Art Clay

Awakened Series

I will add the Awakened series to my online shop tomorrow, Monday, between 2 and 3 pm, CST.

Shipping during the month of December slows down so much, that the last day I will mail international orders this year is this Wednesday, November 29. After that, you can still purchase from my shop, but I will mail your order after January 5th (orders within Mexico will ship regularly). 

I can cut the rings in this series to fit any size between 5.5 and 11.

All pendants include a 28" darkened sterling silver chain.

Every piece is one of a kind and I do not repeat it. Please sign up here if your want me to email you the minute I post the series to my shop. 


Playful

Playfulness comes when you realize that there is nothing to worry about, nothing to grasp, and no goal to reach. 

Playful pendant.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
This Monday in my online shop.


Inner Stillness

You are responsible for your state of being. Only that. It is the energy that you give out to the world that will enrich or deplete it. 

Inner Stillness pendant.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
This Monday in my online shop. 


Gratitude

This year, I am most grateful for feeling at ease with myself.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gratitude pendant.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


Presence

Here is a gift. I discovered it in Martha Beck's book, Finding your Way in a Wild New World, which I love.


Hand-Sensing Exercise by Eckart Tolle, from his book A New Earth.

Close your eyes and hold out your hand.

Allow yourself to feel your hand.

Ask yourself how – without touching anything, without moving your hand and without looking at your hand – you can know that your hand is still there.

Your mind might say it knows it's there, because it was just there a minute ago.

But there is another way of knowing. You can feel the inside of your hand, a subtle sense of warmth or tingling.

This is the subtle sense of aliveness.
 

If your mind wanders, just return your attention to feel the sensations in your hand.

This hand sensing exercise brings your awareness to the present moment. Do this exercise whenever you can to get in touch with your inner sense of aliveness. 

This inner sense of aliveness is your own conscious presence, your being-ness, the you that you really are, beneath your thinking and beyond your story.

The quality of my life has improved greatly since I began this practice a few months ago. I hope you can try it!
 

Presence pendant.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


Awakened

The past few years were hard for me. Like a game of Tetris, the foundation of my identity came tumbling down when my dad became ill and we thought we’d lose him. I had little contact with the outside world, and spent lots of time alone. I needed to process grief, uncertainty, and unhealthy beliefs and behaviors from my past.

Grief became depression. I was unable to form a sense of who I was and of how I understood the world. I had turned to a scientific and logical view for answers, but it felt arid and soulless. Depression turned into hopelessness. In my lack of connection to myself and others I lost all footing, and soon it became hard to face each day. I sought help in therapy, but it took me deeper into the unresolved pain of my childhood.

I separated from my partner, and spent the next few months alone trying to reconnect with myself. I found new forms of therapy that strengthened my body awareness rather than my thoughts. I reunited with friends and family and shared a more vulnerable side of myself. Little by little I regained joy. I cut off my hair and gave away many of my belongings. I stopped trying to understand everything and instead let my senses lead the way.

The day the earth shook I felt that my journey into the depths of my psyche was ending. I had faced it bravely and my wound had healed. When the earth shook I ran out of my apartment. The lobby floor undulated and I fell across the hallway on my knees. For the first time in years I knew I had to get out. Life was waiting.

 

Awakened ring.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


North Star

No one but you has the ability to find your own North Star and no one but you has the power to keep you from finding it.
— Martha Beck

North Star ring.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


*Urban Dictionary definition: 
North Star: something that is constant and dependable in an ever changing world.


Hummingbird

Stillness
not on the branch
in the air
Not in the air
in the moment
hummingbird
— Octavio Paz

Hummingbird ring.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


Undercurrent

Explore the depths of your soul. 

MUSIBATTY

Undercurrent ring.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop. 


Sunny

As happy as a bug in the sun.

Supercharged ring.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


Wake up Call

That wake up call you have been hearing? Trust that it will lead you towards greater joy.

Awaken ring.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


Art Clay Documentary

Here's a short documentary made by my talented friend, David Haghenbeck, from Focus Cinema and  Wild Film, for the first Art Clay Mexico exhibition. He and his lovely wife and creative partner, Patricia, photographed and filmed me in my Roma apartment in early September.

This is the english translation of the interview:

My name is Jennifer Musi and I am a jeweler.

It has has been 9 years this month since I began to make jewelry. I took a class in a government-run trade school, where I learnt the technical aspects of the trade: how to cut, solder, and learn all the basic skills you need to make jewelry with a few tools and a simple method. 

I began to create from an early age. My mother is an artist, and when my sister and I were little, she showed us how to make things so that we would let her work in peace. She taught us every new medium she learnt. We learnt to make punch rugs, sew, knit, dye fabric and paint. So ever since I was young, making things with my hands has been natural to me.  

I love Art Clay because I was first a painter and a ceramist, and my work as a jeweler is very graphic. Art Clay allows me to draw on a maleable substance and turn it into a piece that is hardened by fire. With my background as a visual artist, it is the perfect medium for me to make jewelry. 

Art Clay registers every mark I make when I draw on a soft rubber mold. It is the best way to faithfully reproduce something. I love that I get to keep every mark I make during the building process: it registers fingerprints or crooked lines, and both can be part of the finished silver piece. I think that those details or “accidents” give life to a handmade object. It’s like when children draw, it’s their looseness and freedom which gives their art such energy and vitality. 

For this show, I made 15 small amulets. Some will later become pendants or rings, but for this exhibition I decided to leave them as small frames. Every piece has a figure; there are animals, objects and people. I like that every one is a symbol: the hand represents peace or protection, animals are the beast within, they are all a part of us. I wanted to create a playful inner world. 


Art Clay Exhibit: Franz Mayer Museum

It was an honor to participate in the first Art Clay exhibit in Mexico City!

The show will be open through Sunday at the Franz Mayer Museum, as part of the Abierto Mexicano de Diseño. 


Amulet 4 and 5

If we’re willing to simply be curious, our true nature starts to reveal itself.
— Lissa Rankin

Amulet 4 and 5.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


Amulet 2 and 3

The beast within is also your teacher.

Amulet 2 and 3.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
 


Amulet 1

Animals and symbols often show up in my dreams. I always ask what they mean to me, because through them, I can get to know deeper parts of my mind. Sometimes they represent fears, but other times, strengths I didn't know I had. 

Amulet 1.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver. 
Soon in my online shop.


Abierto Mexicano de Diseño

I've been away for a while, and I wanted to thank you for your kind comments on Instagram and Facebook. Your encouragement means the world to me!

Since I last wrote, I have so much to be grateful for:

My dad is finally home after a long stint at the hospital

We survived last night's earthquake

It's been 10 years this month since I took my first jewelry class

I sold my 800th piece on Etsy!


I've also had lots of fun making amulets with Art Clay. The group you see here will be exhibited in the Abierto Mexicano de Diseño from October 18-22, in downtown Mexico City. 

I will continue to add to this series next week. Every piece will be available in my online shop. 

Have a wonderful and inspiring weekend!


Art Clay Exhibit

I was invited by Art Clay Silver to design jewelry pieces for this year's Abierto Mexicano de Diseño, an international design festival that promotes Mexican designers and artists. The event will take place in October in several historic buildings in downtown Mexico City. 

Art Clay is a maleable medium that lets me turn my drawings into three dimensions. I'll be working on my proposals all week. I hope I can show you previews!