The Tool Is Not the Artist

As I worked on my Floating Leaf Ring today, I realized something.

I use my wax pen much like a painter uses a fine brush. The tip of the pen is heated to nearly 500 degrees, and I guide molten wax exactly where I want it to flow.

My father was a painter. He was passionate about his art, and I understand that passion now more than ever.

He worked with color.

I work with wax.

He built images one brushstroke at a time.

I build jewelry one drop of wax at a time.

But the jewelry itself still begins the same way it always has—with an artist's vision and a pair of hands.

Every curve of a twig, every texture on a leaf, every adjustment made to create the illusion of a floating gemstone is sculpted by hand in wax before it ever becomes gold.

Technology is a tool.

The artist is the one who brings the design to life.

Today, as I held my wax pen and worked on the Floating Leaf Ring, I thought about my father and his paintbrush.

Different tools.

Different mediums.

The same passion to create.

— Dawn