Welcome, Barefootpony!

Location:

Oregon

About Me:

I am a metalsmith, primarly working with hammer, anvil, torch, and small hand tools. My current interest is in silver/gold metal fusion and the unpredictible results of bringing two metals to melting point. There is that moment when the piece goes liquid...much of the beauty comes from what the metals decide to do. There is a wildness to it.

I love gemstones not only for their beauty, but for their energetic properties. Emeralds, rubies, all colors of sapphires and garnets, earthy stones such as agates, jaspers, sardonyx. I have a special weakness for high quality lapis and turquoise. Lately I have developed an interest in Australian made wood beads from downed wood collected off the forest floor.

Barefoot Pony began in a 1950's Detroit travel trailer parked on 450 acres of rolling Oregon Willamette Valley Oak Savannah. It's origins were in the desire for freedom from the bonds of civilization by living the simple life. The name came to me in the middle of the night....I had started riding my horse barefoot to save on the expense of paying the farrier to shoe every 6-8 weeks. I learned to file my horse's hooves myself and re-roofed my old trailer. I chopped wood for the only source of heat, a small homemade woodstove that had been installed into the trailer, and I carried water every day from the pump up at the barn. My electricity came from running long outdoor power cords down the hillside from the old barn. I had enough electricity to run a few lamps and a radio. I turned everything electric off when I needed to run my Foredom flexshaft so I would not trip the breaker switch.

Riding a barefoot pony and collecting wild greens from the woods gave me the freedom I needed to grow as a person and to live as a craftsperson, waking, eating, sleeping, working and playing when I wanted. Rebellion? Yes indeed!!! It was good. But can any of us truly escape the bonds of civilization? Probably not, but it is possible to walk the boundaries of domestication and wildness, like the barefoot pony.

The spirit of my company is living in freedom, creating beauty from a few simple materials, working creatively with my hands, and deriving inspiration from the sound of the wind in the trees, the cry of hawks at sunset, the hooting of barn owls in the dark of the night.

You can follow me at:
http://twitter.com/Barefootpony
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6777920

Gender:

Gal

I am a/an:

Independent Artist/Designer

(Designers only) I create:

Earrings, necklaces and pendants in sterling silver, .999 fine silver, and 14k gold-fill. My designs are also available in 14k and 18k gold by special request.

I also make one of a kind pieces using precious and semi-precious gemstones.

(Designers only) I am willing to do:

Custom orders

(Designers only) My work is sold at:

Currently I can be found at the Eugene Saturday Market. Soon I will be selling online through Etsy and my own website Barefootpony.com

Website:

http://www.barefootpony.com

Website #2:

http://www.barefootpony.etsy.com