So, ya, another long absence. I’ll give you the short version. Last year, in mid-summer, my body gave out on me. I spent a lot of time seeing doctors and was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Palindrome Rheumatoid. I’m … Continue reading
The last week was kind of crazy busy, and the weekends are always just too much for me to even have a moment to myself. So this morning, after taking all day yesterday to recover, I caught up on the … Continue reading
I’ve decided to join a photo a day group to help me keep my creative juices flowing. I have tried out numerous photo-a-day groups over the years, but never really stuck with any of them. I am challenging myself to … Continue reading
So sorry there haven’t been too many updates. I’m working even more hours (did a full 40 last week) at my day job, have been trying to keep up with my 5 year old son, and trying to keep up with house work (that’s not working out too well). I only managed to crochet one headband. Ugh. It has been an interesting time though.
On Saturday, my sister stopped by to drop off some stuff my Mom wanted me to have, including her old sewing machine and accessories.
This is the sewing machine I learned to sew on over 30 years ago, and haven’t used it since then either. Going to try to take some time to get it cleaned up and see if I can remember how to use it. She also sent along an old Reader’s Digest sewing book and her sewing box, as well as some fabric. One of the fabrics she told me she bought 40 years ago, when I was still in a stroller, wow.
My son and I did a couple of scavenger hunts this past week. When we did the second one he wanted to take pictures, so we both went out with our cameras, and Daddy joined us. I practiced using the strobe light and the diffuser. Here are a few shots I took:
I’m working on getting pictures of the headbands to share and setting up for a boutique in June. I’ll share that when I can.
So, back in February (time flies) I got a new, regular job. A job at a company that I could not turn down. More pay, better hours, and health insurance! Not happy that I must work a regular job again, … Continue reading
Happy to have some new jewelry finished to share with you. Been working hard the past couple of weeks, through sickness and a new job, to get these done. Spent the day taking pictures today so I can finally share … Continue reading
Where did January go? This year is flying by so fast already.
Both my fiance, Aaron, and I fell off the unemployment rolls recently. While I have been lucky enough to have found a part time job (two in fact, though I am leaving one at the end of the week), Aaron has not been so lucky. Most of my time this year has been spent job hunting and interviewing and orientating. I also can’t deny that I have taken some time for myself, so I don’t go too crazy.
I haven’t spent any time on being creative. No new art, no new jewelry, though I did get some good photographs and I did come up with some new designs at the end of last year, but it will take some months before those new designs can come to fruition.
I am hoping to be able to get back to jewelry making by the end of this month. Now that I have a job that isn’t stressing me out so much that I can’t function, it should be easier to find some free time for creating.
I do have plans to participate in the SWAN day event in Martinez this year. Once my application is in and my boss approves me the time off, I’ll post the information for you all.
Happy Valentine’s!
*That’s my son in the picture.
I’d like to start doing an artist/ designer/ photographer feature once in awhile. I thought it would be fun to start off with an easy one; my significant other, Aaron Cole. I’m learning a lot about photography from him and would love to share his art with all of you.
Where did you grow up? I spent my younger years in the little town of Port Costa, CA.
Where do you live now? I live in Rodeo, CA
How did you get started in art and photography? I became a photographer at the ripe old age of five. My grandfather loaded up a film camera (a 35mm Minolta) shoved it into my hands and said go make some pictures…He then proceeded to yell at me “DON’T SHAKE THE CAMERA!” That was my first foray into photography so you could say that I grew up in the darkroom.
What inspires you? When I started to show in galleries my attitude was that every time I pulled the camera out of the bag I wanted to learn something new. For the most part I’ve been able to keep that goal, though after a while I learned that it wasn’t necessarily about the camera anymore. I wanted to learn about the people that I photographed, the locations, the history. I capture moments in time and make them immortal. It’s an awesome responsibility to not jack up that moment because these images, these photos are going to live forever on the web.
What is your favorite piece of your work at the moment? At the moment it’s one that I call Port Costa Sunset. I was out photographing landscapes of Martinez, CA at sunset and I turned around to see where the sun was and this view was right in front of me. I quickly turned the camera and made some exposures. It was one of those lucky moments that turned out a great image.
What are you working on at the moment? At the moment I’m getting ready for the next show at the mARTinez Gallery. The theme is Black and White so I’m really excited about it. I’ll be showing about five pieces all black and white. I’ll also be experimenting with a 10″x20″ format size, something I’ve never done before. It’s going to be a great show.
Any tips or inspiration for aspiring photographers? Well, I guess you could say that there are two categories for photographers. The hobbyist and the pro. If you’re a hobbyist, then enjoy the moments, walk slower and take in your surroundings; you never know when that special subject or moment will present itself. Be ready. If you’re a pro then plan on spending the bulk of your time on the business aspect of photography. A scale I recently saw stated that pros spend about 90% of their time on the business part of their job and only about 10% on the photography side. It’s also an incredibly competitive market because the barrier to entry is so low. Today’s camera’s are great at focusing and exposing images correctly. Couple that with the fact that many photographers are willing to give away their art/images for free. Luckily, though, the camera doesn’t make the photographer, it’s just a tool, like a hammer. Only an experienced/knowledgeable photographer will be able to turn out quality images consistently. My best recommendation is find a niche and fill it, become the expert at it. Be the only game in town.
