him on little trips out, for him to be included as my companion.

Oh, how my mind races ahead to things that haven’t happened yet!

Being in the Moment

Anticipation can be a tremendous part of the journey to wherever it is you’re going. Knowing that you’re on your way to getting a new job, moving to a new country or getting fitter is a large part of the experience.

But there’s still today. The here and now. This very moment.

In truth, there are days when I find posts about “being in the moment” more than a little irritating. They can seem pesky, smug even; as if I’m doing something wrong if I’m not being in the moment.

But, today was different. Being in the moment happens often when I’m in the workshop, but in everyday life too much of me wants to speed ahead to the next idea, the next … thing.

The Journey

Life’s a journey and there’s a right time for everyone to feel in the moment.

Yes, there are ideas that we can talk about that make sense in some dimension – but without any particular connection to the idea, without a meeting of minds on the concept.

And that’s OK. It’s just not the right time for us. There are times when I come back to an experience and re-experience it in a whole new way. And I feel myself doing it, I become aware of the change. I smile inside.

When it comes to choosing, changing or re-discovering our direction I reckon we sometimes just need to give ourselves a bit more slack. Don’t you?

Who will this Beautiful Pink Tourmaline in Gold draw to you with its powers of attraction? (Photo: Kiff Backhouse)

Jewellery that Speaks

Diana Baur recently commented on one of my posts saying

“Gah your items are gorgeous. They speak to me!”

Now, the way I see it, this is a lady with a creative eye, and then some. I’m flattered.

The idea that jewellery speaks to you is what it’s all about.  Something happens between you and the creation; an inexplicable attraction.

Jewellery and the Spoken Word

Words are symbols. Symbols we use to communicate our intentions, feelings and much more.  So are pictures. Jim Connolly recently wrote about just how powerful images can be.  About using them to help others picture your message.

Jewellery is often symbolic, too.  It can stand for many words – can be used instead of words.

An antique jewellery creation, that your Great Grandmother used to treasure, will carry the stories of the lives it touched through the generations. My custom jewellery creations often start with a story; a story that becomes woven into its design. Secrets, memories and hopes are uniquely bound into the creation.

What Your Jewellery Says

There is an art to giving.

Choosing a special gift, a meaningful gift. Creating a shared memory of the moment of giving and receiving.  Creating an occasion where your feelings are expressed.

With St.Valentine’s Day just around the corner, what will your gift say?

Yellow and White Gold Compass Pendant (photo: Kiff Backhouse)

Carat

Since antiquity, the Carat (ct) has been a unit of measurement for precious stones. The term is derived from the kernel of the carob bean (from Greek keration). As such, the Carat – and therefore the price – of the stone being sold depended on the size of bean the vendor was using as his counterbalance!

These days, the Carat has gone metric and is now equivalent to 0.2g.

Beware, however, the folks boasting a large Carat gemstone; some stones may weigh a fair bit but have a lot of bulk just to boost the Carat. For example, a dark gemstone with steep sides may have an impressive Carat, but only the polished surface can be appreciated once it’s set into jewellery.

Karat

Karat is a term used by the goldsmith as a measure of quality.

It has no relation to the actual weight of the gold. Instead, it refers to the proportion of pure gold in the piece of jewellery. For example, 18 Karat gold is 75% pure gold and 9 Karat gold is 37.5% pure gold.

My jewellery creations are tested for purity at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London so you can always be assured of the quality of the metals used.

Carrot

And now to the Carrot. This is a crunchy, orange vegetable that can evoke ghastly memories of school dinners and coleslaw.

Personally, I find it makes excellent soup!

Jasper in the Garden. Explorer, Adventurer and Puppy. (Age: 9 weeks)

Change Happens

Jasper, my puppy, is already a companion in the workshop. Yesterday he heard me using the jeweller’s saw and didn’t much like the sound. The steel saw blade rasping against silver; a harsh, grating sound. A new experience.

I spoke to him, reassuringly. He settled down. I continued.

It’s all about learning. Learning what’s OK and what’s not.

He’s also growing – a type of change that just happens. He’s learning that he can reach further and leap higher. He’s learning that he can no longer fit underneath the unit that he could last week! He’s learning his place in the pack with our other dogs.

Belief Precedes Change

He also appears to believe that he’s invincible!

There are three small steps down into our garden. After only a moment’s hesitation, Jasper leapt from the top step – an excited, confident leap that would take him to another world.

He tumbled, rolled, picked himself up and had a shake. Sorted.

“Right, now what’s here for me to explore…?”

Next time, the steps were easier. He’d believed he could do it, tried it out, tumbled a little – but learned a lot.

We Grow with Change

In my experience, committing to change sometimes needs a leap of faith.

Acting on the decision to become a Goldsmith, to live in France, to do the things I’m doing – all this meant leaving various chunks of the future to chance. I didn’t feel completely ready, but have ended up discovering so much more than I’d ever imagined. I’ve dealt with some situations better than others, don’t we all?! I’ve felt more alive than ever before. I’ve grown.

