the last guitar pick

now that i am officially taking a hiatus from making guitar picks, it seems only fitting that the last one that i made was a gift for a dear friend, erik nordstrom.

here he is with the pick last weekend at the beautiful losers show in dolores. you cannot see what it printed on the pick, but it says "LCK", which is short for erik's band, the lawn chair kings. (who, incidentally, played at our wedding)

chuck barry and the beautiful losers

our rock stars don't wear shoes...

this night was also a "mom's night out". we had a blast!

kelly and tamara

steph and erika

shannon and gabby

introducing... william

this here is william. a sweet little fawn, so pure and innocent. even though it has been almost a year since the album came out, this piece is actually inspired by the decemberists' album the hazards of love. in case you do not know the story behind the album, part of it is that margaret falls in love with william, who can turn into a fawn.

most of the story takes place in the forest, hence the tree, and references are made to various flowers, including the columbine, which i included in the form of a lantern bloom on the chain.

for this album, shara worden of the band my brightest diamond joined the decemberists. she sings the part of william's mother, who is the (badass) queen of the forest. in a song she sang a couple years before the hazards of love, she says this:

he is going to be hard for me to part with...

i also made his brother...

this necklace is called "like the glimmer of the fawn...

there is something about a fawn-- so angelic, pristine, wide-eyed and radiant...

so elusive and shy. if you are lucky enough to catch a glimmer of one, it stays with you, imbuing you with some of those qualities, even if only for an instant.

i also didn't want the sweet deer in town to feel like they were getting slighted and i was only making jewelry to pay homage to their big cousins. speaking of which, cinder is the winner of the elk search contest! yay! congratulations! the answers were photo #1 - three elk, photo #2 - one elk, photo #3 three elk, photo #4- four elk. please e-mail me, silversparrowdesigns@gmail.com, to tell me what size you would like your earrings to be and to give me your address!

pay it forward...

as you know, my entire silversmithing endeavor was made possible by the generosity of others. i recently did a trade with steph from endangered creations. i gave her a ring and a pair of earrings, and she gave me a LOT of cabochons. when they arrived, many of them really spoke to me. i've already used 3 of them this week. but many of them did not and i wanted to pass them on. so i gave them to dear susie, a constant support on this here blog. today, she posted this on her blog. i am so very touched. and you, susie, are so very welcome!

p.s. i've been really really really trying to manifest the selling of more of my one-of-a-kind pieces and less guitar picks. i think it is happening! the raven bracelet sold instantly. right after that, i sold the growth belt buckle at the gallery. then the elk necklace sold right away. last night, i listed three items and by this morning, two of them had sold. i think it is happening. i had two more sales today after that. etsy got rid of the gift guides, which were the main reason i was selling so dang many guitar picks anyway. today, i took the guitar picks out of my shop. wish me luck.

p.p.s coming soon... a fawn, a heron, and an owl...

here's what i made today...

the "no doubt" ring. desiderata number 3

the griffin necklace, the color of my very first car

and the "blue flight" ring

(traci, i, of course, thought of you while making this one. if it's your size and you want it, it's yours!)

they're all in the shop!

p.s. if you love colin meloy at all, go here to see him, looking very adorable in a beard, singing a brand new song about the coming of summer...

elk search, with a prize!

so this evening i was finally able to photograph some of the elusive elk who have been hanging out on the cliffs above my house. i am so very fascinated by them! so i have devised a game with these photos. please leave a comment below, telling me the number of elk you can find in each photo. the first person to figure out the correct number of elk will win a pair of spiral earrings, you choose which size. (you can go see them in my etsy shop click on "for your ears" on the right hand side.)

photo #1

photo #2

photo #3

photo #4

i will announce the winner friday. good luck!

p.s. the elk song necklace sold almost as soon as i put it in the etsy shop...

elk song

have you ever been high up in the mountains in the fall, admiring the colors of the foliage, when all of a sudden you hear the sound of an elk bugling? if you have, then you know that it is the most haunting and beautiful sound. it is the sound the male elk makes during mating season (often called "rutting", but i prefer "mating"). it is the sound of him, calling to her. it is the sound of pure, wild desire. it is intense and beautiful.

