LURE - SMALL FRY

REPOST FROM ORIGINAL LURE BLOG:

I keep thinking about how luscious & tempting things in this life can be. 

Intriguing us with beautiful forms,

pungent perfumes,

bold, stunning colors. 

All things that promise rushes of dopamine through our blood stream.  That addictive, powerful flow which excites each and every one of our cells. 

It makes us feel alive.

It makes us feel happy.

Often when we speak of these types of things, we talk about how indulgent they are. Each of them carrying a sense of negativity with them. We hope we are strong enough to evade their pull, and somehow that ability would make us better human beings. 

__

It brings me back almost 20 years, neatly sorting seed beads into their own little compartments. I'd pick up a few, gently sliding my fingers back and forth across their glassy surface. Letting a few of them at a time all back into their designated spot. 

That's when the tug began for me, I got sight at what I consider my life long lure. A glimpse at what a dreamy, sexy life this career would be. 

But as with most things that bring us happiness, as a good strong human, I stopped myself from daydreaming too long or too hard.  I'd think about how much fun it was as a hobby, but never, ever would I allow myself to dream beyond that. 

Perhaps, I thought, too much daydreaming would somehow get in the way of "real" work. 

But oh how wrong I was.

How wrong we are.

My only regret is how long it took me to allow myself the freedom to explore. 

Explore my truth,

Explore my passion,

Explore my life. 

I regret so much, how long and how hard I struggled against the urge. 

Now, when I daydream, it's more frequently about the past than the future.

I remember my 18 year old self standing at the top of a set of stairs that led to an art department. 

A set of stairs I was too coward to walk down. 

An 18 year old too afraid to speak her truth and too fearful to take the leap. 

Now as I daydream, I find myself telling that youngster this,

"Now is always the time for happy." 

___

NOW IS ALWAYS THE TIME FOR HAPPY.

NOW IS ALWAYS THE  TIME FOR HAPPY.

NOW.

I challenge you this, why not indulge? 

______

These beasts are meant to be big and bold.

For those of us willing to take the bait.

Go against the norm.

Take the less worn path.

To you, I applaud.

I send my highest praises.

They are more than that though.

A side story if you will. 

Of a friendship that started while sorting those seed beads 2 decades ago. 

A person who, despite what she says, was by far one of the biggest artistic influences of my life. 

She gifted me a pair of articulated fish earrings over a decade ago.

They were my favorite.

I rarely took them out.

But then there was that one time I did, and sadly they were never to be seen again.

I've thought about those earrings for 10 years.

So I bring you my, bigger, bolder version all these years later.

I think appropriately, they are sized to represent my unwavering announcement that I will not follow the well worn path. 

I will embrace my indulging, dreamy, sexy career with all it's ups and downs.

I took the bait. 

will you? 

___

Available for purchase here for just 1 week. At which time I will close the listing and fulfill all orders at one time.

Carin

LURE.

 I keep thinking about how luscious & tempting things in this life can be. 

Intriguing us with beautiful forms,

pungent perfumes,

bold, stunning colors. 

All things that promise rushes of dopamine through our blood stream.  That addictive, powerful flow which excites each and every one of our cells. 

It makes us feel alive.

It makes us feel happy.

Often when we speak of these types of things, we talk about how indulgent they are. Each of them carrying a sense of negativity with them. We hope we are strong enough to evade their pull, and somehow that ability would make us better human beings. 

__

It brings me back almost 20 years, neatly sorting seed beads into their own little compartments. I'd pick up a few, gently sliding my fingers back and forth across their glassy surface. Letting a few of them at a time all back into their designated spot. 

That's when the tug began for me, I got sight at what I consider my life long lure. A glimpse at what a dreamy, sexy life this career would be. 

But as with most things that bring us happiness, as a good strong human, I stopped myself from daydreaming too long or too hard.  I'd think about how much fun it was as a hobby, but never, ever would I allow myself to dream beyond that. 

Perhaps, I thought, too much daydreaming would somehow get in the way of "real" work. 

But oh how wrong I was.

How wrong we are.

My only regret is how long it took me to allow myself the freedom to explore. 

Explore my truth,

Explore my passion,

Explore my life. 

I regret so much, how long and how hard I struggled against the urge. 

Now, when I daydream, it's more frequently about the past than the future.

I remember my 18 year old self standing at the top of a set of stairs that led to an art department. 

A set of stairs I was too coward to walk down. 

An 18 year old too afraid to speak her truth and too fearful to take the leap. 

Now as I daydream, I find myself telling that youngster this,

"Now is always the time for happy." 

___

NOW IS ALWAYS THE TIME FOR HAPPY.

NOW IS ALWAYS THE  TIME FOR HAPPY.

NOW.

I challenge you this, why not indulge? 

______

These beasts are meant to be big and bold.

For those of us willing to take the bait.

