Beach Glass Jewelry

This week I will be introducing my dad, Rick Jackofsky, who has just recently opened up his own Etsy shop: www.BeachGlassJewelry.etsy.com.

The Introduction....
I'm Erica's (FiddleLee's) dad.
"I was born in the wild north land, little house by the river side. Now
I'm livin' on this island, people come and go with the tide . . ."
I've spent the last thirty years living on the fringe, trying not to
get a job. I guess I've been somewhat successful because except for a
couple backslides when I worked as a roughneck (oilfield worker), truck
driver, and short order cook, I've managed to eek out a living as a
musician and photographer. I have been married for 29 years, have two
beautiful daughters and own a little house two blocks from the LI
sound, so I guess I did a little better than eeking out.

Erica: Is there any moment in time when you first became interested in art? Rick: I first became interested in photography when I was twelve years old and found an old camera that one of my dad's old friends left behind when he went underground (I never got the full story on that, it was the '60s). Anyway, that year I got some darkroom equipment for my birthday and the artist within was awoken. When I was sixteen I became more interested in music and would eventually enroll in (and drop out) of Berklee School of Music in Boston. After my freshman year I hit the road with a country rock band, but the band broke up in Kansas. I ended up in Texas, roughnecking and playing bass in a Honky Tonk/Rockabilly band. While in Texas I also went back to school for photography and have since worked as a photojournalist, fine arts photographer (photographing artwork), and lab technician.

Erica: Your Etsy shop is all about beach glass jewelry. What gave you the idea to begin and do you collect the beach glass yourself? Rick: Somewhere along the line I quit smoking and started running. (I'm getting to the beach glass, I promise.) I was a pretty good runner and was able to gain sponsorships from Reebok and Adidas. In 1990, while training with the hope of qualifying for the Olympic marathon trials, I was hit by a bus. (Ouch!) This was a life changing experience. I fractured four vertebrae in my lower back and reevaluated my life. This experience is what led me back to music. I was able to coerce my wife and kids into joining me and we would eventually form The Homegrown String Band, an adventure that over the last eleven years has taken us to seventeen states and seen us release four CDs. Because of the back injury I was forced to limit my running and would soon stop competing. I found I was able to run further if I stuck to soft surfaces like the beach. I began taking long runs on the beach with my faithful companion Grover, a Portuguese water dog. Along the way we would stop and pick up pieces of beach glass. After fifteen years I had accumulated quite a collection. When my lovely wife threatened to throw it away, I decided to make jewelry with it. I made about fifty necklaces and sold them in my photo shop.

Erica: How did you make your way onto Etsy and how does being on Etsy fit in with your job and daily routine? Rick: This week, after twenty one years, I am closing up my photo shop. So now that I'm semi-retired I figured I could while away the hours making jewelry and selling it on Etsy and maybe a craft show here and there.

Erica: Both making jewelry and being an online seller are relatively new experiences for you. Have you gained deeper insight on your work by being a part of an online art/craft community? Is there another level you'd like to reach either as an artist or in selling your work?
Rick: I really feel like I have just been dabbling at this point, but seeing all the wonderful artwork and crafts for sale on Etsy sites has inspired me to come up with some new designs, which hopefully will come together and be available soon. Etsy may also someday become an outlet for my photography now that I have closed my retail store.

Erica: Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Rick: The beach, of course. Wind, water, forces of nature, the Earth's
ability to heal itself.

Erica: What is your personal favorite creation?
Rick: I haven't made it yet.
Erica: Good answer.

More about Rick, the family, and their music can be found by visiting The Homegrown String Band at: www.homegrownstringband.com