If you were lucky enough to grow up in the UP, or somewhere else surrounded by beautiful fresh water, crisp clean air, natural water falls, and huge trees, then you probably feel a connection to nature like I do. Even when it’s negative three degrees Fahrenheit, snow is blowing sideways and there’s a thick layer of ice on the roads. Because you know summer is always around the corner, and you have to take the good with the bad.
Whether in memories of jumping off Black Rocks, Pictured Rocks lake cruises, or glass bottom boat rides over Kitch-iti-Kippi. Or in photographs, videos, tattoos, or jewelry.
For me, it’s my jewelry. I can express my personality, my experiences, and the things I love through my jewelry. For me, it’s the earrings my parents bring back from their travels,the jade earrings from Alaska, the abalone turtles from Hawaii. The rings that have been passed down to me from my grandmothers, the Black Hills gold that everyone’s grandma has, the oldbent ring with my grandma’s birthstone in it, the ruby. And the gold lock with my boyfriend’s initials I wear near my heart. Most recently, my favorite piece is my sterling silver fern frond ring. When I think of ferns, I am flooded by memories of foot trails in the woods near my childhood home. Hiking and exploring and picking flowers, and not going in until dusk. All these things are reminders of who I am and where I come from. From the trees and the lake and the clouds.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2)/rita-moreno-2024-oscars-031024-54cb2c55c28543c6893ec395fd29d6de.jpg "Rita Moreno, 92, Debuts Major Hair Change at 2024 Oscars")
