Humans of Millbury: Annie
If I were to describe my perfect day off, I would have just come back from a camping trip. Everything is unpacked and clean and our souls are recharged and refreshed. I wake up with kisses from my cat Luka, head downstairs and turn the kettle on to make a fresh cup of tea and while I wait for the water to boil and the tea to steep I sit down and formulate some ideas of things I want to create at my bench. I get this feeling, like an electrical buzz in my hands, full of excitement, nervousness and thrill of endless possibilities! What will today bring?
I come from a family of artists, my dad is painter and printmaker, and my mom is an Author. All my brothers and sisters are into either photography, printing, or filmmaking. We all have that little sprinkle of creativity that has been passed down from my parents. I went to a very art centric high school back home on Cape Cod, that is where I first dabbled with Silversmithing, ceramics, and photography. I went onto college to study Painting and Ceramics, graduated and fell head first into Stained Glass, but my heart always wanted to pick Silversmithing back up. I still love creating with Glass, my favorite part of that process is the metal fabrication, where you solder the lead to fuse the cut glass pieces together…I guess you can say I love molten metal! Year after year I debated purchasing supplies to get back into metal smithing, but I had a hard time justifying picking up yet another medium. I ended up picking up some old tools from a yard sale up the street from our home and told myself, “well, now I’m halfway there!” and took the plunge and ordered some silver and copper sheet to practice with. Turns out, the long list of supplies I needed to get started wasn’t very long at all, and I could get by with small repurposed hand tools. I didn’t need fancy chemicals or torches when all I had to do was search my kitchen for some vinegar and a small bakers butane torch. In fact - I still use my vinegar solution and butane torch today!
I’ve received so many thoughtful and amazing gifts over the years, and I truly always find more joy in giving gifts instead of receiving gifts… but I always look fondly on the memories of Christmas Eve growing up. My little brother and I would be able to open one special gift on Christmas Eve before supper. Now, in most family households Christmas eve gifts include fresh new pajamas or a nice hot chocolate mixture to enjoy that night with your loved ones. However In my family's home, our Christmas eve gift was always a fresh box of crayons (with the sharpener on the back!) and a small stack of fresh blank paper. As the years went on, we always knew what those two small boxes were underneath the tree, but our elation never dwindled! That electric buzz of excitement and thrill of endless possibilities when looking down at that fresh crisp blank paper and a new box of crayons is a feeling I will always cherish throughout my life!
What’s one thing that can instantly make my day better? There are a few things, but my favorite is when I get a message or a comment from someone who has purchased a piece from me in the past. How they love it, or how they gifted it to someone they loved. How they wear it everyday and cherish it, or how they look at it hanging in the window every morning when they eat their breakfast and it puts a smile on their face. It’s such an incredible feeling to know that something I created, something that I brought into this world with my two hands, is loved by someone so much or that they wanted to gift it to someone they loved. A home is a very sacred space, so to think someone welcomed something I created into that sacred space that brings them joy everytime they look at it or wear it, makes my heart flutter. It’s why I do the things I do, so that one day when I am long gone from this planet something I created will still be here, being passed down generations or being cherished by someone else, bringing a smile to someone's face.
Oh man, I listen to a wide range of stuff. You can hear some classic 1960’s jams like Johnny Smith’s smooth jazz guitar to the blast beats of my favorite deathcore band All Shall Perish coming out of my speakers, and everything in between! Music is like art mediums for me, I’ll never be happy with just one type. Each unique style and artist brings a certain vibe to their particular genre, and I’m here for it all!