From the Blog

Dear Friends,

I am announcing with a heavy heart that Jeanine Payer, Inc. as we know it will be closing on January 1st of 2014, which is the right decision at this time.

The poetry that surrounds us here has a magical effect.  We hear innumerable stories from you that are inspiring, transformative and moving; always so personal, as the work we create is to all of us.  I am and always will be uplifted by these stories, both happy and sad, and the fact that you chose to commemorate events, milestones and celebrations for yourselves and for your loved ones with just the right design and passage.  We recognize how meaningful this company and the jewelry we make are to so many of you.  It is very special to all of us as well and we will miss it terribly!

Love is where the art starts, and I am at a place in my life where, as a mother of a six year old, I want to put my heart and soul into raising my son.   I am not sure what the future will hold, and I am keeping the door open to possibilities regarding this work that I so love and to the poetry that inspires it. For the time, it is important for me to focus inward and on my family to create a space for future creative/artistic outlets.

As hard as it has been to write this, right now I am feeling a tremendous amount of gratitude for your loyalty and support and for all the incredible people who have worked here with me over these past 25 years.
 

With much love and my deepest thanks,

Jeanine Payer

Every blue moon Jeff and I get to go to the Opera.  Last night we saw an extraordinary version of Mephistopheles at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House.

The angels were spectacular.  As was Ildar Abdrazakov, as Mephistophele himself, serving up evil with his massive voice, shirtless no less.  You are warned in the program to expect 'Nudity and suggestive behavior'.  This is putting it mildly as I have never seen such creepy, fake nudity in my life. It was like Barnum and Bailey Circus meets Hieronymus Bosch but with fantastic party hats.  Funny there are no pictures AT ALL anywhere on the opera website of any of the nude revelers.  Or I would have posted.  Here you can hear a bit

This is just before Maestro Nicola Luisotti enters.  Watching him is just as enthralling as the actual opera.

The downstairs bar reminds me of The Shining. Everyone in suits and tuxedos, all ages represented. Everyone looks like a ghost from any given time.  Ladies with gilded hats, big jewelry from the 80's, capes on men. You literally cannot tell what decade we are in when you are down here.

Master printer, book maker and founder of Greentree Press, Jack Stauffacher is a American National Treasure.  Today he came in wearing a suite of camel linen,a  silk scarf and bowtie.  When I thanked him for wearing the fresh flower in his lapel he said, 'It really does make the difference.'  At 94 he is still thriving and working everyday in his space, full of ephemera, antique wood block lettering and his own type faces he designed in the 50's.  He is working with his team to archive his materials to eventually go to Berkeley. The day I  moved my studio into the building I poked into his space to introduce myself. He not only showed me around his space but he out of the blue gave me an original print from his show at MOMA and signed it, as a welcome to the building.  It is a treasure to me and I keep it up on my board where it serves as an inspiration. 

Currently I am working on a set of letters to be worn around the neck.  Lord knows there are tons of versions of letter necklaces but I am inspired by Jack's work and I am making them in the spirit of a time before digital fonts, a time when letters were hand drawn and hand cut.  I am looking to create a grain, a hand, imperfections not unlike the antique wood cut letters from antiquity.   The first few letters I have made are in the traditional and clean Gill Sans.  They are off to the caster and I cannot wait to get them back next week. 

the moon is captured in the distance above.

My cousin Lee is obsessed with photographing night blooming cactus flowers.   The amazing thing is that he is using the most rudimentary equipment to capture such cinematic and poetic beauty. When I was visiting he gave me a tour of all the cactus at his house and I got the lowdown on how he captures them on the one and only night when they bloom.  They are spectacular. I begged him to send me some images to put on the mood board. 

Rachele teaches yoga throughout San Francisco, in addition to engraving for Jeanine Payer. This is an entry taken from her blog on www.rachelelovesyoga.com. See additional engraving/Jeanine Payer references on her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/rachelelovesyoga. 

On some days, during the day, I engrave jewelry for Jeanine Payer (www.jeaninepayer.com). This is one of the tiniest things I've had to engrave; earrings called "Nina." The quote on them reads, "In stillness the world is restored." -Lao Tzu

My mom calls me "quick." Meaning, quick-tempered, quick to react, quick to respond, quick to make light of something, quick to judge, quick to draw conclusions, quick to basically, run my mouth off. (Ironically, she also used to tell me that she could build a fire underneath me and I wouldn't move fast enough... so, go figure!) And according to Bruce Lee (no relation! ha ha), "A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough." So, I struggle with these challenges in my temperament on a daily basis.

In yoga, we move into stillness, fluidly, from one pose to the next. A moving meditation, a slow dance with pauses, movements linked to breath. Yoga encouraged me to slow down and feel. And one of my favorite things to do is to notice the tiny, subtle adjustments I can make to my own body as I move into stillness. This is where all the "quickness" in my actions dissolve, and where peace floods over me.

Engraving offers me a similar peace of mind. A moving meditation through the act of hand writing, a concentration of the mind on the mantras so thoughtfully chosen to be imprinted, forever. And while I engrave, I breathe, and I find fluidity in my movements, in the feeling of metal upon metal, and in the constant buzz that moves into the background of my thinking. Engraving has become a kind of yoga for me. I feel it's no mistake my art background brought me around to this.

Gaining a sense of control over our feelings and reactions takes courage and insight at the very least. For me, I practice yoga, or I work to create with my hands, and it brings me joy. When I teach, I wish this for everyone.

"The last of the human freedoms is to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances." -Viktor Frankl

Rachele teaches yoga throughout San Francisco, in addition to engraving for Jeanine Payer. This is an entry taken from her blog on www.rachelelovesyoga.com. See additional engraving/Jeanine Payer references on her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/rachelelovesyoga.