Spring 2020
For the first time in quite some time, I’ve been able to take walks every morning & watch spring slowly unfold. This has not been an easy episode for any of us, but I’m grateful for this.
A little about me...
Normally this time of year, I’m beginning a long season of traveling around the country to tell you the story of Skipping Lilies & meet you face to face. But things are no longer normal & my business needs a new place to live & grow, so pardon a potentially awkward transition as I try to talk to you a little bit here.
I’m the sole-operator of this micro-business, built largely on collecting & preserving small bits of biomass - showcasing the oft-overlooked beauty in the micro realms of the natural world.
I spend part of my year working for a travel company on small ships - as a naturalist & educator. It allows me to explore remote parts of the planet, working alongside experts in various fields - sharing a love & enthusiasm of culture & wildlife.
The ocean is my natural habitat - it’s one of the only places I feel truly safe. Last year I turned 45 & got my Divemaster certification, one of the more physically challenging things I have done in many years. My final practical involved 8 hours in murky 35 degree water, with snow falling throughout the day & wonderful volunteers pouring hot water into my wetsuit, to keep my fingers functioning so that I could do things like tie knots underwater & rescue “lost divers” lying motionless on the bottom of the lake - dragging them to shore while performing mock CPR. It was one of the happiest days of my life. I finished & applied to be part of an all-women’s expedition to the Arctic, to swim with orcas. The women I met onboard became a family & the future has more to say about that.
So this is a little bit about the person behind the business. I love to travel & explore new places. I love beautiful wild things both above & below water. I love my family dearly & you will often see photos of my dad. While my mom & I tend to shy from the camera, he is happy to be my muse. While not retired, he often calls on days off to ask if there is anything he can do to help. When I tell him I’m ok & he knows I am not, he shows up anyway - with coffee & pastries from my favorite local shop, and polishes jewelry for 8 hours straight. I’m an incredibly lucky girl.
The tiniest orchid & it's biggest fan
Had the rare pleasure of meeting the orchid enthusiast, Mr. Daniel Piedrahita, on a recent trip to Colombia. Daniel has singularly cultivated 5,000 species of orchids, for his personal collection. as a hobby. He shares his enthusiasm on YouTube, “Entre Flores”. Besides being an expert in cultivating hydrangeas, his astonishing collection of orchids is world renowned & it blew my mind in the very best way. He blew my mind not just for the incredible flowers, the likes of which I never could have imagined existed, but the enthusiasm in which he hoped to share his passion. It was the delight of a lifetime. His videos are worth a watch, he’s one of the most charismatic advocates for plants I’ve ever met. The video I posted at the bottom is him demonstrating a behavior resembling carnivorous plants - where the orchid traps an insect, only rather than consuming, they keep the insect inside long enough to be covered in pollen, before releasing them into the wild to carry on their business of reproduction.
Day 3 - Tromso
“You Had me at Hello”
Hello, Tromsø!
The little plane dropped through the clouds over snow capped mountains, to an enchanting city on the edge of the sea, with pink & purple light dusting the landscape. Tromsø had me at hello.
Tromsø lies in Northern Norway, 200 miles north of the Arctic circle. A tiny island, roughly the size of Manhattan, it’s population is about 70,000 people, making it the 2nd largest urban area North of the Arctic circle. Tromso experiences extreme light variations during the year & by the time we arrived, the sun had officially quit rising. This “Polar night” lasts from November through January, and come May the sun doesn’t set again until July. Every morning, from about 10am-12:30pm, we experience the suggestion of light, in a landscape brushed in blue.
I spent part of the day at a lovely coffee shop, catching up on emails & trying to acclimate to the absence of sunlight. I’m impressed by the efforts made to create inviting spaces in this little town, where darkness reigns for months of the year - candles burning in glass lanterns, nestled together on steps outside of shops & filling the rooms inside. I was surprised at how comfortable I could be made to feel in the dark - Norwegian Hygge is real.
With most of the team arriving tomorrow, I scouted a dinner for our abbreviated group of 8 & settled on Kitchen & Table - a Marcus Samuelsson restaurant in a hotel near the water. We got acquainted & enjoyed a meal & I immediately felt a kinship, despite my nerves. Each woman was as amazing as the next, with a completely unique story. I felt almost immediately to have found a tribe. Afterwards a few of us went to the famous “Ice Bar” - a bar made completely of ice, with ice walls & spaces & sculptures. Though largely a tourist operation, it was an interesting place to see & drink a cocktail from glass made of ice, on a bench made of ice, at tables made of ice. Tomorrow was a full day at leisure in Tromso, before the official start of a 3-day Leadership conference.
