I tell people that designing jewelry is something I discovered by accident several years ago when I was looking for a
particular style of earrings. But then it occurs to me, I've either been making jewelry or preparing to make jewelry most
of my life. I'm sure my mother will say that the bits of bark and pebbles woven together with flower stalks that I made
many, many years ago were much prettier than anything I'm making now.
My earliest memories from childhood
are of spending long summer days outside, playing in our flower gardens and surrounding fields and woods, creating games where
the only playmate needed was my imagination. Winter days were filled with large note pads and pencils and drawings pictures
of everyone and everything. That childhood was so blessed. I was given a mind to think and a soul that desired
to do so.
I believe what sets my jewelry apart is both my love of color and an unwillingness to settle on
one "style". I have worked in both tradition silver and precious metal gold, but I have the most fun with
copper. It is a delight to collect some of the most beautiful stones I can find, not the most expensive, just the unusual,
with a depth of color you can get lost in. That was what led me to pottery. I knew that I had to create my own
pieces for designing necklaces. The shapes, colors and textures controlled only by my imagination. The clay forms itself into
basic shapes. Then the beautiful, endless glazes come in to play.
I have also been working with
metal clays for some ten years. Hadar Jacobson has taught me so much with her advances in copper, bronze, and
steel clays. I could spend the rest of my life working with nothing but those and never run out of ideas.
I'm
fascinated with colors on metal. From enameling to inlay to patinas and etching. Then there's glass fusing, which
I love to combine with other techniques. And I've got a couple piercing and sawing projects going at any given time.
And at one time I enjoyed lamp working, making my beads, but my hands can't deal with that right now.
. . . And the other day I found the prettiest piece of bark which I wrapped in wire with some small
stones; it was only 40 years in the making.
Debby Thompson
