September's Student Feature: Cindi Hendrickson of Creative Habits

Cindi Hendrickson is a wire student of mine (and many other teachers) that I have been watching for quite some time. She has the unique ability to take what she learns from one design and turn it into something more than it was ever meant to be in the beginning. Though she has only been working with wire for about a year, she has developed amazing skills and has an excellent eye for design.

Here is what Cindi has to say about herself and her work:

"I was trained in the visual arts (High School for the Performing and Visual Arts-Houston), where I learned design, drawing, weaving, ceramics, and metalsmithing (the metalsmithing I have forgotten!)

"I quit making art for many years; attended college; obtained two degrees. Now, I am a high school science teacher. Despite not "making" art, I found myself needing a creative outlet in my life. I have designed clothing for myself and family; faux painted walls in the house; created a native plant garden; and scrapbooked.

"I started beading jewelry about 10 years ago and discovered wire one year ago. I took a class on setting a cab in wire and that was all it took to have me completely addicted and wanting to create more complicated pieces. I have a love of gemstones (and a background in geology) and have most of my stones cut by one person. I started to attend art shows two years ago and now am attempting to jury into the better shows with my wire pieces.

"I am still a novice and am learning as much as I can. My goal is to re-learn metalsmithing by taking classes at the local college (or at the Glassell School). Hopefully, I can retire from academic teaching and start to share my craft with others by teaching wire classes."








"I think of myself as a stone-talker. My passion is working with interesting cabochons and letting the stone dictate how the wire will embrace the cab. I decided that calling myself a "stone whisperer" would engender too many teasing comments from friends, colleagues, and foes!"

You can see more of Cindi's work on her web-site, Creative Habits.

All images in this blog post are the sole property of Cindi Hendrickson.