Past Joys: Finding a Treasure Box

I’m currently rearranging my home studio space – doing that mid-Winter deep cleaning, reorganising again in an attempt to discover what will potentially be the best lay-out for myself as I work on a variety of projects since my arm/brain coordination can vary pretty widely due to CRPS challenges. I miss the spaciousness of my shared studio space, but am grateful that I have a space at home where I can create.

It was in pulling a table away from a shelf that I found it: a small box folded shut without a label. Inside were pieces of treasure: earrings and necklaces I had made earlier on in my jewelry journey. I’d gotten them back from a gallery or boutique, added in some unfinished components, and then tucked them all onto the shelf, intending to add the finished pieces to the website but not quite getting there between Hustle and Bustle.

Finding them was like finding a gift I’d put away for myself. I was given the opportunity to remember the joy in the experimentation and exploration that led to each design and variation. I got to think back on the excitement of this show and that festival, this gallery and that boutique, the challenges and the fun. I got to remember opening the kiln and finding pieces had warped or cracked (porcelain can be very finicky) but also my first experience of holding what looked like an abstract representation of the Universe in my hand – and the joy of returning to experimenting with glazes after working with colouring the porcelain. As I looked at pieces of darker clay with flecks of lighter materials in them, I was reminded of what prompted me to start colouring clay in the first place – as well as the joy and excitement that process of experimentation brought me over and over again. It truly was a box of treasures: the physical pieces, the memories, the joys, the growth, the adventures and exploration through materials that brought them all.

Looking back on past joys and really breathing them in can have many positive effects. From sharing with others and potentially encouraging them to start a new undertaking to reinvigorating our own sense of exploration and excitement – these past joys can have a positive impact on the future in so many ways! Remembering things I wanted to try, seeing the gamut of ideas I’d had then, watching my focus narrow down and also seeing it expand and evolve – and with each change remembering the full engrossment I could find myself in. It made for a wonderful morning!

I have different pathways I want to explore with creating, different ideas to pursue with the same sense of fascination. I look forward to the next time I find a “box of treasure,” and I hope you do, as well.