Monday Spotlight On: Heidi Carpenter of, well, HeidiCarpenter.

Another April's Army team member and an awesome one at that, Heidi loves jewelry and her horse.  As a matter of fact, all of the sales from her colorful, chunky jewelry go to covering the costs for taking care of her mare, Limerick.  As a matter of fact, the whole reason started selling jewelry in the first place is for the love of her animal and it's well being.  That is something I can get behind.

Tell us three things about yourself.

I’m deaf, have about 50 hours of tattoo ink on my petite frame, and met my husband on an online forum for tropical fish keeping! I swear, we’re not as nerdy as we seem!

Amethyst and Pearl Double Strand Bracelet

What’s your medium and how did you get into it?
Jewelry—semi-precious gemstones are my favorite part of this venture. I began making my own jewelry a few years ago because I wanted more bling yet could not afford it. So I figured, why not make it and satisfy my artistic side? Those initial necklaces were much, much more difficult than I thought they would be, however, and I now cringe at the techniques I used. I’ve come a long way!

What’s your favorite thing you’ve made?
Right now, a necklace and bracelet set I made for an aunt in the UK. For these pieces, I tried wire-wrapping for the first time and used a beautiful combination of amazonite, “African turquoise” and opaque white Swarovski crystals. The result is stunning!

From where do you take inspiration?
My own desires—I consider myself something of a fashionita, and every single piece I make is something that I would personally love to wear. Of course, that makes it a little difficult to put anything up for sale… I also love to play with color combinations, and draw inspiration from nature (everything from trees and flowers to thunderstorms) for color combos.

Agate, Aventurine and Gold Earrings

Name one piece of art you wish you’d created and why?
Any painting by Richard Stone Reeves—he is a famous racehorse artist, and all the horses in his pieces convey majestic elegance. I greatly admire the man, his skill, and the love for horses that he has.

What are you doing when you’re not crafting?
Spending time with my husband and animals (four cats, lots of fish, and my 20-year-old Thoroughbred mare, Limerick), running, and working my 9-5 job.

If you had to give up your medium and pursue another, what would it be and why?
Creative writing or perhaps drawing. Drawing is my first love, but sadly I was burned out with it after my AP art class in high school and never truly recovered. Writing is more likely; I love working with words and have a B.A. in fiction writing.

Agate and Tigereye Necklace

Tell us about a time you were making something that came out better than expected and how it happened.   I found some beautiful fire agate tubes a few months ago, and set out to create a necklace around them. The end result far exceeded my expectations—I am honestly not sure how it happened; all I know is that everything seemed to click together beautifully. I used a carved owl centerpiece for my necklace and while I don’t typically (or, ever) use these types of focals, I think it fits in so well here. And if it doesn’t sell soon then I’m keeping it! (http://www.etsy.com/listing/68594436/triple-strand-carnelian-owl-red-fire)

Who is one person living or dead, famous or not, who you wish owned one of your creations and why?

Angelina Jolie—I secretly love her and think she perfectly walks the fine line between bad-girl-style and high class.

How would you explain how to do what you do to an eight year old?

“I make necklaces, earrings, and other sparkly things!”

What’s your favorite part of the process?

When I create things, I first pile beads onto a beading board and slowly start to piece things together. If all goes well, then after about twenty moments the jewelry really begins to take shape and I am suddenly very inspired. It’s a magical moment when you can finally see the piece coming together before you.

One random thing you think people should know.

I am working on animal collars and jewelry for horses. I have no doubt that my mare will be a happy guinea pig for my horse jewelry--she is rather vain! :-)

Your shop address/facebook/Twitter/blog/website. Etc.

Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/heidicarpenter, 

blog: http://heidicarpenterdesigns.blogspot.com/,

Facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/HeidiCarpenterDesigns

If you could be a character in fiction, who would you be?I would be Sonja Blue from Nancy Collins’ series about her. She was the cool, badass vampire girl long before vampires became hot. My old Volkswagen Jetta is even named Sonja!