12.23.24 Time of Inconvenience

Tea towel from Time Capsule Designs

We're living in the age of communication

Where the only voices heard have money in their hands

Where greed has become a sophistication

And if you ain't got money

You ain't got nothin' in this land

An' here I am one lonely woman

On these mean streets

Where the right to life man has become my enemy

-- Nanci Griffith, Time of Inconvenience (1994)

I've been listening to Nanci Griffith a lot in the past few weeks.  I find her thirty year old songs have a very current resonance (or maybe I'm just old).  

After returning to the blog this summer I thought I was back on the wagon...but I couldn't write anything in November, I just didn't have it in me.  The election was devasting - both nationally, and here in Texas.  I'm still trying to figure out in what world Ted Cruz beats in Colin Allred...apparently, the one we live in.

The earrings that were
my first project last year

I had a lot more hope this time last year than I do right now, but I'm trying to be optimistic...and part of that includes looking back on the really good things that happened for me in 2024.

In January I went back to jewelry classes at ACC - and it was amazing.  I knew I had missed being creative, I just didn't know how much.  It was wonderful to work in a community setting, to see old friends and make new ones, and to be actively engaged in learning.  I can't wait to start again in in a few weeks - I'll be taking metal engraving for the first semester of 2025.

In February we went to DC to spend time with friends and family - a trip we make every year to celebrate the birthday of my favorite (and only) great niece - we're already booked for the weekend of her party in a couple of months, she'll be 6.

With Mary and Mrs. K

It's always a jam packed few days - this past year we were able to squeeze in a visit with one of my best childhood friends and her mom.  I'm so glad we did - it turned out to be my last visit with Mrs. K - in the home where I spent so much time, and have so many wonderful memories.

March marked a full year since my gallbladder surgery. I have made a complete recovery - something that would not have been possible without so much support from the people around me - my wonderful family, incredible medical staff and my friends.

One of those friends in particular, Abby, was there for pretty much the whole gallbladder saga. She comes to Austin every March for SXSW, and I had just seen her in 2023 before I ended up in the hospital.

I couldn't exercise - even gentle yoga - for quite some time after the surgery; but in lieu of our usual practice Abby helped me with guided meditation through my convalescence.  This year there were no surprises - before or after her trip to Austin - and we were able to see each other twice during her brief stay.  Bonus - she was back for a quick visit and we attended an amazing yoga workshop together just a couple of weeks ago.

Things are always busy around here in the spring, but this year saw a massive influx of visitors in April because Central Texas was in the path of totality for the solar eclipse.

While people came in from all over the world - including a childhood friend of mine who now lives in Amsterdam (it was really fun to see her) - we opted to watch from the end of our driveway.

The absolute peak of our year came in May.

Dr. Hood, and her very proud parents

There is nothing like the joy and pride that comes with watching someone you love achieve their goals...especially if that someone is your child.

In May, our daughter graduated from UC Berkeley with her PhD in molecular and cell biology.  Not only were we there, but her village showed up for her.  We were joined by family and friends from near and far to watch her receive her hood - my only regret is that my parents, especially my father - couldn't be there with us.

Graduation ring from Estudio Zanny

While graduation was the highlight of the week, we did some fun tourist things, too.  The weather was beautiful, we visited both the University of California and City of Berkeley botanical gardens (if you've been here a minute you know I love flowers as much as jewelry).  

We laughed, we cried (well, I did) and we ate wonderful food.  Like her brother's wedding a couple of years ago, it filled my heart. She got a ring, too - but I didn't make it.  Cal's colors are blue and gold so we gave her a beautiful sapphire from my dear friend Zanny Cox.

Simple round link chain

Once we got home I was back at ACC in summer school for June and July, and focused on one big project - making a mixed metal trombone link chain.

Making chain was a new skill for me.  I had made a simple link chain with various sized jump rings during my first semester, and enjoyed the process. 

 

I'd been looking at vintage trombone chains for some time, but hadn't seen what I wanted at a price I was willing to pay, so I asked my friend and teacher De if I could focus on that during our short semester.

