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You know the feeling…
You may be here because of it. I'm here because of it. You try to breathe but your throat closes off as your swelling heart seems like it is going to explode. You can’t finish your breath, but you get lighter as your chest swells anyway. The skin behind your ears gets all bunched up… Silly, unrestrained, shit-eatin’ grin. Pure, spontaneous, unrestrained joy. Like when something you hoped very hard for really is happening. Sometimes you don’t hope for it at all and it happens anyway. Maybe it’s your first solo flight after a year of scraping enough money for flight training. Maybe you got that promotion or maybe you own the company that just got the contract that will make your year. Maybe it’s the first sunset you see on the beach of your dreams, and you get another two weeks of them. Or your first mountain top…or your 100th. Or maybe it just comes upon you. Seemingly out of nowhere. These are the moments for which we live. You are smiling so big it becomes infectious. I remember walking across campus 45 years ago after nailing my “perfect” schedule for the semester. I had that feeling. And as I walked I noticed a particularly fetching young lady bouncing the feeling back at me with a grin as big as mine. It was a briefly passing moment but satisfying enough that we just as well had made passionate love all night. I hope it was as good for her as it was for me. It is moments like this of which I speak. |
Gary Dawson offers complete jewelry services tailored to your needs.
Gary Dawson presenting at the Santa Fe Symposium on Jewelry Manufacturing Technology
I am honored to have my work recognized by the SFS!
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I also teach CAD design!
Here's my educational site, Rhino Jewelry CAD.
Here's my educational site, Rhino Jewelry CAD.
My Grandad showing me proper tractor handling! :)
The Backstory
I didn’t initially choose to be a designer and goldsmith...it chose me!
I was going to be a lawyer…But after I’d rented my apartment in Eugene to attend the U of O in a pre-law program I got the news. Lucky 14 was my draft number so I lost my deposit on the apartment and spent the next two years in the army.
Fortunately, the conflict du-jour, what is called in the USA the Vietnam war, was winding down so I did not have to go there during my service term. And somehow, after the experience of being drafted I just didn’t have the same urge to become a lawyer as I thought I had in high school. I spent some time drifting through a liberal-arts degree at the U of O, wondering where I would end up. A friend talked me into taking a jewelry class.
It took some coaxing, he pestered me for a couple of terms, but I finally relented and ended up in the classroom of my mentor, Max Nixon. This time the luck was real, Max changed my life. Or perhaps he allowed me to change my own life, find my home. I found that I felt at home making things.
The back-backstory here is that my first paying job (at age 12) was sweeping the floor in a machine shop in my hometown of Riddle, OR. That segued into a work-study program in high-school and eventually to summer jobs working at Hannah Nickel Mine, near Riddle, as a welder. So when I began this jewelry making class, I had a fairly deep background in some forms of metalworking. Once I finally went to the U of O, I may have been a tiny bit more mature than many of the beginning freshmen students, having been in the Army (as a Military Policeman) so Max encouraged me set up a home workshop and proceed to where my heart seemed to be taking me…making jewelry!
While learning the jewelry trade I still wanted a well-rounded education and after participating in the Psychology Dept. for several years, I switched to a focus on Anthropology and retain a deep interest in the topic. Cultures, and the people within them fascinate me. How people interact with the objects in their lives is determined by both culture and personality and for me somehow this all ties into my process of making meaningful custom jewelry for people.
I clearly remember…
…selling my first ring, sitting on the sidewalk outside of Old Taylors on 13th St. in Eugene, OR. It sold for $4 and I think I probably used a buck fifty of it to buy myself a celebratory beer. I know I used the rest to buy more silver. That would have been sometime in 1975 and I have been designing, manufacturing and selling custom precious metal and gemstone jewelry ever since.
I soon found the Portland, OR Saturday Market to be a viable venue for my burgeoning business. While still living in Eugene, I commuted most weekends for over 8 years, eventually gaining a position on the board of directors of that market. I also ventured out to national level art and craft shows and gained recognition while continuing to develop my local clientele by opening a retail shop in Eugene, Goldworks Jewelry Art Studio. Continuing my involvement in the broader Northwest Arts Community as president of the Board of Directors of what was then called the Northwest Crafts Alliance (now Northwest Art Alliance), based in the Puget Sound area, I also helped to expand the “Best of the Northwest” show from a single venue to additional venues while building Goldworks into a prominent position in the Eugene arts community.
