Mistakes!!  You can’t be creative without them… but it’s easy to forget that when you look at someone’s gorgeous work.

I thought I’d never be any good because when I look at other peoples’ work, I see all the beauty.  When I look at my work, I see the things I wish I’d done better.

But the thing is, you’re comparing apples and oranges – and more than that, you may be comparing your own journey against someone else’s very different journey.

I ‘ve spoken to jewellery makers that I’m in awe of, and they’re effusive in their praise over my work… but of course as a sensitive creative, I assume they’re just being nice to me, whilst I’m genuinely awestruck by their skill and craft.

Just because you see the finished product of other people’s work, doesn’t mean there were no mistakes along the way – you just can’t see them.

The best way to work and learn and develop your craft is to embrace and learn to love your mistakes.  Those ‘errors’ can actually become jumping off points for inspiration or a different way of working – or just getting your brain used to problem solving.

When I first started working with silver, I was terrified.  The idea of ruining the silver filled me with dread; especially working with Argentium Silver… the fusing method where you apply the heat over your work and it softens, looks wet and then the silver fuses is heartstopping.

I remember the first time I tried with a tiny bit of silver to fuse a jump ring.  I sat it on a perforated heat surface, added the heat and within milliseconds the silver melted and went down the holes never to be seen again.

It took me a few months to get the courage back up to work with silver again, and in hindsight I wish I hadn’t wasted that time worrying about it.

If you use a charcoal block, then the worst thing that happens if you melt the jump ring is that you end up with a cute little ball of silver.  That’s okay – your silver is just now a different shape.  You can still use it, form it, meld it, flatten it, hammer it…

I’ve learned more about making and creating from the mistakes that from what went right.  I learned why I shouldn’t hold the heat too long, or why I should always assume metal is hot (!!) and thousands of other things by making those mistakes.

I have a little plastic container that has my bits of silver that I’ve made mistakes with.  I don’t melt them down and reuse them immediately, I wait and come back to them days, weeks or even months later.

My first example of this was when I’d blobbed some silver into a weird crescent slug-like shape.  What I’d intended to do was ruined and in a huff, I put it in this box.

One day, as I glanced in the box, two pieces were touching – the slug thing and a twisted piece of offcut… and yet, paired together they looked like a dragon’s body and tail.  Oooh!!

So I looked through the rest of the silver bits, and there was a dragon neck and head shape in there too!  I’d never seen these pieces from that perspective before, but there they were, asking to be a dragon!

So I made a large statement dragon pendant that really turned heads.  People would complement me on the design and my work and ask how I got the inspiration…

That single piece inspired me to make more statement pieces.  More large mythical creatures; a Swooping Garnet Dragon, a Moon Phoenix, a Bronze Thunderbird inspired by the Nazca lines. 

Inspiration doesn’t have to be from some grand plan – sometimes it comes from those mistakes you make, and being able to have the courage to embrace those moments of disappointment.  Don’t let them linger in your brain. 

Trust me, if you love your boo-boos, they’ll guide you how to make even better… Stuff.

Thanks for reading my little blog post. If you’d like to find out more about me, my work, and the stories behind each piece, you’re always welcome to explore the rest of Stuff By Rox. You’ll find jewellery, gems, and a few unexpected treasures along the way. And if you’d like to say hello in person, keep an eye on my events page – I’d love for you to pop by, say hello, and see the sparkle up close.