Day 2: Oslo - Thursday, Nov. 21
Today was a crash course in Norway’s maritime history, from the Vikings to the early polar explorers to Thor Heyerdahl’s infamous Kon-Tiki! I stood in awe at the hull of the Oseberg ship, the most lavishly decorated Viking ship ever found, built in AD820 - measuring 22 meters long, 5 meters wide, with 15 pairs of oar-holes & a 90m2 sail. I climbed inside the Fram, said to have sailed farther north (85°57'N) and farther south (78°41'S) than any other wooden ship, making expeditions to both the Arctic & the Antarctic. I walked through the tiny cabins, saw the instruments used in their scientific observations, read journal entries from long days at sea, imagining the horrendous conditions many of these sailors endured. I stepped into the dining room, where men gathered every evening to dine together, with a semi-automatic piano playing traditional Christmas songs - photos of sailors in their nightly routines of sewing repairs in socks & garments, recording observations, singing & playing games. I saw the large windmill that powered a generator providing them with lights & the engine room, initially fitted with a steam engine but replaced with Diesel prior to its Antarctic voyage. Captained by both Nansen & Amundsen, this 3 masted schooner measuring 39m in length was designed to keep a crew insulated & supplied for 5 years at sea.
Last in the string of Maritime museums was the wonderful Kon-Tiki. This delightful museum is home to the Koi-Tiki herself, the Ra, and countless bits of memorabilia from Thor Heyerdahl’s wild adventures & expeditions. Trained in zoology & botany, passionate about ethnography, geography & seafaring exploration, he captivated the world by setting off from South America in a raft made of balsa wood, with no sailing experience & a phobia of water - spending 3 months drifting 5000 miles, using only currents & wind - eventually reaching the Tuamotu Islands - proving it was possible for ancient people to reach Polynesia from South America. Heyerdahl was a lifelong lover of the natural world and advocate for environmental conservation. The photos of Polynesia in the 1950’s, original footage of finally making land, along with stories of an ocean once teeming with life, was both intoxicating & heartbreaking. A magical experience for me.
Finished up the rainy day with a visit to the Royal Palace & Nobel Peace Center.
weather: 37 degrees F
precipitation: rain
Day 1: Oslo - Wednesday, Nov. 20
Day 1: Woke up in the beautiful city of Oslo. Today was for coffee shops & wandering streets & visiting the botanical garden, now largely at rest for the winter. I walked to the waterfront & said hello to the sailboats, made my way through the Christmas market, skated on boots across a city rink, listening to holiday songs familiar. I warmed up on the rooftop of the renowned Grand Hotel, where Roald Dahl used to stay, best known as the annual venue of the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Area mom buys every issue of New Prague Times.
If you didn’t see the news, it’s possibly because my mom bought up every last copy of the local paper. Thank you New Prague Times, for running a story on this local girl & an upcoming thrill of a lifetime! And thanks #mom for being my biggest fan.
In just under 2 weeks, I join the Sedna Epic Expedition & 14 incredible women on a small ship, to snorkel with whales & humpbacks in the Arctic, carrying out scientific research & documenting the effects of climate change in this particularly vulnerable area of the world. The team consists of scientists, filmmakers, journalists, photographers, lawyers, science communicators & artists.
Sedna all-women's Expedition to the Arctic circle
Dear friends -
I've been selected to be part of the Sedna Epic expedition - an all-women's team of scientists, explorers, educators, filmmakers, photographers, journalists & artists - on an expedition to the Arctic circle.
The goals of the expedition are two-fold:
1. During November 22-25, the Sedna Epic will run a leadership program in Tromso, Norway, discussing women’s growing representation in exploration and STEMM careers. During the leadership program we hope to connect with Sami women, to better understand this part of the Arctic, its history, geography, and the culture and traditions of its Indigenous people.
2. Following the leadership program, Sedna's sea women will spend November 25-December 1, 2019, aboard the MV Freya, snorkelling with orcas and humpbacks and undertaking scientific research.
The team is composed of 14 women - age ranging from 20's to mid-70's.
This is an issue near & dear to my heart - inspiring & empowering young girls to get involved in science, in any way that they can - while being able to experience first-hand, one of the world's great wildlife spectacles.
I've been selected to be the Artist-in-Residence onboard, creating a series of illustrations, documenting the expedition - continuing the tradition of 19th century naturalist expeditions, when explorers, scientists and artists set sail together to share the same experience, each contributing to a common overarching goal.
In addition to my artistic abilities, I will bring my background is in biology & education; my experience in scuba diving (as a certified PADI divemaster) & expedition travel, to contribute in all aspects of this expedition. I would love to be able demonstrate that there are many ways to be involved in scientific research, discovery and conservation. Our oceans desperately need the input & help from all walks of life. I'm incredibly honored to be invited to join this team.
