This One's a Hand Job
Make-to-know creativity and the imperative of rebellion 🔥
Forty eight hours, one pound of coughed up mucus, and two seasons of the brain-melting Bravo show, Southern Hospitality, and I was having groundbreaking spiritual epiphanies. I had come down with a massive cold after partying all night in the rain for two nights in a row, and there was nary a glimpse of wellness on the horizon. At a loss for bodily pleasure, I had selected my self-soothing balm to be free play in the jewelry studio, in conjunction with a consciousness-obliterating marathon of modern television. It was a rarity for me to let my childlike artistic enthusiasm run fully rampant; I usually forced my hand (against my will 👿) to create a design plan beforehand.
Two days later, I emerged from my trance, shocked by what I had created. There in my humble palms lay my dream ring. A ring that I had not been able to visualize, let alone render as a 2D sketch. What the hell happened, you may ask? Over those two days I had let myself play, without the structure of a process or goal, just a 3D exploration of sorts. This experience of allowing the work to unfold went against everything I had been taught in craft school, which fueled my antiestablishment enthusiasm to an all time high.
In jewelry school, which I attended for three months before realizing I wasn’t enjoying the experience of external “authority”, I was taught that I needed to follow a sequential procedure from design to execution of a piece. This laid out path felt so boring that I wanted to drop everything and move to Canada (an exciting place!). Perhaps a linear process of creation is efficient, but its prohibitive dullness renders it void in my book. During my time in school, I experienced the persistent fear that I was an inadequate craftsperson. Why couldn’t I get excited about design work? Was I obsessed with instant gratification? What am I, some kind of child in dreamland that wants life to be fun all the time? I found myself skipping the design step to play and tinker away with metal; making designs up as I went, much to the chagrin of my teacher as we remained caught in the throes of a power struggle.
I can feel the vibe of the pieces I want to create. But what if they can’t come through my mind, my head, my pen? What if my magical and intelligent hands are the bridge between the heaven and earthly realms? If sitting down and drawing a piece of jewelry feels like agony, then maybe thats not the approach I’m meant to follow.
If a fuck-around-and-figure-it-out approach isn’t what I’m supposed to take, why does it feel so damn good?
My main point is that I don’t believe there is a right way to do anything. There are only the ways others have done things and found success. What if achieving our aims comes not from following steps or a replicable formula, but from being in alignment with our own energy? And what if a way to do that is through noticing the ways our bodies naturally want to work?
Every artist and person has their own reality. As I build out the universe I want to live in, I choose a definition of artistic success that includes creating from a place of enthusiasm. I choose to move with my true nature and not against it. I choose to notice where an external voice is telling me that my instincts are wrong, and where I have internalized that shame and made up a story about how I am somehow incapable.
I am a hands person. Creating things with my hands and no plan is the funnest way for me to work, so I’m gonna keep doing that. I believe we are all unique geniuses in our own way, and we can access this genius through pathways of pleasure, excitement, and flow. Cheers to breaking rules!!!!!!
Thanks for reading! It means so much to me! May you feel empowered to follow your enthusiasm (if thats what you want) 💋
xoxoxoxox
Mollz
P.S.
I MADE STICKERS! And I want to give them to you! I will mail you one straight to your home free ‘o’ charge if you kindly share this Substack with three bitchies u think might like it! Once you have done that, just reply to this email with your address and a lil’ stickie will be on its way in no time FLAT.
love this and i want a sticker!! 🤩