The Patten Family | Sneak Peek

With the Holiday craze, I've been slacking on my blogging and sneak peeks unfortunately.  Though I have been very fortunate to receive some holiday cards with images taken by me on them!  I consider myself very lucky to be able to take pictures of my friends and their families around the holiday season.  Either they are very trusting of me or very desperate... either way I'll take it!  I absolutely LOVE taking pictures of people, especially when I have a connection with them.  Receiving some of those images back in the form of a Christmas or Holiday Greeting card is icing on the cake.  Without further delay,  here's a Sneak Peek of the Patten Family.  Melissa and I go way back to our early college days at the Cal Poly Horse Unit.  We went on the same Equine Breeding Internship later in life and then worked on the same breeding farm for a while after that.  Since her and Chad have been together since high school, he was there for a good portion of our shenanigans as well.  He's kind of like the brother I never had (or wanted sometimes considering how often he pokes fun at me).  Poking fun aside, these two humans are rather important to me and their family recently doubled in size with the addition of Jackie and Baby Gus.  A few weeks ago we got to gallivant around the ranch where Melissa and I used to work for a quick and FREEZING cold family photo session.  It was so thrilling that Baby Gus wasn't awake for much of it, though Jackie did have a fantastic time playing in the leaves with her goofy dad.  I can tell you from careful observation that Jackie has her dad wrapped around her little finger and that Baby Gus has a very loving big sister. Thanks Patten Family - you were fun and delightful as usual!

The Pereira Family | Sneak Peek

I had the pleasure of photographing some friends again about two weeks ago.  (Let me just pause for a moment and be real with you when I tell you how much this means to me.  The world.  It basically means the world to me when my friends and family are willing to essentially take a risk and let me photograph them.  It's a risk because I'm still learning and every session is a learning experience - one more set of "ah-ha" moments I can put in my back pocket for use down the road.  The fact that my friends and family continue to show faith in me by letting me into their lives in this way is humbling and makes me feel very honored.  Those of you that have let me do this mean so much to me.  ***** < this is me giving you a virtual slow clap. Thank you.)

I've known the Pereira Family since shortly after college when Sarah and I were co-workers for a time.  The Cheeky Cowboy (my husband for those of you confused by what I just said) has known both Sarah and Russ since his rodeo days at Cal Poly.  I was able to photograph their beautiful family at their ranch in San Luis Obispo right before sunset a few weeks ago.  On this session, I learned that 5 horses and 5 humans together for a shoot are quite challenging and that 4 year old's are hilarious.  Charlotte is a precocious and sassy pint-sized gal that loves the camera and wanted the spotlight all to herself.  Understandable.  In this situation, I learned the phrase "show me some sass" worked relatively well!  Check out a few shots from this fun family session!

Meet "Hera"

As I often like to do, I put a call to action "out there" in InternetLand to name this gal.  There were several awesome responses but one stood out.  My friend's daughter, who is rather bookwormish like myself, voted for "Hera" sighting reason's I really couldn't argue with.  "Hera" is the Greek goddess of women and marriage and the cow is considered one of her sacred animals.  Done and Done.  This beautiful bovine is already spoken for, but I sure hope you enjoy looking at her as much as I enjoyed bringing her to life.

The Moore Family | Sneak Peek

I had the honor of photographing a lifelong friend and her family a few weeks ago in her in-laws stunning backyard and learned a ton in the process of wrangler a toddler, two dogs and having a ball!  I've known Jenna since I was five and she was three, she's like another sister and someone I value in the highest sense in my life. Matt and Jenna met at the best school ever (Cal Poly, SLO) and created an adorable tiny human roughly two years ago and will have another Miss Thang gracing us with her presence very soon! I learn a ton every time I photograph someone which is why I'm so lucky that my friends let me practice on them - this time was no exception.  I learned that toddlers and dogs are tough, really tough - like pick one and go with that, doing both is quite the challenge.  I learned that ice cream WITH sprinkles is the ultimate bribe.  And I learned that my husband is a most excellent prop assistant when prepped for the tasks at hand.  I also learned that after a toddler has had ice cream WITH sprinkles, she will want to play and pose with all the props she previously did not want any part of.  Lessons Learned. 

Check out some of my favorite moments from the day!

Betsy | Cow Skull

"Betsy" as in Betsy Ross wants to be sure you are ready for a funtastic and festive Fourth of July weekend!  I will be heading up to the Bay Area for a family photo shoot of someone near and very dear to my heart then a weekend at my family cabin above Half Moon Bay with the Cheely Cowboy... and of course Hula.  I wish you all a fun and safe weekend and the ability to power through the rest of your week in anticipation of the long weekend.

