I’m having a sale through end of Friday to support Together Rising - 10% off all ready to ship items, 10% of sales to Together Rising - no code needed, discount will show in cart. If you haven’t seen their work and have a general caring about the world around you, you should check them out. There is so much going on in our country that is achingly awful, and my sensitive, empathic self doesn't deal very well. Often we feel powerless to do anything. They do great things and supporting them means they can do even more things. 

Shop all Ready to Ship Items

Sometimes I have a hard time making decisions. So many decisions all. the. time. So I asked in my IG stories which ring I should finish first and here’s the winner! Thanks for deciding for me - it’s a fun way to not have to make a decision. I’ll finish the other ring next week when I have more time. 

Today is the beginning of #marchmeetthemaker - the first prompt is “favorite to make” and it’s fitting that funky meteorite rings are my favorite. I really want to outfit everyone with a meteorite ring. It’s an amazing reminder of the vast universe we live in. Can you imagine where this meteorite has been and everything that happened to put the two of you together? Kinda special.

If you’re new to following me and/or haven’t seen #marchmeetthemaker on Instagram before, it’s a fun month long challenge with easy prompts that artists and makers from all over the world participate in. Last March I found some of my very favorite artist friends, which is the main reason I’m doing it again. It’s an opportunity to let people get to know you on some different levels and stretch what you share on IG. I hope to make some new connections and give a deeper look in to my world so you can get to know me better. 

.

If you’re an artist/maker/creator - join the fun! Here is the full list of prompts from Joanne Hawker:

Let’s talk about SAD (seasonal affective disorder) Every year I forget. It’s a slow creep and I’m unprepared until it’s in full swing and it’s not until I totally break at the end of February that I remember “February is the worst”. And seriously, I always forget. The brain is funny like that. 

As winter starts to settle in, it’s the holidays, the New Year, things are busy and stressful and I keep plowing through until February which feels like an unavoidable black hole that sucks me in. I don’t remember why I feel so awful, only that it’s a struggle to not feel awful. And I’m not even aware of what is happening until it’s too late - until it’s so bad and I’m wondering wtf is wrong with me, why am I such a failure, maybe if I curl up in a hole I can just wait it out. I feel like an energetic dark cloud and I don’t want to be around other people and infect them with whatever plague I’ve contracted.

I grasp at all my usual feel good things - exercise, yoga, meditation, eating healthy, taking all the supplements - but just grasping and doing my best isn’t good enough. 

As the light starts to change I remember. Oh! It’s February. I’m not a failure, my brain just ceases to function properly and tells me I am. I start to crawl out of the black hole once I realize that I’m in it and by the next fall it’s such a distant memory I forget to prepare. It’s hard to get out of something you don’t even realize you’re in. When you’re happy and feeling fine and functional it doesn’t seem like it’s possible to end up back in that place.

One of these years I’ll have enough money to take the whole month off from work and take a trip to avoid the usual daily routines that become so difficult by having unusual daily activities in a new location. Taking 2 weeks off is one of the few things I’ve experienced that when I looked back I was like “oh, hey! that February didn’t suck!” Do you have things you’ve done that help you through the winter darkness?

I’ve set a reminder on my calendar for January 2020 so I don’t forget. 

Ps - started a new painting. It’s probably going to be titled “Don’t get sucked into the black hole” - maybe I’ll hang it in my bedroom as a reminder.

New changes are being made to charitable giving in 2019 - I decided I didn't want the amount given to a charity to be directly tied to what someone purchased. 

When I started donating through my business, it was easy to tie an environmental organization to the theme of a ring design (Tree bark Rings = American Forest Foundation). I support humanitarian organizations too, but there wasn't as clear of a path to connecting "sales of this item to this group". 

I feel like there is never enough being done to help protect our planet or the people who are not in a place of power. So I want to help bring awareness to organizations who are working towards making the world a better place for future generations, whether it is through trying to protect our natural resources or fighting against injustice and intolerance. While I can't volunteer to help out all these organizations, I can do what I do best (being an artist) and give financially to help support them all.  

Helping Nature

American Forest Foundation

Great Lakes Alliance

National Park Foundation

Ocean Conservancy

Planetary Society

Port Townsend Marine Science Center

Sierra Club

Helping People

ACLU

GLSEN

Homes for Our Troops

Plan International

Satchidananda Ashram/Yogaville

Southern Poverty Law Center

TogetherRising

All organizations listed receive financial support from me through sales of my art - jewelry, drawings, paintings, etc.