Number 7

Yesterday one of my favorite yoga teachers tagged me in her story (see pic above).

I’m still soaking in the afterglow of her referring to me as an artist (like the highest compliment I feel you could give me so thank you Jen Ezell).

Anyhow, her post got me thinking about amazingly talented people whose crafts I’d like to promote in my top10 holiday gifts to get/receive blog series.

Here are some of them:
1) Kim O’Neil – see that pretty woman in the picture below. See those pretty purple swishy earrings. Yep – she made those! And I am almost as enamored with them as I am with her! Almost.

I love the deep color, the metal work, and the brown paper explaining the labyrinth (an ancient spiritual symbol/tool) design pattern she used to hang the beads and tassels from.

You can catch Kim at Flux teaching metal jewelry making classes, on Insta @rockoutjewelry, or at www.rockoutjewlery.etsy.com where you can buy her custom pieces.

All handmade and I can assure you – with lots of love.

2. Shawn Brewster: I met Shawn at Harmony Yoga Studios where he was making a guest appearance with his guiar and helped Natalie (studio owner) lead us through a vinyasa flow set to live acoustic music. I was instantly smitten and now never miss a ‘Shawn’ appearance if I can help it. Also, I don’t know who you are Jeanette Kasalak Sangston, but when I was looking for a pic with Shawn and his guitar I saw the amazing pic below on his wall. I hope you don’t mind me sharing it 🙂 The one of him and me on the right is not nearly as cool (though I do love my Oldboy t-shirt celebrating a band Shawn plays in that I purchased that day; unfortunately, it got cut off in this pic).

3. Janie Walland – If you pay attention to anything I post, you have heard of Janie lol. Her and I have been working creatively together for the past 9 months on an oracle deck marrying my words and her images. That project has saved me in more ways than I can articulate. It kept me distracted, motivated, accountable, sane. It also kept me creating, and through that creation came healing and comfort. During that time my mom had contracted Covid and was hospitalized for 42 days and on a ventilator for two weeks. Things were not looking good.  I began obsessively digging through old pictures, sifting and sorting through memories, and writing as a way to cope.

My mom always took us on the best vacations and one place that we would visit year after year was Ocean City, New Jersey. We’d go with aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandmas, cousins, and even friends. And we’d always spend one night at Gillan’s Wonderland at the far end of the boardwalk. At Gillan’s there was a glass cage that housed a band of stuffed monkeys. You’d drop a coin in and the monkeys would each play their instruments. There was also that old school carousel. I’d always try to saddle up on one of the horses in the outer most ring so I could try my hand at grabbing the brass ring (according to Wikipedia only 14 of these brass ring dispensing carousels still exist). Anyhow, I wrote the below piece (a version of which is part of the oracle deck Janie and I completed) as a way to honor my mom, and my memories. I sent Janie a pic of what Wonderland on the Pier looked like to me as a kid (see image below taken by Carol Highsmith). And from that, she created the illustration on the right.

I’m a collector– not of knickknacks, but of moments.
Memory souvenirs…that is what I gather.
Driving under a sea of stars to an ocean of waves.
The clackity clack of bicycle wheels on boardwalk.
The incessant chatter of gulls.
Thin sliced pizza by the pier.
A monkey band housed inside a glass case.
Our souvenirs call us back.
Some are silly. Some get shattered. A few tarnish along the way.
But most – most are colorful carousel horses and a few are brass rings

If you have something special you’d like illustrated- a person, a pet, an object, a memory –  I’d recommend giving her a holler! You can find her on Insta @janiewalland

And if you’d like to order our 32 card affirmation deck – you can do that here.

4 & 5. Robyn and Michelle
I used to work with Robyn at Cuyahoga Community College and since then we’ve wandered into one another’s lives for various projects. She helped judged a creative student contest I chaired, and I spoke to one of her sociology classes. When I saw she was participating in the #Frontstepsproject I practically begged her to come venture ‘all the way’ to the Eastside so I could be a part of it. The project captured families isolated in their homes due to Covid. The photographers pulled up, snapped pics from a safe distant, and shared. You can read more about how the project started here (brainchild of Mass. natives Cara Soulia and Kristen Collins). I encourage you to visit Robyn’s page @robynwhitephoto on FB to see what other awesome stuff she is up to! And Robyn – I hope we wader in and out of one another’s lives more often in the future.

I met Michelle at a Scare Your Soul Body Positivity event coordinated by Scott Simon. She was the photographer and I was the very awkward model. She is so super talented behind the lens, but also at making people feel extremely comfortable in extremely uncomfortable situations. Both her and Robyn are community activists, positive change agents, and immensely strong and gifted women. You can find Michelle on Insta @michellemloufman or at linktr.ee/michellemloufman