last week, for the first time ever, the local elk ventured down from the hills into town. it is so fantastic. they are just hanging out on the cliffs. now when we are on a walk, instead of seeing the black goat who usually hangs out up there, there is a lovely elk family, babies and all.

this necklace is a tribute to the wonderful, wild creature that is the elk. i cut out a negative space image of the elk, and bezel set a stone behind him. the stone has only been identified to me as "fossil stone". it has the most beautiful colors in it, colors of fall and hills and rivers. the patterns are glorious! and, the pendant is reversible. the other side, without the elk, features the stone, and the backside of the chalcedony dangle has a beautiful, crystally druzy. you can wear it either way! the pendant measures 2 3/4" (including the dangle) x 1 3/4". the chain, heavy, textured, oxidized, is adjustable from about 16" to 18". my signature raindrop with initials and sparrow , with the words "elk song" on the back, and a lobster clasp complete the piece.

i also made the "awakening" necklace yesterday.

as you know, i am ready for spring. i am ready to see green, and flowers, and ground that is not frozen and snow-covered. this necklace is so very springy. it features a fabulous dreamy blue marquis-shaped chalcedony. there is also a sweet little pale lavender glass cabochon with a tiny blue flower, and a faceted rainbow moonstone. there is one of my tri-leaf pieces, along with a scattering of silver balls. a basket handle bail completes it.

and juniper says happy monday!

superheroes, pink clouds, elk, and bright star

hazel wanted to be super hazel last night, so we made some costumes

when i went to try to photograph the elk on the hillside (see below),

the clouds were a lovely pink color

for the first time ever, the elk that live in the surrounding hills have been venturing down into the edge of town over the past several days. it is incredible! they're all over the cliffs, babies and all. of course, i cannot get a photo of them; they're a bit too far away. but if you look very hard at this photo of the cliff above my house, you may be able to find them.

(you know what that means, right? an elk piece, coming soon...)

and, i watched the movie bright star last night. so beautiful! the poem:

BRIGHT STAR

By John Keats

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art---
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors---
No---yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillowed upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever---or else swoon in death.

1819

p.s. sorry for being such a baby about ski season. it is actually snowing again right now and i am sure there are still a few fabulous skis in my near future...

have a great weekend!

a bit more about spring

so, for all of my talk about the grandeur of returning spring, and however much i am looking forward to its' arrival, there is on major drawback. can you guess what it is?

that's right. the skiing is not so great. in fact, i went to my favorite local spot, boggy draw, the other day and it was downright terrible.

gone is my beautiful two-track. good-bye fabulous glide...

as much as i am delighted to see all of the beautiful signs of spring (even though i know there is still a while to go before it actually gets here), i do have to allow myself to grieve for the coming ending of cross-country ski season.

i am sure we will get a few more good snows, but, really, it is the beginning of the end. that is one of the most enchanting things about skiing, you have to really appreciate every little bit you get because you can only do it for short while each year.

so, as are so many things, it is a mixed bag. i can't wait for warmth and green and flowers and longer days. but along with that comes mud season and WIND season, and crusty, icy, unstable snow, and no more skiing...

...emergence...

just as surely as i am beginning to see the (however tenuous) signs of spring, i think that i can safely say that i am emerging from the funk that has been consuming me for the past several months

the snow is beginning to melt

and i am beginning to have some clarity surrounding the specific circumstances in my life that have been really tugging me down

i am starting to see patterns and habits in a whole new light

there are juniper berries on the trees and

i feel as if i am having a bit of an awakening

just as these plants are struggling to come back,

i am trying to weed out unproductive thoughts and beliefs

and plant seeds of uplifting

the ground is showing through once more, beneath the snow

and i can pretty clearly see where my work lies

although i know another storm can come at any time,

i also know that the promise of spring is just around the corner

i am shifting my focus and my energy back where it belongs,

on my family, on myself, on my home, and on my work

wish me luck...