I was so honored, and so worried!

Last weekend was a very intense emotional roller coaster ride!

Sue Gordon, of Gordon Fine Arts, presenting me with the First Place Award for Jewelry at the annual Bruce Museum Arts Festival in Greenwich, CT (May 2019)

The Upside:

I received an award for first place in the jewelry category at a beautiful, fine craft festival located at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT. It was a thrill just to be juried into this show, organized by Gordon Fine Arts, because the level of craft was one of the highest so far in my showing career. But then, to my utter shock and surprise, I was awarded first place in the jewelry category! Honestly, I did not see this coming. As a jewelry designer who has been at this for just five years, it felt amazing to be recognized this way within the company of so many amazing jewelry designers. I think one of the aspects of my work that the judges saw is my dedication to cohesive design. I’ve been an artist, working in a variety of mediums including graphic design, ceramics, woodworking, painting and sculpture, for the past four decades and all of those years and experiences have informed my design and work to this point.

Most shows don’t give awards but it’s cool when they do. It doesn’t feel competitive as much as it feels supported and to be recognized by one’s peers, it’s just really special when it happens to you.

My beloved Remy. He's a Coton de Tulear (in case you're wondering).

The Downside:

A somewhat dire situation involving my beloved canine, Remy. He needed to go to the emergency room on Saturday morning — thankfully my daughter Lauren was able to take him during my absence. Given that I was a 3.5-hour drive away I held back tears throughout the weekend, worrying that I might not get to see him alive by the time I got home. He has been put on Prednisone for anemia and seems to be bouncing back enough to give us time to investigate what’s causing the extremely low red blood cell count. The vets are worried that he has cancer in the bone marrow but that won’t be formally diagnosed until we get test results.

Ups and downs are normal but these were unusual highs and lows in one very intense weekend. In the coming weeks I will be showing closer to home, striving for more balance, and I hope to see you at an event soon! Please check my events page for details on where I’ll be.

All my best wishes to you and yours,

Nancy