About

Artist Julie Clawson

We are storytelling creatures. Our lives are stories and we make sense of our life through story.

Stories of love and adventure...

Stories of joys and sorrows...

Stories of whimsy and wonder...

We surround ourselves with elements and reminders of those stories that help us tell and live our story well. I believe the jewelry we wear is a part of those stories – sometimes personal reminders of significant moments in our story and sometimes harkening to well-loved tales that have shaped us along the way. We wear these mementos as we continue to tell our story.

As an artist I am honored to craft pieces for your story and in a small way to contribute to you living your story beautifully.

The name of my shop, Shieldmaiden Designs, itself came from a story that has shaped me. When I launched my shop in 2015, I chose it based on my love of the character Eowyn, the Shieldmaiden of Rohan, from The Lord of the Rings. The need to create and design items of beauty was my way of breaking free from the Shieldmaiden’s fear of living in a cage and contributing nothing to the world. For, as Eowyn discovers in the books, combating the darkness of the world is not restricted to battlefield actions but can also be fought by healing and bringing beauty into the world. To that end, I use my hand (literally just one since I was born missing my lower left arm) to create. From fabricating and soldering jewelry, to carving designs in wax and casting them in metal, to shaping and polishing stones, I involve myself in every step of the jewelry making process.

I received my training at Creative Side Jewelry Academy in Austin, Texas and have had the opportunity to study under masters such as Ronda Coryell, Kate Wolf, Michael Boyd, Andy Cooperman, and Jim Dailing. I desire to continuously learn new skills so as to create more beauty and rich stories to give the world. When I am not out working on pieces in my garage studio, I spend my time trying to keep up with my partner’s and my 5 kids and 3 cats. And, when I get a chance, to enter into good stories told in book and film or role played in games. For as a timetraveling madman in a box once said, “we’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one.”