Artist Bio:

Sarah Troedson spent most of her life Sacramento, CA then had short stays in Eugeue, OR and Volcano, HI before her current home near Los Angeles, CA. She has been creatively crafting for over 30 years with interests in embroidery, counted cross stitch and quilting, in addition to crochet, weaving and jewelry-making. She became Sole Proprietor of “Rocks, Maps and Crafts by Sarah E. Troedson” in October of 2010. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology from Sac State, her love of minerals and gemstones shines through in her jewelry creations. Sarah has held a love of color as long as she can remember and is seldom happier than when working with a palette of beads or a beautifully variegated yarn.  She has a need to create things with her hands and has always found crochet relaxing and fulfilling with weaving the relative newcomer to her interests. The colors and sparkle of glass, crystal and gemstone beads are irresistible to Sarah’s creative eye, as are the textures of fabric made with yarn. Her inspiration comes from everywhere – a unique bead, a lovely colorway, a droplet of water, a peacock feather, sunlight on bricks… The joy Sarah finds in creating handmade fiber and jewelry art is only surpassed by the joy she receives seeing others enjoying her creations. Sarah shares her home with a supportive spouse, an energetic small human, a snuggly-old-man cat, a closet overflowing with yarn, and cases of beads.

Training:

My mother taught me to crochet when I was 8 and I haven’t stopped since. Through photos and patterns I have learned a wide variety of stitches, finishing techniques and styles. I use both my own patterns and others in my work.

Aside from a couple of informal lessons at bead shops, I am entirely self-taught in my jewelry-creation. I had one kind shop employee teach me how to use crimp beads in 1995 and I was off stringing beads after that. A friend taught me how to knot silk cord in 2002 and I have since modified the technique for my own work. I used detailed photographs, my own inspection of others’ creations and a few online tutorials to learn how to wire wrap and how to use the proper pliers for a job. My extreme attention to detail and ability to visualize in three dimensions enable me to figure out how things are made and the best techniques for my work.

I took a “learn to weave a scarf in a day” class at my LYS (local yarn shop) in fall of 2014 with a rigid heddle loom. I was instantly in love with this new (to me) way to create with yarn. I’ve now made a few dozen finished pieces and am starting to branch out from plain weave and learn about pick up sticks, double heddles, and more. This is a form of creating I will stick with the rest of my life.

Why “Rocks, Maps and Crafts?”:

My bachelor’s degree is in geology (completed in 2002), and I’ve collected minerals and pretty rocks since I was very small. I still have display cases of rock samples and minerals on the walls in my house. I learned Geographic Information Systems (GIS) when I was an undergraduate student, making digital geologic maps. During my first attempt at graduate school, I discovered I like GIS better than studying rocks and volcanoes. I quit grad school and followed my desire to make maps and learn more about GIS. I have been working in the GIS&T (Geographic Information Science and Technology) field full-time ever since. I completed my second attempt at graduate school, with a Master of Geographic Information Systems (MGIS) degree from Penn State in 2011. I started my small business as an outlet for my crafty side while I was working full time and attending graduate school part time (the perfect time to add another thing to my plate, I know). In addition to selling my crafty creations, I also sell rock and mineral samples I’ve collected over my years as a geologist. Occasionally, I’ll even sell “mapigami” (giant paper cranes) made out of draft poster-sized map sheets left over from my day job. The title “Rocks, Maps and Crafts” is a natural fit to describe my primary interests in life.