There’s a store I always have to go to when I’m in Santa Fe. It’s called Rainbow Man. There they have the most extensive collection of Curtis prints and the most eclectic body of Southwestern jewelry, old and new alike. Even though I’ve been a full time jeweler for over 34 years, I’m still on the hunt for that special treasure. As I scoured the case, I came across a rather cheesy “howling coyote” in a patina full moon. But as my gaze began to quickly move on, something stopped me in my tracks! I asked to see it. As she handed it to me I was struck, realizing it was one of the very first pieces of jewelry I ever...
Sometimes in the oddest places I have found myself confiding in a stranger. Sometimes to a family member or friend. But most times lately, I have found myself confiding in my Sweetbird family, the battered, the worn from these last two years, the ones that write to me to say what I made helped them get through. The truth is, you have helped me get through. And for that, I am immensely grateful. So this Valentine’s Day weekend, I have returned to Boulder to meet and greet you, hug you and to share our love. 2021 was an unbelievably hard year for my home place of Boulder. I drove past the remnants of fire which burned several friend's homes and...
Yesterday, something sublime but magical happened. Just before my workout class a man in the class came over to me and asked me how my shoulder was and that he saw me favoring it. After the class, he worked on it for about five minutes. It instantly felt better as I found out that was his specialization. But what felt even better was my soul. That mere five minutes, that gift of him noticing and showing me love unconditionally. With Valentines Day coming up and so many that dread that “Hallmark” holiday, as some say, I say we look for and show our love in the most unexpected people and places. We are all here together in the school of...
I don’t know about you, but to me it seems 2021 had more starts and stops than a city bus during rush hour traffic and equally as frustrating. Sitting alone in the studio, I look to the pieces of this past year to get a feel of what this is all about, this one crazy year. Engaging with my Sweet Bird family through art and stories, I ask myself what this year has meant and where are we going? Each piece made for you has been an exploration in the moment that has accumulated into a full-blown year of 2021. And this is where the popcorn trail of sayings on my pieces have led me… Believe in the power that ART...
Driving to the airport early one morning last week I sat waiting at a stoplight. I looked over and saw a man holding a sign that said, “Jesus died for our sins”. And there on that same corner was a woman unrelated to him brushing her teeth. Sometimes I think in metaphors…cleanliness is next to Godliness, I thought…literally! But another and much deeper thought came to mind. How brave of both of them to begin again early that morning. Or as Lukas Nelson sings “when I wake up, I’ll start over”. Sometimes it is the grueling process of getting back in the saddle again, weary, unsure, scared and depleted…. it’s showing up day after day until what you really want becomes a habit. There is no magic to...
