Askew

If you care too much about what others think then you ultimately become what you think they want you to be.
— Oliver Jeffers

Askew.
Acrylic and gouache on paper.
7.87” by 10.47” (20 by 26.6 cm).


Uncertainty

Be helpless, dumbfounded,
Unable to say yes or no.
Then a stretcher will come from grace
To gather us up.

We are too dull-eyed to see that beauty
If we say we can, we’re lying.
If we say No, we don’t see it,
That No will behead us
And shut tight our window onto spirit.

So let us rather not be sure of anything,
Besides ourselves, and only that, so
Miraculous beings come running to help.
Crazed, lying in a zero circle, mute,
We shall be saying finally,
With tremendous eloquence, Lead us.
When we have totally surrendered to that beauty,
We shall be a mighty kindness.
— Rumi (Zero Circle)

Uncertainty.
Acrylic and gouache on paper.
7.87” by 10.47” (20 by 26.6 cm).


Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
— Mary Oliver

Wild Geese Necklace.
Handmade with rose quartz and recycled sterling silver.
Next week in my online shop.


Levity

The bad news is you’re falling through the air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute. The good news is, there’s no ground
— Chogyam Trungpa

Levity Necklace.
Handmade with prehnite and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


Integrity

Peace is your home, integrity is the way to it, and everything you long for will meet you there.
— Martha Beck

Integrity Necklace.
Handmade with tourmaline quartz and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


Oro

A great smile is a wonderful asset, but a good heart is pure gold.
— Dolly Parton

Oro.
Acrylic and gouache on paper.
7.87” by 10.47” (20 by 26.6 cm).


Viva

I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.
— Joseph Campbell

Viva Necklace.
Handmade with purple mohave turquoise and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


Weightless

The wind of change, whatever it is, blows most freely through an open mind.
— Katherine Whitehorn

Weightless Necklace.
Handmade with Peruvian blue opal and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


Chrysalis

How strange that the nature of life is change, yet the nature of human beings is to resist change. And how ironic that the difficult times we fear might ruin us, are the very ones that can break us open and help us blossom into who we were meant to be.
— Elizabeth Lesser

Chrysalis.
Acrylic and gouache on paper.
7.87” by 10.47” (20 by 26.6 cm).


Enliven

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
— Howard Thurman

Enlivened Necklace.
Handmade with phosphosiderite and recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


New Paintings

I’ve returned to paint. As I close my eyes, I see colors and shapes that summon memories from the past. My sister and I exploring our grandfather’s garden to find wild berries, then tumbling down sand dunes for hours, until the landscape filled us with fresh air and wonder.

My fingers brushing through my dog’s fur, as I hid in silence, waiting to be found by friends. A warm sweater offering comfort from the afternoon chill, scratches on my belly as I crawled through the tower of hay bales outside the stable; our parents doing their best to give us a colorful childhood.

Summit.
Acrylic and gouache on paper.
Soon in my online shop.


Wind

I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart. I am. I am. I am.
— Sylvia Plath

Wind Necklace.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.


Julie

Meet Julie, who is a ray of light and was my mom’s dearest friend. She surprised me by wearing every ring mom gave her, when I visited her beautiful ceramics shop at the Bazaar Sabado this weekend.