Trombone chain and t-bar

Her response was both positive and enthusiastic - and my idea lined up well with a class project.  The first thing she suggested was that I prototype the idea in copper - so that I could work through the design and to determine how much metal, especially gold, I would need to order.

I learned so much making this piece, and it has become a staple in my jewelry wardrobe. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see this chain showing up regularly - sometimes on it's own, or with the t-bar or charms attached.

Not quite as big an accomplishment as a PhD, but I'm pretty proud of the metalsmithing I did.

Navajo pearls from Santa Fe

In August my husband and I did something that we had not done in a very, very long time...we took a vacation by ourselves...not a family trip, not an add on to someplace one of us was going already. A real vacation, and we had so much fun just the two of us that we're going to do it again in 2025!

We drove to Santa Fe and had a wonderful week - just being together and enjoying everything! The skies and scenery were amazing.  The museums - incredible - so was the food, the art and of course, the jewelry.  I came home with some lovely souvenirs.

Twisting steel to make a tool

In September - for the first time in more than 30 years - I was the only one in the family going back to school. Our daughter, PhD in hand, started a postdoc position...and I was signed up to learn a completely new skill - stone setting.  It was a great class - not only was a going to learn new jewelry skills, but I had the opportunity to make my own steel setting tool.

I had fun and it made me a better jeweler - but the most important thing I learned is if I want something set with small stones, I will pay someone else to do it.

At Wellfleet Oysterfest

The calendar may have said fall, but the temperatures continued to say SUMMER into October.  Fortunately, I was able to escape to Cape Cod with my girlfriends.  The weather was gorgeous and the company - well - these women have been my friends for the better part of 50 years, and they are my ride or die.

I know from people I talk to that our friendship is a rare and beautiful thing.  

We grew up together - then for the better part of 30 years we were scattered - only seeing each other occasionally, and rarely all together.  Late in 2021, as we were able to get vaccinated and beginning to come out of our Covid holes, we reconnected as a group...it was though all that time just evaporated...and we've been getting the band back together once a year ever since.

in the sound booth

As I did with the blog, I'm just gonna skip November...

Despite no longer having a dancer in the house, it's not December without Nutcracker.  Once again I had the pleasure of visiting the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired as a docent for Ballet Austin, and then being in the sound booth to do the descriptive narration when the students attended the performance.

It always brings me joy to end the year with my Ballet Austin family.  I started as a docent more than 20 years ago, and I love being a part of the production even though I'm no longer a Nutcracker parent.

I've never been more grateful for "my people" than I am today. If you are reading this, you are a part of that community (pretty sure the only folks who read my blog see the notices on Instagram or Facebook) - and I am glad that you are here.

I have no doubt that the next four years are going to be difficult - but we will get through them the same way we did before - by showing up with and for each other.

Until next time.

02.16.23 Forging Ahead

About those rings...

since we saw the kids in DC last weekend - our first trip back since the fall - I figured today would be a good time to post.

The wedding was absolutely the highlight - and in many ways the saving grace - of 2022.

Our son and daughter in law worked so hard to make sure everyone had a part - and by the end of the week we were all one big family - 

although most of us had never met before.

Not quite a year ago (March 2022), we went to DC to visit and start planning the big event; standing on the balcony of the wedding venue, they asked me to make their wedding rings.  

In hindsight I don't know why I hesitated - even for a moment - because it was so much fun; and now a piece of me (and my heart) is with them every day.

I reached out to my friend and teacher, De Pastel, and we set up a schedule to work together on the rings.  I also gave the kids some assignments...go try on some rings, see what they liked, and to get their ring sizes.

We were supposed to travel early in the summer, to meet our son's future in-laws and while we were there I was going to get an impression of the engagement ring to make sure that when I made my daughter in law's wedding band, it would be a perfect fit.  

The trip never happened, so I sent instructions and the thermoplastic to DC without me, and the US mail took care of getting it back and forth.

With the size information and their metal choices - 14 K gold, yellow for him, palladium white for her - De and I got to work.

