A Couple New Projects

Quick post today since I didn't make it yesterday.  :)  I was working on a couple of things.

Sold

I was able to pick up a few more pieces of Chevron Amethyst a couple weeks ago and they've been calling my name ever since.  Plus I've been itching to spend some time with my Weller Soldering Iron.  I call it my wand.  I know that's not proper but that's what it is.  Magic comes from that thing!  Even though I now have a torch, which I call my flame thrower, I still love the rawness I get from my wand.  Most everything I do with it comes out with a very boho gyspy feel to it. How can you not love that!

I'm also experimenting with copper a little.

Copper Butterfly with Blue Patina

Can you see that blue patina?  Oh yeah, I'm in love!  This is totally an experimental piece so I'm not sure it will ever make it to the shop.  I've got a couple other techniques I'm considering.  It's either going to get some hand cut words and a coat of resin, or I'm going to torch some solder and do a little stamping.  Who knows, maybe I'll do both. Then there's also the possibility of adding some alcohol ink for more color. At this point it doesn't really matter what I decide, I'm pretty excited about the direction it's taking and that's what really counts.

I will be posting more about our ride.  There's just photos to edit and I've had to manage some priorities.  Time is a bit of a factor this week.  :)  That's the way life goes I guess.

I'm off to pick up this cute girl from Volleyball camp today.

So ready to have her home!  And tomorrow this amazing young man will be home too.  I miss them terribly when they are gone.  Not sure how well I'm going to manage when they actually start moving out.

Looking forward to having a few days of all my kids under the same roof!  We've not had much of that this summer with my boy working out of town.  There will for sure be some benefits to having school start.  I hate school, but all three will be home every night again.  YAY!

Have a great day everyone!  Time providing I'll be back tomorrow.  :)

Gratitude and Curiosity, The Spices of My Life

I took a character strength quiz a few years ago.  It was no surprise to me when Gratitude showed up as #1 and Curiosity came it at #2.  These two elements of who I am are the salt and pepper to my everyday life.

From the time I was very young I was taught that there is something good in every experience.  No matter how painful, there is always something good that comes with the bad.  It comes naturally for me to look for the silver lining, my curiosity wouldn't have it any other way.  I'm grateful for that.

The last couple of weeks have been a bit crazy.  A few days after we got home from our ride I headed out to Callao Ut to visit my son and see exactly what his new job consists of.  The girls and I went with him to do his chores, get the grand tour of the ranch, and visit Indian Farm canyon and some ponds nearby.  It's so so beautiful out there.  Then Monday morning it was time to load up and get my oldest daughter to Volleyball camp.  Lots of traveling for this girl lately.

I had a feeling the day before we headed out to Callao that I was going to blow a tire during the trip.  Sure enough, just before I headed back in to town, I lost a rear.  Lucky for us we were on a dirt road and I was driving pretty slow.  My boy and I (along with some very appreciated help here and there) managed to get the spare on an get me back on the road.  I didn't realize how very lucky we were until yesterday.  After having a new tire put on I noticed that a vibration I had noticed a few weeks earlier was all but gone.  Turns out that tire was coming apart long before I blew it.  There had been several trips, with speeds of up to 80mph, before the blowout.  Most of which someone I love dearly was with me.  Gratitude at it's finest right there folks!  That tire was gonna go no matter what.  My family and I were being watched over to have it happen where it did.  Once again we were all taken care of.  Still today, doing this blog post, it starts the water works.  Great big tears of gratitude.

I don't know first hand the adversities and challenges other families face.  I only know ours and my own.  I know it was my curiosity that led me to the people that mean the most in my life and my gratitude that enables me to express my genuine love and admiration for them.  I know the gratitude for my children and the curiosity to see how my son is doing his work led me to Callao and quite possibly prevented one of us from being seriously injured.  All that along with the divine hand of God protecting us.

Without curiosity I would not be where I am.  I would not be able to call myself an artist.  I would not have found the love of my life.  I would not have the children I do.  I would have never got on a motorcycle.  Never traveled to Canada.  Never experienced all the amazing things I have and I would not live the adventures I do daily.

Without gratitude I wouldn't even know how much I love those closest to me.  I wouldn't understand how blessed I am.  I wouldn't even be able to conceive all the beauty in my life.  Especially when things get tough.  I simply would not understand the gift that has been given to me to live in this body, with these people, and GET to experience all the dynamics of life with them.

So on the days when I'm being tested, when my bank account says I'm so screwed, when things are changing (as they always do), when the darkness starts creeping back in, I take a big step back and allow myself to see the beauty even in the hard.  I allow myself to be grateful for the experience and allow my curiosity to keep my patient enough to see how it's all going to turn out.

Jailhouse Cafe, Moab, and Hole in the Rock

The first morning of our ride we headed straight out of Green River Ut. in to Moab Ut.  The Big White Guy (the BWG) and I were pretty excited given that neither of us had spent any time there before.  I've learned not to put expectations on new places and just accept them as they are.  It makes for a better overall experience.

