I met Emerald in April of 2016 when I bought a turquoise necklace from her to wear as my something blue in my wedding. She was pregnant with Azalea and pretty new to the Portland area. Since then we’ve been like family and she and her family are some of my favorite people on the planet. Emerald is one of the few people I will talk through art ideas with as she gets me and has a great eye- so I value her opinion. She is also my favorite metalsmith; her art is how we met after all! Emerald’s jewelry shows her attention to detail both in the finishing work (clean solders, smooth edges, etc) and in the elements she includes from handmade leaves and flowers to stamped bands or having multiple stones set in their tiny bezels. That attention to detail is what sets her apart and what initially drew me to her work.

If you have been following me and my work for any length of time you have probably seen me post something Yellowstone-related. I’ve painted landscapes from my photos I’ve taken there and posted on the blog about it previously

I grew up watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind and so have always wanted to see Devil's Tower in person. Once, on a family roadtrip, we went through Gilette and must have been so close- but somehow we all missed it entirely. This time Cory and I made it a point to go there and hike around its base to really take it in.

With work done by the CCC and a cave that is so large its end still hasn’t been mapped- Wind Cave is a National Park that wasn’t even on our radar until we were very close after a trip to Badlands. We decided to check it out and see what the park was about.

We went to Badlands National Park on our roadtrip home from our time in the Midwest and I have to say, it was really cool. It reminds me of giant sand castles with grasses and wildflowers around as you hike.

The visitor center is AWESOME as they have a great video about the natural history there and, even better, working paleontologists you can observe and talk to!!

Effigy Mounds is a site of earthen mounds in animal forms (mostly in the shapes of bears and birds) made by Native Americans that lived around the Mississippi River in what is now northern Iowa.

St Louis Zoo is incredible- and (though you pay to park) free to enter. We had to go when we were all in town for mom’s 70th birthday as not only is it a great zoo, but they had the traveling exhibit Dinoraurous going on. My niece Jo (4) wants to be a paleontologist when she grows up, so this trip was a must.

We went to lunch with my aunt Pam in Louisiana, MO and went on a hike with her at one of her go-to spots. The Lay Center is a sculpture park with hiking trails where the sculptures are made by the students of St. Louis University. We pretty much had it to ourselves and the art was all so fantastic.

While I know being born around the corner from here some could call me biased- I do believe Main Street St Charles, MO to be objectively the cutest place around. I love Old Town, especially Main Street, for the brick streets, historic buildings, flower arrangements, small restaurants, river views and all the shops.

I might be a quilter in denial. My sister says that though I am a painter and my quilts are only a sometimes craft, and that I never make them from a pattern- that improv quilting is a thing and that it’s just a hobby of mine.. I guess I won’t argue. I made my 4th quilt as I bought material for a table runner, then accidentally found material I liked with it and it was way too much for a runner after that point.. So I have a painting themed throw quilt/blanket I made.. Or Painting in the Garden as I think that might be the title.. Do quilts need titles? So much I don’t know about this topic!