30th Street Craft Market Featured Artist: Old Blood

I love making jewelry and items to be worn/carried on the body. The body to me is the most challenging canvas on which to display formal and informal artistic choices. In my work I use various materials, pretty much anything that catches my eye, or sometimes, touch. I am an avid “rescuer” of unwanted items that I find discarded and up-cycling materials as well. Some of my favorite materials are metal, silk, stone, leather, bone, lost/ found objects, and wood with it all being sourced as responsibly as possible!

My processes vary just as much as my materials. I employ sewing, weaving, casting, carving, forging, fabrication, soldering, dyeing, distressing, wire working, and in general I bring a lot of experimentation with process to my pieces.

I started making jewelry when I was very young. At first I thought maybe it was a side thing, since I had so many things that I wanted to do, but I quickly realized that this would be what I do for a living. I have worked for many other jewelry artists and businesses in the retail and wholesale realms over the years but finally decided to launch my own company, Old Blood, in 2012.

I am inspired by music, greatly. I find it impossible to work in my studio without a song stuck in my head. I am inspired by contrast between conflicting elements and the balance found in recognizing their need for each other. Trash, discarded items, detritus, accumulation. Natural structures, especially in plant, geological, or animal forms. All the other creators I meet…I like thinking of this new class of crafters and makers as post-everything alchemists, continuing to make something out of nothing in a world that favors cheap and lifeless mass production.