More New Mexico: Cloudscapes & Close-Ups

1. Snowflakes and fingertips.

2. Movement, maybe.

3. I can see for miles and miles!

4. Woodwork/ing.

5. To keep us warm with.

6. Moody evening sky, I wonder by.

7. To wake you.

8. Self-portrait of a poet, making.

9. Something quiet, like thinking.

10. To remember.

Hi there, friends. I just couldn't help myself. I had to edit a few more photos from our honeymoon trip to New Mexico and share them here, with you. So this is my little secret extra post this week because I'm floating and dreaming and bouncing in images of the desert. This little set includes two of my all-time favorite things to photograph: cloudscapes and close-ups. I have one more little NM photo treat in-store for next week. Then I'll most likely turn my gaze back to the California homestead, a few upcoming shows, some good studio news, and anything else that inspirations. Happy weekend to you! (xoxo, k.)

23 Images of a Love Retreat

1. Where we nested.

2. Quite a view, supposedly Georgie O'Keeffe painted that mountain.

3. Sticks and stones.

4. A fallen star, found on the desert.

5. Rain clouds, releasing.

6. And then there was sun.

7. Our venture into the city of Santa Fe.

8. Late evening light, warming.

9. Even here, cherry blossoms sway.

10. Aflutter (of love and loving).

11. You just never know in the spring desert: Unexpected snow.

12. To travel with you, to adventure.

13. Hello, my new husband: Looking.

14. Kiss me in the desert, dusty.

15. Clouds called home by the sunset.

16. White birch: Two trunks reaching for the blue skies, tangle.

17. Shadows and texture and closeness.

18. Resting, to notice.

19. These colors forever and ever.

20. Even cactus bloom/ing.

21. Desert color diptych: My dress, someone else's sunflowers.

22. Each night, we'd return to this: Obama and the mountain sun setting.

23. My sweetie captured this one of me: Capturing a rainbow.

Hello, my dear friends! I feel like I've been a long time gone. My goodness, what an epic and amazingly romantic April. We are officially back from all wedding events including our dear, dear honeymoon. I feel like I've been on a love retreat. Yes, a love retreat! Similar to spending a month at an artist retreat or a few weeks at a spiritual retreat center, I feel I've returned from an intentional land of love. Ah, the romantic gets her way with me, after all. I concur!

I have a handful of pre-wedding photos but I'm going to skip right to the honeymoon photos in this post. I decided, after much deliberation, that I wouldn't try to take photographs on my own wedding day. What, with the reception room to decorate, the champagne to pop open, the bouquets to be bound and tied in ribbon, and a dreamy groom to swoon about, I decided to leave the wedding day photos to someone else. And I'm dying to get them back, oh gosh I just can't wait to see them! In the interim, I hope you'll enjoy this trip down our honeymoon lane.

Life feels alive with promise and opportunity. It's amazing when you check a life event off your major events list: marriage, check. I felt this way when I finished graduate school a few years ago too. Like I'd suddenly just wrapped a pretty red bow around a major event in my life and I could briefly look around at the other life events and think, "Okay, which one of you is up next?" I'm afloat with ideas about my studio life, my personal life, and my new married life too.

At some point during the wedding reception, I felt as if my sweetheart and I were physically being held up by a criss-crossing of hands. As if all 62 guests had been asked to cross their wrists and lock hands with their closest neighbor; making a criss-crossing of platforms for us to stand on. It was as if we were suspended by their love and support. Lifted. Held. Kept buoyant by this incredibly generous and gifted and loving community. As if, for just a few hours, we were physically closer to the stars, a few feet higher off the ground than usual, levitating on a love web. Yes, my dear friends, I feel aflutter.

More news soon! It's good to be back too, and find my familiar studio surroundings coated with a new shimmery sense of possibility. Happy day to you. After 10 years, my mister and I are now officially wed. Wahooey! (xoxo, k.)

Going to the Chapel of Love!

