Hello lovelies!

I’ve spent countless hours researching, and creating products over the last 2 years, but one question was always on my mind. “How can I create a truly new idea!? Everything has been done!” This is a problem that confounds every artist. How to truly create something new. This post will give a brief explanation of how I managed to come up with my original product - My Copper Wire and Uv Epoxy flower Suncatchers. 

Pick your Medium

First thing you have to do is pick your craft! What do you love to make? Is it painting, sculpting, jewelry, woodworking, or maybe a mix of mediums. Maybe you know what your passion is, or maybe you were like me, and liked making a lot of different things. Take some time to try things out, look through etsy, facebook, you tube, Pinterest and other websites for inspiration. If you find something you think is interesting go and try it out. Once you have the basic principles of your new craft, start thinking of ways to make it better, or more unique.

No artist likes it when they create something original, and then some random person online takes their exact idea, so be unique. If you do recreate an item you’ve seen somewhere, give the original artist credit by siting where you saw it, and thanking them for the inspiration. This keeps the art community peaceful, and creates collaboration. 

You may find yourself try out many different ideas, but don’t be discouraged. When you find the medium that suites you best, you’ll know. While you make your new designs elicit some feedback. Join some facebook groups that relate to your medium, and post your creations. Often those communities are filled with experienced crafters that love to help, like me! Ask questions from the group on how you could make it better. This brings me to the next crucial step, feedback! 

Feedback

Feedback is a big step in developing a skill, and making it better. Getting approval from just friends and family is always going to be biased. They love you, of course they want you to feel good about yourself. As much as we love to share with just our friends, and family, that kind of feedback wont help you grow. You need to be consuming art. Seeing what others are doing, posting what you are working on, and asking questions is the best way to grow into a new craft. I’m always surprised when I get feedback, and realize someone has an idea I’ve never thought of! A supportive group will tell you what is good about what you’ve made, and what can be done better.

Being an artist is hard! Every artist puts their heart and soul into a creation, so sometimes getting feedback can be difficult to hear. Be open minded, and remember that these are people who are just trying to help. If you get a comment that isnt nice, dont let that discourage you. Most groups will kick out any member that is being rude, and many other artists will come to your defense. It’s rare that I get an unhelpful, or rude comment. 

Joining groups is a great way to have a community, gain inspiration, learn from masters, find classes and other groups to join, while growing your own art, and following. If you are looking to sell your products, groups can be a great way to see what people like, and what people arent that excited about. It’s called crowd sourcing, and it’s the best way to grow a small business. My business made huge leaps and bounds when I joined facebook groups, and started posting my art on Pinterest. Facebook groups also helped my facebook company page grow followers. 

Remember, Art is subjective. You can create the most fabulous piece of artwork, and there will always be someone who isnt interested. WHO CARES! Make what you love, and others will love it too. 

Ok, crafter! You’ve found your medium, you’ve taken in the inspiration and the feedback, its time to make something original. 

Let’s Brainstorm!

At this point you know what you like making, you know what others like, you’ve gained inspiration from others work, and its time for you to make something original! Take some time to think about your work. Whats it for? What does it do for you, and others? Does it inspire? Does it decorate a home? Is it something artistic that also has a use? Think about your medium and ask these questions. If you make macrame, do you enjoy making wall hangs that inspire an emotion, or just decorate a room, or both? What about macrame thats both decorative and useful? Can you make a large decorative macrame pouch, with an awesome custom design, that also holds apples? Wine bottles? Could you turn that useful object into an art installation? What if you added forged wood to a wall and hung your custom wine bottles holders from it, wouldnt that make it an art installation that also has a functional purpose?

Let’s say you are a painter, what if you created a painting on canvas that was actually covering a shadow box that could open where people could hide things? You dont have to reinvent the wheel. Art is versatile, and ever changing. If you like your art to just be art, then focus on the emotional element. What are you passionate about? Could you change minds with your art? Could you create a scene that also speaks to your personal passions. For example women’s rights, preservation, starving countries. Art CAN change minds. When you finish your masterpiece, write a post about its significance, about what it stands for, and why you felt the need to make it. Make people engage with your art, question themselves. Art can be just for you, never to be seen by the world, but art is meant to be seen! It needs to be shared. If you are terrified of the idea of sharing your work, create a profile under a pseudonym. Many artists and writers use fake names when sharing their work. It’s ok to not want to be in the public eye. Its about the art, not a name. 

