Artist Bio - Clutch Jewelry

As a third generation native to Phoenix, AZ, young Stacy Eden's world was very small.  Aside from soccer tournaments and camping trips she didn’t get to experience much of what the world had to offer.  

She fled the city for the small mountain town of Flagstaff achieving her BA in English with hopes of world travel and education she grew tired of spending her days reading and writing lengthy structured papers.  

She started taking art classes; just one each semester to keep her sanity.  It was an avenue through which she could immerse herself in a different beautiful place every day.  Two semesters short of graduating she secured a spot in the very crowded ‘Intro to Jewelry’ class and was immediately hooked.  She couldn’t wait for the metalworking studio to open each morning and trained to host open studio time. This allowed her to spend extra hours bringing to life the sketches that would wake her up at night. Fitting, as she would often fall asleep with a sketchbook and pencil next to her bed.

It's in her blood.  Her grandfather is one of the highest rated welders in the world. 

The debut line T R A V E L was inspired by a two month stay with a Costa Rican family.  Experiencing the dirty and dangerous cities, the serene beach towns and the relentlessly positive and poverty stricken people resulted in a gritty yet whimsical line of sterling silver and bronze jewelry.  All the pieces in T R A V E L are named after places Stacy has been or the places she wants to experience in order to expand herself as an artist and a humanitarian.

Her inspiration is momentum; conceptual and physical.  The transience of people and cultures and the flux of nature and our bodies are evident in every piece she creates.   

“Step on the gas and let out the clutch” is what she thinks about every time she is sculpting a piece of jewelry and wonders: is this too abstract; too much; too different? Somehow the answer is always no.

Clutch Jewelry Biography.. a teaser

clutch bio from Marcus Eden on Vimeo.

Winter Street Style

I love my summer look.  Most people are stifled both physically a fashionably by heat.  Not this girl.  I love my mini and high waisted pencil skirts with flowy sheer tops and paper thin graphic tee's and of course my sky high strappy platforms. 


Summer represents escape; playing hookie to hit up any pool we can find or the lake or the river or the creek, eating a late dinner alfresco with the sun setting. Winter means beign trapped in a house and under the covers. 

I would, at all times, prefer to wear as little clothes as possible.  Not just because I'm lazy, or feel like I belong at the beach, or have pretty nice legs and hate the restrictive nature/fragility of tights.  There is a certain amount of effort required in order to look put together in the winter simply because of the number of articles of clothing one must don. No one wants to be the girl sheepishly shivering, huddled by the nearest heater, refusing the jacket of everyone that offers out of a mixture of pride and embarrassment. And I was always that girl.  Until I found The Perfect Coat; it was Jones New York, wool, black, with a modern zipper ( i hate cheap looking plastic buttons).  And it had a hood.  So practical! So toasty warm! So giving me fly-aways like a mother! So I'm falling in love with hats.  And dang it if my cute little beanies aren't much cuter with wavy, romantic, curling-ironed hair that my usual bombshell volume just for volume's sake blowout. And dang it if I didn't start to notice that my coated silhouette looked a lot better with skinny jeans or tights.  All of a sudden, I had a winter style.  It's still not my favorite season, but I am really starting to dig on fun tights.  I blame the coat.  And my new Sam Edelman pumps.

So here's some winter styles that battle the boredom of being cold and too far from the beach...

 We start with shoes because that's how every great outfit starts! It's easier to get away with sweet/bad a** combos in the winter.  And each of these cutesy pairs call for some rocker ripped jeans and a leather jacket.  I never thought I would be down with the socks and heels look, but I implore anyone with a serious shoe fetish to try it.  It doubles your shoe wardrobe and there really are so many cute socks out there...try tights or sheer trouser socks first to ease into it. 

 Winter prints worth wearing! Ski sweaters, meet Native American art.  I think you may like each other..

Over used neon has to be one of my biggest summer pet peeves.  But how could anyone hate on the electric blue, cherry red, and other technicolor pants that are punching up this earth tone dominated season?

 

Skinny jeans, booties, a hole here, an asymmetrical hem there, and a leather jacket that looks vintage and you are a rockstar.  Period.

Artists aren't born, they're just well practiced

The Ones who just sit down

for the very first time

         at the piano

                or

         at the easel

and can just play

          or          

          just paint

from their own imagination;

they aren't the creative ones!

They are savants,

anomalies,

and slightly unlucky.

They will never know the feeling of:

A.) Having the balls to even pursue creative endeavors no matter how many people respond to your new career goals with the phrase; "Don't you have a degree? Maybe you should do something with that..."

B.) Accepting the fact that you, personally, are a copycat hack who hates your own work.

C.) That there might be hope for you yet.

To be an artist is to be obsessed with something you love and know you're no good at....not yet anyway.

For now you enviously glare at another student

as he masters a technique that has been evading you.

You curse your own body, not for its mortality or aesthetics  

but for not moving how you tell it to.

You become a slave, obsessed;

         your desire and dedication actually manifest

and FINALLY

         you create a beautiful curve

         or the perfect color green

        or hit that note just right.

Your giddiness is uncontrollable.

You want everyone else around you to see

        and listen

     and feel the elation of this progression.

When you know you should be bored

        or annoyed

        or over it

        or checking your email

You aren't.

You're compulsively honing a skill

       you never needed

       and always wanted.