An Eventful Summer

Where to start?  How about our trip to California in July, driving down the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco, with various stops in between, to San Simeon.  I fell in love with the rugged coastline, the foggy beaches and the marine life.  The highlight was a whale watching trip out of Monterey on a research vessel with a marine biologist. The krill were abundant, and they drew the great blue whales and humpbacks.  Heading out into their feeding grounds, we could see their water spouts (blows) and were overwhelmed to see so many, everywhere we looked.  We could tell the difference between the blow of the great blue versus that of the humpback.  The great blue sends up a huge column of blow at least 30-40 feet; the humpback has a smaller blow that rains down in a heart shape. We saw the great blues surfacing but the most exciting part was seeing two humpbacks breach and having two curious humpbacks approach our boat, almost within touching distance.  I had my camera and all that came out of my mouth was "holy cow, holy cow."  It was a moment I'll never forget, a rare and touching gift to get that close to such a magnificent creature.  It changed me in ways I'm still coming to understand.  We joined Greenpeace while in CA.  How could I not if I value the majesty and intelligence of those whales?

To top off the California trip, I went to the International PMC conference at Purdue University and had the opportunity to meet my heroes in the jewelry world and learn tips and tricks from some of the best.  Robert Dancik's presentation on cold connections was inventive:  he used larger-than-life props made of cardboard and other objects so everyone in the room could see what he was talking about.  Way to go Robert!  I made new friends and felt connected to the world of PMC in a new way.  If you're a PMC artist who didn't make the conference, I'll be posting some of the tips I learned at the conference.

Then reality hit with my brother's out-of-the-blue diagnosis of a very aggressive form of cancer, so life turned inside out and we are rallying together as a family for his mega-surgery on September 29th. 

Also since my last post, I've discovered I'm going to be a grandma - and it's a girl.  I'm swooning over the first ultrasound photos, one with a clear profile.  She's adorable already!

In between all these family events, I have managed to eke out time in my studio and create some new work.  

Most exciting is that I have been juried into the Grovewood Gallery, on the grounds of the Grove Park Inn in Asheville.  They want to introduce my line of jewelry in April when there's more space becoming available in the gallery.  I've been wanting to branch out of the local area and this is a great start.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying my connections with FRANK and the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts.  Sofia's in Carr Mill Mall also does well selling my jewelry, a different line I create for clothing boutiques. 

Alas, we couldn't get the France workshop this fall to fly.  We had several registrants but not quite enough to make it a go, so we're shooting for next June.  It turns out to have been a good thing for me personally with my brother's illness and wanting to be home to support and help out.  So watch out for details coming on next June's workshop in otherwordly Chateau Dumas.
I'll be bringing Janet Harriman as co-teacher - a talented artist and experience teacher.