An Interview with Cynthia Ray, Artisan Jeweler

Ever feel stifled by your career? You may love your job, but find that you don't useyou're your special talents. Maybe your investment bank job isn't indulging your passion for musical theater; or perhaps your career as an accountant has left your dancing shoes gathering dust.

Born and raised in Philly, Cynthia Ray practiced law before moving into real estate development. Both fine and upstanding professions, and not bad money either (Cha-ching!) But Cynthia had a dirty little secret nobody knew. She wasn't a gambler, or drinker. She wasn't spy or thief. Cynthia Ray was an artist. Her craft? Artisan jewelry. Ms. Ray spoke to Associated Content about her passion for fashion.

AC: When did you realize you had some artistic dreams that needed to be explored?
Cynthia Ray: I've always had a creative nature, and for years I looked for an outlet. As you can imagine, the practice of law is not very conducive to fostering the pursuit of artistic expression.

AC: Why artisan jewelry?
Cynthia Ray: I wanted to do something purely artistic. I've always been drawn to jewelry, fascinated by the detail that many artists put into pieces. About a year ago, I found myself almost unconsciously sketching out jewelry designs. So, I figured, I have got to try this!

AC: How did it develop into a business?
Cynthia Ray: I started making jewelry and had dozens of pieces laying around the house. My husband suggested that other people would like them and, maybe even buy them. Voila, Tangled Up In Blue was born!

AC: What do you enjoy about this work?
Cynthia Ray: You can incorporate almost any medium into jewelry designs. You can use many different types of materials. You can incorporate everything from precious metals, stones, and fibers, to art glass, nuts, shells and wood. I have plans to start doing some altered art pieces which incorporate things like antique skeleton keys, coins and antique watch parts into the designs. I'm also going to start using natural brass filigree parts which have a great vintage look and can be shaped into settings for stones. The possibilities are endless.

AC:Describe the process that goes into the creation of each piece...
Cynthia Ray: I look for materials that appeal to me in color, shape and texture. When I start a piece, I begin with a general color scheme or idea of what materials I want to use. Then, I take out a bunch of stuff that may fit the bill and throw it all to see which materials work best together. Once I've narrowed it down the materials that I am going to use, I start working on designing the piece. The design process is very fluid and just sort of evolves out of the materials. I name all of my pieces, so sometimes I start with the name, like "Pieces of Sky" or "Grecian Urn" and design around the name. Sometimes the name comes to me while I'm designing the piece. A lot of my pieces can't be repeated because they incorporate handmade lampwork glass beads that I can only get in limited quantities. So, the beads themselves are actually unique in and of themselves.

AC: What inspires your work?
Cynthia Ray: The names of my designs are very important and dictate to a large degree what the piece will end up looking like. I draw the names from music, people, places and things that inspire me. I've taken names from song titles like "Tangled Up In Blue" or "Golden Slumbers", from prominent people or historical figures like "Norma Jean", "Cleopatra" and "Mata Hari", from exotic locales like "Santorini" and "Tangiers" and even mythical images like "Fountain Of Youth" and "Forbidden Fruit". ended up giving me a list about four pages long. That kept me busy for a pretty long time.

AC: Where would you like to take your craft next? What's your next goal?
Cynthia Ray: I have already started working on is lampworking my own art glass beads. Lampworking consists of sitting in front of a torch with an open flame and melting colored glass rods onto a heated metal rod. You keep turning the metal rod with the molten glass on it in the flame and, eventually, it forms into a bead. After it is annealed in a kiln, the bead is removed from the metal rod and is ready for use. There are amazing possibilities with this technique and I have seen beads made by some glass artists that would knock your socks off. It's like looking into a tiny glass universe.

AC:I don't know much about jewelry, but I'd love to get my girlfriend something for her birthday...Suggestions?

Cynthia Ray: If you are looking for something like you would see on Jeweler's Row, then you're not going to find in it my repertoire. But if you want a unique, lovingly made and totally original piece of art with interesting components and detail, then I think you will appreciate my work. I am very into making earrings, and they are a great first piece to buy and are relatively inexpensive. Most of my customers start with earrings and end up coming back for more.

Tangled Up In Blue Can In Blue Designs can be viewed and purchased at:

http://stores.ebay.com/TANGLED-UP-IN-BLUE-BOUTIQUE