Meet Hands of Wild Earth Annetta Louise | Heart-Based Jewelry + Stone Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hands of Wild Earth Annetta Louise and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hands of Wild Earth, why did you pursue a creative career?
In many ways, this path chose me. I was collecting rocks since I could walk. Later, at 18 I met my biological father who, unbeknownst to me, was a 3rd generation stone worker and artist. I learned what I could from him, deciding in 2018 to fully commit. This was the catalyst that would change my world in so many ways. Catapulting me onto my path whether I wanted to or not. But really, I’ve always wanted this. I have never been able to fit in any sort of box or category. “Typical life” always seemed so boring. So carving my path as an artist, literally and figuratively, was very fitting. I am proud to be a 4th generation stone worker and jewelry artist. Creating my life in a way that serves not only me, but those I’m in service to. My art career goes hand in hand with my healing journey.

One of my main reminders to stay on my path is my beautiful son. I am reminded to show him a different way of living life than what is presented to us. That we are magical creator beings, capable of anything we chose to focus on. That we all have gifts that we are here to share with the world.

Even though I’m a ways from where I’d like to be, I couldn’t be more proud of where I am and where I’m going. I stay focused on where I’d like to go, but really I try to remain open to the Unknown. To what is meant to come thru me that I have no perception of yet. I try to stay out of my way and keep the self-saboteur in check.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I feel like I touched on this a lot in the last question about my father. I am a fourth generation stone worker and jewelry artist, mostly working with Arizona Orca Marble and Banded Calcite, or Arizona Onyx. I have been creating jewelry since I was 12. My jewelry is hand-crafted from high quality materials of the Earth. I love working with stone, metals and wood. Each piece is a one of a kind statement piece. I don’t do mass production.

I consider myself heart-based. To me, this means I create from the heart, while in connection with Spirit. My design process is intuitive and sacred. I also have a healing arts background, being certified in a couple different healing modalities. So when I realized I could combine healing and art, it was quite exciting and pretty fitting, being that my art path and healing path go hand in hand.
I believe each piece has it’s person and while I’m designing, I consider myself a conduit. Each piece I create has specific frequencies, intentions, healing + always unconditional love woven in. I don’t have to know who the person is or what’s going in. When the person finds it’s piece it’s always quite magical. People often comment on how good their piece feels on them.

My business is rooted in the heart and not so much in business…haha. This is where I have to learn and expand. I’m really good at creating my unique pieces, but have a lot to learn about business. I want to merge art and business. I want to throw away the idea of the starving artist. I want to create a thriving art business that supports my son and I. That gives us a life we can play in. That we can share with others. That we can give back to the world in. This is happening for me and at a pace my nervous system can handle. I’ve come so far in just 4 years and I can’t wait to see what the next 4 years will bring, as I continue to dial in.

My stone art is ever-evolving. I sometimes know what I’m going to carve. Other times, I don’t know what I’m doing til I get into the stone. I’ve recently moved and went through another huge life transition. So, I’m in the process of building up my tools again and creating my outdoor studio so I can work with rock again. My heart longs to work with rock again. I plan on learning to weld so I can create beautiful metal bases for my stone, or stone bases for my metal sculptures! I love working with wood too. In my outdoor studio/workshop, I will be able to work with all those elements. Goals baby, goals.
But for now, my focus is on my Rugged Mala Collection and my Ear Art, as I work with what I have, and both of those paths brings me great joy too! I also LOVE doing custom intuitive orders for clients.

The idea behind my Rugged Malas are the blending of tradition with innovation and spirit. Pablo Picasso once said, “you have to learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” This is what I have done.
Malas were traditionally created with 108 beads. A number sacred to many Hindus and Buddhists. They are also done with knots between each bead. This seemed too tedious for me. I followed tradition for a while, but got quite bored. I also was noticing they weren’t as durable as I’d like my product to be. So I began finding materials and ways to make my malas more RUGGED and durable, but not to loose any bit of beauty!
I want my wearers to be able to hike, bike, swim, practice yoga, nurse their babies, make love, dance, work their work, life their life.

My biggest challenge is I just want to create all the time, but life calls for focus in other areas too! Time and the resources needed to accomplish what I’d like are important facrots. I’m a mother too, which is a huge part of my calling right now. So my focus isn’t just on my art path. It’s about my son right now and enjoying the precious time we have together. Balance is important.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m pretty simple and laid back and enjoy all things outside. I love live music and to dance and have a huge appreciation for the natural areas that Arizona has to offer. I would show them around my beautiful little town of Prescott first. Such a gem. We have great hiking, great people, and fabulous weather. Sedona would also be on the list, my favorite place to eat being Chocolatree. Unfortunately Sedona has gotten so crowded it’s hard to enjoy a lot of the natural spaces there. I’m a big water lover so natural creek spots, lakes and rivers are places I would go too! I love that Arizona is so dynamic ranging from desert in the south to mountains and high peaks up north. The White mountains in the East would also be worth checking out, and of course the Grand Canyon. Bisbee is a pretty rad place too.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My late father, artist Pete Incardona deserves a shoutout in my story. Our relationship was not easy, even considered traumatic at times, but provided the authentic, beautiful backdrop with thick painful weavings throughout my story that heavily contribute to who I am as a person and an artist.

I mentioned I met him later in life. I loved the funky lifestyle he had created for himself as an artist. He followed no ones rules but his own. The love was instant for us, but we clashed big time. Two giant souls stuffed into bodies with emotions, ideas, traumas and pains we weren’t quite sure what to do with. We so desperately wanted to get along. We tried many times to work together. Over the 16 years we knew each other, we maybe collectively had 5 years together. I craved to know what he knew, for him to love me. I wanted to make him so proud, but no matter what I did it, it never seemed enough. Many years we didn’t speak and I wouldn’t touch rock for those years. My father knew many things and could build just about anything. But when it came to love and family, this was something foreign to him.

When my son was about 3, my father reached out again after many years of silence between us. I decided it was time for them to meet and for me to forgive, again. I’m so glad I listened to my heart + gut instinct, even though my ex-husband warned against it, based on the rockiness of our past. These were some of the best years of my life. I got to be around my father more than I ever had before. He took me on as his apprentice and we created some amazing work together. We both learned so much during this time. This was 2018, when I was launched onto this path.

Being able to work in his gallery and shop while I homeschooled my son was so special. I had access to every tool I could think of, amazing rock, metal + wood, sometimes my father’s collective knowledge of his colorful past, developed friendships with other artists, collaborated for high-end art shows. My father wouldn’t tell me much, but would give me a project and set me free. I often times had no idea how I was going to go about it, but I always finished, and I began to see hints of his love + approval of me.

Eventually we came to an impasse. Our relationship ended for it’s final time. I lost him, the gallery, my workspace, tools, stone, all of it. Alas, it’s all part of my beautiful story. I had to learn to do this without him. So I did.

My father passed away in 2019 with us not speaking. While I often wish we would have had more time together, I now know, we had the time we were meant to have together. I know he is somewhere, incredibly proud of me. That I am carrying on with our passion, despite all the odds that were stacked against me. And that I’m doing it, my way.

This path has shown me my resiliency, my strength and what I’m made of. That I am capable of pursuing hard things. That I have an eye for beauty and that it’s my job to share little pieces of my heart as it’s broken open and healed over and over, with the world.

Website: www.handsofwildearth.com

Instagram: @handsofwildearth

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