Why yes, I am still quite alive. I apologize for my absence, but these last few weeks of May have been busy for me… for sure. And… the weather here has been GORGEOUS, so it has been challenging for me to stay indoors and give attention to my blog and my art. I promise this coming week that I will be better about these two items. So for quite some time now, well, since I moved to the west coast, I’ve had this urge to do some film documentation of what I encounter. My plan is finally getting played out, someone has inspired me to kick it in gear. So the plan is (hopefully I can keep it up) to film five to 10 second snippets during the month and then make it into a two to five minute film at the end. So here we begin with the month of May…

I’m really into this song today.

Enjoy…

Since I’ve heard that both my mom and my mother-in-law, have received their Mother’s Day surprise packages, I can now share them with you!

Nurture thy Mind No.8 Pendant Necklace – Mother’s Day – Jade

For my mother-in-law’s pendant, I incorporated my favorite coastal plant to draw… jade. I also included my signature globes, orbs, honeycomb and those cute lil’ spiderweb-like stitchings. The week before Mother’s Day, her and I were chit-chatting on the phone. She was telling me how she is so appreciative of all the artwork I have done for her in the years past. I am so grateful to have such a supportive mother-in-law. The topic of my art was brought up because she was rearranging her sitting room. She had gathered all my artworks and decorated the room with them.  So when this petite artwork showed up in her mailbox, you can imagine her reaction. And discovering that it was just not art… but also jewelry!

And get a glimpse of the back!

I incorporated a vintage map of my “born n’ raised” state, Nebraska and scattered some doodles. Off to the left you can see a snippet of the term family and it’s definition from an antique pocket-sized dictionary.

Nurture thy Mind No.9 Pendant Necklace – Mother’s Day – Pine

For my mom’s pendant, I incorporated some sort of pine that I discovered on a trail on Germantown Road. I have yet to research it! I also included orbs, honeycomb and those cute lil’ spiderweb-like stitchings too. Discovering this tree connected thoughts in my head of memories playing around the pine trees that my parents have in their backyard. When they planted them I was seven years old they were probably 4 feet or so… and now having quadrupled in size, they’ve long outgrown my height.

And No.9’s backside…

This is ultimately my favorite back that I have ever. ever. done. To go into detail about this, would be like writing a book. This portion of Omaha has a lot of history, a lot of memories for my mom as well as for me. After using a definition in my mother-in-law’s pendant, I fell in love with incorporating terms. So on my mom’s pendant I incorporated a snippet of the word “together” and it’s definition. I finished the back by stamping my birthdate at the very top, which happens to be tomorrow or in an hour, however you look at it. I’m very content with these two pieces. It’s so tranquil that, through art, you can elaborate on these memories.

Every once in awhile, I love hitting the open road with some good tunes. Saturday was one of those days. With the sun gleaming down I headed out west with no planned destination. I picked up a new pair of the biggest sunglasses I could find at Target. I’m in love with the rims, they are a transparent golden yellow. My drive met Astoria and Seaside. It was my first visit to Astoria, second to Seaside. I was amazed and nervous at how long the Astoria-Megler bridge was. I’m not sure the exact length but I’ve heard it is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America. As I started driving up it, it felt as if I was trudging up a roller coaster. Wild. It was good to visit Seaside again. Half remains of Sand dollars were all over the shore. It was so bizarre to see since I didn’t find a single one on my last visit. I always forget how cold the coast is in comparison to Portland. It was nice to end my visit with a cup of hot clam chowder.

Happy Friday all!

Portlanders out there I hope you’re out enjoying that big ball of fire in the sky! It sure has been awhile! I’m very anxious to enjoy it myself so I’m making this post very very short!

Nurture thy Mind No.7 Pendant Necklace – Cluster of Globes – purchase

I decided that I needed to make a pendant that a had a cluster of my signature drawn globes. Like I have said in the past these are symbolic for me… I’d like to think that they keep thoughts safe. It also includes a portion of an old map of an area I enjoyed bike riding with my mom when I was a child.

Have a lovely weekend all!

Take a gander of what I created this afternoon!

Nurture thy Mind No.6 Pendant Necklace – Jade – purchase

I’m falling in love with drawing spiderweb-like stitching in my latest mixed media works; and finishing them off with filling in the negative space with my favorite Prismacolor markers & pencils. In this particular piece you can find this element in the bottom left-hand corner. I like how the stitching is somewhat mechanical, like it belongs in a CAD drawing.

Last Friday, Chelsea Ann and I headed out to the winding Germantown Road. We sure had fun snapping pictures with her new Canon. You can view the snaps that I took and her very sweet post about me here!

Good morning and happy Sunday all! I don’t normally post on the weekend but today is an exception. I have to share my excitement with you… I’m featured on Nfall2rt’s Sunday Seller Spotlight! How cool, huh?! Link: http://nfall2rt.blogspot.com

Happy May Day all!

I’m in such a good May Day mood that I’m having a sale on my necklaces… and today only! From now until midnight (PST) the Nurture thy Mind pendant necklaces will be listed as $30, instead of $40! Just in time for some of you to nab one for your mother for Mother’s Day on May 10th!

Nurture thy Mind No.3 Pendant Necklace – Weeping Willow – purchase

Nurture thy Mind No.4 Pendant Necklace – Box Elder – purchase

Nurture thy Mind No.5 Pendant Necklace – Cherry Blossom – purchase