Kiki Smith Birds with Stars & Satomi Kawakita star earrings
athene divinus
How beautiful is Jennifer’s Athene Divinus collection? I’ve been wearing the arrow cuff (first bracelet I’ve owned) and the spear studs nonstop.
photo from Odette
(spear studs, top left)
new necklace
New necklace. On the search for more beads today.
mociun + katy krantz
Austin souvenir. I caved when I saw this Katy Krantz + Mociun piece at Kick Pleat. The beads/objects appear larger in person, but that actually made the necklace appeal to me even more.  For the most part, it’ll hang on my wall like a mini-sculpture because, knowing me, there’s a good chance I’ll slip and break it.
Besides Kick Pleat, Una has the one I got, and Totokaelo has other varieties as well. Wish I could own them all!
Image above  from Una & Totokaelo
transitioning
For me, summer is both relaxing and stressful. I have a hard time transitioning from working a high energy, fast moving school day to the slower pace at home. Finding things to do is not the problem – there are plenty of lessons to prep and personal projects that need attention. I easily get restless and managing time is something I’ve always struggled with and am still trying to figure out. Sometimes I wish I had people working around me to keep me motivate!
Besides playing around with jewelry, I’ve been interested in working with patterns. We got this little Marimekko cup recently, and I love the organic design. I signed up my mom, sister, and I for a shibori class this week, so I’m looking forward to learning something new.
good things
The good things that can get lost in the craziness …
A made bed, a trip to Sloan Hall where we picked up a piece from the Dream Collective aka my strawberry earrings and a shield pin for BJ, a resilient plant and organized home, afternoon naps, a gifted bowl from ND’s ceramic sale (Thanks, Tien!), shrimp tacos for dinner from Goop via L.A in Bloom, sisters sleeping over and a trip to El Bolillo for cheap, delicious pastries, taking my mom to see the MFAH Impressionist and Post Impressionist exhibit before it leaves, and a belated  Mother’s Day Cake from one of our favorite recipes -Orangette’s Marmalade Cake with extra orange and lemon juice)
minimal and beautiful
This photo of Clair Cottrell by Jeana Sohn and Lucky Magazine caught my eye. Last time we were in Austin, my sister picked up a similar one from bow + arrows, but she never got the name of the designer. Turns out to be by lacoli & McAllister, and they make equally minimal and beautiful furniture, lighting, and other objects. Trang has their necklace No. 8 but had a pretty hard time choosing from the collection!
top photo: Jeana Sohn | bottom:Â lacoli & McAllis
a blur
Teaching has been interesting. The first two years are a blur, and I was too busy and excited to get burnt out. It has definitely tested my patience, made me a little more organized, and kept me on my toes. I still tend to allow the one bad incident to taint the day versus all the good things that happen, but I’m starting to see how everyday is a fresh start even with the ones that try me the most.
This year I could no longer do the 4-5 hours of sleep and bringing home work every single day including weekends. I’ve given myself more breaks- sometimes not doing work after dinner, sleeping in on weekends, and taking naps. It allows me to spend more time with my family, friends, and personal work and I really think it has made a huge difference in my overall moral. In the back of my mind, I am a little nervous about what next year brings with the budget cuts and increase in enrollments looming ahead, but I’m crossing my fingers that there won’t be too many changes.
Few things that have distracted me from work stress:
- Bailey Doesn’t Bark cups from Jackie. How did you know we were running out of/breaking our cups?
- Scoring a super comfortable Herman Miller Eames office chair to paint and sew in.
- Learning how to bead. I strung together some practice shapes.
- Sometimes I have to be dragged to a movie because I’m a homebody. But we saw Jane Eyre last night and it was beautifully shot, touching, and funny. Of course, I cried and jumped a few times.
keep cilantro and thyme alive
Next weekend will be super busy with my kids’ big art contest of the year, and BJ will be flying to Seattle for his mom’s 60th birthday. Pictures from the past week so far…
- Sandals?! Enjoying the springish weather on campus.
- Testing out my brooches
- Teacher block. Brainstorming Art 1 watercolor lesson that will appeal to all skill levels and doesn’t involve painting Georgia O’Keefe-esque flowers?
- Received invites (that B helped design) for our friends’ Chicago wedding. Booked tickets!
- Sigh, my total lack of will power gave into this sparkly ring at Anthropologie.
- This plant is still living! Goal for round two: keep cilantro and thyme alive.
Also… delicious brunch from Shade in our neighborhood (I keep thinking of their fresh pastries platter), celebratory coal-fired pizza with siblings at Grimaldi’s, and caipirinhas at Oporto
Colony
I remember working at a show in Boston and seeing Steven and William Ladd’s Ant War Box wishing I could one day own a little piece of their work. The closest I’ve come: picking up the issue of American Craft with the feature on the Ladd brothers. Their new Colony necklace finally brings their one-of-a-kind work within reach (of my budget).
Available at Anthropologie and in silver and brass on their website.
Speaking of jewelry, I wish I could be in NYC this week for this Hannah Clark sale and Odette Open Studio.