“My business name honours his memory and influence in my life and creativity,” said Johnson.

“His name was Reuben—thus MauReu Designs. He worked with sterling silver and semi-precious stones when he was not farming, and enjoyed long winter hours doing something he loved. As a child I remember going on long road trips and stopping at every rock store along the way. I spent many hours watching him work and having him explain what the names of the rocks were and what he was going to do next. I enjoyed helping him at trade shows when I got older.”

Johnson inherited her father’s love for silver, so as an adult she started taking silversmith classes from goldsmith Douglas Frey at the University of Saskatchewan as well as in Phoenix, Arizona, where her father had learned his trade. Johnson also received her father’s old tool box shortly after he passed away in 2014 as well as his notebooks, where he recorded how he made things and the materials he needed.

“It was like opening a Christmas present from him,” she said. “As I pulled out each hand tool I knew what they were for, and they were what I needed to get my start. There were even polished semi-precious stones and sterling silver. It was like a gift of encouragement and support at a time I needed it most. How I wish he could have known the joy of knowing one of his children was carrying on his heritage and working with silver.”

Because of the significant competition in the jewelry market, Johnson knew she “needed to find a different angle to make and sell.” She decided to sign up for an introductory precious metal clay class with Joseph Hubbs at Metal Designz in Saskatoon.

“I was hooked on this medium the moment I started working with it, and I discovered a niche area of jewelry design with this moldable metal clay,” she said. “I was amazed at the finished projects and it opened up a whole new unexplored world of design possibilities.”

Johnson said her jewelry is made with a cutting-edge technology “that is a totally different way of working with metal.” She uses a moldable metal, called fine silver precious metal clay, which is 90 per cent comprised of tiny silver particles and 10 per cent comprised of an organic binder. The clay is made from reclaimed silver, meaning all waste product can be reused.

The soft clay can be kneaded, rolled, shaped and even texturized, she said. Once dry, it can be sanded and perfected before being fired in a kiln, where the tiny metal particles fuse together. The result is a “beautiful and bright piece of solid silver .999,” Johnson said, noting fine silver doesn’t tarnish as quickly as sterling silver, which is an alloy of silver and copper.

Johnson bought a small kiln and began experimenting with the product at her home studio in Saskatoon. She also travelled to Edmonton to get her Level 1 certification in precious metal clay, and this fall she enrolled in an interactive online class taught by an instructor in Pennsylvania.

“What a steep learning curve. What beautiful creations are wrought when you understand, partially, all that is involved in creating wearable art,” Johnson said. “I will never look at art the same way ever again.”

Johnson lives with major heart issues that have limited her ability to work outside of the home at a full-time job. So, with the help of Lori Jestin-Knaus, a business advisor at Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan (WESK), Johnson decided to follow her passion and start her own homebased jewelry design business.

Among Johnson’s favourite jewelry pieces are her fine silver geometric designs, signifying her journey with heart issues. The different lines, angles and forms represent different heart procedures and surgeries done by a team of doctors, surgeons and nurses working together, she said. Ultimately, Johnson aims to create jewelry pieces “that have meaning and add to the story of someone’s life.”

“I love to create and I want to make a difference in people and be an encouragement by celebrating the good and the hard times of life,” Johnson said.

“I became an emerging artist with the Saskatchewan Craft Council and, with their support and encouragement, I became a juried professional member—thus opening new doors for me in the art world,” she added.

“My overall vision goal is to become a respected and well-known artisan in Canada, with exposure to galleries and high-end boutiques. My dream would be to apprentice with a goldsmith. The things I could learn and create.”

To find out more about MauReu Designs or to shop her products, go online to maureudesigns.ca.

-Shannon Boklaschuk