“We hope. We despair. We hope. We despair. That is what governs us. We have a bipolar system.”
Phoenix 16.
Handmade with ruby quartz and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 15
“What we seek, at the deepest level, is inwardly to resemble, rather than physically to possess, the objects and places that touch us through their beauty.
”
Phoenix 15.
Handmade with moonstone and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 14
“You have to find a mother inside yourself. We all do. Even if we already have a mother, we still have to find this part of ourselves inside.
”
Phoenix 14.
Handmade with labradorite moonstone and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 13
Art lifts the weight of the world.
Phoenix 13.
Handmade with lapis lazuli and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 12
On Tuesdays, I volunteer at the Ashram's kitchen. I work alongside two other women, one is lighthearted, spontaneous and eccentric; while the other is disciplined, orderly and methodical. Their personalities clash and they often argue, but I love them because they represent both parts of me.
Phoenix 12.
Handmade with chalcedony and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 11
“Like all explorers, we are drawn to discover what’s out there without knowing yet if we have the courage to face it.
”
Phoenix 11.
Handmade with tourmaline quartz and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 9
In school, I was taught to follow orders and a fixed curriculum. On my path as an artist, I’ve learnt to let my curiosity guide me.
When I work with my hands, I base my decisions on what feels right at each moment. This way, every choice I make not only determines the shape of an idea, but also reflects what I felt when I made it.
Phoenix 9.
Handmade with blue chalcedony and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 8
Imagine this: an idea flashes briefly through your mind and you capture it on paper. Then, using your hands and eyes, metal, stone, tools and fire, you turn it into a three-dimensional piece. This object now exists outside your head and has a life of its own.
Perhaps there is magic after all.
Phoenix 8.
Handmade with green agate and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 7
Thank you, dear ones! Your kind and uplifting messages have been nectar to my heart.
May the wings of hope and imagination grow stronger every day!
Phoenix 7.
Handmade with labradorite moonstone and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 6
For the past thirty days, I’ve been waking up before sunrise to chant mantras and meditate in a nearby ashram. I do this to this to get up in the morning and as medicine to keep the blues away.
We sit in rows facing the bronze statue of a guru. The women on the left, the men to the right. The sanscrit chants are so complex that I have spent the past few weeks immersed in the text before me. But today, as I finally chant more fluidly, I look up and wonder if the guru has anything to do with me being there. Other ashramites swear by the power of his grace, but until now, I haven’t contemplated his involvement at all.
As a game –one that offered me comfort in the past– I wonder what I’d pray for if the guru could help. Make my dad healthy again, or let him go peacefully. Get rid of a depression that makes me cry about everything all the time. Remind me what it’s like to dream and feel alive.
As my list goes on, I realize that its contents will never end. Hardships will always be there. What I need, is to know how to live. How to let life pass by and not crush me. This is why –be it by the guru’s grace, or by fear of falling into darkness– I will return to chant day by day to fulfill my wish.
Phoenix 6.
Handmade with amethyst and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 5
““First, you write for yourself... always, to make sense of experience and the world around you. It’s one of the ways I stay sane. Our stories, our books, our films are how we cope with the random trauma-inducing chaos of life as it plays.”
”
Phoenix 5.
Handmade with labradorite and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 4
We will always bear the marks of our past. May they enrich us, make us more compassionate, and become our greatest strength.
Phoenix 4.
Handmade with lapis lazuli and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 3
During my time away, I sewed constantly. I made myself clothes using textiles hand-loomed by Mexican artisans. The vibrant colors and textures brought joy to each day, and little by little I pieced myself back together again.
Phoenix 3.
Handmade with chalcedony and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 2
You receive calls, messages and emails from friends. They are worried about you. They did not know you were going through a rough time. You tell them that in times of crisis, you are like a wounded animal. You heal in solitude.
Crisis for you is existential. It comes when you no longer know who you are, and ends when you find your center. The process is never linear. You advance by trial and error, and the duration and outcome are never predictable. The only certainty is that you will become more human.
Phoenix 2.
Handmade with rutilated quartz and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Phoenix 1
You hide from everyone for several months. You have wounds to heal, inner darkness to explore. A long depression has crushed your dreams, illusions and sense of self.
You sort through the emotional wreck, until you find the deepest parts of your psyche. Those long forgotten. The ones that did not fit into the world you grew up in.
The quest to know yourself is painful, but you trust that with self-compassion you will heal, so you continue. Nothing is too sacred to question.
Mental boundaries crumble, until you have nothing to hold on to. It is time to drop the weight of your past and continue on your journey.
Phoenix 1.
Handmade with transparent quartz and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Found
I’ve had many losses in the past couple of years. My dark hair. My father’s health. My favorite uncle. My childhood. The original giddy enthusiasm for my work. My blind trust in a higher power that loves and guides me. My belief in destiny. The feeling that anything I want is possible if I set my mind to it. The certainty that I have all the time I need. My sense of magic and synchronicity.
All of this has left a hollow feeling in my chest that physically hurts. Like a punching bag that has taken too many blows. Exhausted and hunched over, I give up. I can’t do this alone. I refuse to give up on la la land. Being reasonable has made me grow up, but it has also left me weary and without super powers. Who am I, if I can’t have a rich inner world of make-believe?
Found necklace.
Handmade with labradorite and recycled sterling silver.
Jaguar
“There is a fierce concentration inside of you; dormant — it is in your blood. It is the strength of your ancestors. It is the hammer and anvil of eons which struck the hardened steel of your spirit into a weapon of survival. ”
Jaguar Totem.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
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Freedom
I once experienced real freedom. It came after many hours of meditation. I was no longer me, no longer the fragments of memory that make up my history. Not a child, nor a daughter, not a sister or an artist. I was not this body or these feelings. I was just space. Empty space. Terrifying and liberating space.
Freedom Totem.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
Beluga
From the deepest waters.
Beluga Totem.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Integrity
Follow what feels true to you.
Integrity Totem.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.