Hello!!! I hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for some Turkey day holiday. I have been counting down to the holiday break because school has been so intense and non-stop. I will have a good 5 days off but all of it will be time for more new jewelry in time for the holidays and some more work for the upcoming IAIA Holiday Market (will make another update post later). I am closing in on the end of my Fall semester and officially set to graduate next Spring and do my senior exhibition. I have been working away since the beginning of the semester on my huge concept for the exhibition. It has been incredibly hard keeping it a secret but I cannot wait to share it with you all in March 2025. 

I am sure many of you have noticed all the adjustments and ongoing updates on the website too! I am updating everything and slowly getting all spiffy photos and prepared for my graduation. I felt the tuning and adjustments are becoming more of the artist I have become and who I have grown to be through my studies. There will be a lot more adjustments and fine-tuning to be done so I appreciate you ♥ I cannot wait to be back to creating full-time again. As soon as I graduate I will be right back at it booking events, creating new works and committing full-time back to my business. I appreciate you all for the encouragement and support I received since making my decision to return to school. 

This is unfortunately a huge bummer of an update to post, but I hope everyone will have a bigger idea of what I am doing and why it has been so quiet suddenly. The first and biggest thing I would like to address is my school is taking up 80% of my time, as soon as the semester started we went right into it. It was essentially here's your timeline and here's what you need to achieve and have done by the end of the semester. It consists of me focusing my time on my thesis and preparing to write my big paper on that for graduation. It also consists of me creating multiple pieces for a pop-up show at the end of the semester that follows up to my big senior exhibition next semester. So the work I am doing now is all leading up to my graduation date. It has left me with very little time to create or take customs. The other 10% of my time is spent scrambling to continue drawing and creating my concepts and taking a bit of time for myself. Another 10% is dedicated to my work and finishing any custom work and continue to do small updates to the website and keep up with all the inquiries.

Another unfortunate big turn of events is the cost of silver is out of control! Today the market shows it is $40.75 an ounce and has only risen $6-8 since January. My advisor and I were discussing when we would start to see the $50 an ounce. With that being what it is, it unfortunately has become nearly impossible for me to make large collections and Halloween coming up was supposed to be one of them. I have to fund my own senior projects, pay my bills and pay for any other things I need in the semester (ie. Gas, food, additional class materials, etc). So unfortunately my bank account has spoken and I cannot fathom being able to fund my Halloween work along with my school necessities. It is a real bummer since Halloween jewelry is my FAVORITE every year, but it just is not possible with the circumstances. 

In more unfortunate events my schedule is pretty hardcore this semester. I have classes Monday till 5-6pm after I drive to and from Santa Fe which takes an hour there and back. I have classes on Wednesday and I do not get home till 9-10pm with the Santa Fe drive as well. AND I have classes on Friday where I do not get home till 5pm with the Santa Fe drive again. I thankfully have the Tuesday and Thursday where I get time to just breathe, eat and get some sleep. However, I have classes that evening online every Tues/Thurs so I work through the day and then hop online for my classes each evening. Every minute in between (including my Saturdays and Sundays) is filled with me working in my studio finish the customs and pumpkin earrings while simultaneously working on my senior project work. So, I am trying my best! I hope everyone knows how hard I am working and doing my best to keep afloat. Although, it may seem like the circumstances are looking wishy-washy my business will stay alive! My husband has been my rock through this whole ordeal and we are finding a way to make all the finances work and keep my business alive till I graduate. 

On the happier note I graduate Spring 2026 in May and I will be back full force non-stop with my jewelry and my business. I can finally take orders again and stop giving uncertain timelines for finishing work. Another nice thing is my senior work I have never been so excited to create more than I am with my senior projects and ideas. I cannot wait to share them with you all and look forward to showing my growth as an artist after getting this degree. I have a lot of plans for the future already and keep having to reel myself back in before I take on too much. Upcoming is my Tides & Waves Virtual Symposium taking place on September 26-27. I will be speaking on the 27th with Brian Fleetwood (my favorite and everything school advisor/instructor) and a fellow student Mayta Katari Vizcarra Wood. The free time I have had has been dedicated to prepping for this symposium where I will be speaking about myself as an artist and what my work means. 

I hope I got everything, there is definitely a lot more happening and going on behind the quiet doors. I just can't wait to graduate and create freely again. Thank-you for sticking with me through this huge change and supporting myself and my business. I am so glad to be able to do this for a living and once school is over I can really spread my wings. ♥