Cherry Blossom Tree Pendant

I am pretty sure this is spoken for, but I had to share because the colors are making my heart sing!!

I am off to meet someone lovely for coffee and run errands.

These sprouts are making my soul feel like it is growing, too....

Shelter

These last few months have me thinking a lot about home. Haven. Safe, warm shelter.

I love our little Craftsman with a passion I have never allowed myself to feel for a rental.

Sitting here in the warm glow of the kitchen with the cats on pause it's..... so amazing.

This afternoon and evening I finished working on a ring that embodies all things safe and nestled down: an egg hidden well under a roof of sprouts.

The stone is a laguna agate of the RAREST kind - green. That just doesn't happen very often.

On the wide 9.25 size band is stamped the word 'shelter'.

I will get it into the Metal Shop this evening.

I am off to make some stew and listen to country on the radio.

I bid you the coziest of goodnights.

Ode

For more money than I ever thought I could spend on sentiment I bought a lamp to end all lamps.

With its lovely glow the American Southwest is near. 

Joshua Tree is a breath away

and some of my lonely turns sweeter thinking of those cacti in sunset with that eternal quiet behind them.

I have known I wanted a stained glass lamp for years as my mentor Dr. James Brennan collected them endlessly.... I actually called upon him to advise my purchase from where he is lounging in heaven - it was most assuredly this lamp -

He would have said, "Garsh..." at its beauty...

It is huge.

It is breathtaking.

It is worth every penny.

Classic

Making this particular cuff fills me up inside with space - wide, quiet space.

For as many hours as it takes to complete, I am wrapped in the solace of the leaves and the tendrils and it just makes everything sweeter.

More than ever tooling has been a joy because I have something else to balance out the aches it causes (on the shoulder - poor Anthony has the job of House Masseuse when I am on a tooling bend) and makes me even more excited to come 'home' to it.

This morning I sent a picture to a lovely customer asking her to choose her mookaite, and I realized I should share with you how lovely these stones  are. The two big ones make for an expensive ring, but golly are they ever worth it with their generous dendrites and spectacular colors.

The small pink and yellow baby is far more affordable and every bit as delightful to behold (and to hold!).

The Living Room

Is Taking Shape!!

My garden

I was so deeply inspired by the handful of amazingly delicious sugar snap peas harvested from my garden and thrilled with the response to the first sprout piece (thanks for encouraging me to make more, James!) that my day yesterday consisted of dreaming up sprouts. 

In silver.

The first ring on the left is a custom order for an incredible soul consisting of Laguna Agate and a mixture of silver and gold. I have purchased my first 14k gold bezel this week and so that means I'll be working a little bit more of that warm tone into a few pieces.

I made a little sprout tree and accented it with a couple of luminous peridot cabochons. This weekend marked a little rebirth for my mind, and so this ring feel mighty good. On the back of the size 9 wide band is stamped the word "Life".

We get to know all seasons - when the fall comes I shall make a fall sprout tree, winter, spring, etc.

The second sprout piece involves black Honduran opal, and like the laguna agate it features a lovely band of dotted silver: extra strong as it is two pieces forever joined.

Black opal is particularly arresting because it is all pinfire: pieces of light in a rainbow of colors. In low lights it appears to be onyx but one trip into the sun makes it perfectly clear that you are holding a miracle. 

This ring is a size 7.

These pieces will all find their way into the Metal Shop today.

Happy morning to you all and a fantastic day ahead!!

Mind

When I was a little girl going through the covetous phase of life I used to say, "Mind!" to mean "mine".

This stone fills me with such wonder that I am forced to revert and say "Mind". 

I reworked the setting a bit and now I cannot imagine my life without it on my finger. No matter how beautiful the stone (and I have some doozies, let me tell you!) it's always something when you find YOURS. The man who works at the crystal store in Sebastopol instructed me to hold the stones in my hand.... this was the one who told me she was meant to always be near.

Just look at that internal sun....

sigh.

I bet each and every one of you have a stone that makes you breathe out contentedly.

Which kind of stone is your sigh-maker?

My Sweet Companion

She always knows just when to settle in for lap time. 

Thanks you, Janey.

Up Up UP

And through this marine layer of sadness!!!

 I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I have been running to the studio for solace as the solitude begins to weigh heavy again....

Custom orders will begin being made tomorrow - I needed to take the first part of my week back to just simply enjoy creating again with ideas that arrive spontaneously.

It feels so good, especially after a good cry on the phone with my Mom. The little kid in me will never stop feeling like that is better than sliced bread - sometimes it's the combination of advice and passionate opinion she has been blessed with.

Sometimes it is just simply the very sound of her voice. I wish you could all hear it whenever you were at wit's end.

Just like the darkness pendant of Tuesday, today's pendant is a reminder, with a leafy sprout and a jelly opal sun in brightest orange - a reminder to "Reach for the Light".

Indeed.

