New Jewels

A couple of years ago I wrote about a rather remarkable reconnection with an artist whom I had never met.  She just happened to have fashioned a pair of earrings and I desperately wanted to replace one that had been lost.  Now living in Portland, she recreated a perfect match a full 10 years after I had purchased them (with a matching necklace) at Appalachian Spring in Georgetown.

Every time I wear that jewelry, and I wear it a lot, I think of Denise Althea Graham, an artist I have yet to meet and wonder what other things she is creating.  I decided to contact her on her Blog and find out.  It turns out she has moved on from beads to other art media, but she still has a stash of beads left over from her days of jewelry making.

So we exchanged a few messages and she agreed to make some things I might like, based on what I had originally purchased.  She sent me photos asking me to choose a set if I liked either.  I quickly agreed to buy everything she had made, at a price about half of what I had paid originally.

My new jewels came today and they are even more beautiful than the photos lead me to believe.  Denise also enclosed a very personal card, which made me want to meet this woman who seems to know me quite well despite the fact we’ve never met.

I shot off an e-mail message declaring my delight with the pieces she had made.  I almost said “I will enjoy them for the rest of my life,” but those words are just a little scary to me, so I opted for “a long, long time.”

I really love the idea of connecting on a personal level with cooks and artists, of which I now have several in my life.