We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aubrianne Bell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Aubrianne, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

A lot of the custom pieces I’ve made have had beautiful meaning and purpose behind them. It’s not required of course, you can have jewelry made just because. But I think one of the most meaningful ones is a necklace I got to make for a very dear friend. She came to me wanting a necklace to honor her breastfeeding journey with her son and first child. She supplied a preserved breast milk stone (made by another artist) and together we paired it with amethyst, her son’s birthstone. My incredible friend who is an even more incredible mother gets to wear this magical totem that honors her motherhood and the life she created.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Though I am a metalsmith, I am also a wife, pet parent, lover of the outdoors, and casual gamer. My metalsmithing journey began in August of 2019 when I took a beginners course making jewelry. I have been a lifelong creator and have dabbled in painting, drawing, photography, and almost tattooing. But after completing that course I knew this was it. This was what I wanted to create, forgings of metal and earth to be adorned for lifetimes.

This craft is not without difficulties and it can be extremely unforgiving. It requires a lot focus, patience, and caution. A lot of the tools can be dangerous, and you have to be mindful of the flames and chemicals you’re working with. But it is so very rewarding to bring a piece of jewelry to life.

Both my personal style and the style of the things I create is a little of everything and kind of all over the place. I love really earth pieces of jasper and turquoise, but I also love working sparkly faceted garnets and getting the highest shine I can out of the silver. I deeply respect the creators who have a distinguished “style”, I know that takes a lot of time and effort to develop. But I don’t feel that is quite my path, I’ve never been one to fit in anyways. So my hope is that by making a bit of everything then I can have something for everyone.

And that way I’m proud of myself. For not trying to force myself into a box or limiting my visions. I’m proud of myself for not giving up as Imposter Syndrome continues to read it’s ugly head. When I question if I’m good enough, doing enough, creating enough. If I’m deserving of anything at all, if I should give up now and sell my tools. But I know I’d regret it if I did. So I focus on taking extra care of myself, giving myself room to grow and shift when these heavy waves come for me. I refuse to give up on my dreams and the potential for the life I want.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creator is bring a dream, a vision, to life. Something that exists on paper or in your mind, or the client’s mind, almost doesn’t seem tangible as it’s not real. It is merely a concept, just an idea. But once you pick up the tools and start shaping the materials then the magic begins as all the individual pieces start to come together. Individually they aren’t much. A piece of sheet metal, a loose stone, a bit chain. But together they form a piece of jewelry ready for a lifetime of wear, soaking in the memories and love each time it’s worn.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Just about anything we can do to bring attention to creatives will change the ecosystem. Tell your friends and family and anyone you meet, share their work online, supporting their social media sites, instead of scoffing at the price of a handmade item because you can get it cheaper on Amazon, take a second to think how much it costs the artist to make. Their time, the tools and materials, how much effort goes into marketing themselves and their art. And think about who you’re really supporting. Is it a giant corporation, or an actual human?

I think the more we value handmade goods and art the more the system will thrive. I’ll shout it from every rooftop; support artists!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.etsy.com/shop/ArcadianSunCo
• Instagram: @arcadiansun.co
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/arcadiansun.co

Image Credits
Jon Roach

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