The rings were made through a process called forging - basically beating the metal into submission. I started with ring stock - 2 mm half round for her ring, and 6 mm comfort fit for his - which, with De's guidance, I carefully measured and cut to the appropriate length.

We started with the smaller, easier ring - shaping it on a mandrel, heating it when it became work hardened, and hammering and heating again, until it began to form a circle.

The next step was to make the ends meet. The first one went pretty quickly, but I'll admit, that my arms were sore at the end of the day because it was a whole lot of work to bend a piece of solid gold 6 mm wire.

Despite being tired, I was very satisfied that after a few hours at De's bench. With her instruction and supervision, what I had in front of me was beginning to look a lot like a pair of wedding bands.

Clearly - they weren't finished - but there was no question left in my mind that I was going to have them done in plenty of time for the wedding.

Everything about making the rings brought me joy.  

Being back at a bench, with tools in my hands, time with De (including a couple of wonderful P. Terry's lunches during our sessions), and knowing that once they put them on, my kids would wear them out into the world as symbols of their love and commitment.

I went back to De's studio for a second day to finish the work.  At the end of the first day, the bands were round-ish...but "ish" was not what we were going for...the goal was perfection.  De's years of experience and eagle eye were invaluable as I continued to shape and size the rings before cleaning and polishing them.

I'm not sure I've ever been more proud of my work - there were no uneven edges, no seams or even tiny specks of solder visible - just continuous, shiny, gold rings.

I sent pictures, but the kids didn't actually see the rings until just a couple of days before the wedding.  Fortunately, they had been very good about getting their hands sized properly, and we were very careful in our measurement.

The result - perfect fits on both bands!

While the rings were for them, the process was a gift for me.  Time at the bench and with De reminded me how much joy there is in making things...

...especially when those things are special, one of a kind pieces of jewelry (inspired by the one of a kind people they were made for).

The only thing better than visits with my kids...is seeing the rings on their hands when I do.

Until next time.

03.09.20 Tourist for a Day

This is the photo in my blog banner.  It is a collection of zircons from the Hall of Gems at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

I took it in the summer of 2013 (before I ever thought seriously about taking jewelry making classes) on a family vacation to Washington DC. I grew up in the DC suburbs, our family had a membership to the Smithsonian - and went often - this became my favorite exhibit more than 40 years ago.

In front of Calder's "Obus"

We were back in DC in February - it was a weekend of wall to wall family events - except for a few hours on our first day there...so, we hopped on the Metro and headed out to be tourists!

We started at the National Gallery of Art - also a favorite - especially the contemporary art in the East Wing. Not only did I see Calder's sculptures and mobiles, but there is a new Ellsworth Kelly installation in the foyer.

Ellsworth Kelly at NGA

While my own work tends to be much less abstract - I have always loved the incredible use of vibrant color by both of these artists.  I could (and have) spend hours in the museum's light filled atrium just meditating on the objects around me.

NGA Degas Art Mug

After soaking up some culture, grabbing lunch, and this fabulous new mug (link in the photo caption if you want one too) - we headed over to the Museum of Natural History...because a Smithsonian visit is not complete without a trip through the gems.

I spent a couple of hours meandering through the halls filled with rough and finished stone specimens...but it was different from my previous experiences...this time I was looking at the gems and minerals as a jeweler. 

Cross section of Spectrolite

I could identify things by sight - without first looking at the information labels - and as I walked through, I was thinking about the various pieces I had made using the stones in the glass cases.

It sounds silly, but I was almost giddy when I realized how much more meaningful it felt to come back to this place with new knowledge.



I decided to take photos - a lot of photos - of the various stones I have used in my work, and I created an album on Facebook.  Over time, my plan is to add photos of my jewelry made with these minerals and gems in the comments under the pictures from the museum.

I loved this turquoise grouping (of course I did) - especially the piece showing the bright blue in the matrix, which I use in so many pieces.



I knew when I started taking classes at Creative Side that I would learn new things, but I continue to be surprised at how much knowledge I've acquired - about myself, the creative process, and the world around me - beyond what I expected.

Thanks as always for joining me on the journey.

Until next time.