OPEN STUDIO in honor of Mother’s Day!

Thursday, May 11^th from 5PM -9PM

What could be more fitting to celebrate Mother’s Day than women artists/mothers coming together to share their art?

Please join me along with my two hosts / ceramic artist Jess Parker & hand bound book & custom card designer Elaine Chu 

Along with my two new lines Cairns and Ancient/Modern Mosaic I’ll have a limited collection of new treasures from this year’s Tucson Gem Show, including handmade jewelry from Nepal, Turkey, and Vietnam. A rare opportunity!

Pre-2016 stock will also be available @ greatly reduced/wholesale costs to make room for these new lines!

More sneak peeks to follow later this week of everything you can expect to find @ the sale…

We look forward to seeing you!

Deb, Jess & Elaine

In many parts of the world the use of cairns represents either a desire to mark one’s path or a creative endeavor achieving balance. Functionally, rock groupings are placed along a route to assure travelers in moments of uncertainty that they’re going the right direction. Carefully stacked rocks of all different shapes and sizes are arranged into harmonious balance. Symbolically, they can represent the achievement of us fitting together our many disparate parts, or a successful alignment or limning – providing guidance, hope, or confidence in one’s chosen path – essentially leading us in the right direction. They also give us an opportunity to simply take a breath and appreciate the creativity and beauty surrounding us.

This is the inspiration behind one of the new lines I’ve created – Cairns – featuring smooth pebble-like faceted gemstones suspended from delicate gold ear wires and chains. The gemstones, with their smooth faceted pebble-like surfaces have a lovely tactile quality while providing a beautiful subtle shine.

More info on the new line soon!

One year ago this month, I was making plans to attend the annual Tucson Gem Show but instead purchased an airplane ticket to fly to Denver, Colorado in the dead of winter to visit an uncle I’d only met twice in my life.

He was in the ICU, riddled with cancer/COPD. My mom had called to say he was in bad shape. She’d flown there not long before but wasn’t planning to return just yet. So, it was daunting to imagine just showing up there myself, basically a stranger, barging in at the hospital at such a stressful moment.

Financially it was a tough time too. My husband’s company had just quasi-imploded and buying a plane ticket to fly to Denver for the wknd wasn’t ideal. But a friend (lifesaver, goddess) who’d grown up not far fr my uncle had moved back not long before and offered to let me stay with her.

So I got on the plane and went.

My uncle lived his whole life in the Denver area, originally with a first wife and their two kids, then with his second wife who I’d met – along with my first cousins – for the first time 10 years earlier. I was so nervous I sent my aunt a text, too hesitant to actually make the call.

In thinking back, I realized that, as an adult, I’d never reached out to build relationships of my own with these relatives. Since I’d only met them once or twice in my life our connection was tenuous – the occasional email, holiday or birthday – really, I wasn’t even aware of missing it because it hardly felt there.

I flew out on a sunny, gorgeous, 80 degree day (rare) into cloudy, freezing, 30 degree Denver – caught the last shuttle to my downtown rental car and drove straight to the hospital. My aunt, who’d only met me once for a couple of hours 10 years earlier, somehow managed to bee-line down the quiet halls to welcome me giving me a big hug. She led me to the ICU where – although I’d been warned of his condition – the shocking multitude of  tubes, masks, machines with my uncle at the center, a giant oxygen mask in lieu of a face.

I froze, feeling like an intruder. (Sidenote: this, oddly, reminded me of the time we bought our newborn home fr the hospital. Lying there, vulnerable, waiting for her first bath, she looked at me and I felt like I should ask permission.)  But he roused himself, slowly pushing the oxygen mask to one  side and, with a small smile said ‘well, hello!’ And just like that the process of slowly getting to know each other began.

He asked details about my life, how my husband and daughter were, what was I doing at work. We realized we had interests in common we hadn’t been aware of. He told me about himself, about what he and his wife both enjoyed doing, about being a hellraiser in his earlier days, race cars, salt flats, backyard BBQs.. He talked about his love for his children & grandchildren, what they were all like. He talked about his best friend, Larry, who he said was the best most loyal friend a guy could have. Saying this actually told me more about him, how he was the kind of person who inspired fierce loyalty and love. He was funny, wry, kind, thoughtful, REAL. Even in his incredibly compromised state, a mischievous sparkle shone in those eyes.

