Meridy migchelbrink
by the wayside sometime in high school, for whatever reason) that I became more aware of how m
tive process works, what evokes it and what happens after an initial inspiration. It always seems t
just a hint of something: maybe a character, a bare-bones scene, a feeling, a snatch of melody, a t
started exploring jewelry design, I found that the process was pretty much the same: Inspiration
to start with a component that I loved, a structural idea, or a theme of some sort. There always se
element that the entire design grows from.
What is the inspiration behind your style?
I think it goes back to how much I grew to love the not-perfectness of handmade, artisan jewelry,
made, how distinctive (even quirky), how varied…how undeniably NOT mass-made by machines
and that’s what I set out to learn to make. I’d always been drawn to easy, casual elegance, but I re
ally liked that elegance with a touch of the rustic, the tribal, the totemic, the unusual. Another pa
is my own sense of the potential of sacred power and magic in everything. Jewelry has a long, ric
can be meaningful, part of worship or ceremony, as well as decorative. Lately I’ve been drawn to
that are amulet as much as necklace, talisman as much as bracelet. That’s the inspiration behind t
for, and I feel like I’m only now beginning to find my own voice.
Does where you live have any impact on your work, and if so, in what ways?
Maybe not any direct impact, but
from the American River, one of t
and trees, most notable two very
“yard” is really more a small fores
placed stepping stones. Forests h
few minutes in the hammock stru
come join me). Hmm, maybe wh
What is your favorite medium to
I actually work in a lot of media a
about everything. I started using
(and bronze too, though I don’t u
and I love chainmaille. Lately I’ve
of my favorite necklaces started o
wrapped jasper, quartz, and mos
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