Alien Landscape

A walk through a Martian garden. One of the beautiful desert plant landscapes at the Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA.

Huntington Library Cactus Garden

Refrigerator Magnet

On my refrigerator is a magnet that I purchased years ago for its aspirational words.  I had forgotten about it until the other day when I stopped to read it as I was taking the water out:

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars…” – Jack Kerouac

Still beautiful and inspirational, yet, those words no longer hold for me the same kind of magic they once did. Perhaps it’s because I now understand that those kinds of flames burn out too fast. Perhaps it’s because I now understand that kind of brightness often masks underlying darkness. Perhaps it’s because I now understand those explosions are bright punctuations between the stretches of barren fields. Perhaps it’s because I now understand that words can inflate one’s sense of importance yet will fall short on delivery.

Kerouac’s words are still beautiful and aspirational, yet they are just that, beautiful words.  Perhaps it’s because I now understand that I no longer need to look outside for approval.

Beauty, Function

I love metalsmithing and jewelry design. It's the perfect marriage between beauty and function.  To me beauty without purpose is lifeless, and function without good design is forgettable. 

RIP Silver Moth Necklace

Sherlock Holmes

I love Sherlock Holmes.  Love, Love, Love.  When I was a young girl, I bought a book of Sherlock Holmes stories from a bargain bin, and read it every waking moment until I finished the two-inch-thick book.  It was a compilation of stories from The Strand magazine with the original Illustrations by Sidney Paget. The old typeface and the dark moody Victorian illustrations promised a world full of intrigue with a mystery just around the corner… .How can anyone resist that?

The Adventure of the Silver Blaze

The Adventure of the Speckled Band

The Hound of Baskervilles

Making changes

I read a great quote today.  It was on point about making changes, however big or small.

"The past is our definition. We may strive, with good reason, to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it, but we will escape it only by adding something better to it." ~Wendell Berry

Then I remembered Joseph Campbell and his great quote, "Follow your bliss."  

And that thought was followed by, "Just do it." 

For more information on this silver petal necklace, please click here.

God of Art Jewelry

Rene Lalique

A true genius

Butterfly Woman, (Photo 1)

Hatpin, Wasp and Starflower Pincushions,  (Photo 2)

Carved horn hair comb, (Photo 3)

Dragonfly woman, (Photo 4)

Poppy Maiden Pendant, (Photo 5)

Exquisite Perfection

About 15 years ago, I was watching a young ballerina dance on TV and remember being mesmerized by her. Every movement, every extension, and every pose, a work of genius so obvious, it commanded attention from someone like me who knew nothing about ballet. Her name, Mysty Copeland, and I think she and her talent are absolutely stunning.

                                          (photo)