“Seashells & Strawberry Quartz”
The average lifespan of a maple is anywhere between 100-400 years, growth rings stacked like Russian dolls, revealing the timeline of a tree. And when you find that little eye-spy shell, plucking it from a salted shore, it could be abandoned just yesterday, or even a thousand years ago. A scallop will produce a ridge a day, its shell of a home mapped with history long after living. A piece of quartz is only crystallized after thousands, even millions, of years have long passed.
So, tell me. In this short, precious life we have, will you take a moment to marvel at the miracle we belong to?
We belong, too— with the sugar maples, with the homes of mollusks that have been carried for thousands of miles, for thousands of years, by the salt water of the ocean. And did you know that a human’s blood plasma is 98% matched to that of sea water, ocean plasma? Our bodies are precious ecosystems, too.
We belong.
“Protector of the Ficus Tree”
Creating art can be a form of honoring those we love.
Ficus leaves from a soul friend’s favorite tree, the one that casts a shadow of protection over her family in the heat of Southern California, the same towering guardian that holds the smallest of hummingbird nests in its arms. Shells found almost a lifetime ago, the day two friends left love notes in the sand.
I am reminded of the moments that loved ones have deeply inspired me. I am grateful for softness and support, chosen family and kindred spirits, the days spent walking shorelines tossing fears and wishes into the ocean. These moments are wildly significant, and with art, we keep them alive.
“Driftwood & Dreams”
Foraged shells hang like stars from driftwood, their bodies mapped by beaches across the world, each with their own story to tell, sharing just enough to spark the curiosity of the beholder.
White like the gulls, white like clouds and the hidden shapes they hold.
Blue like the waves, blue like the eyes of someone you love.