Here's to the Harvest: May it be Abundant and in Perfect Rhythm with Life.

Oh how we toil.

We plant the seeds that promise tall leafy things that nourish our bodies

we build structures that keep us warm and dry

and we constantly seek the answers to life's mysteries in between just trying to let it all be and unfold with grace.

The women of my circle are all this way:

we want to do so much of the living and creating ourselves

and we are conscious of what we put into our bodies,

into our lives.

It feels constant and sometimes backbreaking.

But there are those moments: Oh, my God those moments!!!

You know, the ones where everything clicks and for a day or an hour or a year

there is understanding before the soul takes flight for the next round of growing...

breath becomes more measured

time seems to stretch to accommodate that walk with him

or that extra time with our beasts

or just a moment to savor a nice cup of tea by the frosted kitchen window

it's the harvest, I think.

Just as the farmer rounds up the bounty in the fields

so do we as women have soulful moments of abundance after a long hot summer of 

working to be better.

There are rewards for all the times you choose compassion,

for those times you could have yelled but instead asked calmly to understand what was going on.

Gold dust scatters the path of choosing THIS moment over ruminating

or planning.

When that stillness comes

during that long and languorous sunset moment of lovely warmth

it is my wish for you to reap the wheat of your reward consciously

and just rest in that Great Palm as a child would.

This ring is for the Harvest. 

In the center is a piece of rutilated quartz: the rutile is so gold and plentiful that it stops me in my tracks every time I walk by.

The cone of this volcanic design is enameled copper with the hand-drawn wheat in shades of crimson and marigold watercolor.

It is tucked in to a hand-cut fine silver bezel, hammer-textured and given a fluted rise in cadence with the crop it compliments.

The ring's edges are scalloped, the band a moderate width to fit a size 8.5 finger.

HERE.

May you wear it both in times of plenty and in times of uphill work,

knowing that your hard work's harvest will be celebrated in its perfect season

as everything natural dances too.

xoxo,

Sunny

9 months

Monsieur Petite Etoile -

Thank you for nine months of such wonderment

that I cannot even write about you without tears stinging my eyes.

You are my dream,

my future

and my gem.

Your Dad and I both feel like we've now entered a part of your life where the lights go on each and every day inside your understanding of the world 

and the brightness is astounding us all!

We work really hard to find the balance between giving you every moment we can and being whole unto ourselves-now the pendulum swings more towards togetherness,

more games and fun.

If during my sleepless nights as a brand new mama I would have had future me holding out these moments we all share now as a beacon I would have cried less, panicked fewer times and napped more.

Perhaps I would have even trusted the roller-coaster of postpartum marriage, scary as it has sometimes felt...we are stronger for the thousand tiny healed fractures, just like a beautiful agua nueva agate that knitted itself a colorful streak from where the earth shook too hard.

I like imperfections more than I did before you came and I trust that at the center of chaos is a perfect point of stillness: we often find it together. 

We clap our hands,

give high-fives

and play a funny game of copy-cat with the single syllables that are so familiar now:

words are a heartbeat away.

We laugh, too - your giggle is infectious and I love finding new ways to coax those tumbling chimes out of you. Your Daddy loves that you two can wrestle now - it's such a funny thing to watch him delight you with spins and dips and controlled tumbles!

There are times where all I can do is sit and stare at you while you gesticulate and coo at Janey

or carry on a vivacious conversation with Sophie the Giraffe or another beloved toy.

Especially today in moments like those I am in awe:

you've been earthside as long as you were growing in my womb

and forming in my imagination...

I knew I'd love you

but I had no idea how much

...

perhaps that was by design -

everything in its time.

As I say every day out loud or to myself,

thank you for choosing us

out of all the parents in the world:

we will never find the words for how much we love you.

So big,

Mama

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

.

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