Carrie's Bridal Shower | Sneak Peek

I had the honor to be a guest at my good friend Carrie's Bridal Shower this past weekend at Broken Earth Winery in beautiful (and extremely hot) Paso Robles, Ca.  It was a distinctly bright and beautiful day with temperatures topping 100 degrees and counting - but who's counting, because anything over 100, you just don't want to know about in my opinion. 

I met Carrie roughly 8 years ago when we both worked for Sephora slinging makeup-up brushes and eye cream like it was going out of style.  I can honestly say Carrie was the significant person that made me feel a welcomed part of the team of terrific and talented women that I cherish to this day as some of my truest friends.  She has the warmest heart and is the type of person to give you the shirt off her back and in October will be marrying Jeremy who is cut from the same cloth of kindness. 

Here's a sneak peek into the beautiful day at the winery honoring our dear friend Carrie! (and yes that is a baby in the winery fountain - we were all wishing we were her at that point which is why none of us felt the need to take her our of said fountain but we assure you she was being watched carefully)

Zamora Family | Sneak Peek

I had the honor of photographing my friend and her stunning daughters over the Memorial Day weekend and not only had fun catching up with her, but the added bonus of witty banter with her and her daughters, relaxed photo taking, and a new education on bands I must immediately go look up on Spotify - the huge benefit of teenagers is that they keep you young! 

Here's a brief sneak peek into what we came up with last weekend:

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Selfie Sparingly

While I love documenting life's moments through photography, I almost can't stand being in front of the camera lens.  Blame it on 12 years of Catholic school with the token "mean girls" or the fact that I was always a very physically awkward child until about age 23 -- I mean the whole gamut: braces, glasses, brakes and sprains of my spindly limbs and the complete inability to style my own hair.  Needless to say I'm not used to being comfortable with the way I look.  Reaching that point has been a slow process of learning to accept myself with it's hiccups along the way.  The only lens I've ever felt comfortable in front of belongs to Daniel Ballesteros of Ballesteros Photography.  Back in the days when I worked with his beautiful and talented wife Kari of Kari Jane Make-up at Sephora, Dan took THESE photos of my horse and I and later on they both came out to the ranch to take John and my Engagement photos and then our Wedding photos.  I've always been curious as to what it would be like to be in front of my own lens and I've always wanted to do a shoot with a tripod, timer and/or mirror.  Well, the other night when I was supposed to be packing to go out of town, I got a wild hair.  In my workout clothes and freshly cut hair (I blame the saucy haircut really), I grabbed my beloved Canon 60D and went at it.  I did not allow myself to be my own worst critic and instead kept snapping until I was tired... and really panicking about not packing.  I only viewed the images at the end rather than critiquing each one as I took it and kind of laughed at the end of the little exercise.  It really was fun and kind of interesting in a way I don't fully get yet.  It was just... playing - with big(ger) kid toys.  I guess, this is how I "Selfie"! #selfiesparingly #selflove

Learning Curve

If you follow along on any of my Social Media channels, you probably know that I like to dabble in many things -- one of those things being photography.  I've been lucky enough to have great friends willing to let me practice on them in order for me to develop, learn and grow as a photographer.  I've started up a Pixieset account where I can post the photos in password locked albums for people, so I can attempt to look all cool and professional.  So far I love Pixieset for the professional look, ease of use and convenience.  I've even been learning how to make blog templates in Lightroom with my photos, which only proves that you can learn just about anything on the internet!

Here's a little of what I've been learning and producing!

Blogger Reading List

I'm thinking of expanding the blog section of this site to encompass all of what I like to do since people get a little confused sometimes when I say "I like to paint and bedazzle cow skulls...and paint deer antlers...and make necklaces... and shoot photo's...".  It's understandable.  Also, I may have un-diagnosed A.D.D. in case you were wondering.  If you weren't wondering we can just move on. 

I am constantly amazed by the talent I am lucky enough to be surrounded by.  For today, I'm just focusing on the ladies in that "friendship demographic" - though I do know some talented gents as well. There are artists, bloggers, entrepreneur's, real estate agents, CPA's, mom's and more.  If you see me trying to be all that I can be, it's because I'm surrounded by such great motivation.  Life and moving away and everything else sometimes gets in the way of recognizing that but lucky for us we have the magical internet machine to thank for reminding us.  One of my favorite ways to "catch-up" on my gal pals is to head to their Instagram and Facebook account to see what they've been up to and a handful of them even have blogs.  If you know me, you know I LOVE reading blogs!  I don't know what it is exactly that I like so much about blogs.  Maybe it's the idea that as a blog writer, you can never be quite sure of who specifically is reading them so you just kinda say "screw it" and write whatever you feel like.  I dunno, just a thought.  There always seems to be an element of "raw" in a blog that I find believable.  Let's be real, we only allow ourselves to be tagged in photos on Facebook and Instagram where we look good, we only post photos where we think we look good... but a blog - that's just your thoughts (with or without illustrations).  And some of my friends have amazingly beautiful and deep thoughts that they are willing to put on THE INTERNET.  The internet guys, where anyone can see.  As someone who has attempted to "put them self out there" I can tell you it's a very exposing and scary feeling.  So the ladies I am about to mention deserve a virtual standing slow-clap for their bravery as well as their unadulterated real-ness, drive, ambition, depth and of course their thoughts that they are so eloquently able to convey in Helvetica or whatever the popular font of the moment happens to be. 

