Handmade jewelry and sculptures by Utah artist Samuel E Steadman.
Bipolar Art and Jewelry was named because I have bipolar and make art and jewelry. I have been producing art and jewelry for over a decade but I did not sell it because I have unnatural levels of anxiety caused by my bipolar that kept me from doing so. I had several opportunities to sell in galleries and so on but I had been subconsciously conditioned to know that I could not meet the supply demands of the sellers because my productivity levels vary so much. When I am manic I can easily meet supply demands and then some, but when I am depressed my production level often drops to zero, and since I have bipolar II the depressed cycle generally occurs more often and is longer. In 2012 I hit a changing point; I had a student teacher in my jewelry class who said that my work would sell well at Sundance Resort where she worked, and she put me in touch with the General Store Manager there. Sundance did like my work and the Manager told me that I needed to start a business to receive payment for my goods, so I did. It was a terrifying step for me, however, since the general store had purchased the jewelry as a one time thing I was not required to produce more on any time schedule or ever for that matter. The lack of pressure helped me work through the process and with help from friends and family I have a business. Once the business was started I slowly began gaining confidence and am now producing regularly for two galleries and entering multiple art shows.
I am also a teaching artist for the Utah Division of Arts and Museums. That allows teachers to get grants and hire me to teach them art by visiting nowplayingutah.com
Also again, I teach jewelry at Sundance resort and can teach classes upon request by contacting The Sundance Art Gallery @ 801.225.4107, ext. 4535.