Then there was something else I made that I think I must hoard.... still undecided.... it's an agate that is so rare: the white inside looks like a galaxy and it has a perfect white sphere at its offset center like a sun.

I folded a design around it and it's a size 6 and ooooh, ummmm.... errrrr. We'll see.

California

This belt buckle is the first of the Road Trip series commemorating not only our tour, but this magnificent collection of states that we live in.

Traveling across the country gets me mighty patriotic: there is so much goodness out there that we never hear about.

California's belt buckle prominently features a biiig orange poppy and the sun setting over the pacific, two things which floored me when I arrived six odd years ago.

Now I cannot imagine leaving, though I would love to explore the rest of the country....

there is just something about California that I cannot begin to describe, some draw that many people must feel.

This belt buckle will be in the leather shop later this afternoon, and it measures a hefty 4.5 inches by 3 inches, so you can't miss it!!

Ah, Yes...

The letdown has arrived, and instead of simply weeping for more than just an evening I have decided to peacefully carry it with me on my errands and in the studio.

In my pocket like a list of very very important things to be cradled.

I made a reminder necklace (for the shop, but also for my mind) that features an Imperial Jasper of the most stunning design: a hooded Monk-like figure heading into a doorway. The stone reads in shades of pink, shell and maroon and the back reads:

"Darkness is a Doorway to the Light"

Haven't you always noticed that the darker the doorway the brighter the "Eureka!" that gets shouted from the other side?

Indeed, follow that Monk without fear. This stone is a prime example of why I will always seek out the extraordinary rock, even though they are more costly: they tell a great story.

There is a chrysoprase necklace with the words "Lit from Within" inscribed on the back - the stone has its own light source, so it seems (and often does with Chrysoprase).

Lastly there is a stunnnnnning Chinese turquoise ring with all sorts of bubbles and dots in a size 8. The stone has a few scuffs and so the piece will be discounted - I prefer them perfect and you benefit when they aren't - the imperfections are not at all visible to the naked eye, just to eyes like mine who see all!!

I am off to the Farmer's Market: my very first one here in Petaluma!! 

Convos and Commemoration

Oh My.

So very very very much to do!! Convo city around this Mac.

I left my studio in tip-top ship shape, so no cleaning but lots of tooling, lots of work...

I have a very exciting plan: commemorating the states we passed through.

I am thinking belt buckles and necklaces....

21 states means a whole lot of creating....

Tomorrow the real tooling and smithing begin: today is still digestion city....

really absorbing the stuff that happened, the goals realized.

We rush too quickly into "what's next" without celebrating "holy shit I did it!" enough.

I am contemplating the Holiness and the crapola-ness of the time spent on the road and coming away amused and amazed at our fortitude and fun.

Jones is keeping me company this afternoon and my return to solitude does not feel bad.

It feels still and yes, holy.

Scenes From a Happy Southern California Sunday

Brunch at Oscar's in Redlands with the crew.... what an amazing time.

.

Carnitas

.

Love

.

and tons of laughter and stories:

more stories than ever before thanks to our adventure

Never mind the goodbyes: they are only temporary.

Sunday afternoon at Liane and Jimmy's: when oh when oh when did Seamus grow up to be such a big boy?

I know that when the letdown hits I will look at this amazing collection of images and memories and be so glad through the tears.

I have the best friends.

Move over Ben Folds - I am the luckiest indeed.

My Schmilly...

...Is Prepared for anything in his shower cap. We are together at last and my heart is unlocking piece by piece.

There is a room inside reserved only for him... missing him was more than I could take and so I tried to not miss him.

It was futile.

As soon as I knew we were close to seeing each other my whole being flushed and I felt alive in a way I hadn't since we parted.

This is Love at its most sincere and whole.

Back to the Beginning

I feel like I have known Mr. Matt Coleman for a lifetime and some change: he is an integral part of my daily thought and a brother in music and heart. Phil has been a great surprise, along with Mustard, Applesauce, Matt Wkcoff and the whole gang.

When I first met Phil Mielke it was at The Vault where a bunch of people were playing on a cold, cold night - he and his amazing girl Jessie had brought heaters and we gathered around them sharing conversation and drinks.

A few months later Matt and I decided to do a tour of Arizona and Phil happened to be traveling in AZ at the same time - would he stay with us in our hotel for a night before driving off to see family?

In saying 'yes' who could have ever predicted the way things would work out? One year and some months ago we sat at a plush booth in a spectacular restaurant (Dick's Hideaway in Phoenix - yes it really IS that dark inside!) and forged a friendship. This afternoon we ate brunch and drank Bloody Marys at the very same booth...

 

the love has aged well as good friendships do and the subject matter this time around was deeper and more important.

Being on this trip with these two exceptional men has taught me more than I could have ever learned in any other way: an amazing education in care and ease.

Cheers to the future and all the things that have been created in the simple act of taking our show on the road.