Without further delay, here are my favorite lady-bloggers that I check into on the regular:

Hickory and Hunt by Jessie C.  Excerpt:  "Hickory & Hunt brings together the delicious and gorgeous with a refreshing dose of bold and unapologetic wit. My philosophy is simple: Real is always better — particularly in the case of people, ingredients and handbags — hairspray and a good laugh can brighten any day and Nordy’s really is the happiest place on earth."  And that's just the first line!  Do yourself a favor and read her blog, especially the post about rompers being "adult onsie's", you will die.

Perfect 10 SF by Caroline Curran. I've known Caroline since we were little sprites and fellow SF Native's together.  She started her blog a few years ago and has managed to grow along with her family and readership and has turned the blog and herself into a virtual force in stylish yet affordable shoes.  A perfect size 10 of course.  My favorite thing about Caroline is that in the sometimes competitive world of bloggers, she takes her time to create posts that teach others how to start and grow a blog.  Now that's a classy lady if you ask me.

Buckaroo Barbie and the Sophisticated Lemon by Liz Brannan. Buckaroo Barbie was one of the first blogs I really became dedicated to due to Liz's wit, charm, realness and hilarity.  Since she also likes the many things life has to offer, like myself, she started a second blog called the Sophisticated Lemon in order to express both her cowgirl side as well as her girlie side.  Sometimes I still ask myself, "What would Buckaroo Barbie Do?" ;) To truly stay up to date with Liz, you gotta check out her Instagram.  Bonus:  You'll meet the most adorable Jack Russel Terrier ever named Roo.

Buckaroogirl by Adrian "Buckaroogirl".  Adrian is little sister to Liz and these two have creativity and beauty oozing out their pores.  Not only is Adrian a well-know singer/songwriter, she's also a cartoonist of sorts with her amazing Buckaroogirl sketches.  When she's not jotting down her next lyric, or traveling to her next gig, or sketching a buckaroo scene, she's keeping up with her fans motivating them to do well, try harder, persevere and be general all around beautiful bad-A**'s.  I dig that message.

Crowhopper by Kelli Neubert. She's like the New Yorker of the western world I kid you not!  Journalist by trade and cowgirl by nature, Kelli is smart, funny with a dry-wit, and a dash of clever genius.  I have been known to read some of her blog posts out-loud to my husband and friends just to be sure they hear/read it.  My all time favorite post is HERE!  You are welcome.

Meg, Paper, Scissors by Meg S.  My college roommate documents her baby Graham's activities and discoveries with the most hilarious captions set on the backdrop of New York and sometimes the Central Coast.  I think she should be a travel writer since she is hands-down the best traveler I've ever met.  She's even proficient in the German language and owns a dirndl... or two.

The Lazy and Beautiful by Shannon F.  I mean... that title right?!  Shannon just graduated from CSU and happens to have an adorable doggle that looks like my fur-baby's twin.  She also packs around a very smart brain inside that beautiful blonde noggin of hers and manages to post on a variety of things with great depth and insight.  I met Shannon when we worked at the same company when she was on a summer internship and the entire time I felt like I wanted to get to know her better.  Thankfully, again, we have the internet and I am able to stay up to date on her ponderings and adventures.

Kim's Fab Finds by Kim B.  I've known Kim since college through one of my childhood (and of course present-day) bestie's, Jenna. Kim shoots great photo's and has a soul that just glows.  She expresses all this through her new lifestyle blog where she lets us know all about the fabulous things she finds --trust me they are always amazing and she's now my new go-to for finding new music.

Cavvy Savvy.  Cavvy Savvy is a blog written by a collection of writers officially on the subject of the working ranch horse but reflects its multiple writers with each individual post.  My favorite writer so far has been Jolyn Young.  She will make you laugh, cry and everything in between.  The gal has a gift. 

Well, that's the list!.. For now.  Now you know how I spend my mornings in bed when I should be getting up.  I'm one of "those people" that procrastinates getting out of bed and drops the phone several times on my face before I give in and haul myself up and out the door, newly armed with the wit and humor my Blogger Ladies have written that day.