I noticed that his wife seemed to anticipate his needs before being asked and would simply attend to them. The two of them seemed completely in synch –their habit of finishing each other’s thoughts, comfortable in each other’s company – and yet entirely welcoming.  I recognized in him something I remembered my mom saying when I was a teenager. I’d asked her “if you could name just one rule people should live by, which would it be?” and she said “try to never intentionally make people feel bad“.

My folks decided to fly out after all, so we all visited together – talking, laughing, sharing stories, (sneaking in some contraband diet 7ups) – and by the end of the weekend, miraculously, he seemed much improved.  When it was time to go we all talked about making future plans once he got out of the ICU.

I went home and wrote him a long letter telling him how much I enjoyed visiting with him, his wife, daughter, and grandchild, and how sad it was that we were only just starting to get to know each other, but hey! better late than never. He wrote back a beautiful and generous note, agreeing how great it would be to stay in touch, and how glad he was too to have reconnected.

A month later my mom called to tell me he had had a sudden relapse and, subsequently died. He was 59.

One year later, I’m thinking how incredibly lucky we were to have shared those few final beautiful moments together at the hospital, swapping stories, laughter, and tears, and how happy I am that I decided to reach outside my comfort zone to try to connect. Don’t hesitate – just do it. You’ll be glad you did.

THREE years ago this month, I began http://www.5050LIGHT.com to document embarking on a yearlong project of art collaborations in celebration of my upcoming 50^th birthday.

TWO years ago this month, I ended my final post of the project, wrapping up that yearlong endeavor.

ONE year ago this month, on the way to Tucson, my path veered off in a different direction… (see upcoming post)

This month, 5050LIGHT.com reemerges as the new home for creative, artistic, noteworthy and/or informative offerings – both personal and professional – within my sphere of influence. I hope you find it an interesting and useful resource. Please feel free to send me your feedback.

Welcome back, and ENJOY!

TUCSON, BABY. (And, HEY, VALENTINE. * SPECIAL SALE Feb 10-13th*) 

I just returned fr a weeklong buying trip in Tucson, Arizona where – every early February – one of the largest groups of gem dealers, suppliers, designers, buyers from around the world convene for a multi-location convention. And oh what a convention it is…

Imagine a multitude of football fields with endless rows of tables packed tip-to-toe with every type of gem and jewelry item imaginable from around the globe, spread out across the city of Tucson. With over 45 separate shows, the largest show alone is almost 200,000SF (or aprox 4 football fields).

This week, I’ll begin showcasing a small selection of beauties I found while in Tucson – handmade treasures fr Nepal, Turkey, and Vietnam – available for purchase by appointment.

Gemstone Earrings $50 – $180  Gemstone Rings $90 – $300   Gemstone Pendants $90 – $250, specialty lg $850   Bracelets $45 – $75

(Pssss… Valentine’s Day is next Tuesday – for those of you with romantic ideas as yet unfulfilled!)

Friday, FEB 10th  ~  Saturday, FEB 11th  ~  Sunday, FEB 12th  ~  Monday FEB 13th  ~  call for an appt 415.235.1551

I’m looking forward to sharing these special items with you!

BEst,

Deb

Happy New Year & Happy Epiphany! 

Once again I offer my list of 10 or so favorite things from 2016* which I hope bring you as much pleasure as they brought me.

May these suggestions lead you & your loved ones to more wonderful opportunities to live ever better ~

A word about this list: COMMUNITY

This is not meant to be ‘pro-consumerism’, rather it is meant to introduce wonderful high quality – predominantly local – resources you may have yet to come across. So.. have at it, folks!

*Caveat emptor As always, advance apologies for any incompatibility or disagreement you may experience in accepting one/any/all of the following suggestions.

With that said, let’s begin…

1. Boonville Hotel & Table 128– Nirvana. Shangri La. HEAVEN. Casual, cozy, luxe. Summer Sundays’ Oyster Bar & Paella fest is the place to be. Minutes fr a bevy of wine tasting options. Don’t miss Navarro and Philo Apple Farm ‘s stay & cook getaways.

2. Carmel-By-The-Sea’s fantastic new-ish Italian Restaurant Il Tegamino– sigh. Don’t miss the polpette bar. Sitting outside in the tiny charming courtyard = quite lovely (just say YES to heat lamps). Walk-in only, but well worth the drive.

