For years, people told me I was doing it wrong and that I should wait until I had all the answers. I used to believe them. I thought I had to figure everything out before I could even dream of calling myself an artist. But I’ve learned that the ones who are quickest to give advice are often the ones who won’t take the risk or do the work.
When I was sketching ideas for the pendants last June, I was already several iterations in and struggling to find a form that felt good. Dozens of sketches had already been tossed aside the previous year.
Then, I accidentally dropped two old pendants together. One was an old / incomplete Dreamer design and the other was a jade disc pendant my mother gave me as a child. Seeing them together sparked something and I knew what I wanted to do.
That moment reminded me of something important: you don’t have to have all the answers before you start. Just try, experiment, make mistakes, and keep going. Through the process, you’ll figure out what you don’t know, ask better questions, seek better mentors, and find your way forward.
The world will always have people telling you to wait and play it safe. But sometimes the only way forward is to just begin. You might know more than you think.
<3 Melissa