For me, I wanted to create something beautiful with a new style of medium that I didnt commonly see in America. Dip resin flowers. I had seen hair pins and clips with a similar style, but thats not what I wanted to make. I always have had a pull to nature, and try to incorporate nature into all my art. To me, flowers, and butterflies and dragonflies felt like something I could create. So I studied the flower I wanted to make. I studied its anatomy. I looked at pictures of real flowers, and broke them down in my mind until they were discernible steps.

Then I made them, and made them, and made them. I kept challenging myself to see what I could make. I let people challenge me to make their favorite flowers. I did the same thing with dragon flies and butterflies. I looked at the anatomy, broke them down, and made them. I tried different colors, and styles, but something was bothering me. My creations were great, but what was anyone going to do with a random flower? Most people down have vases full of abstract flowers. Why would anyone want to buy them. Dont get me wrong, some people did just because they were pretty, but most didnt. I heard many times “thats gorgeous, I just dont know what I would do with them.” 

I thought, “what could I do with these?” Jewelry! I made them into necklaces, and earrings, and those did get some attention. But, not everyone is the kind of person that wears dragonfly earrings. I know im not. I kept challenging myself, looking for inspiration, researching. Thats when I had an idea. What if I put them on a chain like my father does with his copper rainchains? However, my medium wouldnt do well outside…so it would have to be a window dangle. Is that even a thing? Why yes, past self, it is a thing. I started with making a 3-flower window dangle - my Iris. Look below! 

Delicate flowers with movement and grace, that would sparkle in the sunlight. I made it in a shimmering petal pink, and posted a pic. It sold later that day. I was off to the races! I made more, and got some custom orders, but it was still missing something. Thats the thing with art, it evolves! I had a client who wanted a dangle with 3 Orchids. I had a problem! Orchids are the type of flower that you can dangle from the center like an Iris! I made the flowers, but couldn’t figure out a good way to display them on chain without the flower being impossible to see, or falling forward. Troubleshooting this problem would unknowingly thrust me into my first all original idea. I would set the orchids in a ring. This would make them stay where I wanted them, while also allowing them to spin independently, or be laid against a wall.

This was when my Copper wire and Uv epoxy Suncatchers with prisms were born. My client loved the creation so much she immediately ordered another. From there I went gangbusters. I started making one flower suncatchers in rings, adding more prisms, trying different flowers, different colors and styles. Each one better than the last. I posted them and received amazing feedback. I knew I’d found my niche. 

My suncatchers weren’t just pretty, they cast rainbow colors around the room in the sunlight, they brought joy, light, happiness, and they lead me to another important moment in my development. They were a way to help people grieving. 

Finding the deeper meaning in your art

I’ve always been a huge believer in symbology. The deeper meanings hidden within art throughout history. I’ve always been interested in figuring out why people made what they made, what the deeper meaning was. 

I worked in the medical field for 15 years. Since I was about 18-19 years old. I saw my first death at 19. I remember seeing this man in his 50s suddenly code, and assisted while the doctors and nurses tried to revive him. I watched and thought, “Oh my God, is this it? Am I going to have to see someone die?” I did. I watched in horror as his life slipped away. 17. Years later, and I still cry writing this. It wasn’t the death necessarily that broke my heart, it was what came after. I left his room, and walked towards the elevator. I needed to get out of there. I needed to get outside and let the sun shine on my face, and think about what I had just seen. I got to the elevator, and saw a man holding flowers in one hand, and a little girls hand in the other. I knew it was his family, I could feel it in my bones.