My dear friends, after 10 years of partnership, we are going to be married at the end of this week! My goodness! I've been swimming in details for the past few months and I want to share a few of these things with you before I walk off into the sunset for a little while. In so many ways, this wedding has been our big collaborative art project since January. There are design elements; green, eco-friendly elements; indie, DIY elements; and challenging and gratifying moments just like any other creative project. But, of course, there's just one difference--this project is my wedding!!! So fun.

Here's a bit of a sneak peek. I really wanted to incorporate old family wedding photos into our reception. So I've opted for these vintage family gems (below). I'm scanning, resizing, and printing to fit various thrifted, gold, vintage frames. These little lovelies will sit on the tables and cheer us on as we cut our own little cake, take our own first married kisses, and share glances like these across the room. Our parents:

(My Mom and Dad: Let Love Reign.)

(Elation and Confetti: My parents leaving the church.)

(So Sweet It Is: My mama and papa.)

(My mister's parents, "Just Married".)

(Something to Toast About: My mister's side.)

Oh, they are so dear! The cars, the gowns, the glances and kisses and first firsts. Makes me all warm inside, all that love to fill up the room. But let's admit: the darling is in the details! And so, I've managed to round up some of the darlingest crafters to make our big day pretty. The wedding has developed a theme of black & white damask with bursts of bright yellow (Little bits of sunshine that sing, "I do!"). All photos are courtesy of the crafters' websites and online shops:

1. This cake topper makes my heart ruffle its little feathers.
Perfection, by Melabo. (It's Easter weekend, after all.)

2. I'll be adorned with feathers and flowers by Brenda's Bridal Veils.

3. Although, this black feather headband by Vie Moderne
was a close second. I'll save it for another time.

4. Adorable vintage earrings by Sprout Studio.
(So delicate and sweet. Thank you, Jen!)

5. Guestbook by Enji Beck. (The paper is so beautiful, good grief.)

6. And my mister bought me the most lovely gift from Bonbon Oiseau.
(Thank you, Deb. It's gorgeous!)

With an intimate gathering of just 60 folks, we'll be keeping the circle small that day but that didn't stop us from joining crafty forces with the best of them, including my dear mother. I've assembled an army of white vases from various thrift stores and I decided this would be my personal crafty moment-- the flowers. I've decided to assemble them all. Yes, the boutonnieres will be made the night before and stashed in my refrigerator. And my dearest, oldest friend has agreed to twist and tuck and fluff flowers like a pro. We'll be making 6 bouquets, 12 boutonnieres, and close to 30 arrangements for the tables at the reception. Oh, joy!

And a few little green tips I found out along the way: You can buy recycled gold wedding bands at places like this; You can order a bridesmaids dress instead of a bridal gown for a fraction of the cost; You can forgo the wedding favors and offer something like handmade sweets or vases full of local flowers; If you live someplace as green friendly as the Bay Area, you can find organic and sustainable caterers like these folks and these folks too; You can cut down on a fair amount of paper by corresponding on blogs, websites, and emails.

My bouquet will be something like this.
(Here, my maid of honor does the honors.)

And the bridesmaids will carry something like this one.

And my dear, dear mother has made many tablecloths
from this black & white damask fabric. (Thank you, Mom!)

The centerpieces will be a mix of sunflowers, ronunculous, gerber daisies,
calla lilies, and a few different greens.

The groomsmen and parents and musicians and poets will wear something very close to this. (That chamomile is from our garden!)

(Hello there, my dear. Soon, soon.)

And so. With that, I am going to sign off for a little bit. Ooooooh, dear friends, wish me luck! We'll be sharing our love in poetry and song and dance and dinner and photography and all sorts of romance and libations! The wedding is just five days away. I feel so excited. And nervous. And excited. And nervous. And mostly excited and full of romance and abundance and joy and discovery and courage and adventure. So, I will see you in about two weeks from today. Post-ceremony. Post-honeymoon. Oh yes, we'll be taking one week away in a little house tucked away in a little town in the high desert of New Mexico. I promise to take a zillion photographs and share them with you when we return.

Okay then, here I go...