studio — K. Claire MacDonald Jewellery Design & Sculpture Blog

Have you ever wondered how it was made? Take a peek behind the scenes!

One of my biggest aha! moments during my journey to becoming a jewellery designer happened about eleven years ago when I was watching a demonstration in the metal studio at NSCAD University. I distinctly remember the sudden feeling of my mind racing and expanding as I watched my professor execute a number of basic techniques that lay the foundation for creating jewellery.

Although I never wore much jewellery growing up, I have always been drawn to it. As a child I had a few special pieces of jewellery that had been passed down to me, and I loved looking at them and thinking about where they had been, and who had worn them. One thing I never really thought much about was how they were made–whose hands made them, and how exactly did they come to be?

Process WorkK. Claire MacDonaldOctober 1, 2019studio, process, sketchbook, sketches, techniques, lost wax casting, casting

Summer Learning Inside and Outside the Studio

It’s been such a beautiful summer here in Nova Scotia. The summer season certainly got off to a slow start; it feels like not long ago everyone was in a collective slump moping around the city due to the unseasonably cool and wet weather stuck around for a lot of May and June. All good things come eventually though, and here we are nearing the end of August having enjoyed plenty of indulgently warm days and long evenings of daylight.

It’s been a good summer, and this year I’ve really tried to allow myself to enjoy it, and to take it all in. As a self-employed jeweller it can be difficult to let go of the tight reigns I hold on my business in order to take a day or an evening, or even a whole weekend away from my studio to relax. I realized that by stepping out of my studio to explore and connect with people and places, I end up returning to my studio with a more efficient mental headspace to tackle my work, and a renewed inspiration to create new designs.

Finding Moments of Calm Through Jewellery

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how my surroundings have a significant effect on my day-to-day life, and in particular, on the work I create in my studio. Over time, I’ve come to understand how physical and emotional states influence creativity and focus; paying closer attention to this connection and learning how to better nurture each is something I’m always striving towards. I try to begin each day by embracing those aspects of my surrounding that put me at greatest ease in order to set the tone for a calm and productive day.

Process WorkK. Claire MacDonaldMay 26, 2019inspiration, studio, eastcoast, process, wave collection, ocean

Standing Up to Creative Burnout

Nova Scotia is a province with four very distinct seasons. Seeing as there are only twelve months of the year, we find ourselves in seasonal transition about once every three months. As a creative person, my practice also goes through different “seasons”, and just as some seasons, like summer, tend to be more enjoyable than others (ahem..winter) not all seasons of my creative practice are filled with easy, breezy, sunny days.

updates from the benchK. Claire MacDonaldMarch 17, 2019creativity, burnout, motivation, process, studio, inspiration

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