The man’s room who had just passed away was right around the corner from the elevator. They would walk into the room while they were still cleaning him up. They would see the blood on the floor, they would see his body already changing colors. This man had to be his son, and the little girl, his granddaughter. I had to stop them. I moved in front of them, and asked the father “Excuse me, sir. Are you here for room 1257?” His eyes darted towards the room, and then back at me. “Yes, thats my father.” He replied. I think he could see on my face that something horrible had happened. He knew. I nodded silently, affirming his fears. He looked down at the little girl, his daughter with her blonde curls, and 4 year old smile. She was bouncing a little bit, holding her daddy’s hand, as little ones do. “The doctors and nurses are in with him now, they need to talk to you before you go in, but I can take this little lady to the nurses station to wait. She will be able to see the door, and we have lots of crayons and coloring pages!” I smiled at the little one. He looked a bit pale now, and said “ok.” He asked the little girl if she would like that, and she excitedly replied “yes yes!” The door to the mans room was closed as we passed it. I brought the son and his daughter to the nurses station. All the staff knew what had happened in room 1257. I didn’t need to explain. As the son got the little one settled a nurse slipped out of the room, and I quickly spoke with her. She looked over to the son and the little girl and nodded saying “thank you for stopping them, ill take care of it from here.” Im sure I still looked visibly shook. I went back to the son and told him the nurse was on her way. He said thank you, and I quietly said “Im sorry,” and walked away. I noticed his hand that once held the Bouqet of flowers up by his chest was now limply being held in his hands upside down, flowers facing the floor. His whole body language was different. His shoulders slumped a bit, his face pale and tense, as if he was bracing for impact. 

I never made it outside. I got into the elevators with an urgency I didnt know I had within me. I made it to the first floor, and ran to a bathroom. I found a stall, closed the door, leaned my back against a wall, a quietly cried. 

There is something they teach you when you work in a hospital. “Someone else’s loss is not your moment.” Meaning, when someone dies, and a loved one is in the room, you dont cry, you dont do anything to take away from their moment. It’s not about you. You have to be strong, you cant fall to pieces, and sob your eyes out. They need you to be strong. They need you to be in control. It’s their moment. Not yours. 

You learn to take the grief in. Hold it. Eat it, and it becomes part of you. You learn to compartmentalize. Save it to “deal with” later and focus on the cold facts in the moment. So many of us never deal with it later. I was 19. My friends had never seen someone die in front of them. When I told them what had happened I received “woah! Thats crazy! You saw an actual dead body!” No, I saw a father, a grandfather, a husband. I saw a son’s worst day, and a grandchild that will never really get to know her grandfather. I saw a tragedy. I saw loss. I saw pain. There is a frustration that builds being a health care worker at 18. Seeing death at 19, and more and more death after. My Co-workers were all in their 50s. This was a second or 3rd career for them. A retired police officer, and ex architect, many co workers worked other medical fields before coming to mine. They had seen things, experienced things. They had friends and loved ones who would understand. I didnt. My co workers were already desensitized to death, and had no patience for a teenager who had never seen it. Some enjoyed watching me struggle to cope with it. Challenging me to give up, jealous of my age and innocence. I learned quickly to suck it up, but I didnt stop feeling for my patience.

I refused to become cold and callous. If there was even one small thing I could do for a grieving loved one I did it. If that meant taking the kids to color in another room, or letting a patients family member cry on my shoulder, I did it. I held hands, I brought juice and crackers, played with kids. Sometimes its the little things that people need the most. 

Im proud to say I still have a soul. Even now I think to myself about the little girl. She must be 21 now! I wonder if she remembers that day. I wonder how the son coped, and if he as able to keep it together for his daughter after I left. Every life has meaning, and impact on the world. Every single life. I wont forget the man, he lives on in me. Now, he lives on in you. Even a death can have impact, and legacy. You just have to tell the story.  I tell the story in my art. In my words. In poetry. I name each piece I make after something of significance. There may only be 2 people that read this, but thats 2 more people who know him. Who now know me. 

It’s because of this story that I started to make these suncatchers not only as a beautiful piece of art, but as tools for those grieving. The flower symbolizes a life, the ring represents the family around them, and the prism is to remind the loved one once a day that when the sun shines in, and the rainbow light dances around the room, that their loved one is with them, all around them, surrounding them with love, and peace. 

This is my contribution to the world. My legacy in art. This is how I honor the dead, and try to do some good for the living. Let your work be more than art. Find your passion, find your cause, and you’ll find your original design. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope it helped in some way. Feel free to share your story, or leave a comment. Feel free to my story if you’d like. 15 years in healthcare brought joy, pain, sorrow, laughter, and everything in between, but in my heart, I’ve always been, and will always be - An Artist. 

I go by Elle Cohen online, but my name is Lynsey Harris. If there is something custom I can make for you, let me know. Visit me on FB for tips, tutorials, new products, and sneak peeks! Search Wisp and Willows Co. 
Or visit me on insta & TikTok - Wisp_and_Willows_  

Remember to always let the rainbow light in…