Friday, July 23, 2010

starting over

well here I go again. it is true that I am one of "those" people. I like change. as a kid I looked forward to the first day of school as much as the last day. I like to move, change cars, chop of my hair then grow it long. I have been thinking a lot lately about being a kid. I miss it. I think it's true that my friends and family would agree I have resisted growing up and maturing for a very long time. I mean, I'm 47 (almost 48....shhhhhh) and still love those stupid comedies geared towards 14 year old boys. I make jewelry and glass beads (the ultimate in playing with "crayons") as my profession. But lately, after somewhat of a traumatic year I've been thinking about my childhood. It's interesting to see how it has shaped who I am, what I love (and hate) and my art. as a kid art was my life. I could sit in my room for hours drawing and listening to the radio. but it's not like I didn't have friends. our whole block was made up of kids and we could entertain ourselves around the neighborhood for hours. but I think what shaped me the most and had the most influence on my art was living so near to the beach. I grew up in Huntington Beach, California. we practically lived at the beach (or the even closer bay) all summer. It was tradition to go to the beach on New Years day. we went crab digging and watched grunion run. most of us covered ourselves in iodine and baby oil under the belief you would tan quicker. not my brother and I tho, we had to use the highest SPF (what was it then? 4 maybe?) of coppertone because my dad said the sun wasn't good for your skin. coppertone didn't smell nearly as cool and yummy as Hawaiian Tropic. so, I definitely grew up with sand between my toes and a rockin' tan (despite dad's efforts). this was also a time of surfing, skateboards, bogeyboards and body surfing. I began making jewelry at about 10. gee, that would be 1972. anyway, I did a lot of cool macrame, shells, wood and ceramics. and because I have been spending so much time thinking about all this (and there are tons more memories, but that's for a different day) I decided my jewelry business needed to reflect where I come from. I wanted a beach vibe and this explains the change. my business is now changed from stars by stacey to Lowtide and Lemon Pie. the colors are changing too. I am hoping my customers will get more of a feel of who I am with these changes. because being a kid in Huntington Beach in the 70's was fantastic. and I plan to hold on to my childhood as long as possible. thanks mom and dad, you picked a beautiful place to raise my brother and I.

as a side note I do want to add that although I have been thinking about these changes for awhile now, they come with a very sad and kind of ironic twist. my dad passed away on July 3 2010. so in a lot of ways, this is for you dad.


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