Blog
01. Barefoot at last!
Barefoot at last! I am thrilled to report that on this balmy Sunday afternoon, I’m sitting in my kitchen typing with the doors open and no shoes on my feet. Last night Craig and I enjoyed our first dinner of 2013 on the patio, and this morning I biked to the opening day of the farmers market. The tomatoes have been planted, and all is right with the world! California … Read More
04. “Bienvenidos a 2013″
Bienvenidos a 2013! Mole! Ole! On December 31, last act of 2012 was a half-day project making mole with Craig. Twenty-three ingredients, including three types of dried chiles, dried fruits, a bit of chocolate, toasted and ground spices, tomatillos, etc., etc. After preparing the various components, everything goes in a pot on the stove. After all those hours of cooking, blending and cleaning up, I cheated and bought a … Read More
05. “Palm Trees and Christmas Pines”
After a fast-track November working on holiday shows and orders, Craig and I left on December 1st for ten glorious beach days in Tulum, with old Boulder friends. Another birthday sneaked by, and you know what? When you’re busy swimming, snorkeling, biking and reading in a hammock you don’t get any older! Got home two days ago, and I can’t quite get the salt water and sand out … Read More
06. Boo!
Boo! Orange is one of my favorite colors, so when October comes I revel in the fall leaves, the pumpkins and yams, and at the moment, the celebratory hues of El Dia de los Muertos. It’s the last hurrah before my surroundings look as if someone photo-shopped the landscape, converting it quickly from color to black and white. October has been all about catching up in the studio … Read More
07. 5,034 Miles in 30 Days
5,034 miles in 30 days. Looks like I missed my September deadline, and cobwebs are festooning my workbench, but living nomadically for an entire month was absolutely worth it. We drove miles and miles of highway roofed with glorious western skies like this one on I-80 in Wyoming. We rode our bikes on narrow country roads beginning in Sonoma, up the Oregon coast, inland to Portland and Walla Walla, … Read More
08. Back from California!
San Francisco, and then back again. Probably the most exciting museum show I’ve ever seen was the Jean-Paul Gaultier retrospective at the de Young Museum in San Francisco! The scope of Gaultier’s vision and imagination is breathtaking, not to mention thoroughly entertaining and executed in mind-blowing detail. The exhibit deserves all those superlatives and more. The above photo is from his ’80′s punk collection. If you have a chance to … Read More
09. Welcome To The Dog Days Of Summer
Welcome to the Dog Days Since ancient Greek and Roman times, the sultry, hottest midsummer season has been known as the Dog Days. At that time, Sirius, the Dog Star, rose with the summer sun, and as the brightest star in the sky it was thought to contribute to the excessive July and August heat. We no longer make dog sacrifices as the Romans did to appease Sirius, but we … Read More
10. Summertime Blues
Summertime bluesBlue skies, blueberries, bluestem prairie grass, aquamarine and sapphire. It’s just past the Solstice, and what I’m missing here in 97 degree Nebraska is a beach with some cool, blue water to jump into! Earlier in the month we roasted in the oven heat of Las Vegas during the JCK wholesale jewelry show, and I finally had a breakthrough, discovering something I like about the Las Vegas area! … Read More
11. It Seems To Be Summer
Timeline The Boulder Flatirons with lupine in the foreground. Yucca flowers. Last week I drove to Boulder, where I went to college and lived from 1971 to 1982. Boulder was the birthplace of my jewelry career, though as with many things in life, at the time I couldn’t imagine I’d still be doing this 30+ years later. My daughter Nora flew in from LA, and we stayed with … Read More
12. Fast Forward?
Who pushed the Fast Forward button in March? 90 degrees in March!? Seriously? Hard to believe this was the studio last weekend, looking like it usually does in early May. Our extreme and erratic weather is the favorite conversational common denominator in Nebraska, and this year’s early heat wave has unleashed a torrent of question marks and exclamation points. That being said, planting tomatoes on April 1– no fooling!– and … Read More
13. There’s no place like home.
After two weeks of shows, there’s no place like home. I can feel my lungs expand as I leave the gray, gritty confines of Philadelphia and Baltimore’s inner cities and land in the open space and fresh air of Nebraska. This is not to say Craig and I didn’t thrive on the urban energy, historical architecture, and especially on the the limitless, wonderful food options: French, Japanese, Turkish, Afghan, … Read More
14. Earth Without Art
Earth without art is “eh.” During my annual January madness–the countdown to my biggest marketing events of the year in Philadelphia and Baltimore–I zipped out to L.A. for a few days to see my daughter Nora and to look for some colorful southern California inspiration. An afternoon’s immersion at the L.A. Art Show was a heady stew of almost every material and style imaginable including this installation that resembled … Read More
15. Here it comes… 2012!
Whew, just before the ball drops!It’s still technically December, so this is the last newsletter of the year. December has been mostly about friends and family, a month kicked off by the best-ever trip to Tulum for my birthday, joined by Craig, my daughter Nora, and a group of friends from different parts of the country and different periods of my life. Five days on the beach with some of … Read More
16. Thanks A Lot!
Yesterday, Thanksgiving Day. After putting the turkey in the oven and chatting long-distance with family members, I went out for a walk in glorious 65 degree sunshine. While Holmes Lake in Lincoln is not the most scenic spot, the brilliant blue sky turned the murky water to blue silk, and the fresh air blew out the cobwebs as I thought about the reasons to be grateful. Among them was a … Read More
17. October 2011 Spain!
Viva la vida! The Alhambra at sunset My friend Joe teaches his journalism students to write employing all five senses, and last night we discussed how that’s exactly what happens in traveling. When you are in a new country, every moment brings heightened awareness of new visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile experiences as well as plenty of opportunities for tasting (as evidenced by my newly expanded waistline!). I haven’t made … Read More
18. August/September 2011
August becomes September… In mid-August, Craig and I went to the American Crafts Council show in San Francisco, a favorite destination. We worried that with the stock market roller coaster no one would be shopping, but apparently there was something affirming and positive about treating yourself to a beautiful piece of jewelry during unsure times, because we were busy! Ft. Mason was buzzing, and a … Read More
19. Fast forward: what happened to June?
Wow, it’s almost the end of the month and I haven’t gotten this newsletter out yet! Here’s a quick review of the past four weeks: June began with a trip to Las Vegas for the Niche wholesale show. While not a fan of the casino scene, I enjoy the collage of color and some of the newer architecture at City Center. … Read More
20. July breakfast: blue skies, huevos rancheros, jewelry on the side
Land of Enchantment indeed… Craig and I just got back from a road trip to New Mexico, one of my absolutely most favorite places. To begin with, I can get the world’s best huevos rancheros whenever I want them! (The photo above, taken at Rancho de las Golondrinas outside Santa Fe, is of a morada, one of the old churches used by the Penitentes.) Red chile or green, … Read More