Spirit

October 26, 2018 by

I’m making you lovely things right now and it is very well with my soul.  This is the latest iteration of my “Spirit” series which continues to develop and grow like a living and breathing thing here in its fourth year, FOURTH YEAR, of being coaxed into being from metal, stone, flame and fingertip:

“We are not separate from spirit, we are in it.” [Plotinus]

Oh, I believe it and I feel it to be true.

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It’s difficult for me to survive these fire seasons, these staggering times of utter dishevelment followed by extreme illumination and creative rise.  I live in a dingy cave of fatigue and lonesomeness while he is away at work and then he returns and it’s as though my very fingertips are flame.  I feel myself reborn.  Reconstituted from the summer mud of soot and tears.  Set upright.  Ready to begin again.  The fire season burns me alive and then I experience a wild regrowth that shoots me skyward.

I sometimes wonder what my creative life would be like without it.

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I’m holding these earrings over until I have a bundle of them made.  I hope to stock my shop shelves for you in the first week of November.

Thank you for being in my world.

XX

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April 11, 2018 by

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https://www.thenoisyplume.com/blog/2018/04/11/13803/

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Sustained By Chukar

January 28, 2018 by

Chukar wishbones in sterling silver.  Simple.  Clean.  Effortless.  Wild and true.

The pursuit of this bird saves our souls, bonds us to our dogs, feeds our bodies and washes our spirits clean.  By this bird, we are sustained.

I’m delighted to be offering this beautiful, delicate necklace in my shop again.  If you ever wanted a quiet piece that is truly

+OF THE WEST+

this is it.

XX

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August 12, 2017 by

Some things may come and go but I think my inspirations are always going to revolve around these things:

Idaho & New Mexico

Catholicism (more specifically liturgy and icons, more specifically than that —> Mary/Virgin of Guadalupe/doves/flames/hearts)

Antique Mexican Jewelry

1930s – 1960s Native American Jewelry

High Desert Light (high desert everything)

Rivers

Mortality vs Immortality (life and death cycles and energy transference) —>bones —>wildflowers—>ethers

American Country Culture (cowboys and indians, steel guitar, trucks, boots, bandanas, horses, dust, grit, rodeo, love and stars and heartbreak and freedom)

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For years I’ve resisted referring to my jewelry style as “Western” but I think it’s safe to say I make Western jewelry.  When I say it is “Of The West” I am talking about a spirit, not a specific look.  I feel the same about my photography efforts.  I shoot the West, my interests lay in capturing the West, so my pictures are of the West.

I heard an interview with John Denver once and he spoke of how his music is classified as “country” but he has never felt like a country music musician.  Instead, he called his music “western” because he was singing of the people and the land of the West.  That portion of his interview really resonated with me as I feel most of my work could be seen in the same light.  Also, just so we’re clear, I really adore John Denver, I am listening to him on vinyl as I write this and it’s beautiful.

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I found myself with a clear studio bench this week, for the first time in months (maybe years) and I decided to let myself play, to take hours to sketch and draw and fiddle with shapes and forms and to build a few things off the cuff, to not worry too much about perfection and straight lines, rather to allow myself to color outside of the lines and wing it.  The result is some reimagined settings for motifs I’ve been working with for years.  Rustic statement pieces that hold a splash of the mystic.  This is my love for the high deserts of New Mexico and Idaho rising up out of me and a dash of Catholic iconography mixed in with my simple, hayseed heart.

This is:

+Of The West+

 

 

https://www.thenoisyplume.com/blog/2017/08/12/13146/

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May 15, 2017 by

Five pronghorn relics built of deep, solid sterling silver, turquoise, prehnite and a trace of 14K gold.  I’m listing these rings in my shop this evening at 8PM (mountain time).  Sizes range from 6-9.

Hope to see you there!

XX

https://www.thenoisyplume.com/blog/2017/05/15/12868/

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