I am a western silversmith and your silversmithing mentor.
One of the things that stays with me while I create is a deep appreciation for the ranching and farming lifestyle. I work to incorporate design elements that are inspired by my own experiences of being the rancher’s daughter.
From the start I’ve always loved creating art. Photography has been a way for me to express myself since I was very young. I loved it so much that I majored in photography in college. Out of all the artsy things I did growing up, I never was drawn to 3D artwork. I tried it, but it never held my attention.
So when my college offered a jewelry making class, I wasn’t interested. But my Mom told me I would be good at making jewelry and that I would enjoy it. So I put my name on the waitlist to give it a try but a spot never opened up. Fast forward to the next year when the class was offered again, I enrolled. I started making jewelry with bone and wood which was great but I still wasn’t loving it. Then the last half of the semester rolled around and I was introduced to soldering. It inspired me. I started looking up stones, metals, tools, tutorials, basically any information I could get my hands on I was collecting.
There was so much trial and error, I was figuring out how I wanted my jewelry to look, learning techniques, marketing myself, and navigating the online silversmithing community.
I’m blessed to be able to do what I love every day and share my experiences with others to help them navigate the silversmithing industry.
Starting out...
After school let out and I finished that initial introduction to jewelry making class, I got all the tools and materials ordered to have my own home studio. I was on a budget and because of that I only spent $1,157.47, but that was all I needed to spend to get going.
These were some of my very first stud earrings that I made as a baby smith!
While I still love them, there's a few reasons why they never got listed for sale. There’s crimps in the bezel, the solder seam is showing big time, and other details that I self critique now that I have grown my knowledge and skillset.
THE BRAINSTORMING PROCESS
The brainstorming part of making jewelry is one of my most favorite parts of the process. I usually will sketch my designs before I start working so I can have a clear idea of what I want. I like to sketch out designs as soon as I think of them, because even if I don't use the designs right away, I'll still have a design bank that I can revisit later when I need inspiration.
Even the tedious little bezels that I inevitably fling across the room while sanding have a beauty to their process. When I create jewelry, it always has a tie back to my upbringing, even if I don’t see it immediately. I think that is part of the reason why I’m so drawn to this artform. I can physically add details to a necklace that tie to the memories I love. Then I get to share those stories with my community and they can connect with them, making my jewelry have more meaning. It’s a very unique experience and I enjoy being able to live it over and over.
I have come to find that I love to create with green turquoise. Especially the creamy, earthy greens that fade into blue hues. I enjoy using green turquoise in my pieces because it's very eye-catching and unique.
SonoranMountain&SierraBellaturquoise
Thisnecklaceismadewith
This brand has been in my family for generations and I wanted to commemorate that through a necklace for my mom! It’s very hard to get custom made anything that has your brand accurately illustrated.
To ensure that the brand looks right, I will draw it out on my iPad, then send the file to my Cricut to cut out a tiny sticker that I will put on a sheet of sterling silver and get to sawing! I take a lot of time sawing out each piece to make sure it looks as close to the original design as possible.
CreatedwithEmeraldRoseVariscite &SterlingSilver
Sonoran Gold & Sonoran Mountain Turquoise I n s p i r e d b y n a t u r e
This piece was one of the first large scale cactus pieces that I made. I love cacti and creating cactus inspired jewelry pieces. The irony of that is, when I was young, I fell into a prickly pear bush! The needles went through my leather boots so I couldn’t walk and somehow my mom got all of them out without them breaking off. Even after that, cactus plants have always been really cool to me and their vibrant flowers are beautiful.
For the cactus blossoms, I used small opals to represent the bright sun that shines on the cactus to grow!
In Your Ear Balls
JessicaStansberry
This podcast helps me navigate finding my audience and how to better serve my target community as a creator.
Podcasts
WhatIlistentowhileIcreate
Keeps me up to date on social media news and developments. Great for creators learning to navigating the online space.
The
Creator Project JadeBeason
isoneofthemost fulfillingjobsI gettoexperience
From:ones em lishments
Let me teach
When I finished my college jewelry making class, there weren't as many resources for silversmithing online as I hoped there would have been. I felt that there needed to be a readily available, more in-depth explanation of the process and a way for people to keep those resources forever. So I decided to create an online course on beginner silversmithing!
Inside the course I walk you through the whole silversmithing process. Through videos I will show you how to use all the tools, create bezels and embellishments, how to solder, sand, and polish, and how to set stones in bezel settings!
After taking my course, you will have the confidence and knowledge to create beautiful sterling silver jewelry. The best part is, you get to keep the videos forever, watching them as many times as you want.
Visit faithhasmade.com to view full course details and to purchase!
The course will be available for purchase on June 14th, 2024 at 4pm CST for a one time payment of $250.
YOU!