Life is an adventure. For Jasper and for me!

From my Gemstone Collection: The Colourful Contours of Petrified Wood

The Truth about Petrified Wood

The truth about Petrified Wood is that, well, it’s not wood. Not wood at all.

I know, it’s a little disappointing isn’t it?

But not to worry, I think the real story of how Petrified Wood occurs is pretty neat.

The Life of the Tree

A tree takes root, grows, lives and dies. Trees that have died often wear away to nothing through erosion and weathering. They are reduced to dust, carried away on the wind.

Then there are other trees. Trees from as long as 200 million years ago, that were washed to their resting places by raging torrents of water, then covered by sediment.

Those trees, buried under 100s of metres of rock, then underwent a fantastic transformation.

Here comes the neat part. Are you ready?

How Petrified Wood Occurs

Those entombed trees decomposed. Their organic matter was slowly washed away by circulating waters, way down deep. Little by little, those same waters also carried minerals into the cavities they left behind.

This took a while. Over a period of around 100 years, minerals such as silicate, quartz or agate replaced the form and contours of the original trees. Layer by layer, their intricacies were replaced by minerals such that they were, quite literally, reincarnated in stone; petrified.

I do so like the story of a gemstone. Fascinating.

Looking at the timescales also kind of helps me to keep things in perspective.

An Ocean Jasper amidst a Sea of Gemstones. Tempting & Triangular!

Start

Some of today was spent spreading out gemstones, sketching jewellery designs and deciding on what I’ll be creating over the coming months. It’s been fabulous.

It’s a sort of beginning, so made me think about starting new things. About energy. About projects, tasks and challenges that are sometimes looking us squarely in the face saying,

“come on, get started!”

It made me think about keeping up momentum.

Ready, Set, Go

Starting out on a new project often requires a fair bit of effort. Especially if you’re standing still right now and planning to get up some speed in one direction or another.

Before you know it, though, things start to feel easier. You’ve got a bit of speed up, some momentum helping to drive you forward. Hey, sometimes there are are even downhill stretches where you can stop pedalling and start free-wheeling!

But watch out …

A friend once recounted how she’d hopped off her bike one day to push it; the hill she was cycling up was too steep. Soon, the road ahead flattened out and she could easily have begun pedalling again, but she just kept walking. It was effortless.

Then the road started to slope downhill and still she walked alongside her bike.

I’m so glad she snapped out of her trance-like state, cycled back and told me the story.

It made me think.  About starting.  About momentum.

View From the Jeweller's Bench: Blue Sky in the Workshop

New Space for Creating

Yesterday’s inaugural apéro evening for my new workshop took place last night! Several naughty but nice nibblies were served and a good time had by all. Great atmosphere. Auspicious.

From this day forward, my one of a kind silver and gold jewellery will be created in this new space.

Actually, I must admit that I began making a bracelet yesterday – the space was just calling me to get in there and get started! I couldn’t resist.

Blue Skies

One of the things that I’ve noticed about living in France is just how big the sky is here. The picture above shows you just how blue it was yesterday, too! If you were to sit at my jewellery workbench in its new position, the photo shows exactly what you’d see.

I’ve read so many great blog posts about the importance of getting your work environment right and, you know what, I think I’m on to something here. That’s a pretty good outlook.

Green Light

There’s nothing left to do – the green light is shining for me to go ahead. To create jewellery and compass pendants to my heart’s content.

And to the content and delight of others, too.

Am keeping in touch with the lady for whom I’m making this bracelet so that we get the length just right. I have really tiny wrists and know how annoying it can be when a bracelet is just that little bit too long.

Her custom made bracelet is going to be exactly the way she wants it to be.

Doming Punches, Rolling Mill ... One View of my Jewellery Workshop

Adapt

Here we are, 10 days into the New Year and I’m on track with my new workshop. I’m back in there properly today, starting work on an Golden Wedding Anniversary Bracelet – I can’t wait!

Was the journey straight forward?  No!   The proposed new location presented unexpected challenges and with so much custom jewellery to create, following that path would have taken too long.

So, I decided to adapt.

Adjust to New Conditions

I’m still going in exactly the same direction; the workshop will relocate in the future as planned. In the mean time, I’m being flexible. Bending the direct path into something that’s more achievable, stretching the timescales and enjoying the journey. Learning.

Seems to me, life is about constantly adjusting to new conditions. Whenever we set out in a new direction there’s a strong chance we’ll encounter surprises! The new location called for heaps more work than imagined and being without a jewellery workshop for so long just wouldn’t have worked.

So, I adapted. I adjusted to the new conditions.

Make it Suitable for Use

The workshop refit has made it wonderfully suitable for use.

More than that, it’s an enchanting space in which to create.

The heating is much better, the dust created while polishing is now contained and there’s an abundance of natural light in the design area. I’m truly delighted.

Being flexible and adapting to the situation has also given me the opportunity to try out ideas for the final layout. A bonus that I’d otherwise have missed.

Are you giving yourself enough of a chance for success? Bending, stretching and adapting?