14 Karat Solid Gold Braided Ring
by Pippit Carlington of GIFTBEARER
WELCOME, Pippit Carlington and her Etsy shop, GIFTBEARER, where you can see Pippit's gorgeous contemporary tribal style jewelry. She has some truly wonderful pieces of jewelry that anyone would be delighted to wear.
Before paying a visit to GIFTBEARER, let's learn a bit more about this talented artist by reading her interview below.
What led you to start creating your art/craft
I wanted to start a career after my son was born and to make a living with my art; something I already had skills in made sense to me.
How did you decide what medium you wanted to work with?
I've always worked with a variety of materials and started out painting and drawing as a child, but also have worked in other mediums as well over the years. I rotate mediums and materials so that I stay inspired and my work won't get stale. Jewelry seemed one of the more practical forms of art when deciding on one medium to put my main focus on, although lately I'm not so sure.
I first thought about making art furniture, but the logistics of getting to and from the location where training was available weren't going to be feasible, so started using wood to see what I could make on a smaller scale, and found that wood made nice jewelry. I found I really enjoyed that, so I continued to add more and more techniques on to what I taught myself, went to jeweler's school for metalwork, took other classes in beadweaving, and found that the possibilities in this field are endless. I wish I had the money to take more specialized classes in other jewelry techniques. There are alot of areas I'd like to explore.
Copper Poppy (bracelet)
What aspect of creating your art/craft do you find the most enjoyable?
There are many things I find most enjoyable; soldering, beadweaving, spool-knitting, bead crochet, PMC (I could go on and on), but I guess what I really enjoy (in a nutshell) is watching something come out that is really unique and knowing that others also appreciate it with the same sense of wonder and excitement.
If you had to choose a fruit OR a vegetable, to describe your art/craft, what would you choose, and why?
If you had to choose one other medium in which to display your “creativity”, what would that be, and why?
I'm currently getting into felting and I'm really enjoying that. Currently I'm making some needle-felted dogs that are going to be replicas of the ones I work with that have obtained a new cure for Distemper. I have always loved dogs, and sculpture and realism has always intrigued me!
My own dog, Carmella is the first in the US outside a lab setting to have ever been cured in both body and central nervous system of the disease. Jewelry doesn't seem to be selling all that well in this economy, so I happened to notice that these types of fiber miniatures seem to have a big following of people with disposable income who also love dogs.
Carmella still has a large vet bill, and I'm also looking at possible surgery/procedures to repair some remaining CNS damage she suffered before she obtained treatment. If I can make the money needed for her expenses with this new medium and have fun doing it, it will be a real win/win for all!
Carmella Collection - Illumina (Earrings)
What message, if any, do you want to convey with your art/craft?
I would like people to be excited about my work and feel a special connection with it, not as merely an inanimate object, but to view it as adding something special to their lives, to feel the unspoken expression of the soul of these items on a spiritual level.
Keep striving to improve upon your "best", set your sights on new mountains once you've climbed the previous one, and be ready to change some things along the way to keep the journey interesting and fresh for yourself and for viewers/buyers.
Be sure to pay a visit to Pippit's links below.
The links below will give you information on the new cure for distemper:
