Earlier this spring, I had the incredible opportunity to be selected as a guest artist and workshop leader on Saba, a small, spectacular 13-square-kilometre island in the Dutch Caribbean. Coming from the flat, densely populated Netherlands—where bikes reign supreme—I wasn’t sure what to expect. During my project interview, I asked if I could have a bike during my stay. This was met with laughter... and once I arrived, I understood why.
I started this series out of a simple desire to create something. That is nothing new or revolutionary, but this was notably different than the ‘ordinary’ creative impulse. This series came together in a very full season of life, where work (outside of the studio), home and family life had filled just about every available space on the calendar. You know those seasons? Any free time I did have was dedicated to jewelry orders or studio chores. Formerly working as an artist was my day-job, but for now my creative work takes place mainly in my after-hours. And if you know life with small kids around, there aren’t all that many hours |after|. And so in a very full life season, where creative...
Tiny Blues: A small collection of even smaller things At last, the first blog update of the year. 2023 started off slow & cozy for me, spending time home with my family and baby. As of March, we've shifted into a new routine again, and I'm back to work in the studio a few days per week. Life is always a balancing act, especially with kids in the mix - but capacity grows, as does our tolerance for mess, sass, and sleep loss ☺️ For this inaugural web shop update of 2023, I crafted a handful of very small wood and bark pendants nestled into fine sterling silver cups and posts. Highly polished findings give these intimate pieces an extra touch...
For the third year, this fall season has inspired another round of Dawn Collection. Since creating this monochromatic collection for the first time in the fall of 2020, this series has become an important one for me, technically and symbolically. This series has pushed me to work precisely and delicately with fragile materials, paired with high-quality (expensive) components, which always adds a level of pressure. And secondly the meaning behind the series has deepened throughout these past few challenging years. The timing of this year's collection is an especially significant one for me. As I write this, I am well past my due date with my second child, waiting anxiously to meet him - and move along to this next stage of parenthood. By the time the collection goes out, he...
This month marks six years of Wild Blue Yonder! Though my explorations in woodwork and jewelry making began in 2014, it wasn't until September 2016 that I had officially left my job, and launched into Wild Blue Yonder as a full-time, self-employed artist. Now as a parent in my 30's, I ask "WHAT WAS I THINKING." Thankfully at the time though, I was full of adorable optimism about what I could do with the wood jewelry thing, if I could really dedicate my time and attention to it. My tradition for marking this anniversary has usually been to get out in a canoe with a backpack loaded up with a few days of supplies, and celebrate this annual milestone quietly, preferably...
