floating into the new : colonia harbor, uruguay

i can hardly believe that tonight we bring in the new year. i have bubbling, intuitive feeling that 007 is going to be spectacular. feels similar to having a really good secret. the kind that you *like* keeping. mmm. those are the best. i’m off to have a siesta for a bit to have energy for tonight’s fiesta. see you in next year.

birds of colonia, uruguay : if only you could hear them too

i hear a delightful chorus of dancing miniature woodwinds

they keep me company while i hang laundry in the backyard. their colors always surprise me and prove that nature is the supreme painter. wouldn’t it be keen if we could understand their conversations? maybe i can put together a soundbyte of their music for you…

play this while you read, it’s perpetually in my mind.
&
now some shots through my duaflex from colonia……

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♪ let’s do some living…wild, wild horses, we’ll ride them some day ♪

there is a little imaginary list of things we would like to do while we are spending this short time in south america. the ultimate vision for me is just to spend a day or two riding horses at a ranch in the country. being the dreamer, i often like to recite the little somethings from time to time to my m (since that seems to be the special ingredient to make things happen) mentioning them casually in conversation, unpacking imaginary scenes from my mind when we are out walking in the city or enjoying an empanada together. i’ve found that for any small dream the more you talk about it, the more it comes true.

so while outside of montevideo, we ventured further down the road from colonia to visit an ornate lighthouse only to find it closed for the afternoon. not a disappointment since i was buoyed up with the excuse to return again + with the fantastic showing of animals grazing in endless pastures, most of them close to the road for our viewing pleasure. and every steed we passed i imagined the wind through my hair…the coarse white mane in between my fingers… ♪

and just to match the meadows and summery mood, i share with you a recent fresh find: green as grass, some conceptual jewelry works by ineke otte, link via valdemar.

as promised, a little post about our first real roadtrip since getting a reliable set of wheels. we had a fresh start on the road after stopping by the mp to have a doctor check-up max’s thumb (well…he decided to add a steak knife to his playdough toys and plumb split his finger open, blood everywhere, i fainted on the floor! emergency room and tears all over now and he’s stitch free! so grateful that little boys are magically consoled with the ever present invincible stuffed monkey. who’s name is “monkey” no less.)

anyway…as we bumped along the roads in our trusty fusca (literally bumped!) i inhaled the fresh country air, surfing my hand through the wind out the car window. what a nice break from the city. uruguay is so very green, and the countryside we viewed on the way could have be easily mistaken for rural middle america if it weren’t for the occasional palm trees smattered along the landscape and all the colorful birds singing strange tunes.

as soon as i stepped out to the old city, i immediately felt a solace, a melting of sorts. tensions i wasn’t even aware of peeled away into a new delicious skin of repose. the only sound was the music of those birds, other tourists in a slow motion with their cameras, and my sandals on the stone beneath my feet. i decided in about five minutes that i could settle in colonia for a life of ambiance. this is the place where you retreat just to live and make art and forget about anything else. maybe forgetting modern life seems frightening to some, but when you step into such an charming area you don’t miss a thing. (and there is a assurance that you could always return, of course)

quiet : stillness : cobblestone streets : old time cars : sycamore trees : wrought iron : cafes : riverwalk view of yachts : portuguese architecture : historic : slow : dripping flowers : character : colorful houses : museums : harbor : winding roads : swiss cheeses : handmade craft boutiques : more cafes : lighthouse : lampposts : green parks + plazas : old time beauty : beaches with pristine views

more photos tomorrow…

me looking for buenos aires in colonia, uruguay

“you don’t often know when a beginning begins. this is true of spring and love affairs, of remodeling projects and moves to distant lands. if you pay attention, you might notice a tingling–a quick breath, a restlessness around the heart. in a sweet breeze, a lingering glance, a misplaced door knob, a taste of caribbean stew, the beginning begins. and there you are…suddenly displaced, suddenly awake, suddenly alive.” ~from a diane hanna artwork, the perfect words to describe the now, found via cassie, thank you.

