studio notes #1
So, I've been circling this idea since the end of last year (2025)...
How can I address the grief I feel every time I see a headline about warming oceans, garbage patches, or insect population loss?
The first connection I made was mourning jewelry. I made a small series of pieces around that idea, mostly to see if it was something I could say in a few works or if it was a topic I wanted to spend more time with.
Turns out... it's definitely the second.
One of the first books I read was In Death Lamented by Sarah Nehama, which I absolutely loved. It sent me down a rabbit hole of historical mourning jewelry, symbolism, and materials. Since then I've started a mood binder with images, notes, and ideas, and I just picked up a new stack of books from the library.
For anyone curious what my research process looks like, as I read I usually make a few pages in my binder: a word bank, an idea bank, and a quote bank. Sometimes an idea ends up needing its own page entirely.I'll share some of those as they start to fill out a bit more.
Image info (you can click on the images to make them bigger)
image 1 - July reading stack
image 2 - mood binder with rings from in death lamented
image 3 - first sample - I fell in love with the navette setting used in several pieces shared in Nehama’s book so I am making this one using my 3d macrame technique and some black bags. I just added the back this morning, it is fused scraps of plastic grocery bags. The shape is indistinguishable from an eye shape so I am thinking of going in after I finish the macrame with these matte black beads to create the iris and pupil. I think I might turn it into a necklace if I like it once it’s done.
studio notes - welcome
I have been craving a space where I can share what is unfinished. It can feel too vulnerable to share works in progress in spaces that are more for broad public consumption. I keep thinking about the early days of social media like live journal crossed with something in the moment like field notes.
what I like about sharing:
accountability-knowing someone else might be interested keeps me engaged in my research and making.
perspective shift-thinking about explaining an idea to someone else helps me understand it more clearly myself.
community-studio days can be quiet, peaceful, and sometimes lonely. Sharing here is a reminder that there are other makers reading, thinking, experimenting, and asking questions in their own studios too.
what I could share here:
book/article/documentary notes and summaries
sketches
images
questions i'm wrestling with
samples and experiments
ideas that may never become finished work
progress on larger projects
More than anything, I hope this becomes a place where ideas can build on one another over time. I’m also hopeful to catch the ideas and connections that are almost impossible to see in a single moment but become visible when you look back at months or years of documentation.
If you'd like a reminder when there's something new to read, you can sign up for the separate “studio notes” email list at the bottom of studio notes landing page here. Otherwise, feel free to stop by every now and again to see what’s new.
-charity