ah ha! so this is how i spend my days! I met Carrie at Squam Art Workshops last year, and was impressed by her vibrancy...especially so, after learning more about the challenges she has faced the past few years. It's not my story to tell, but when life kicks you in the gut, it's good to know that you can get up swinging. Even though she won't be able to attend this year, she wanted a memento of her september at Squam, and sent me this picture of herself wearing her necklace. loved seeing it! and you've heard me rattle on about the experience of Squam so much here, that I'll save the gushing for mid-September when I come home. But it has been my pleasure and honor to create these talismans for the June tribe, and I thank them for their trust in me...it has been a unique (and a little nerve-wracking) experience to get an email with the request for a necklace "in green" and the rest is up to me. usually, these necklaces find their match at vendor shows and art festivals, after the purchaser sees them and selects the one that resonates with them. i wasn't able to attend the June session of Squam, but didn't want the Junies to be left out, so I threw the net out there and hoped for the best. and overall, the emails I've gotten back have been really delightful & wonderful & encouraging. Just one misstep, but that will be corrected asap. It's difficult to create a piece that represents such an awesome experience...it isn't just a piece of jewelry...it's a reminder of all that happened, and all the ripples that began inside. i have watched friends i met in 2008 grow in confidence and certainty and boldly going where they never thought they would...or could. this tribe of women have held each other up, and encouraged one another, and celebrated wildly with each others' success. they show up. they see and hear. they share their hearts and their inspiration and their secrets...whether those secrets are personal, or creative. there is a trust that it is a sacred space being created. and each person takes a bit of that sacred home with them, to nourish, and brings it back next year "see what has grown?" It was through a series of coincidences that i got there that first year, and a promise to myself that I would return every year, no matter what. this year, there are 12 of us sharing a cabin. 12 women...2 bathrooms. should be interesting! i am so looking forward to seeing them, and meeting new people who've read the blogs and descriptions in magazines, and have ventured out for themselves. for some, it is just another workshop trip, with no anxiety attached. for others, it is so far outside their comfort zone, they've probably canceled and re-upped several times in their mind already. i hope they stay determined and come. it's not at all intimidating once you set foot on the grounds...just peace...breathe in the cedar balsam air, listen to the lake shushh-ing up the shore, smell the woodsmoke from fireplaces in cozy cabins, watch as separate planets become one galaxy, and know this: you were meant to be there. back to work now...yesterday was a lost day, with hands in ice packs, motrin, and movies. today - we'll see! If you have a necklace request with me, please be patient as i convince these rusty gears to get turning again! wishing you a beautiful day with wonderful surprises!