happy holiday weekend!

I hope everyone is having a good Thanksgiving weekend... I am off to work soon, but just wanted to post a peek at the latest jewelry project I am working on.  Today through Monday I am giving a free gift with purchase and waiving all shipping fees in my shop.  I will also be donating 5% of my sales to Trees Across the Miles.  

the good news and the bad news

I just posted a few new necklaces in my shop.  The one shown above is also appearing in a group ad in the Dec/Jan issue of BUST magazine.  

The last few days have been a major wake up call on exactly how attached I am to my computer.  For those of you with a MacBook, I hope you never see a little file folder with a question mark flashing on your screen like I did.  Bye-bye hard drive.  I lost everything on my computer.  Had I backed up any of my files, you ask?  Nope.  Lesson learned.

Along with backing up my files, I also learned that I need to back away from the computer a little more often too... and go down to my studio and create more work.  It was somewhat refreshing actually.  As a result of being unable to use my laptop, I got more painting done, and was able to post more necklaces to my shop.  

And sometimes, starting from scratch is a good thing...

thousands of steps

thousands of steps 

to now

filling up the fields

then, after the final word

thousands of steps

criss crossing with light 

across broad city streets

toward home

leafscape

Hard to resist taking a picture of fall foliage on a glorious Sunday.

remnants on the bloomingdale trail

Yesterday, I took my first hike on the Bloomingdale Trail, an abandoned elevated railroad track that runs through Chicago.  The tracks are overgrown, having been out of service since the early 1990's.  Twisted in the overgrowth are wildflowers, industrial remnants and signs of pranksters and transients.  There are future plans to turn the path into a public park, but for now, there are only a few entry points to the tracks and they remain pretty isolated.  

It was a cool, gray day, but it was fun to explore.  I found myself collecting and photographing things I might usually ignore.  Here are a few photos of remnants I found on the trail.

new on The Studio List

New on the studio list: Emily Wharton.    I first met Emily last winter when I joined a group of artists to coordinate Art Show Chicago.  Emily is a designer, painter and potter.  She also has work being shown in the upcoming Icons exhibit at womanMADE gallery in Chicago.  The show runs November 21 - December 18, so if you are in Chicago, stop in!

laundry day

Yesterday was beautiful and somehow I found myself inside doing all my hand washing... trying not to create puddles in the bathroom as everything dripped dry.  The sun coming through the window made this dripping blouse look like a stained glass window.  Once I checked this chore off my list, I did get out into the sunshine and sat in the park working on jewelry sketches.  I'm excited to try out some of my new ideas.