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food for thought
  • Creating A World Without Poverty
    Creating A World Without Poverty
    by Muhammad Yunus
  • The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times
    The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times
    by Pema Chodron
  • Seeds: Time Capsules of Life
    Seeds: Time Capsules of Life
    by Rob Kesseler, Wolfgang Stuppy
  • Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail (BK Currents)
    Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail (BK Currents)
    by Paul Polak
  • Thirst: Poems
    Thirst: Poems
    by Mary Oliver
  • Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980-2005
    Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980-2005
    by Siri Engberg, Linda Nochlin, Marina Warner
  • A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61)
    A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61)
    by Eckhart Tolle
  • Creating a Life Worth Living
    Creating a Life Worth Living
    by Carol Lloyd
  • Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
    Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
    by Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
  • Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children
    Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children
    by John Wood
  • Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back...And How You Can Too
    Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back...And How You Can Too
    by Shauna James Ahern
  • Art Forms From The Ocean: The Radiolarian Atlas Of 1862
    Art Forms From The Ocean: The Radiolarian Atlas Of 1862
    by Ernst Haeckel
  • Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration with Nature
    Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration with Nature
    by Andy Goldsworthy
  • Magdalena Abakanowicz
    Magdalena Abakanowicz
    by Giuliano Gori, Abraham M. Hammacher, Jasia Reichardt, Magdalena Abakanowicz
films that move me
  • Amelie
    Amelie
    starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta, Serge Merlin
  • Babette's Feast
    Babette's Feast
    starring Stéphane Audran, Birgitte Federspiel, Bodil Kjer, Jarl Kulle, Jean-Philippe Lafont
  • Kitchen Stories (Original Swedish/ Norwegian Version with English Subtitles) Salmer fra kjøkkenet
    Kitchen Stories (Original Swedish/ Norwegian Version with English Subtitles) Salmer fra kjøkkenet
  • Born into Brothels
    Born into Brothels
    Velocity Home Entertainment
  • Chocolat (Miramax Collector's Series)
    Chocolat (Miramax Collector's Series)
    starring Ashton Smith, Archie Van Beuren, Juliette Binoche, Alfred Molina, Leslie Holleran
  • The Wings of the Dove
    The Wings of the Dove
    starring Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache, Alison Elliott, Charlotte Rampling, Elizabeth McGovern
what i'm listening to in the studio
  • Hey Eugene!
    Hey Eugene!
    by Pink Martini
  • Happiness
    Happiness
    by The Weepies
  • If You're Feeling Sinister
    If You're Feeling Sinister
    by Belle & Sebastian
  • Alone in IZ World
    Alone in IZ World
    by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
  • Garden State
    Garden State
    by Various Artists
  • Nina Simone Sings the Blues
    Nina Simone Sings the Blues
    by Nina Simone
Thursday
18Jun

growing a sustainable life

change and challenge is all around us these days and my life, my business, my art - is no exception. if you have been following this blog for a while, you have noticed i rarely post anymore. my attention has been elsewhere, as i grow my life in another direction.

i have big news.

last week i started graduate school at lewis & clark here in portland, oregon. they have a fantastic graduate school of education and counseling. i am enrolled in a two-year, full time program, so when i finish, i will be a licensed school counselor. it has taken months to get first to the decision to pursue grad school and then to choose this program, this direction back towards working with teens. i am thrilled with the path i am on and so excited to be intellectually stimulated again.

i learned so much in these years building my business, priceless, countless, things. i had an itch to scratch and i did it. i wouldn't have ever been able to happily settle into another job, let along career, without this time doing it my way.

one of the biggest things i learned is i don't like being my own boss, not really. i like the romantic notion, but not the daily grind. i'm not praticularly fond of any kind of daily grind, however i have become salient of the fact that all jobs have parts that i don't enjoy. my whole life making art, creating objects, was always joyful. yet for me, these past few years, making jewelry for a living became drudgery. the joy went out of the making. and the work is hard on the body, the lack of profits hard on the spirit.

at the end of last summer, i just stopped and said why? why am i doing this?

since i moved to oregon and left teaching behind in michigan, i have missed working with kids. more importantly, i have missed work that felt like it makes a real difference. more and more, making  lovely objects has felt too small for me. i want to make a more significant impact. and i want to build a more sustainable life. for myself and for our culture.

a life with health benefits, the possibility of retirement, a life with better balance. growing a garden on my back patio, with cuccumber plants like the one pictured above. time for exercise, play, rest.

and the art? it's not going anywhere. i will always make art. the beauty of my new path is i get to return to what i love. making art, pure and simple. not for sale, not to please anyone, with no eye to the market, the ugliness of the profit margin. i can use this blog when and how i wish. to share without any notion of marketing my business. that marketing piece took over my life, it was utterly consuming. i spent 80% of my time marketing and maybe 20% actually doing what i love, creating.

For now, both of my online shops are still open for business. i am considering keeping the etsy shop open through the winter holiday season, but i will have to see how busy i feel when school is in full gear come september. my honey & milk site will continue, as i have inventory and plan to add one-of-kind things as the mood strikes me to make them. but i am done making the same thing twice, my friends. done.

so you might wonder about the future of this blog. i have no intention of ditching found object. i adore my blog and want to use it to share future inspirations and creations. i don't see myself posting regularly, however. so if you enjoy found object, please subscribe to the RSS feed. that way, when i do post something new, you won't miss it. i will certainly always use this blog to share images from my travels, so stay tuned.

thank-you sincerely for your support. each one of you, in your own way, helped me make my business. i wouldn't trade it for anything.

onward!

Wednesday
03Jun

vintage button: a fabulous new ring

above, a recent one-of-a-kind creation for a special friend. i used a huge 1940's vintage coat button, perfect for the ultimate modern cocktail ring.

Thursday
23Apr

what spring looks like today

just around one block with my dog and all this beauty to delight the eyes...

Monday
20Apr

more lush color: cozumel fauna

our resort in mexico was teeming with wildlife, especially gorgeous birds. each morning at breakfast we would watch the flamingos...

Friday
17Apr

lush color: cozumel flora

the resort where my family and i met last week in mexico was like a jungle nature preserve. a riot of tropical color and interesting forms seduced me just as completely as the warm evenings under the stars.