04 | desert rain

It’s been an intense monsoon season in Tucson. The desert is incredibly lush and humid. All kinds of butterflies are coming through - feasting on the flowering of the second spring. Here are a few inspiring things to start your week.

Tucson Botanical Garden | One of the oldest gardens in the Southwest, the collection features an amazing variety of desert plants. They open at 7:30 am - which is an amazing way to start the day.

https://tucsonbotanical.org

Reading | I am reading up on the healing properties and care of crystals and semi precious gemstones. It is so cool to be in a city and state that has incredible natural resources, and tons of rock shops to explore. I am looking forward to adding specimens as I discover them. Please feel free to contact me if you are looking for a particular family of stones. The new stone age by Carol Woolton is an easy place to start.

https://www.instagram.com/carolwoolton/?hl=en

Listening | Dave Brubeck never fails to disappoint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmDDOFXSgAs

03 | Soft lines

Have a lovely weekend. What are you planning to do? Even though we missed the full moon, we are planning to walk the dogs as the moon rises over the catalina mountains of Tucson. It is an epic moonrise from this vantage point, in the foothills of the Tucson Mountains, and something to look forward to every month.

My earliest influence working with silver was observing water edges and the way that it softened a shoreline, a stone, or a fragment of beach glass. In the Sonoran desert, wind is the major actor and you see eddies behind trees in sand dunes and grasses making marks. I hope this body of work is evocative of natural phenomena, and reminds you of your place in nature. The interface between bone, body and landscape is deep. It’s been a quiet week here, fits and starts of a rhythm. The temperature dropped into the 90’s for a couple of days.

Working and shooting products | Lots of new cuffs and rings are in the shop this week. I shoot everything on my iphone SE. The composition is another art form - with the goal to make minimal, tactile layered shots that have clarity. I follow Johnnie Gall on instagram. Her workshops on lightroom editing and filters is on my to do list.

https://www.instagram.com/dirtbagdarling/

Listening | I am in the middle of a 40 mindfulness training with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. It has been a great reset - this year I experienced four of the five most stressful things you can experience in a lifetime. The biggest one being the loss of my father. He was such a huge part of my life, we just had an understanding, you know? His death is rocking my world right now. He lived an amazing life, but I wasn’t ready for him to go. The silence booms. This meditation practice has been so helpful during this time. I already know that I will do it again. Please feel free to join me.

https://www.soundstrue.com/products/mindfulness-daily#5dcd8762906ed

Movement | I am so excited to get back to a yoga studio and take some classes. I have always been drawn towards ashtanga yoga, and had the great pleasure and pressure of studying with David Garrigues. He is a master of insight and intuition. I feel so lucky that I got to practice with him for about 5 years. Please find him out in the world, and on instagram. His approach is a beautiful blend of punk, devotion, irreverence, and rigor in the best possible way - exemplified by his popular asana kitchen, and my favorite cooking episode making chapatis. enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JL4oxTyynU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rR-TlJzTAA