Sometimes there are people who boggle the universe with their brilliance. The instant I met Claire Ramsey last summer at Susan's France workshop, I knew she was one smart cookie. A Sign Language Sociolinguistic Professor at UC San Diego, Claire's spent the last 15 years doing research in Mexico among deaf signers of Mexican Language (Lengua de Señas Mexicana).
But what's really cool about Claire is her creative mind and offbeat sense of humor. Claire turns from serious professor by day into Super Creative Experimenter Artist by night. She's a flea market junkie and is constantly searching for oddball objects to turn into art jewelry pieces.
At the beginning of the year, Claire issues a jewelry challenge to herself in hopes of expanding her skills and knowledge. 2009 is "The Year of 100 Bezels." The number 100 is a call out to elementary school when that was the biggest amount she could imagine.
The idea for the bezel project came to her precisely because of her growing obsession with found objects.
"I pick up stuff off the ground all the time. Certain People I am Married To will not walk by my side due to chagrin at my handsful of beer bottle caps that have been run over by buses, and my shameless grabbing of objects out of piles of trash," laughs Claire.
"Just about anything I look at screams to me, 'Hey!!! Put me in a bezel!!!', which is the reason for my challenge."
Some of the most interesting things she's put into a bezel are lenticular images (like those kitchy winking eye toys that came in Crackerjack boxes), a banged up table knife she bought at a French flea market and a large collection of vintage glass bottle stoppers from science labs.
She's currently working on a green glass marble that's been run over by various cars and buses.
"It's scratched and no longer spherical, but it's a wonderful blog-of-green Jello color," says Claire.
Claire began making jewelry in 2004 when she took a bead stringing class. She started collecting beads and examining old jewelry during her flea market hunts. She signed up for a class Susan was teaching that same year in Vancouver.
"Time stopped the moment Susan put a hammer and jeweler's saw in my hand. It took me an entire afternoon to make a rivet that looked good and held! After that, I was hooked," she recalls.
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Cliffhanger Note: This entry is part of a two-part series. Please check back in a few days to see where I'm going with this story...
Editor Note: While I'd love to give you a blog address/website for Claire, I can't. She doesn't have one. Maybe this will encourage her to start a blog and tell some of her own interesting stories. (grin)
Have an artful day everyone! -- Jen
