I made this for you before we met

It’s one of my favorite lines at a show, but I’m not just making it up. It’s true. 

“I made this for you before we met!”

When I set up at a show it’s with my entire repertoire of handmade wearable art. Most of the pieces I have crafted in my country studio in the middle of winter with the wood stove cranking and no one around but the cats. At times when I’m working away in my studio, I look at a finished piece and think to myself,  “Who would wear that? What was I thinking? Am I crazy?” And on and on.
Then lo and behold, I go to a show, and something wonderful happens. I meet the one I made it for. 
It happened several times at my last show, which was Penrod in Indianapolis. 
This is a necklace I made as a show piece, which means it was photographed and used to jury into art shows. It is a unique piece, entitled “Yoke” because of the style of the necklace. 

      I put it in my showcase at Penrod and eventually she came. She and Yoke clearly made an immediate connection, made more obvious by the fact that she was already wearing the perfect earrings to go with it. She tried it on and we both knew it was true, as I said to her “I made it for you before we met.” She and her husband decided to see the rest of the show, but they did come back within a few hours eager to close the deal. 

     Then there was this piece, lovingly dubbed “Amplified” for obvious reasons. Not for the faint of heart, this neck piece was larger than life. Once I finished it, I almost talked myself out of it completely. It was an experiment in scale, after all,  and really I was just kidding around when I made it. I had scored some large glossy ceramic beads- that’s what got me started- and this Amplified piece was the result of pairing beads with dried pieces of paint. 

Still, I put it out there, and along she came. No question, I made that for her before we met. 

     Then there was this beautiful slender woman who selected a piece from the showcase: all purple and lavender with a bold lilac ceramic connector on the collar. Again, after I made the piece I wondered who the heck..... but here she came, and the rest is history. 

     Now let’s be clear. I consider myself a God- inspired artist, and I believe He is at work within me when I work. 

Phillipians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

I believe that as I work and keep God first in my thoughts that He indeed works within me. So it’s not a surprise when I meet the one I made this for. It’s also not a coincidence. It’s not even “meant to be”. (Please don’t get me started on that.) What it is, is an answered prayer and a huge blessing. 

Park Forest Art Fair is this weekend. It will be my 6th show at Park Forest and I am very much looking forward to being there. Please come by and we will find the piece I made for you before we met!