Inside the Notebooks

From the very beginning of my jewelry journey, I’ve kept a notebook.

My grandfather was a prolific writer. He worked for a branch of the UN as a Protestant minister and after WWII was one of the people responsible for trying to make sense of religion’s role in the Holocaust in order to achieve peace. He traveled all over the world in the pursuit of justice, peace, and civil and women’s rights. He wrote notes, letters, essays, even a book, and sitting on our shelves are some of his journals.

There are stories we all cling to when it comes to our family histories, and I was particularly drawn to this idea of sketching and writing about my ideas and experiences with jewelry. My grandfather passed away when I was four years old so I didn’t get to know him for very long in the physical realm, yet I feel a deep connection to him as an adult through of his writings.

These journals are where I get to be most myself. I test the design on paper and imagine how it can work. I carry a notebook with me wherever I go, wherever I travel to, and am often seen scribbling a few words down or making a quick sketch. My writings often document my feelings and emotions in the moment.

I’ve journaled and sketched about my jewelry beginnings, through personal life chapters, during the pandemic, while on my travels abroad, through grief, and anything in between. My designs are inspired by the life around me as I either try to reinterpret the beauty and inspiration, or try to counter a heavy feeling with a design that feels empowering and big. Each design is a slice of life that I then turn into a tangible, wearable object.

Paper, pencil, ink, colored pencils.