This magical brooch was the last piece I created in 2023, and it seemed like a fitting piece for an extraordinary year. Bill asked me to create a unique brooch based on the Mobius strip for his wife. His words of inspiration: elegant and demure. We worked on a design together, and I created a few mock-up models. We had a blast manipulating the metal together until we found the shape most desirable. I got to work right away. Then disaster struck.
The 14k gold I had carefully soldered along one side of the silver strip came loose in one spot. With the shape already taking place, it was almost impossible to resolder it without melting a vital section and destroying the entire design.I attempted to reconnect for two hours and only gave up when the tears started rolling down my face. I felt as if I had failed Bill. But I never gave up. Stepping away from the bench, I breathed, had a heartfelt conversation with my love, and started fresh the next day.
I found a way to incorporate my assumed failure into an inspired and thoughtful design. Like a metaphor for relationships with self and others, we can create a constant, strong foundation like the endless silver band.
Yet life brings surprises, so the gold strip that waxes and wanes, aligns perfectly, fades, and returns is more accurate to our real-life experiences.
We are always changing, growing, making mistakes, and learning to love ourselves and our lives more deeply. When I received a heartfelt thank you on Christmas day from Bill and his beloved about the brooch, tears of joy began to roll.
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