Studio Time: Desert Dusk

Mixing things up...silver, copper, glass...

Desert dusk is all about surprises

You didn't realize the desert was so beautiful at night

You didn't realize the stars shined so brightly

A Joshua tree captured in silhouette

Sand dunes in the middle of Texas

A yellow sand daisy and lilly

Mountains in dusky relief

Scrambling a cliff to capture the sun setting

Missing it and still treasuring the experience

Intense quietness

Deep "be-ing-ness"

My Southwestern desert experiences remind me of this piece. Unexpected. Surprising. And delighting.

I had the opportunity to experience the Joshua Tree National Park near Palm Springs...I drove to it and tried to capture the sunset...and missed it...but the relief of Joshua trees aginst the dusky night sky was even better than the actual sunset. Then, I decided to take the road less traveled and reveled in almost touching the starry night sky in an area unsullied by the pollution of modernity...you must to experience this some day...



People almost never treasure where they grow up. I'm even one of them. I don't dislike where I grew up...Wisconsin is beautiful. I have an Inspiration Challenge for September devoted to it. But, I'm one of those rolling stones who adores new experiences.

For me, it's not just about travel.

Travel is capturing a snip of time.

I love living in a place. I need to experience, drink, eat, absorb, and breathe the culture and the people. I love that I've lived in Hong Kong for 8 months already.

We took a roomie road trip out to west Texas. It's a mind-numbing 10-hour drive for a native inhabitant...it's an awe-inspiring trip for the unitiated. Did you know there are sand dunes in Texas? For real! Monahans. I love surprises like these...

That's why these beads are Desert Dusk...it's all about the surprises...the pleasant kind. I mixed red, chocolate, turquoise and transparent aqua. The red and brown were actually quite close in color...but the pleasing end was a subtle gradient of colors...reminding me of dusk...in the desert.