I am a recovering addict and the California-based artist behind this work. I created this work to heal myself. All of my work is centered around recovery, so you'll find that my work is about the Serenity Prayer, sobriety anniversaries or sober birthdays, recovery slogans and the AA unity symbol.
As a person in recovery, I am continually inspired by the ability of individuals to heal themselves, not only of addiction, but of many self-perpetuating conditions they may be trapped in. My artwork began with my love of the Serenity Prayer. To me, the Serenity Prayer represents the inner core of recovery. It has helped countless people cope with the disease of addiction or medical conditions and build inner strength. For many, this prayer is their recovery mantra.
When I first entered recovery, I relapsed several times. I felt like I wanted to give up and accept my fate as a pathetic addict. But something inside me although buried deep, wanted to escape that monkey on my back called addiction, so I keep trying. To help remind myself of my priority of staying clean no matter what, I started making homemade bangles. They were much cruder versions of the ones I sell today. I used to heat-form pieces of acrylic rods and handwrite the Serenity Prayer on the underside of the bangle. I took to wearing them every day and only took them off at bedtime. The first thing I did when I woke up in the morning and struggled with another day of staying clean, was put on my serenity bangles.
Later on, I branched out into making pendants, paperweights, and now I've introduced a new line of metal jewelry for both men and women. Some of my pieces are customized to celebrate sober birthdays. Many of my pieces are completely hand cast using my own handmade molds. Others are hand-etched using a vintage 19th technique using my original artwork. These pieces are one-of-a-kind, exclusive designs not be be found anywhere in the recovery community gift market. I put a lot of myself in each piece knowing that it will belong to someone who is either struggling in recovery or celebrating another day of sobriety. Please have a look at some of my work or read my blog.
Stephanie P.