this christmas is one i will cherish always. at a clear starry midnight on the twenty-fourth, fireworks went off in all directions in the sky and we were lucky enough to be at the receiving end of a large family’s generousity in letting us join their party. music, dancing, and the kissing! oh i love the custom of cheek kisses for any occasion. (on the right, once, but many many many times in the day.) to sit on a rooftop and see this light show that took place rivals the fourth of july display a few summers ago…when we laid out on the lawn on blankets with friends in washington d.c. seeing those fireworks shoot off behind the monument. but here…i’ve just never seen all sides of the night covered in colored chrysanthemums, everyone’s personal comet trails blazing in light every direction instead of just one. the sound and feeling all at once demonstrated christmas in a profound way.

the following day we had a slow cozy twenty fifth indoors from a rainstorm and enjoyed some quiet time together as family, our small nucleus of three in pajamas. it was especially wonderful to finally shake a head cold that had me out for a miserable two weeks solid. thank goodness for local pharmacies that give you over the counter antibiotics + the entertainment of some good reading + all of you to keep me from feeling low and uninspired.

yesterday we put faith in our new shiny black fusca and took our first road trip out to colonia, a truly enchanting place that certainly merits a few posts from my impressions. i would love to share my photos and words with you all this week, if you would like a little arm chair travel and words to keep you warm stay with me till tomorrow.

new york city library antique lantern slide

this year is going to be simple…but no less special.

magic for the days to follow :: make gingerbread folk :: lie in the white sands that surround this city and dip into the rio :: indulge in reading :: paint just for pleasure :: bring budin to those without :: kiss my boys :: go barefoot :: go barefoot in sundresses :: watch the holiday fireworks explode in the southern sky :: watch the sunrise :: open gifts for one another ::

here’s to an exotic christmas & wishing you all the very best. see you in the new year!

ever since i was little, the vw bug has been my favorite car. so it’s quite the little dream come true to zoom around the city in this, let me tell you! marcus looks so smashing in it, each day we fall in love with it more and more…having to part with it when we leave is a sad thought. (anyone know any way we can bring it home with us to the states? maybe we can sneak a fitito in there too!)

today was incredible. as many days here so far. it’s been so hard not to turn this space into an extensive travel log on all my impressions of this place. it’s hard for me to be selective. never in my life have i felt more astounded, more filled with breaking surreal emotions…how to explain?

one night, before we had a car and weren’t quite ready to hail a taxi, we walked along the road that has the rio on one side, city buildings high rising on the other. we walked forever. the lights, the smell of the wind, the sore feet, the happy heart. catching the energy of the port city, the little christmas trees in the tenth floor windows, the happy chatter of couples cuddling with the backdrop of the view, the reflections on the water, my thoughts of being here.

being so far away is just transcendental.

i always thought “what’s in your bag” was a fun group over at flickr. so here’s the contents of mine, you can see little notes here. can you really tell what someone if like from what they carry in their bag? i’d be curious to see what you have inside yours!

p.s. tomorrow i show you my new car! *grin* finally!

some might say that jewelry is just a way for a girl to decorate herself, but i believe there is so much more. everything in my jewelry box has a story that reminds me of a person, time or event in my lifetime. little tiny heirlooms of memories that i can unlock each time i put them on. it’s lovely to have small precious physical reminders of the non-tangible elements and to collect them over the years.

whenever i can get the time, i like to indulge in researching. i used to skip lunch in high school so that i could go to the library and look for something new. (i clearly remember finding ovid and basquiat this way, and when i would find a nice “hiding spot” in between the rows of books i felt like bastian from the neverending story minus the techo-pop soundtrack.) so naturally, this gathering of ideas runs over to designing jewelry.

there is so much to learn. most recently i came across victorian mourning jewelry. these pieces contained a woman’s crowning glory, locks of hair worked in an intricate manner behind glass. carrying the brooch or locket with you was a way to remember the loved one who had passed on. they had a short life span of being in style in the 19th century mostly popular during the reign of queen victoria. that’s a fashion trend for you.

and so the question remains in me…how best to recreate the symbolism and precious element of memory in my own work?

thanks to shea from melbourne, australia, who asked to feature me on her madame butterfly magazine! some of my previous jewelry designs are pictured with the interview on the creative cabinet section of the site, you can read it all here. other indie shops that have previously been featured include hammer & daisy, bittersweet genevieve, liquid sky arts, nikki-shell, and even hairstylist to the stars anthony david.

what is it about being interviewed that makes me feel so special? i personally love reading about what makes other artist’s tick because i get such insight into other inspirations. so thanks for thinking of me shea!