Protector Series #3: Mama Polar Bear

Mama Polar Bear does not fuck around.

If any threat in proximity or aggression is perceived by this powerful animal

she will end her foe

with great speed and efficiency,

leaving the remains to steam blood red in the arctic cold.

Before Orion I thought of animals protecting their young with a distant coolness:

now I feel a strong sense of kindred maternal respect.

I would protect my son until the last breath left my body

and then I would haunt this earth until

he was safe.

When I was dreaming up a design for a female protector

the polar bear came to mind effortlessly

as supremely badass and hugely powerful.

After the enamel was fired a perfect pure white

I kept my brush strokes tiny, diluting the watercolors to show her plush and deep pelt

in its fullness and warmth.

I wanted her well-fed, prepared to protect your heart.

The large and small faceted amazonite chunks are ice floes hand strung on sterling silver wire with meditative care.

.

With climate change afoot, the polar bear is losing its natural habitat.

A percentage of the sale of this necklace will go to Polar Bears International,

an organization that addresses and takes action to effect positive change for the magnificent beasts.

She will keep watch over your heart

like the mother she is.

HERE

xoxox,

Sunny

Late November

And the enameled cones burst forth

like the colors from the apple tree!

Overcast and chilly here

with the promise of rain

and snow in the high hills....

come, winter:

I have a tiny star to keep me warm.

xoxo,

Sunny

Two Beautiful Bags

At long last, a few tooled leather delicacies

a long time coming!

The first is a sumptuous soft leather clutch with a centerpiece of three magnificent tooled poppies

which acts as a closure.

The bag looks almost more magenta here than anything, but it person it is brick-colored, a rich and wintry red.

inquiries are welcome

HERE

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Secondly I just had to share the completed custom bag order from early October:

just as with the clutch I worked steadily and slowly,

not allowing any kind of rushing and the result

is an exciting custom piece

with a personal message and an heirloom future.

Lots of joy in the making these days

from start to finish.

xoxo,

Sunny

Treasure Hunt

Magic is just around the corner

in our neighborhood...

xoxo,

Sunny, Schmilly & O

SALE

A few beautiful enameled copper pieces are on sale

in

the metal shop

today -

perfect for holiday gifts!

xo,

Sunny

Finding the Rhythm

We are home

and though I cannot speak for Orion or Schmilly I report a heavy heart

for myself.

It's never easy to leave family and it gets more and more poignant as the years go by.
When it was just the two of us it felt like a vacation and now with the three of us it's like a gift that unwraps over and over again with each moment, squabbles and all.

It's silly, but I always come home with something from I've 'borrowed':

a pair of sweatpants from my sister

a vintage enameled colander from my mom

a pair of old ratty cutoff jean shorts from my Poppy

and when I see them in passing

or wear them for any length of time

they feel like a hug

and that means I've stolen a few more moments with my people.

The air is golden and warm here

full of California's finest paradoxes:

too much traffic

breathtaking hills

quaking earth

sweet cottage living

.

Days like today are few and far between, when exhaustion from traveling literally puts a kabosh to your best intentions and the most you can squeeze from the hours are a few loaves of bread and a baby who laughs and cries within minutes of the other,

surely teething, certainly set into a new orbit of the old normal.

Orion's learned how to clap now and loves to show off this trick. 'Yay!!', we all explode when he does it and this gives him so much pleasure.

'High-five' is next.

Babe traverses his environment with a series of rolls and spins, not interested in crawling with his legs: he prefers to stand on them, relaxing down from his tippy-toes and dedicating whole minutes to sussing out every detail of a toy with an eerie adult-ness that makes me think he must have been an engineer

in a past life, some tenacious part of his brain refusing to let go of its knowledge.

You can practically hear his thoughts as he sticks out his upper lip in concentration, "Contemptible chubby fingers!! Oafish grip!!"

There's this whole new level of melancholy to leaving now... the next time we're together he'll be talking, maybe walking and I want everyone to see the in-between.

While Orion naps

and Anthony catches up on his interests

I am going to read just for pleasure.

And rest.

It's okay to take time and rest in it.

It's okay.

xoxo,

Sunny

To be Continued...

Have a bountiful and beautiful

Thanksgiving, my dear reader:

Oh the harvest from the kiln will be bright and 

nourishing this December!

xoxo,

Sunny

So Fierce...

...You can feel her from a distance.

Mama Polar Bear

is not to be crossed

.

xo,

S

Color, Phase II

Sometimes I think the babe is working in tandem with my design and building day-by-day:

his naps always allow me to finish just the thing I needed

and no more.

To share with you the glorious color using just one antique alone

and a resist,

carefully working a damp sponge across the leather as if it were a brush.

Antiques create a look that is burnished and vintage if you will it so

or solid color with a definite warmth.

My favorite is saddletan

.

Sometimes when I am 'painting' like this I forget to breathe.

Because every hide accepts color differently I have to constantly redirect the ship

and work with the unique palette that piece of leather has dictated.

This particular piece of leather had a golden and marvelous tone

and the work was so rewarding and unfolded with such grace that I had to stop myself from singing so as not to wake my son.

There - he calls now - just as I finish writing this...

of course.

of

course.

xoxo,

S

Volcanic Trinity

Two rings and a necklace

all filled with the intention of opening and abundance

necklace a sweet deep mint green with a perfect pale yellow Mexican Jelly Opal center

that catches the light and makes it into a visible symphony

Super-high-dome sunny-colored volcano ring with a light-blue Arizona turquoise center

in size 7

and a cosmic volcano in a light teal with a perfect pink rhodochrosite center in size 9.

These are the last of the offerings in the Metal Shop

before Thanksgiving vacation

the duration of which the stores will be shuttered, opening again on 

Friday the 25th of November.

I continue to be amazed by the gifts of firing enamels...with each color layer I apply

the smile broadens, the heart softens and a clarity of vision comes

gently.

Thank you for being a part of what I'm creating, 

I feel so blessed to be a part of your days.

xo,

Sunny

Come In, Friend...

A peek into the studio -

my own little Caribbean getaway

.

xoxo,

Sunny

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Pelican with Labradorite and Citrine, # 2 in the Protector Series

RESERVED

With the bull elephant safely in the hands of his intended, it was time to work on the second of the protector series.

When I asked my Facebook readers for beasties 

a dear friend asked for a Pelican.

They'd already been on the brain when my dear Laurie Brown came to visit:

she said they were dying by the hundreds from lack of food.

My heart ached.

With this series I donate a percentage of the necklace sale to a charity that cares for the animal, bird or insect honored on the enamel.

For the Bull I 'adopted' a pygmy elephant in Africa through

WWF.

I am still shopping for a Pelican-centric charity: suggestions welcome!

It's easy to forget how meditative it can be to string small beads on sterling wire.

There was a lot of breathing deep, a lot of prayers and intentions set for this special necklace

and a very luxe teardrop of microfaceted citrine to hang over the heart chakra.

This particular portrait was fired many times to get the depth of color not just from paint, but from the marriage of translucent and opaque enamels.

The watercolors were dancing on the brush with this one...pure magic.

It is open for reserve

HERE

at your leisure.

xoxo,

Sunny