Some time in my early teens I apparently found wire as a possible material for jewelry making!
In 2018 while sorting through my childhood home, a woman we hired to help us clean up found these 3 pieces of jewelry I'd made and thought I might be interested in having them. She knew I was a jewelry maker. She handed them to me and I stood there kind of stunned as my initial reaction was of confusion and disbelief that I'd ever seen them in my life. There was a lot of that response over the months I was forced to face a childhood I'd pretty much put out of my memory. It wasn't necessarily a conscious choice to block so much, but it is what happened.
Now I find seeing old photos and remembering my youth an experience in finding additional pieces of myself. I can more clearly see how my past has shaped or influenced who I am today.
Another find that shook me was finding this English Springer Spaniel figurine in my bedroom. I'd completely forgotten about it, but have since remembered the exact gift shop I selected it while one of my brothers selected a black labrador. I guess my favorite breed has always been my favorite breed!
Reading and crafting were and still are my escape methods from stress. This tiled dish was another one of my craft projects that was saved from the trash bin.
And my childhood lunchbox is now on my studio shelf. It was filthy, but the thermos glass was still unbroken!
Being authentic. Finding oneself. Loving yourself. Are there more important things in life? I don't think so.
"By three methods we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection, which is nobelest;
Second, by imitation, which is easiest;
and third by experience, which is the bitterest." Confucius