I have, in the past few months, made a bit of jewellery. It started with a silver workshop with a couple of friends - proper silversmithing - where we made a ring. It was fascinating, and I was hooked. What I did realise, however, was that it would take a lot of practice and experience to be as talented and capable as our tutor - https://www.avanajewellery.com/.
I'm not very good at being patient. I remember doing my French GCSE at school wanting to 'know it all now' and being very frustrated at not being able to suck up the knowledge there and then, and frustrated at not always being perfect and making mistakes.
The problem is, with learning a new craft, you can't just 'suck it up' and know everything all at once. You can only progress and learn by doing. This is probably a good lesson for me.
There are times when I deliberately enjoy the process, to try and slow down and make it about the whole experience rather than just the end result. In the summer I remember a few weekend days where I would sit out in the garden experimenting making polymer clay earrings.
It was a fabulous experience. My husband was inside watching the Grand Prix, the cats were lazily sleeping in the garden, simultaneously trying to catch the rays and not to overheat. I had completed all my chores, and allowed myself the time to just relax and 'play'.
I allowed my mind to wander free, without the need to have to think about anything in particular. Making the clay earrings enabled me to occupy my mind enough that I didn't over think, and enabled me to just 'be'. This experience also allowed me to 'play', and to not have to produce anything in particular. I think this is something that we should all be doing more of, and something I'll be giving more thought to.
A tenet of mindfulness is about just being present in the moment - not thinking about the future or ruminating about the past. This experience allowed me to do just that, and I was better for it.
I haven't changed personality. I am still impatient. However, I am trying to make an effort to just 'enjoy the moment'. I've discovered that I am not the biggest fan of using polymer clay. However, I enjoyed discovering this!
I used the polymer clay experience to move on to silver clay to make 'real' silver jewellery, which is more tricky than you might imagine. I am learning with every piece I make. Although I am still envious of the professionals who are metal clay and silversmithing masters, I remind myself that I am better than when I started. However, I have discovered a new lesson that I need: I don't like imperfections, but I'm too impatient to spend the time perfecting a piece in the clay form before firing, or to polish properly after firing.
What I am going to be working on is that Mindfulness tenet - enjoy the present moment. I will be working on enjoying the process of filing, sanding, and then subsequently polishing. I will try to take time out for the process itself, and not concentrate solely on the final result.
In the meantime, I'm going to remind myself that imperfections are ok. They make my pieces unique, just as I am unique!
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