3. Bulletproof coffee @ Mission Heirloom. mold-free coffee beans + grass fed Straus butter + brain octane = your perfect day’s start. Say no more.

4. Sure, we all Can’t Feel Our Face When I’m With You, but have you ever stopped to wonder exactly what other The Weekend lyrics you or the impressionable young mind sitting in the passenger seat is hummingflubbing along with? Clyfford Stumme, The Popstar Professor, to the rescue! In this new post-fact era, I appreciate his desire to seek out meaning and understanding in the sounds that surround us every day.

5. KALW The Spot – Sunday @ 2PM Ashleyanne Krigbaum’s fabulous weekly storytelling – not to be missed.

6. The best most deliciously fabulous therapeutic face serum oil you can possibly find Vintner’s Daughter. Bar none.

7. The Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF) – what better way to take a weeklong vacation (of the mind) – a mere bridge away, without jet lag? Enjoy this glorious far-ranging exploration of independent filmsfr around the world before they hit the big screen (some can only be seen here). Meet & interact with actors, directors, writers from the films and get a deeper understanding of the process. Highlights I recommend:

LaLaLand – sweetly melancholy Emma Stone/Ryan Gosling musical in modern day LA.

Girl Flu – tour-de-force storytelling about one girl’s awkward transition into womanhood. (Juno for middle-schoolers.)

Lion – heartbreaking epic journey, one boy’s search to find his way home after being abandoned 25 years earlier. Dev Patel amazes, Nicole Kidman’s quiet performance shines.

Neruda – a slightly hallucinatory dreamlike meandering exploration of Chilean poet and political activist, Pablo Neruda. In person, Gael Garcia Bernal – utterly charismatic.

Loving – (how did I not know about this case?) Everyone should see this drama about the real life couple living in 1967 Virginia, whose fight to stay together led to the seminal Supreme Court decision invalidating the prohibition of interracial marriage. With rising MAJOR STAR Ruth Negga and a surprisingly nuanced performance fr Joel Edgerton.

Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise – Spectacular, exhilarating, inspirational, moving, POWERFUL.  Don’t miss. (and then go read/re-read her autobiography I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings)

…and in case you missed them, go back and watch The Danish Girl (with the sublime Alicia Vikander); Nerve – surprisingly entertaining guilty-pleasure joy ride w sly ++ messaging for teens, and Dope – a super smart sleeper you shouldn’t miss. Unexpected but completely worthwhile and thought provoking.

8. Two of my absolute favorite reads this year were connected via the same book reading event in Richmond Point. Frances Dinkelspiel’s Tangled Vines– a riveting account of the origins of California’s winemaking history as told through the lens of the notorious 2005 arson case that destroyed 4.5M bottles of wine; and Elizabeth Roesner’s Electric City– an upstate New York story of the origins of electricity and the convergence of three different elements within that society, and their effects on subsequent generations.

9. The Local Butcher Shop ‘s – hot and ready-to-slurp up cup of bone broth $7. TO. DIE. FOR.

(also a shout out for the lovely French boucherie Olivier’s Butchery in Dogpatch, SF)

10. ART: What a year! The Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) – Larry Rinder’s stellar inaugural year re-opened in the Center St. location. Check out the free weekly Wed @ noon lecture series coming up Big Ideas: with Natasha Boas and be sure to grab a bite upstairs at the always stellar & delicious Babette.

Also don’t miss FOGFAIR next weekend 1/12-15 – a top tier design + art fair @ Fort Mason, it will blow your socks off.

A final thought, in memorium.

“During the twelve days, between Christmas and Epiphany, God permits the dead to walk. This is well known.” King Henry VIII to Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel

As fortune had it, I came to this page just yesterday and took pause to remember all the greats we lost this past year – David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, Alan Rickman, Zaha Hadid, Gene Wilder, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, Bill Cunningham, Muhammed Ali…to name just a few. The list felt heavier than usual this past year. If only we could have had them a little bit longer. Hug your loved ones close.

*Deb (Matt & Sadie)

Reciprocity welcomed & encouraged! ~ let’s spread some good news, people!

~ wishing for you in 2017: LOVE in abundance, kindness, vision, happiness, JOY ~

FEEL FREE TO FWD THIS if you know someone who might appreciate it. You can also find me debdurant@instagram.com

(And if you’re receiving this but wish not to – just drop me a note so I can take you off of the list. No judgment, just my apology!)