 Seemed like a good fit for us.  :)  Who wouldn't want to eat at a place like this?

We loved the set up of the Jailhouse Cafe.  It had an outdoor sitting area that was perfect and LOTS of flowers surrounding the cafe.  We had a nice view of the main drag which gave me a little time to really inspect any potential galleries or funky shops to check out.  The food was so so but not worth what we paid for it.  This probably isn't a place we will stop again, but was great for a "one timer" and they had coffee.  I'm all about coffee.  Really!  Especially after waiting for that first cup.

We also hit the Kokopelli Gallery in Moab.  It's a pretty big gift shop/gallery that was full of some pretty damn amazing artwork and jewelry.  I'd totally stop there again.  I will say that in all the jewelry I inspected during the ride some was really really good, and some could have been really really good if not for some shoddy metal work.  I'm a perfectionist.  Big time.  In my world you should not be able to see the seam in a bezel.  I was able to walk out of this shop feeling pretty good about my skills yet realizing it will be a forever learning process.  I always always inspect artwork and jewelry in shops and galleries.  Not to critique their work, but to see where I can improve my own.  I can often times pick up new technique ideas I want to try or see where I need to improve.  Even when I see work I think could be better, I still carry the utmost respect for these artists. This is a tough calling.  And anyone who can put there stuff out there for the masses deserves some respect.  They are trying.  They are in the arena getting their ass kicked.  I will always have respect for that.

I also figured out I can take photos while we are going down the road.  And they don't turn out half bad.  Ya gotta be super careful though. It would be pretty easy for that road wind to take your phone for a ride.

I seriously love this pic.  :)  This was just heading in to what would be our next stop.  One of our buddies that was riding with us is a truck driver.  He had been by this hundreds of times and never been able to stop simply because it's not a good place for a big truck.  We were all pretty excited for him to whip in there.

We parked right by this bowling ball cactus.

I cannot even imagine the time involved in building this thing.  Holy crap.  And everything at this place was all about the details that took thousands and thousands of man hours to construct.  To say it was damn cool doesn't even begin to cover it.  Check out this Jeep!

I think I need one.  And I also think that between the BWG and I we could totally pull it off.

This was a memorial set up for the people who started the place.  At least that's the story I got.

I don't know if they are really buried here or not.  But it was heart touching none the less.  There was even a pet cemetery. 

I appreciate people who love their pets.

This was my sign it was going to be a good ride.  I'm big on signs and anytime I come across one of these suns it gets my attention.  This one actually had a bird nest in the eyes and a baby bird greeted us.  :)  So cool!

Who doesn't love a good outhouse.

I told the BWG we could take this little "pad" home for him to stay in when I'm mad.  I'm not sure he thought it was very funny but I sure giggled.

Seriously, if you are ever headed south out of Moab Ut and you see this coming ....

By all means STOP and check it out!  There's so much more to see than what I've shared here and it's totally worth it.  More pics from the ride tomorrow.  You can click on any of the photos posted here and see a larger version if there's something that deserves a "closer look" as my grandson would say.

Have a great day everyone!

If You Want To Get To Know Someone, Go On The Road

I've decided that if you ever really want to know someone, and how well you mesh, one of the best ways to find out is to go on the road with them.  Really.

This was pretty much a defining moment for me.  We'd hit some rain the day before.  But some rain really doesn't count for much.  Anyone can deal with that.  By the time we got to this cute little veranda we were soaked, and it was only going to get worse.

See, cute veranda WITH live music!  :)  Great place to get out of the rain.

I'm not big on group rides.  At all.  The Big White Guy and I have our own little way of doing things that works for us.  It's gets tough for me to step outside of that.  ESPECIALLY when there is a "camp coordinator".  I hate being told what to do and how to do it.  That just pisses me off, and even more so on a ride.  I've only been on a handful of overnight group rides and there have a few I loved and a few I wanted to pull every hair out of my head and punch someone in the face.

However, this time, our own little way of doing things meshed GREAT with the friends we rode with. (I hope they feel the same.)  You really get to see a whole different side of people when you're on a ride and I either end up never wanting anything to do with them again, or with a whole new level of love and respect.  I feel especially honored to have spent those days with these people.  One I knew very well and love her more now than ever.  The others I got to know better and all of them will forever hold a place in my heart.  They were considerate, kind, respectful, funny, fun, interesting, and independent.  I love those qualities in people.  Especially on the road. 

Crazy Rednecks!  Who says Harleys weren't built for dirt roads?  Try telling that to some old school desert racers.  :)

So really, if you ever want to know if you really like someone, and if they really fit in your life, hit the road with them.  After you spend a few days out in the elements, traveling to unknown places, and running without a clock, you'll know for certain.

More on the actual ride in the next few days. :)  Until then here's the latest piece I was inspired to come home and make.

Click here for more pics and details.

 

It's created from a genuine free form amethyst and argentium silver (my favorite).  Enjoy.  :)

We Made It!