If you would like to help make this journey a reality with a contribution, you can visit my GoFundme page:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/sedna-allwomen039s-expedition
Any help would be greatly appreciated! It is also a huge contribution to share this link with friends or family - anyone you know, who might be interested!
*As a full-time working jewelry artist, you can also support me by supporting my work: www.skippinglilies.com
I've also created a couple of special pieces, to help make this journey a reality:
1. Sea beans or “sea hearts” (also known as drift seeds) are seeds and fruits that are carried to the ocean, often by freshwater streams and rivers, then drift with the ocean currents and (hopefully!) wash ashore. These sea-beans come from trees and vines that grow along tropical shores and rain forests all over the world. The beans fall from the parent plant, into streams and rivers, to drift with the ocean's currents until being washed onto a shore thousands of miles from where they once grew. Floating in the sea by the thousands, only the hardiest endure long voyages on ocean currents which may finally bring them to rest on foreign shores.
Sea–beans are known as symbols of good luck and longevity. In old England, sea hearts were good luck charms for seafarers because they had weathered a long ocean journey.
*This is a pre-order!! I carved this original sea bean out of wax, and then cast it in sterling silver. Sea beans will not be available to be shipped until Mid-July.
You can find this piece through the link:
https://www.skippinglilies.com/necklaces/hammered-sterling-petal-aquamarine-silk-fringe-earrings-w33fc-ztcjg-8762t-ddnrt-3w6xs
2. Sylvia Earle, my ocean scientist hero - got her start gathering & preserving algae (seaweed) along the florida coastline. Her collection of over 25,000 species of algae now lives in the Smithsonian. My primary jewelry work involves collecting tiny bits of biomass & preserving these bits in small glass pendants. I have done a series of pieces containing pressed seaweed:
https://www.skippinglilies.com/ocean
Antarctica!
Happy belated New Year, friends! I’m happy to be returning to the studio after 5 weeks away! In short: Almost every year, for the last 10+ years, I’ve worked with a travel company, on a small tourist ship that travels to Antarctica, South Georgia & the Falkland Islands. I teach a “Young Explorer” program to the children traveling with their families, in the age range of 8-18yrs. The program is an educational enhancement program, much like the one provided to the adults onboard. I take advantage of the generally small size, to provide a “hands on” learning experience, in the areas of marine biology, conservation, wildlife observation, seamanship & the creative arts. I teach classes that range from an onboard squid dissection, to a study of the plankton pulled up in the region, to fish biology, to Antarctic wildlife, observation & illustration. I also draw from the vast pool of experts onboard, who deliver programs on Marine Mammals, deep sea ocean life, geology, ornithology, history, zodiac safety, knot-tying & photography. We tour the bridge with the Captain, with instruction on controls & navigation, tour the engine room with the Chief Engineer & generally experience an amazing adventure together.
It’s brought me to (& made me fall in love with) one of the most breathtaking, exquisite places on earth, working alongside an extraordinary team of people & I’m grateful beyond what I’ve ever been able to say.
Thank you for letting this one-person operation shift & nourish my other love - Skipping Lilies has always been a marriage of science & art & I’m so thankful to be able to take time for both!
Happy to be home & back in the studio!! Hope everyone is having a Happy New Year!
Plant stories
Every piece starts with a specimen & comes with a story. These seaweed pieces involved collecting washed up algae on the beach in San Diego & bringing it home in my carry-on (where it still shockingly thrives in my refrigerator). They involved dear friends who helped me dig through piles to find a variety to take home & press & madly running to the ocean which has always felt like running home. The stories don’t always get to involve frolicking on the beach & these moments aren’t always captured, but I’m grateful for the times I get to travel with dear friends @beachglassbingo (& gene who likes to document!), and come home to find these captured moments in my inbox. Looking at them reminds me of why I’m particularly fond of this series.
Side note: while several species of algae were collected, a large part of it is Sargassum (S. muticum, S. horneri) - both invasive species thought to have been originally brought over on a Japanese cargo ship. It’s wreaking havoc on the native ecosystem in southern California, also displacing the beloved Macrocystis (giant brown kelp). Having spent a few years living & working on Catalina Island, introducing kids to the breathtaking kelp forests that have long flourished around the island, it’s heartbreaking to witness the vanishing of such an extraordinary underwater landscape.
personal side note: Gene points out in his message to zoom in on my hair in the photo of me running to the water (and please don’t zoom in on any other parts of that photo). I’ve been known to forgo showering for almost any other activity, but dreadlocks suggest this time might have gone on a little long.