About
Born out of necessity
Born of necessity, Moon Goddess Minerals has carried me through a very important transition in my life. For those that know me and my family, you know my military history, the neglect and medical issues that lead me onto a path of self discovery and healing. For those that don't know, I was injured while serving in the US army in 2004. I fell from an obstacle about 25 ft high, my head broke my fall and my lower c-spine shattered, impacting my spinal cord. I came out of surgery with zero paralysis after a prognosis of either a bodybag or wheelchair.
Today, 20 years later, I'm living a life I remember wishing for. I remember having a wish where I wanted to stay home and make jewelry that people would absolutely love and I'd get to share it with all of them. Of course, back when this wish was made I was doing simple beading projects and had just started exploring jewelry making. It would take 20 years until I had proper exposure to silversmithing (I had tried working with PMC as a kid and nearly blew up my bedroom).
Between that initial interest and now, I dove into jobs that were necessary. The army injury left me with a TBI, retaining new information, especially complex information, was nearly impossible and created alot of stress and frustration in my daily life. Because of this, I wasn't able to keep jobs very long, my longest was maybe a year. It all came to a head at one work place and after an incident with a supervisor, he screamed at me in a way similar to a drill sergeant after I confided in him about the mistreatment I endured while enlisted. I never worked outside of my home again. The VA finally gave me my benefits after fighting with them for so long.
April 2023 I took my first silversmithing class. It was offered for free to veterans at a local art school and I was fortunate enough to get one of the eight available seats. I was overwhelmed with anxiety the first week, it was my first time in this type of environment with other veterans. Quickly, the space became a safe haven for me.
Once I got the hang of things, my mind exploded! At least it felt that way! I was so eager to get into jewelry class each week. The 3 hour night classes were a week apart and I was learning so much. I was retaining the information, too! It's been a year and a half since that first jewelry class and I'm finally confident enough to offer my first pieces to you.
I call this venture Echo, as I revisit the joys of my past and reimagine them into wearable art to enjoy today! I now have a small workspace in my home office that I am slowly growing with your support!
I'm eager to see where this takes me and I hope you follow along for the adventure
Today, 20 years later, I'm living a life I remember wishing for. I remember having a wish where I wanted to stay home and make jewelry that people would absolutely love and I'd get to share it with all of them. Of course, back when this wish was made I was doing simple beading projects and had just started exploring jewelry making. It would take 20 years until I had proper exposure to silversmithing (I had tried working with PMC as a kid and nearly blew up my bedroom).
Between that initial interest and now, I dove into jobs that were necessary. The army injury left me with a TBI, retaining new information, especially complex information, was nearly impossible and created alot of stress and frustration in my daily life. Because of this, I wasn't able to keep jobs very long, my longest was maybe a year. It all came to a head at one work place and after an incident with a supervisor, he screamed at me in a way similar to a drill sergeant after I confided in him about the mistreatment I endured while enlisted. I never worked outside of my home again. The VA finally gave me my benefits after fighting with them for so long.
April 2023 I took my first silversmithing class. It was offered for free to veterans at a local art school and I was fortunate enough to get one of the eight available seats. I was overwhelmed with anxiety the first week, it was my first time in this type of environment with other veterans. Quickly, the space became a safe haven for me.
Once I got the hang of things, my mind exploded! At least it felt that way! I was so eager to get into jewelry class each week. The 3 hour night classes were a week apart and I was learning so much. I was retaining the information, too! It's been a year and a half since that first jewelry class and I'm finally confident enough to offer my first pieces to you.
I call this venture Echo, as I revisit the joys of my past and reimagine them into wearable art to enjoy today! I now have a small workspace in my home office that I am slowly growing with your support!
I'm eager to see where this takes me and I hope you follow along for the adventure
Love, Patty aka Selena
💖Echo by Moon Goddess Minerals
💖Echo by Moon Goddess Minerals