Well, the vacation is over (bummer), and we made it home safe (YAY!).  I've got lots to post this week but lots to catch up on too.  So today is just mostly a quick check in until I can formulate what I want to share into words.

Once again Colorado was AMAZING!

Ouray Colorado

This is just one of the many beautiful views we enjoyed on the 4th of July.  I honestly can't think of a better way to have spent the holiday that celebrates freedom and independence.

Tomorrow I will start sharing what is going to take several days to get through.  It's pretty tough to cram five days in to one blog post.  But for today I'm off to finish my catch up work and a ring I started yesterday.  (Told you I would come home with lots of creative inspiration.  :)  Happens every time.)

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! 

Let The Ride Begin.

We head out for our annual vacation ride this evening.  And all I can say is THANK GOD!  After two days of making absolutely nothing, doing laundry, cleaning, taking care of loose ends, I'm about to lose it!  It's time to get the hell out of here for a few days.  The planning of this ride has been nothing less than a complete pain in the ass from the very beginning.  Note to self: DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!  I don't do well with plans.  It's so much better to just jump on and go!  But, it has finally arrived and by tonight I'll be in full on relax mode.

We did get our Street Glide back on Saturday.  This is our driveway now.  :)

After MONTHS of getting jerked around either by our insurance company or the Harley dealership we had fix the bike.  (It had a mishap with a milk truck back in April, thank GOD the Big White Guy wasn't on it).  If you ever find a business that actually provides great customer service please let me know.  It seems to be a lost art these days.  It's all about people collecting their money and not caring about the quality of work they are getting paid to do.  We opted to keep all the banged up parts and I did get a giggle out of this ...

That's half a Harley Davidson in the back of my Montero.  The only time I can say I couldn't ride it but still took it with me.  The Montero was packed!  Even the passenger seat was loaded.  Other than some pretty serious blind spots it made for a nice riding companion.

We did decide to make a few little changes.  New pipes!  And they are LOUD!

I love the look of the Big Radius pipes on a bagger.  It's not something you see everyday.   I guess we will see if I'm going to hate the added noise this weekend, but I'm guessing no.  There's something pretty soothing about that rumble as you're going down the road.

Even Shorty is pretty happy to have the bike home.  She wanted to wash the Street Glide last night.  We had her start with the Sporty for practice.  I don't care who you are, this is freaking CUTE!  It was a great family night washing the bikes in the driveway.

She's always been pretty fascinated with the bikes.  She's the only little girl I've ever seen that would watch Biker Build Off and Orange County Choppers alone.  She's loved them ever since the first one came home.  :)

So here we are.  The day has finally arrived.  And after all the bullshit we WILL be on the road.  That's the payoff.  I'm praying like hell we don't have any issues with the bike.  There's already been a few little things that the dealership screwed up on, which pisses me right off given the fact that it was near a $10,000 repair bill, but hopefully we won't run into anything serious.

It's hard to say if I will be motivated enough to post anything while we are away.  Usually I have a hard time even taking pics.  I get so lost in the moment I don't even think about stuff like that.  I AM going to make more of an effort to take photos though.  We need better logs of our rides, just for future purposes.

Everyone have a great 4th of July weekend!  I'll be back by Monday, hopefully with some pretty good "tales from the road" and lots of inspiration for new jewelry.  :)

Dream Big and then Dream Bigger

I've always been a master daydreamer, even when I was a child.  It's always come naturally to me.  I didn't learn how to throw that in to action until I hit my early twenties.

Last week there were lots of little things popping up to remind me to keep dreaming.  I get obsessed with my work sometimes.  I do a lot of plotting, planning, practicing, and I forget the magic of dreaming.  Without the magic the rest doesn't count for a whole lot.  Sometimes I need a little reminder.
 It's obvious with my children that I'm big on dreaming.  My shorty surprised me with this.  It was serendipity too.  It came just after I had read a really cool post of facebook, that of course I can't find now, about not only dreaming, but dreaming bigger.

I'm not really surprised that when sat down to work jewelry yesterday this is what came out.  My very first ring! This one is not for sale but I will be taking orders after my vacation.  I was practicing with some scrap and there are some imperfections on the back side I would never send out to customer.  But it's awesome for me.  :)

Dreaming is the magic, it's the motivation that keeps moving us toward our goals.  It's the fuel that moves us in to action.  My dreaming has not been big enough. I gotta go BIGGER.  It's going to require a huge amount of moving out of my comfort zone.  It's not going to be easy, but it will be fun.  I've already started plotting my course of action.  I'll have plenty of time the next week to get some solid dreaming in and put a firm plan together.  Vacation starts in two days and there's no place better to dream than on a Harley.  :)  Then, come July 7th, action will begin.  :)

I also want to share this custom order I did over the weekend.  :)

I did these for one of the sweetest girls on the planet.  :)  This is where the scrap for my ring came from.  I killed it the first go around and had to start over.  No biggie.  However when I get back to the table I'll be doing some work with different shapes.  I think I have the little squares about mastered.

Happy Monday everyone, and remember not only to dream, but DREAM BIGGER!