Go against the norm.

Take the less worn path.

To you, I applaud.

I send my highest praises.

They are more than that though.

A side story if you will. 

Of a friendship that started while sorting those seed beads 2 decades ago. 

A person who, despite what she says, was by far one of the biggest artistic influences of my life. 

She gifted me a pair of articulated fish earrings over a decade ago.

They were my favorite.

I rarely took them out.

But then there was that one time I did, and sadly they were never to be seen again.

I've thought about those earrings for 10 years.

So I bring you my, bigger, bolder version all these years later.

I think appropriately, they are sized to represent my unwavering announcement that I will not follow the well worn path. 

I will embrace my indulging, dreamy, sexy career with all it's ups and downs.

I took the bait. 

will you? 

___

Watch them move here: https://instagram.com/p/9EYtRCHuzV/

--

Available in the shop update Thursday 10/29 at 5pm PT
www.jonesingforjewelry.etsy.com

Carin

Homechum

Maybe this is the story of my life.

Maybe it's the story of the salmon.

Maybe it's both.

I say I've lived in this magical place my whole life.

A place where the snowy mountains meet the sea. 

Where the trees create a landscape so green and so thick it's hard to see past it.

To be honest, growing up, I wanted nothing more than to leave. 

At the time, this place felt too small for the gigantic dreams I wanted to fill. I felt suffocated and trapped.

As a young adult, I only saw what this place couldn't offer and none of what it could.

I saw it's downfalls and little potential.

Mostly, I think my body had changed and so had my heart.

I was no longer that little fry that needed the protection offered by the stream.

I was ready to explore. 

I first tried the luscious views of Upstate New York. I landed as the golden deciduous trees were dropping their leaves. 

Almost as far away from this home as possible, I was eager to adventure. 

I wanted to see who I was away from everything I had known. 

I was ready to test my crazy thoughts and theories on the unsuspecting world. 

New York was beautiful.

This is really where I fell in love with hiking.

Gushing waterfalls.

Fingerlakes.

I tasted it all.

And for a moment I felt happy.

No,

I was happy.

The space, that's what I needed at the time.

To explore.

To experience.

A new adult in a massive ocean.

I left the Atlantic, only a few years later to find myself again in the North Pacific,

but this time in Alaska.

A place as gorgeous, if not more than home. 

The land full of texture and color.

Spewing life from every pore. 

I saw majestic white belugas dancing their way through the Cook Inlet.

I played on ice cold blue glaciers.

And to this day I will tell you that I long to go back to where the spit extends a mile from the land. Narrow as ever, just enough land to call it a place. 

Saltwater surrounding you, but where it misses, the gap is filled in by snow capped peaks. 

Halibut a story tall, hung up and ready for eating. 

Homer, AK is in my heart.

But all these sights I've seen. 

Places I've lived.

Memories I've made.

They were never home.

The moment I leave this place, the Pacific Northwest, and step out on a new land, may it be long term or even for a short trip, I immediately feel called home.

My body feels unsettled, almost visibly shaky. 

Something is out of place, 

I am out of place.

My mind often wanders, and I find it thinking about home.

I guess that's how I know. 

Funny how understanding works sometimes, learning by trial and error.

You spend your whole life experiencing where you don't belong, only to realize all you needed you had all along. 

Where you started.

Where it all began.

And so, like a spawning salmon answering a call from within.

Not a conscious thought, but rather something deeper.

A story written on their DNA. Bound to happen because of who they are.

Just like the chum, returning to the stream to spawn, I return home.

And when my feet are firmly planted on this ground, gone away is the restlessness.

In it's place a calming sense of peace.

A huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

Home brings an overwhelming sense of belonging.

And now, when I look up and see that glorious mountain peeking over the horizon, I believe it's mine.

And in return, I am it's.

We belong together. 

The same for my ocean.

The same for my home.

_____

These pieces were dreamt up while I was away.

They were sketched and the ideas solidified while I was on a plane soaring towards home.

They were forged right where I belong.

An understanding of exploration.

A gift of belonging.

A celebration of home. 

Shop here.

♥ Carin

As the Salmon Return //

It is time now, the summer heat is slowly consumed by the crisp fall air. The days are growing shorter.

A nearly impossible mission. Absolute death. 

But it's in their nature, their deepest being. It is written in their DNA.  

They must go. They have no choice. 

They will go as the generation before them did, and as their offspring will.

This journey will be their hardest, but most important.

Against all odds, nature knows best. 

As the salmon make their way back, swimming up-stream, going against the current, everything seems to be against them. 

Fighting for their lives. Fighting for their species. 

They use every ounce of energy they have to return to the stream from which they came.

A beautiful, miraculous journey, as they lay their eggs in 

one last triumphant roar. 

Custom sterling silver and turquoise ring made in honor of the beautiful fish. 

♥ Carin