New Gallery: OVA Arts in Ojai

My jewelry is now in a new gallery in Ojai!!!

Tomorrow, Saturday July 6th, is the Grand Opening at the OVA Arts Gallery from 4-7pm. Jonathon McEuen will provide great music, there will be food and lots of fun! 

Everyone is welcome! 

Please join us at 108 N. Signal Street in Ojai.... two doors over from Ruben's.

Fall in Paradise

Yes, this is Paradise... Paradise, California.  There IS such a place and it IS a paradise.  If you haven't heard of it, not to worry.  Just drive about 2 hours north of Sacramento, and between Oroville and Chico you will find this little beauty.  Lots of pines, lots of oaks, lots of maples, lots of sycamores, lots of nice folks.  And lovely colors this time of year.  These were taken on Thanksgiving while visiting my in-laws... in their front yard.  I hope you are enjoying fall while it's here as it's almost over!

Huntington Gardens ... a shared experience

My sister Lucinda and I are both artists, we both have blogs (hers is cobaltviolet), we both enjoy photography and we often go on outings together.  After most of these excursions, I often find myself getting a post together to find out that she has beat me to it and blogged on the same subject with very similar photos.  Oiy vey!  (spelling anyone??)  As we have some of the same followers I sometimes just pass on posting the same basic story.  But not today!  I'm not going to go on about how fabulous the Huntington Library in Pasadena is and how amazing the gardens... I 'm just going to post a few of my favorite images from our day a few weeks back.  If you want to know more about our trip, check out my sister's blog posts....  She took some great photos of the gardens and paintings and is quite prolific on this subject.  But I am proud to say it was my idea that she start a blog...  I'm glad she took my advise for once!

Huntington Museum in Pasadena - American Collection.

Chinese Gardens at the Huntington - Pasadena

Shakespeare's Garden - The Huntington in Pasadena, California

Japanese Gardens at the Huntington

I will say that it's the Chinese and Japanese gardens that keep me coming back.....

I'm cracking up right now....I was just looking for a quote on gardens and I found this one on brainyquote.com!!!

"Eventually my goal is get a place in Ojai where I can have animals and a big garden. Just drink wine all day and hang in my garden."
~Michelle Branch~

.....maybe I ought to call her over for a glass of wine?

Santa Barbara Tide Pool Treasures

It seems my jewelry career has been put on hold lately with so many school activities, household obligations and making plans for summer activities.  It's all good and my creative juices will just have to be bottle up for awhile to age like fine wine. I am enjoying this time with my little guy and I'm  goin' with the flow.

This last Tuesday, a caravan of parents, first graders and teachers journeyed up to Hope Ranch beach in Santa Barbara to enjoy the beautiful weather and explore the tide pools.  We were fortunate to go to this private beach as one of our teachers just moved there and will sadly not be returning to our little Ojai school next year.  The kids had a surprise waiting for them at the shore....they each were given a beach bucket filled with a sand shovel, flower lei (and real grass skirts for the girls), seaweed snacks, goldfish snacks and a beverage.  Thank you Mrs. Stovesand!  We had a fun day of exploration and treasure hunting.  The kids saw shore crabs, hermit crabs, sand crabs, star fish, sea anemones, limpets, mussels, lots of seagulls and a few other creatures which names escape my memory at the moment.  During lunch we even spotted some dolphins! We came home with a nice collection of sea glass and shells as souvenirs along with tar covered feet. And I found a bunch of rocks with holes in them... my favorite.  I love to use them to tie onto gifts with ribbons or hang with leather cord for necklaces.  I might even play with aboriginal type dot art on them for wearable art. The adults had as much fun beach combing as the children. Below you can see some of the bootie we brought home... and made a little art display for daddy. 

The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.  

~Isak Dinesen~

Our Green Black Friday

I had to share some images of our lovely day after Turkey Day....

Don't get me wrong, Thanksgiving Day was fabulous too but I don't think you are interested in seeing photos of our 5 hour drive and then pigging out at my brother and sister-in-laws house where we devoured two turkeys (one roasted and one smoked)!

My hubby, six year old and I drove from Paradise (yes, this is a REAL town in Northern California) north to Sterling City to help Grandma and Grandpa pick out at Christmas tree then we took off in search of a fishing hole.  We ended up four wheeling down a steep canyon on a dirt road (with NO name) pitted with puddles from the previous day's rain which always gives me a headache for fear of being stuck in the middle of NOWHERE.  But we made it down to the bottom, crossed a bridge and hiked to a secluded spot  on the Feather River.  The air was chilly but the sun came out and the weather turned glorious.  The boys fished for trout and I fished for heart shaped rocks.   Unfortunately no fish were to be had but I hit the jackpot... I found five little lovely valentines (though I can't take credit for the tiny black one which my son found)!

Half way through our afternoon as I watched my son totter over the tippy rocks along the river following his adventurous father to find better fishing spots, PRAYING that he didn't fall in, I had him give me his fluffy coat in case my fear came to pass.  Sure enough, about two minutes before we were to pack up, he lost his balance and fell..... TOTALLY drenched from head to toe in freezing cold water.  I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.  I decided to laugh.  I'm not sure whether I'm psychic or paranoid but I thanked GOODNESS for the warm dry coat ... and my little guys courage.  He just smiled and shivered.  Sorry .... I don't have a photo of that one : )

"Live simply that others may simply live."

~ Elizabeth Ann Seton ~

A Winter's Joy

There are definitely many reasons I chose to be born in Southern California and one of them is the winter.  Though it has been unusually cold and rainy the last several weeks, the gods of California have smiled on us once again.  The weather is GORGEOUS, the birds are in a frenzy outside my door and I am a happy camper!  

We went to the beach two days ago and played in the sand and sea.....

joy was in the air.

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me

there lay an invincible summer."

- Albert Camus

Happy New Year!

Spirit Nest

The weekend before last we took a quick little road trip up to Carmel to see my step-daughter.  The skies were foggy and there was a definite chill in the air, perfectly autumn.  We himed and hawed about whether to take the long Hwy. 1 journey home and I'm so glad we decided too. There is nothing like visiting Big Sur. There is definitely a special energy there.  Wild, majestic, refreshing, intense.....I just love it.  We always stop by the Big Sur Spirit Garden for a browse and find something fun. This time...... Spirit Nests by Jayson Fann.  Ohhhh, I want one... I need one! And, Ojai needs one.....especially as Ojai means "nest". (my hubby will be reading this)  What a great place for meditating, journaling, sketching, bird watching or just hanging out! The artist will make them and transport them but they do cost a pretty penny.   If you love them too but have no place to put one (and don't feel like robbing a bank today), you can actually sleep in one at Treebones Resort in Big Sur....one with an ocean view from the clifftops!


I had to share these with you....

“When I learn something new - and it happens every day - I feel a little more at home in this universe, a little more comfortable in the nest.”

~ Bill Moyers ~