The Anti-Trend

There are some designs and motifs in jewelry making (and art, in general) that keep coming around time and time again. We may be tempted to roll our eyes and groan if we see YET ANOTHER person doing YET ANOTHER version of XYZ. 

Now, sure, there are definitely trends out there -- always have been and always will be. But I think some designs transcend the trendy. Some designs are so elemental and so universal that they we'll always identify with them. Some designs can be dressed and polished and sparkled up just as easily as they can be beaten and dirtied and rusted down. I'm going to venture that the humble leaf is one of those eternal designs. 
 
Everyone has their own version of the leaf -- they're like fingerprints. Some artists celebrate the unbridled budding potential of the new spring leaf. Others rejoice in the resplendently lush summer leaf. There are those of us who prefer the mysterious crash-and-burn of the autumn leaf. And some are drawn to the dormancy and negative space of the winter leaf. 

So at the risk of being that chick who's posting YET ANOTHER pair of leaf earrings, here I go...

I was in Tucson at the huge gem and mineral show a couple weeks ago with my dear friend Kimberly of NuminosityBeads (mwahh!). We came, we saw, we bought, we gorged, we emerged exhausted yet triumphant -- beads and stones in-hand. When I got back home to Ohio, I couldn't wait to get back into the studio and do some creating. And wouldn't you know it, one of the first designs I created didn't use any of my new haul. 

 
Instead, I created a simple pair of fold formed copper leaves. Distressed, punched, fire-scaled, beaten, oxidized, licked with verdigris, and sealed. Simple. Timeless. And so ME.

What motifs do you keep coming back to in your designs and in your life? And what does that say about you? Food for thought :) 

Happy Wednesday!

Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy