Meet James Thurman

 

We were lucky to catch up with James Thurman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi James, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?

I am tremendously grateful for all of the help others have given me throughout my professional and personal journey. I am honored to be able to pay that forward to others. So many teachers have been so inspirational to me which is a major factor in becoming a teacher myself. Many of my own students have gone on to become teachers themselves which magnifies my pride in their accomplishments.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

For twenty-five years, I have been a university professor of metalsmithing and jewelry-making. Metalsmithing and jewelry-making is such a special artform because the artworks are integrated into people’s everyday lives through wearing or using. Some of my favorite conversations about artmaking and creativity are with total strangers who are curious about a piece of art jewelry that I am wearing. Having the opportunity to share this passion with students and be a part of their development has truly been a privilege.

This past year, I’ve been part of a group that has founded a new non-profit, the Denton Maker Center (DMC). It’s our mission to enrich the community by creating a space to support creative making through workshops, seminars, events, and offering pieces made by Denton artists in our Shop. We opened our first physical location in October and have been thrilled with the overall response and support of our goals. Visit our website to sign-up for our weekly email newsletter: https://www.dentonmakercenter.com/

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Aspiration, creativity, and community. To enrich and improve your life, it’s essential that you have clear and focused goals that you aspire towards. Inevitably, there will be obstacles, and creativity will be indispensable in finding ways to move beyond those challenges. Being a part of a supportive and encouraging community is crucial to finding and utilizing opportunities. For those earlier in their journey, I always recommend that they first identify what are their goals and dreams. Then seek out those who have already achieved similar accomplishments. This is the beginning of developing a personal network and community to support those dreams. By having that community, continual development and progress will be fostered and facilitated.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

Now that the Denton Maker Center is open, we are focused on expanding its audience and support network. We are striving to reach the right people that would be interested in taking workshops, buying items from our Shop, attending our events, and donating money to help advance our mission. Regardless of anyone’s background, we believe that getting involved in creative making improves everyone’s lives. Finding joy through discovering your own personal talents and interests uplifts everyone.

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