The two shows I’m preparing for next month have given me a natural starting point for the pieces currently taking shape at my bench. This is an admittedly elaborate collection of elements I'm incorporating all together, but I really wanted to capture a wide breath of the region.

One show is tied to a celebration of Colorado’s 150th anniversary – its history and landscape. The other is a folk music festival, at Gather Mountain Blooms farm, honoring the blooming season. Together, they make me want to create pieces that allow us all to feel everlasting connection to this place—not through obvious trinket imagery, but the smaller details I notice while spending time with my nature journal out here!

Sandstone, Granite, and Mountains

Colorado’s mountains vary greatly. In some regions they're cool grays and distant blues (thanks to the alpine areas), while many of the formations around me hold warm sandstone, peach, rust, and muted gold!

I felt drawn to peachy and shimmery sunstone for this sense of warmth, while also using local Pikes Peak granite I stumbled on (and holding onto for the right moment) since the first year we moved here! So cool to have the actual geology of the area being sprinkled in, rather than just referencing it. 

I feel it'd be silly not to incorporate a few small sculpted mountainous forms as well – possibly as a central detail...or maybe a quieter mark within a piece. Those are on the to-do list.

Beads have proven tricky for me. These will be chain link-style dangle earrings!

Columbine

Ahh, the Colorado Columbine flower is iconic out here. So of course this magnificent flower, its colors, its shapes, are being woven through.

But, in a subtle way...

Rather than trying to reproduce the entire flower literally, I’ve been studying its shapes and textures more closely in my journal. As much as I love the unique silhouette of the blossoms, their colors and the leaves are what I'm most curious about! So, I’ve taken actual impressions from the young leaves on the Columbine growing outside our front door – different sizes perfect for stud earrings. 

The flower colors actually vary quite a bit, but the iconic "blue" (really more purple IMO) is lovely, and I'm using pieces of Blue Lace agate and Iolite to represent!

This isn’t my photo, but better than the ones I snapped.

The Beginning of Seed Season

Because we have a shorter growing season, this is also the point in summer when some plants begin moving from bloom toward seed.

Seed heads and pods have always interested me because they hold both endings and beginnings. I’ve been sculpting tiny seed-pod forms and combining them with both pale and vibrant green stones collected over the years, that reflect the plants before they fully dry and turn.

So far, these small details are appearing in stacker rings, charms for the Interchange Earring series, and some one-of-a-kind pieces!

The Colorado Sky

The landscape here would not feel complete without the 'big sky'.

Deep lapis lazuli has become my way of bringing the expansive blue into the collection. I’m pairing it with small stars and simple silver details reflective of the perpetual clear nights we're lucky to have overhead out here.

Trail-Hardy Gem studs in progress!

Familiar Forms, New Details

I’m still in the middle of making, which means some of these pieces may change direction before they are finished. That uncertainty is part of the process—and part of what I enjoy sharing while the work is still unfolding.

Though, I'm excited to soon shift to more of the one-of-a-kind pieces, like painted n'Capsule pendants and totem-style rings, all supported by the familiar designs shared above.

In the meantime, there are still some special pieces, and handcrafted  ‘everyday staples’ looking for homes in the shop!