Yes. No. Those, my friends, are the two most powerful words. Each one is the choice of a path at any given moment in time, and can completely alter your life. There is much written about the power of Yes--something I have experienced many times. I said Yes to the University of New South Wales, and moved to

I am sitting in a darkened room, the heat surrounding me, marveling at the past few months. Outside, there are clouds (or perhaps it's wildfire smoke), and I am sipping wonderfully dense black tea. This past year has been so full of stress, anxiety, fear....it has been mind-numbing. My creativity and motivation have waned, only to be awoken

Sometimes you have to make sacrifices in order to have the life you want. With that in mind, I have been spending more time in the studio, making things happen. Metalsmithing is a time-consuming pursuit, but the beauty that one can create is what makes it worth the time and energy. That is what led me to metalsmithing

 I have been thinking a lot about the future, lately. I suppose growing older does that to you. What it really is, though, is me assessing what my life looks like and contrasting that with what I want it to look like. Change comes slowly, but the blessing of being self-aware is that I tend to analyze things

Spring has sprung. It has been springing for a while, actually. I have simply been too distracted to write about it. But here it is, in all its glory.... Spring means lots of hikes, brunch dates with friends, and working on new jewelry. Since the new studio has been set up (it's still a work in progress, but

 Storm over Coogee Bay, Australia, 2001 In life, it feels like there are rare moments of true clarity. You know, those moments when you can suddenly see things, and people, for what, and who, they are. This happened recently, during this past winter. It was as if the clouds over my mind and heart started lifting and moving

Home ownership is so many things, all at once. It's blissful contentment, knowing you have something of your own--a piece of the world. A real life piece of land that you can stand on and stomp around on. It's a stressful weight, knowing that you have this huge debt, with big repercussions if something bad happens and you

At some point, I started being swayed not by peoples' judgment of me, but by their possible judgment. It was a fear based in anxiety, which has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. This fear has affected not only my everyday life, but my creative work as well. I have always been

In my family--my immediate family in particular--names are inherited. They represent our history, and we each know the origins of our respective names. For example, my first name Catherine is from my paternal great-great-great grandmother, Catherine Cumerford. Her father was an Irish Catholic who fled to England, then Australia (where Catherine was born), and finally to California. My

Winter in the Pacific Northwest is a quiet affair. The rain and cold locks us in much of the time, and this winter has been no exception. In fact, it has gone above and beyond with snow days, ice storms, and freezing rain. Much of November and December were spent getting jewelry ready to sell, and then the