Artist’s Statement

This is where I’m supposed to let you into my mind, giving insight into my jewelry and art. Ah, but trust me, you don’t want into my mind. Oh, you do? Ok, this is a story about how art is saving my life. It was October 2005 when I had absolutely nowhere to turn to but death’s door;  an incident that shook me to the very core, to say the least. But I was given a second chance. It was Jan. 2006 when I started a silversmith class and something fantastic happened to me in a matter of weeks, as if I faced yet another door that had been magically opened, and I began to create.

Oh, I didn’t merely do the class assignments; I mastered the class assignments (just ask the teacher). Three months into the class I dropped out! I had purchased enough items to make a studio at home where I was much more comfortable. For the next 4 months, I was obsessed with designing and fabricating jewelry out of sterling silver and gemstones. The designs poured out of me and I was “in the zone,” a Zen-like creative state of mind.

Items such as “Mask”, “I Touch Roses” and “Dorothy” were born as was my popular “Chaos Ring.” All of this beauty came to be from the weak mind I once had, and little by little my confidence grew whenever I saw the “sold” e-mail. I won’t ever forget some of my first customer’s words, “Ahna, I could feel your energy when I opened the package,” “Your work is intense” and “Are you in love or something?” And I was in love; in love with life again, in love with what I was making as well as loving the creative process once more.

I didn’t stop at silversmith work either.  I returned to stained glass work and my beloved photography, and then ventured into lapidary and other wonderful crafts.  I reached inside and pulled out all the lessons taught to me by friends, family and teachers and I just went for it. Creating to me is sacred; I cannot create on demand, but rather, I create for a reason. Those reasons are numerous; it could be a custom piece, it could be from getting new beads, a vision that comes to mind or admiring other artisan’s work, or just from the fact that someone saw my work and was touched by it in some way. And I love knowing that all that I make will live long past I will, that my work will be cherished, passed on from one generation to the next, and treasured as something special.  All that I do is fueled by my emotions, as intense as they sometimes can be; they are the driving force behind all my art created.

http://ArtCreated.com