#sparkchamber 022618 — Halli Dorcas
Today, the #sparkchamber welcomes jewelry designer Halli Dorcas. Halli works in and studies ancient jewelry techniques, Chase and Repoussé, Granulation, and Enameling. [In case you’re curious what that is] She believes in completely hand-fabricated jewelry — “I put my heart and soul in every piece. I make every piece to be a family treasure for generations.” You can see her wondrous work at Halli Dorcas Bespoke Jewelry on Facebook, and at her Etsy shop.
Halli home schools, and lives and works with her musician husband, painter daughter, and two dogs at their home in Dallas, TX.
1.] Where do ideas come from?
I seriously have no idea most of the time. I got way into Mythology for a while, and it showed in my work. I really have to train my mind to stay focused on one line [ideas for multiple jewelry designs that are cohesive] at a time. I did go to the Dallas Zoo just recently, and now all that’s been on my mind is animals. I woke up this morning with a Sloth bracelet I have to make.
2.] What is the itch you are scratching?
To put into reality the dream that is in my head. It’s never quite perfect. If I stopped working I would never get better, become a master of my craft. I have the deep need to be able to have an idea and make it perfectly. It’s never happened, but I know one day, maybe just on one piece in my life, it will happen. I will create an extraordinarily magnificent piece.
3.] Early bird or night owl, tortoise or hare?
I prefer the night, but to be honest, I don’t get as much done near as fast. I am so much faster and more precise with my work early in the morning. Wake up about 5:30, pray for 15 minutes then straight to work for about 3 hard hours. I work from home. It seriously is amazing how productive I am! In the evenings, I tend to overthink pieces I’m working on and go back and forth with ideas.... wasting time.
4.] How do you know when you are done?
In my line of work, Chasing and Repoussé, it’s critical to know when I’m done. I’ll end up tearing holes in my silver or gold. I used to put things away and have many multiple projects going on at a time, but found that was taking up space in my head, so I forced myself to finish everything. Now I just force myself to finish and really get a “feeling.” The piece kinda tells me it’s done.