Agnes Ring, hand made in 20k gold

It’s 3 o’clock in the morning and I just took a shower. No, I didn’t just wake up, in fact, I have yet to go to sleep. I spent my night obsessing over trying to figure out coding minutia over my husband’s website, finally giving up and accepting I have no clue what html or CSS is. I drank two glasses of red wine, and spent the rest of the evening in my studio. No, I wasn’t working. In fact, stretched my back on my very slick fitness ball and I laid on my very comfy new wooden floor, realized that it was very dusty and swept and moped it from side to side until it was nice and clean.

I don’t know about you, but my days, thoughts, habits, patterns, and behavior are all disheveled, just like my hair and clothes. Almost five months into a very eventful pandemic quarantine, I feel like everything is upside down and in limbo.

Emotionally, I seem to be in introspective moment. I believe everything is catching up with me. Two of my granddaughters were born three weeks early, right before the quarantine, our household got sick with Covid right at the start of the pandemic (gratefully we are all ok), and by choice my business went to a halt, along with the whole world. I focused on helping those in need through the social organization I volunteer for, my daughter moved into our house with all of her family for two months (I just let them take over every inch of the house), and a third granddaughter was born exactly the day the hospital changed it’s policy in time for me to witness her being born. Right after, my mother had to have a heart procedure in Mexico. Obviously, I was not able to fly in to be there for her because of the virus, and had to stay in touch only through phone calls and Facetime. If I may add, I have been spending most of my time on Facetime and Zoom, since all of this started. Attending meetings, classes, connecting with loved ones and trying to be there for those in a crises, which seems to be just about everyone all the time, not only on a personal, but on a social level as well.

While I was able to keep up with all that’s going on with poise and calm, now it seems to be my time to slow down a bit and dive deep. After finishing a few beautiful and fulfilling ring pieces inspired by Agnes Martin and meditation, I decided to take the summer off my bench, partly because I need a break, and partly because I need to nurse an arm injury. If you ask me, I believe our body always lets us know what we need to slow down. So I truly believe my right arm is manifesting what my mind and heart needs.

As an artist, yogi and jewelry designer, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what my values are and what the meaning of my work is, what inspires it and what nurtures it. As a matriarch, I have spent a lot of time with my family, not only giving them my time, love, and support during these difficult times, but also imparting my knowledge and passion for art, creativity and cooking.

As part of taking care of myself I seem to be indulging at this time. Bread, chocolate and wine seem to be the front-runners. However, my morning routine, which is very meditative and calming, seems to have stayed the same; I still wake up to make myself a nice tea with milk as well as a fresh fruit salad with homemade yogurt, local honey and nuts.

Yoga has also been a constant for me during this time. I loved taking an alignment yoga on Monday morning via Zoom until last week when I joined class at the studio for the very first time in months. It was such a great feeling to be back and practice at Evenflow, a lovely place space with Christian, an amazing teacher I have known for over ten years.

Ok, It’s past 4:30 right now, I have to go to sleep. I know I won’t be waking up at a normal hour but what is normal now? No one seems to know. I will let that be and flow with it. I am sure soon things will start to settle down a bit, just like my mind and body will as well.