Creating new work is always exciting, but very tedious, and requires being extremely focused. Three years ago, I discovered a place that turned out to be amazing for that purpose. I was visiting my mother in Brazil, at her home in the mountains of the Southern part of the state of Minas Gerais, where she spends 2-4 months every year. She had encouraged me to bring my torch, and tools for work, that way I could work, and stay an extra month. It is an incredibly beautiful place, where nature is undisturbed for the most part, and operates at full force. This is a watershed area, green as can be, with incredible flora and fauna including toucans, jaguars, parrots and a plethora of wild flowers and birds. The place is simply put "magical".
At first I was a little resistant to the idea, as I felt "I don't want to be working while on vacation", but I quickly learned that it is ideal! I had never realized how many distractions exist in daily living in the United States. There is always something to attend to that does not allow for full concentration. Whether it's answering the phone, going to the post office, the bank, sorting through all the mail, paying the bills, telemarketers, having to go to the store, placing orders with suppliers, being on hold forever with either the cable company, phone company or some other service, one has to be constantly multitasking. Here in my little Brazilian heaven; I get up, check emails, do some stretches, shower, have breakfast and sit down to work with no interruptions for the rest of the day........it's amazing! I am much more productive, focused, and more inspired as I can really delve into the world of creativity......such a treat and privilege! Because I am not all the other stuff on top of work, I am also not tired at the end of the day, so I get my vacation feel after all!
Since my mother is also a jeweler, and works while in Brazil, we get to work together which makes it more fun for both of us. It is nice to have someone whom I can get feedback from if I need it. We usually go on walks after we are done with our work day, and if it's a nice sunny day, we take a little work brake and go for a swim in the river. Not at all a bad life!
This has been a great discovery, one which I am very grateful for. Since 2013 I have been creating my new collections here, making the original pieces which are then sent to my caster to be molded, and cast. These are the pieces that really require concentration since they will be reproduced. I don't do any production work here, that is something I do at my Oakland, CA studio. I also do all the finishing work on my master originals once I get home, as we don't have power tools here. The humidity is 80-90% here so any motors would rust if not used for several months.
At first I was a little resistant to the idea, as I felt "I don't want to be working while on vacation", but I quickly learned that it is ideal! I had never realized how many distractions exist in daily living in the United States. There is always something to attend to that does not allow for full concentration. Whether it's answering the phone, going to the post office, the bank, sorting through all the mail, paying the bills, telemarketers, having to go to the store, placing orders with suppliers, being on hold forever with either the cable company, phone company or some other service, one has to be constantly multitasking. Here in my little Brazilian heaven; I get up, check emails, do some stretches, shower, have breakfast and sit down to work with no interruptions for the rest of the day........it's amazing! I am much more productive, focused, and more inspired as I can really delve into the world of creativity......such a treat and privilege! Because I am not all the other stuff on top of work, I am also not tired at the end of the day, so I get my vacation feel after all!
Since my mother is also a jeweler, and works while in Brazil, we get to work together which makes it more fun for both of us. It is nice to have someone whom I can get feedback from if I need it. We usually go on walks after we are done with our work day, and if it's a nice sunny day, we take a little work brake and go for a swim in the river. Not at all a bad life!
This has been a great discovery, one which I am very grateful for. Since 2013 I have been creating my new collections here, making the original pieces which are then sent to my caster to be molded, and cast. These are the pieces that really require concentration since they will be reproduced. I don't do any production work here, that is something I do at my Oakland, CA studio. I also do all the finishing work on my master originals once I get home, as we don't have power tools here. The humidity is 80-90% here so any motors would rust if not used for several months.
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