As my children grew it became more difficult to take my business on the road. I moved my business to downtown Eugene and dug in on Broadway, operating at that location for over 12 years as sole owner. As that business prospered I realized I was becoming a business manager rather than the artist/craftsperson that I wanted to be. So in 2010 I sold the Brick & Mortar store to Erin Murphy, who continues to operate on Broadway in Eugene. I love what I do so much I will never retire in the way that many do. I plan to continue to work closely with people to design articles of jewelry as long as I possibly can. I find working in precious metals and gem materials that reflect my clients various tastes and desires to be both challenging and rewarding.
Gary Dawson Designer/Goldsmith: Creating Unique Jewelry
I have an intimate familiarity with both the materials with which I work and the process of working with people to create meaningful designs. These passions, and my interest in utilizing appropriate technology to manage my business and connections, inform my current business model.
I didn’t initially choose to be a designer and goldsmith...it chose me!
I was going to be a lawyer…But after I’d rented my apartment in Eugene to attend the U of O in a pre-law program I got the news. Lucky 14 was my draft number so I lost my deposit on the apartment and spent the next two years in the army.
Fortunately, the conflict du-jour, what is called in the USA the Vietnam war, was winding down so I did not have to go there during my service term. And somehow, after the experience of being drafted I just didn’t have the same urge to become a lawyer as I thought I had in high school. I spent some time drifting through a liberal-arts degree at the U of O, wondering where I would end up. A friend talked me into taking a jewelry class.
It took some coaxing, he pestered me for a couple of terms, but I finally relented and ended up in the classroom of my mentor, Max Nixon. This time the luck was real, Max changed my life. Or perhaps he allowed me to change my own life, find my home. I found that I felt at home making things.
The back-backstory here is that my first paying job (at age 12) was sweeping the floor in a machine shop in my hometown of Riddle, OR. That segued into a work-study program in high-school and eventually to summer jobs working at Hannah Nickel Mine, near Riddle, as a welder. So when I began this jewelry making class, I had a fairly deep background in some forms of metalworking. Once I finally went to the U of O, I may have been a tiny bit more mature than many of the beginning freshmen students, having been in the Army (as a Military Policeman) so Max encouraged me set up a home workshop and proceed to where my heart seemed to be taking me…making jewelry!
While learning the jewelry trade I still wanted a well-rounded education and after participating in the Psychology Dept. for several years, I switched to a focus on Anthropology and retain a deep interest in the topic. Cultures, and the people within them fascinate me. How people interact with the objects in their lives is determined by both culture and personality and for me somehow this all ties into my process of making meaningful custom jewelry for people.
I clearly remember…
…selling my first ring, sitting on the sidewalk outside of Old Taylors on 13th St. in Eugene, OR. It sold for $4 and I think I probably used a buck fifty of it to buy myself a celebratory beer. I know I used the rest to buy more silver. That would have been sometime in 1975 and I have been designing, manufacturing and selling custom precious metal and gemstone jewelry ever since.
I soon found the Portland, OR Saturday Market to be a viable venue for my burgeoning business. While still living in Eugene, I commuted most weekends for over 8 years, eventually gaining a position on the board of directors of that market. I also ventured out to national level art and craft shows and gained recognition while continuing to develop my local clientele by opening a retail shop in Eugene, Goldworks Jewelry Art Studio. Continuing my involvement in the broader Northwest Arts Community as president of the Board of Directors of what was then called the Northwest Crafts Alliance (now Northwest Art Alliance), based in the Puget Sound area, I also helped to expand the “Best of the Northwest” show from a single venue to additional venues while building Goldworks into a prominent position in the Eugene arts community.
As my children grew it became more difficult to take my business on the road. I moved my business to downtown Eugene and dug in on Broadway, operating at that location for over 12 years as sole owner. As that business prospered I realized I was becoming a business manager rather than the artist/craftsperson that I wanted to be. So in 2010 I sold the Brick & Mortar store to Erin Murphy, who continues to operate on Broadway in Eugene. I love what I do so much I will never retire in the way that many do. I plan to continue to work closely with people to design articles of jewelry as long as I possibly can. I find working in precious metals and gem materials that reflect my clients various tastes and desires to be both challenging and rewarding.
Gary Dawson Designer/Goldsmith: Creating Unique Jewelry
I have an intimate familiarity with both the materials with which I work and the process of working with people to create meaningful designs. These passions, and my interest in utilizing appropriate technology to manage my business and connections, inform my current business model.