Cassie Johnson

Artist Statement

2011

            I think there’s a kind of magic that happens when I’m starting to make a new piece of jewelry; it’s like I am helped along the way by these influential elements that are not entirely in my control. There’s an excitement and trust in that and it makes every design unique. I try to keep an organic feel in every piece, while still being able to vary them from more delicate and airy designs to the more solid and compact ones. After a piece is finished I love the possibilities of sharing it with people, hoping to see them connecting with it.

My art is a product of my past and my emotions. I always keep in mind that what I’m doing now is directly connected to growing up surrounded by amazing people and nature. For example when I’m creating a piece of jewelry, I’m immediately brought back to when I used to play dress up with my grandmother’s jewelry. I think about that antique heirloom quality and I put that into my jewelry by giving it an elegant and classic look as well as giving it a patina to make it look older.  My piece “Serena” expresses this with its draping pearls and elegant lines that are anchored by these intricately detailed castings.

I am almost always ruled by my emotions and so I love creating art because, as cliché as it sounds, it makes me happy. When I’m soldering or starting the design of a new piece, I am truly “in the zone” and focusing solely on the task at hand. It’s meditative since all the troubles and stresses of the rest of my life are forgotten, for the time, and I can be in the moment. I figure if life’s about the pursuit of happiness then I’m damn well going to do what makes me happy.