Who are your favorit artists/ photographers? Joe McNally (National Geographic photographer), Robert Capa (grandfather of photojournalism), Robert M. Knight (concert photographer).
Where can we see your work in person? I show regularly at the mARTinez Gallery at 630 Court St. Martinez, CA.
You can view more work by Aaron at his photo web site: photocole.net
This week I’m posting about food. Just a quick post to share some food changes I’ve made over the past year, and how I am still taking baby steps to reach new goals with what I put in my body. … Continue reading
I had decided on making a new blog post once a week, and then decided that Wednesdays would be perfect. I have Wednesday off from my regular job, so plenty of time (a week) to get the post written, and then I can edit and post on Wednesday.
I had a blog post started and just could not get through it. Then, the migraines hit, 2 days of migraines and then a tension headache right when I thought I was getting better. On Wednesday (yesterday) I decided since everyone was going black for SOPA that it would be a good day to finally take a day for myself and recover from the migraines and the stress (so much stress going on here, ack). So I didn’t have a blog post ready for today. What to do? I have to keep my schedule. This year, I will post once a week, at least.
Treasuries. I spent the last couple weeks getting back into making treasuries on Etsy. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed it. I love finding new things and coming up with themes, and all that goes with that. so, I’m sharing my Treasuries from the past couple weeks on Etsy, and one that I was featured in as well. Please enjoy, and I will get to working on next weeks blog post, which may not even be about jewelry, but should be exciting nonetheless.
 Geometric Triangle … $24.00
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 Tour de France Pari… $30.00
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 sunglass / eyeglass… $29.50
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 3 bars Green Tea Mi… $15.00
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 Mint fox felt pin -… $16.00
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 Medium Natural Beig… $9.95
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 Tiny Copper Book Lo… $24.00
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 Latte/ Beige Leathe… $45.00
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 SALE Set of 2 Porce… $28.00
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 Mint copper necklac… $37.00
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 Crochet Earcover – … $18.00
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 Large Mint Chocolat… $40.00
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 Lampwork Beads – Br… $22.00
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 16 Ounce Mug – Gold… $16.50
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 Green Aventurine Ea… $5.50
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 Little mint green t… $24.00
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Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.
 picture frames in d… $36.99
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 Teal earrings – Bir… $22.50
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 Felted Slippers ECO… $67.00
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 Mini Clothespins – … $5.55
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 Teal and Black Art … $14.00
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 DRIFTWOOD 4 hook ke… $44.00
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 Photo Bookmark Ital… $4.00
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 Smoke Gray Delicate… $32.00
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 Felt balls, blue, … $8.00
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 The Chain Warmer, C… $48.00
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 Teal colored Teju L… $30.00
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 Charcoal grey leath… $23.90
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 Headband – Anthro S… $20.00
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 Teal Blue Rosette N… $38.00
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 One-Of-A-Kind Simpl… $30.00
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 wonderful festive … $18.00
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Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.
 Vintage Fishing Bas… $30.00
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 Black and gold stri… $22.25
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 Bronze Decorative D… $25.00
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 Arrows Set of 5 Gre… $40.00
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 Necklace with natur… $15.00
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 Purple white cosmos… $3.99
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 Copper Charm Bracel… $18.00
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 14K Solid gold jewe… $145.00
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 Heart earrings – vi… $21.00
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 Natural Wooden Spoo… $12.00
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 Composition Summer1… $24.00
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 Buttons Rustic Oatm… $10.00
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 SET OF 25 Natural V… $37.50
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 insect butterfly fe… $18.00
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 New 2012 : Watermel… $45.00
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 Off-Road wooden toy… $37.00
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It’s a new year and time to get down to business, make new goals and organize surroundings to help reach those goals. Last year was a bit of a rough year for me. I didn’t work on the things I really needed to work on and my focus kind of got lost. After dealing with a death in the family and starting a new part time job towards the end of the year, I’ve got my focus back where it needs to be, and that is on being in business for myself, and creating things I love. To that end I have been spending the first week of the new year planning out the rest of my year. I haven’t finished yet, but I’ve got a start. My goals this year are
What are your goals this year, business or otherwise? Please share!
Sorry for the long absence, yet again. I get so busy creating and keeping up on my Facebook page, that I forget to come in here as well. I never did get that schedule worked out. But, I am here now and I have new stuff to share!
I just finished a week long event with the Pinole Artisans, called Summer Madness. I did pretty well and had a good time. I’m looking forward to doing more of the open studio events.
I have 2 more events happening at the end of August and as soon as I get my applications in and official, I’ll announce them on my events page.
For the time being now, I am working hard at making new product. Speaking of which, I have new, new products to share with you! With the help of my photographer fiance, I have branched out into photography myself. I will be offering greeting cards, postcards, and matted prints very soon. Here is a little sneek peak:
We are having fun doing photo walks as a family and I hope to have lots more photos to share and sell.
That’s it for now. No promises on when I’ll be back to update, but check back cause you never know. 
It was so much fun working on this custom order for Rhonda. I love the rich colors and textures of the glass beads. Continue reading