leaves, la, and love

A new design for spring…whenever she finally decides to show up. This organic leaf shape was hand cut and pierced from a 22ga recycled sterling silver sheet, then hammered like crazy to end with a crinkled, curved surface. At 1 ¾” long, they make a statement! I enjoyed wearing them out last night for a dinner and movie date.

Last weekend I traveled to LA for my day job. And it rained. I refused to believe weather.com and packed sandals and a skirt anyway. I was freezing. Now I’m home and we’re back to 30 degree weather, and I’m still freezing.

Mr. Brainwash, an LA graffiti artist, left this message outside of the fashion market…

...and my husband left this message in our living room…

I think they are both quite right.

The very big news (that I should’ve shouted about first) is that I have finally updated my etsy site, new policies, and most importantly, new pieces! Check them out here.

steel and stone

My next door neighbor is a construction site.
From my desk I witness carefully choreographed cranes dance above a ribbon of cars, piecing together eight stories of steel and stone.

These three pieces reflect imposed order, cut from a 22ga recycled sterling silver sheet with slightly irregular rectangular piercings.


window 5/8 x 1/2"

door 1 1/4 x 1/4”

building 1 3/4 x 5/8”

hair

Change can be addictive.
Just as I started to settle into this new version of normal, boxes unpacked, work schedule in place, insomnia routine established…I felt like there was something missing I had left to do—something that I did not purge myself of before leaving Oregon.

It was my hair.

So, Friday I headed to the salon, whipped out a downloaded photo and declared: “It all must go!” My stylist, after clarifying that I wasn’t joking, separated my hair into three pigtails (to be donated to Locks of Love), picked up her scissors…and cut.

I thought the two women on either side of me were going to run out screaming.

They didn’t. And neither did I.

I arrived home Friday night a new person, free of all of those heavy, bothersome curls.

Saturday I woke up, looked in the mirror, and cried.

Today I think I am coming to terms with my altered reflection. A lot of hair-control-paste-goo helps, and the fact that at least my three pigtails will be put to a good use…and my hair grows quickly anyway…

Ultimately I have learned two important life lessons from this:

1. Never make rash decisions in February in Nebraska. It doesn’t matter if it is 4 degrees outside. The sun will shine again and you will miss your hair.

2. Never, ever, ever, cut your hair to match a character in a movie (mine was Jack’s Girlfriend’s hair in Hotel Chevalier, the prelude to Darjeeling Limited). You cannot look as cute as a movie star. Accept this. Buy shoes instead.

2000 miles to a new home

We moved from Oregon to the Midwest last month, cardboard, cat and all.

Traveling across the country with a cat is not an experience I would wish on anyone. Our kitty, The Bubbs, is normally quite shy and lazy, preferring to spend his days napping and eating, and napping again. Once placed in his oh-so fancy padded carrier he channeled Mr. Hyde and shredded through the zipper closure to run loose in the cab of the moving truck. We received horrified looks from hotel staff across the country as we carried our “one well-behaved animal weighing less than 60 lbs” in a carrier held together-barely-by duct tape.

It was a long 2000 miles.

We made it, thankfully, through the mountains without any scary weather, and when the Great Plains unfurled at the feet of the Rockies, my heart was so happy. I’m home again.

The above photo was taken in Colorado, looking back to say goodbye to the mountains.

The photo below is a view from the back porch of our tiny Omaha apartment. I’m adjusting to a new city, and it’s time to get back to work…

mosaic memories

Hooray for a holiday weekend! I finally feel caught up with work and moving preparations. After unearthing my desk from piles of cardboard boxes and packing tape, I found myself, sitting, with metal and saw in hand.

These earrings have lived as a sketch since my trip to Italy. It was amazing to witness the abundance of history, buildings built on ruins of other buildings, and beautiful bits of mosaic and tile that peek out from layers of time (certainly a study in the futility of physical attachment). I was especially drawn to a section of tile (see the image below) tucked away in a room of illuminated manuscripts inside the Duomo di Sienna, which is famous for its mosaic floors representing the sibyls and stories from the Old Testament.

Starting with a one inch recycled sterling silver circle, I’ve repeated the crescent shape, with smaller cuts to represent tiles. An extra long ear wire allows the piece to swing one and a half inches away from the ear.

giveaway...flyaway

Naturals of Ashland is hosting a promotion this weekend, one of my handmade recycled sterling silver Small Lunar Necklaces with every $200 or more purchase! Check out the homepage with banner here.

In other news, it has been a busy few weeks. I've been happily learning new techniques, soldering and casting, and am feeling a little more comfortable with the idea of introducing a flaming piece of equipment into my workbench lineup. However, hunting for my very own torch will have to wait until spring, as Pell and I are relocating from Oregon to the Midwest!

In January.

(Yes. I know. We’re renting a truck and driving across the mountains at the same time of year when, those who can, pack their suitcases and travel south. Our parents are trying hard to be supportive.)

Our days are filled now with sorting through bits of papers and randomness accumulated from four and a half years in one state, searching for jobs, and hunting out a new home to flyaway to…

new

Something new for this week. A single piece of recycled silver, hand cut, drilled, and sanded. I was thinking sprouts, but they do look like fireworks. I think we're all ready to celebrate the 4th of November (It can't come soon enough for me).