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“A Career Of Discovery”

  by Richard Paille

In Seattle, spring’s in full bloom. Cherry blossoms, daffodils & new leaves on bare winter branches are natures colors in Seattle this time of year. Sitting at my jeweler’s bench I can hardly wait till summer thinking about house projects I want to accomplish & streams I want to fish.

The jewelry business has been my profession for 40 years. It's been a career full of “new” with adventures, discoveries, interesting friendships & continual learning. I've seen places I'd only read about in books during my school years, met customers who have become life long friends & shared experiences doing what I love with other people who feel the same way.

Last fall I went mushroom hunting in western Oregon with friends. Finding my first wild Chanterells was awesome. There’re great eating too!   

A few years ago I was in Australia shooting a documentary on opal mining. That 3-month adventure in the opal fields gave me a real appreciation of how elusive success is trying to find “color.” I found a bit of rough opal myself I keep as a memento of my discovery. 



Getting involved in Black Pearl farming in the South Pacific changed my focus in jewelry & re-inspired my creativity. On a pearl farm opening oysters brings a ‘surprise discovery’ in each shell.

From mushrooming to jewelry making to meeting new people & learning new things each has        enriched my life and led to new discoveries.

Today my focus is teaching jewelry making & passing along what I’ve been lucky to have personally experienced. Helping others as they study jewelry making & sharing some of their discoveries, while they learn, is a reward hard to describe.

We know technology makes living easier but I believe it's the “Joy of Discovery” that helps make life ‘worth living.’

Discovery is part of art, it's part of learning, it’s part of growing. Getting involved in something, pursuing an interest, staying curious & asking questions... that’s a Big part of living too.

What I tell students, “Learn Something New, Make Something New, Discover Something New.”

I believe it's what we "do" that defines us.

 

I did not find the opal in this pendant but while making the piece I recalled many memories of that trip.

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