Taking a break from reality for a few hours is good for refueling

Last week was tough and the begining of a fight that I'm confident we will win. There is nothing like a serious illness to rear it's ugly head in your family to remind you of what is important in your life. Not only that, but it's when you find out who is important to you and who considers you important in their lives. After hearing the news that my mother is ill, I had an outpouring of support from friends who added her to their prayer circles. Offers of help in a wide variety of ways warmed my heart and helped to buoy my mother as she faced a tough week of tests and, even more frightening, test results. I am thankful and blessed to have such awesome friends, especially the handful closest to me that made the extra effort to reach out with phone calls, emails and distractions.

With people praying on all sides and test results that were as good as we could get under the circumstances, by week's end I was ready to escape reality for a few hours and lose myself in my studio. I worked on a few more photo pendants and sketched out ideas for some greeting cards and print blocks that still need to be fabricated but at least I've put ideas to paper now.

I also made my mom a fun chunky charm bracelet populated with semi-precious stones and sterling charms with hope, faith, joy, love hand-stamped on them. This need to create, to lose myself in my artwork, is something I've inherited from my very artistic mother. So the very act of creating for me is a way of connecting with – and honoring – her.

A detail from my "Snowman" photo of Half Dome in Yosemite has been bonded to a chunky glass tile. Hand wrapped with tarnish-resistent silver plated copper wire and hangs from super soft deerskin leather for a great unisex necklace. Ties and is adjustible to 18".

Great for the fall: warm-toned freshwater pearls are hand wrapped with sterling silver and act as a beautiful accent to a detail from my "Serenity" photo. See the listing on Etsy here.

My first exploration using resin and I LOVE the results! The resin domed beautifully and really accentuates the metallic paper I use for the pendant photos. I'd been putting off using it because of all the warnings on the label but when the Diamond Glaze I'd been using started clouding up on me and not drying to the promised glass-like result, I was forced to try it. And believe me, I'm not going back. Toxic be damned, it's simply a better product and gives stunning results.