ii. I do this creative work because it’s what I am naturally drawn to. I love the process and and the art of making jewellery.

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iii. Personal qualities that help me in my work:

I was a tree planter for 17 years. It taught me how to work hard, really hard. From the jewellery production point of view, I can sit at my bench and tackle what might seem to many as a monstrous pile of work. With planting , you can’t get out of really bad land until it’s done…..with jewellery, nobody else is going to file those edges or polish it…..so you just have to keep going until it’s finished.

I love to experiment. I love to play around with metal, trying different techniques and approaches to see what it will do. I allow myself quite a bit of creative freedom. On one hand it’s amazing because I’m never upset with how something finishes because I don’t have a strict set of rules…. on the other hand it’s why I am terrified of custom work and don’t like to do it- I’m not very good at following the rules.

iv. The greatest challenges around doing this work are:

For me, it’s the business side of things. The creative process comes naturally to me.  If all I had to do was make things and not worry about paperwork, deadlines, applications etc. it would be perfect.

v. Creative childhood hobbies:

When I was a child I loved baking. I would make cakes and decorate them with wildflowers ….. actually I still love to make huge crazy cakes and decorate them.

I also used to love sewing. I went to sewing lessons and made pyjamas with way too much lace and ruffles everywhere.

I also went through this glass painting phase but we don’t really want to talk about that…

vi. Other creators who inspire you:

My mother Is my greatest inspiration and the reason I ended up as an artist. My mother oozes creativity and talent in all aspects of her life. From cooking a meal, decorating our house, painting, stained glass and incredible gardens…. everything my mother does is a creative endeavour. If I can bring even a fraction of the beauty into this world that my mother has I will have succeeded.

vii. Training that has helped me succeed in this career:

I started making jewellery in India. I studied in a small town called Pushkar. It was called the Ravi school jewelry, and it changed the course of my life.

I also studied for two years in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico with a man named Billy King.  Billy lives his life outside of the box, he pushes boundaries and breaks all the rules. Billy is wild and a wonderfully gifted teacher.

viii. The biggest myth about this type of work is…I don’t know if this a myth,  but making jewellery is really dirty. In the end we get these beautiful tokens for adorning ourselves with the process to get there it’s filled with dust grit and grime. I often chuckle to myself when I look in my studio mirror because I am covered head to toe in dust and rouge.

ix. If you want to work in my field:

I would get on a plane to head to Mexico and study with Billy King.

x. A professional goal I have is:

I want to improve upon my stone setting skills so that I can have the confidence to take on larger projects.

xi. If you want to see my work go to:

Instagram @KatCadegan_jewellery or katcadegan.com

www.creatorsvancouver.com