.....a little personal history

I was a guest artist at an area Open Studio tour on Saturday....I shared display space with my friend and fellow fiber artist Vivian Helena. We were on the front lawn at the home of Kathleen Mattox, her studio was on the tour. Any of you who have done outside shows know how much work they are...the packing up, loading the car, setting up the 'ez-up' (never so easy) unpacking the art...displaying it nicely and then reversing it 8 hours later...I always worry over the weather of course rain is a disaster but the wind can do sneak attacks.....
Yesterdays show went very well...smooth set up and take down, lot's of appreciative people...and some left with a Spirit Figure.....

The weather was beautiful.

Of course sales are very nice but the best part of the day were the people who come to appreciate our art....
and yesterday several friends also made the trip...one of them was my lovely friend/daughter Camille Cole....pictured above and below on her big black motorcycle....
She is a truly special young woman with a bright spirit...and I love her dearly..
.seeing her made the day extra special....
.she is a gift in my life.
She is also an amazing artist who has shown her jewelry in New York, Palm Springs and in Belize where she owns property.

Camille and I meet about 8 years ago which seems impossible. We both had kiosks at Coarsegold's Historic Village. She made beautiful jewelry which she sold out of her bead shop. I had Feather Moon Gallery and Gifts..
.My sign was this wonderful judy DeRosa original..

I opened the little 10'x10' shop with jewelry artist josie Two Feathers...

The photo above is of our Blessing Ceremony for the opening of Feather Moon...
we are on the porch holding hands in a prayer circle as each of the 30 or so friends and family members who came to share in the ceremony offered us a blessing for our new business. It was a beautiful evening.
Josie is to my right...judy DeRosa next to her with Salinas Dan on judy's right.

Josie moved about 6 months later. I kept my little gallery open for almost 4 years before it just got too hard to be open the required hours and still create.

During that time Camille and I had alot of fun and really became good, good, friends. We'd be there winter and summer....
bad weather and good....

During the summer we made a little garden with misting tubes to keep us alive when the temperature would hit 100+ and we'd bring fresh fruit and pull out the blender and make up the yummiest smoothies..
.in the winter we'd bring a crock pot and have homemade soup and fresh bread..
.and we bonded.

This little spirit I called Hope - "Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words and never stops at all" Emily Dickinson, found a home yesterday...

Dancing to Mother's Rhythm...didn't