#HightFight

My good friend Candice from Brow Therapy in San Luis Obispo, gave me the great privilege of inviting me to her shop's Artisan and Rummage Sale last Sunday in order to benefit fellow gal pal Kristin Hight in her fight against breast cancer.  Candice and her amazing shop-mate Emily, know Kristin well and wanted to do something tangible to help their friend not only win the fight against breast cancer, but also engage in a fun way to do that.  I learned that Kristin's attitude is very "can do" and that her sense of humor is very much intact so hashtag's like #gonnakickcancerinthebooty and #HightFight would be ruling the social media posts drumming up excitement for the event. 

There were approximately 6 Artisan vendors and around 8-10 rummage sale vendors all out for the same reason - to help a sista out and enjoy the beautiful day that San Luis Obispo so often has to offer.  There were Raffle Tickets offered for $1 a piece and the prizes were phenomenal - I mean, we're talking about an event sponsored by the Brow Whisperer Herself and an Esthetician!  Let's be real the prizes were B.A. (that means Bad Ass mom)!  The rummage sale items ranged from designer jeans, to baby gear to an super cool mermaid fountain that got snatched up early in the day!  The other vendors we some seriously cool chicks and I had a great time chatting with them in between waves of people.  Sarah Martin Ink (located in Paso Robles, Ca) was there and I had my eye on a design for my sister who loves to travel, and right next to my booth space was a mom and daughter duo from Santa Maria specializing in artisan cupcakes - that aspect was rather unfair since my waistline had to answer for those temptations.  Candice and Emily also had donuts and coffee for $1.  Our booth space fee was a donation to Kristin's Go Fund Me account for any health care that doesn't end up being covered by her Health Insurance.  The link to that account if you would like to help in the #HightFight is https://www.gofundme.com/mt42n4ec

All in all it was a great day in the sweet San Luis air with truly great people, all out for the right reasons.  Oh did I mention the DJ?!  No I almost forgot, he was so. freaking. rad!  I wanted a playlist of his mixes throughout the day for my own personal yoga practice so badly.  On top of that, I couldn't help but look around several times throughout the day and just be in awe of the amazing women around me - seriously, women rock!  Especially when we come together to do great things.  There were some pretty cool and supportive gentlemen there as well - can't leave them out, but for a moment I want to focus on the strength of a singular woman, then multiply that by all her loving friends and friends-of-friends network.  Our lives are truly comprised not by the things in it, but the people.  And when you are able to surround yourself with the best tribe you can find, only great things are in store. 

The day was fantastic and I was able to meet some really cool people and was told we made a nice amount to contribute towards Kristin's Go Fund Me account.  Again, please visit the Go Fund Me link listed above if you'd like to help out.

Cowgirl Christmas and Wrangler NFR

     Let me begin by saying "shame on me" for not being a diligent and dedicated blogger, though I am convinced only 2 people actually read the blog portion... one of those people being my mother.  (Hi mom and thanks!)  Let's move on.  In December and November I had the opportunity to share booth space with my friend Katie from Leather N Lace - a cowgirl boutique entrepreneurial gal pal - at "Cowgirl Christmas" in San Luis Obispo.  For those of you that don't know me I recently moved from San Luis Obispo to Bakersfield, Ca so the very thought of spending a weekend back at "home" felt amazing.  It was a two day show immediately after Thanksgiving in preparation for the Christmas season and promised cowgirl-types out in droves hunting for the perfect Christmas present for family and friends...as well as some well-deserved self-love prezzie's.  To be honest the traffic was a little slow, but all in all people were fun and friendly.  I ended up selling "Silvia" at the show as well as some other smaller items.  In the process I learned a lot - mainly, that I don't particularly like traveling with my wares to trade shows.  I know, I know, it sounds terrible, but inevitably I will chip a very tiny piece of paint or even damage one of my pieces lugging them all over the place.  In my mind they are art pieces, not furniture and they just don't want to be moved all over hell and gone on a regular basis.

     Through the experience at "Cowgirl Christmas", Katie was able to hook me up with a gal that was shortly on her way to the Wrangler NFR Rodeo, the mac-daddy of all rodeo's in the U.S. that takes place annually over 10 days in Las Vegas, NV.  Where blinged out cowgirls and cowboys go to spectate, compete and shop til they drop.  After careful consideration I (painstakingly and very carefully) packed up my "Miss America" skull since I figured bling and patriotism would surely be appealing at the mac-daddy of all rodeo's(I promise I wont say "mac-daddy" ever again).  I was taking a chance on having someone I'd never met, but who came with very good and trusted references, take my biggest and baddest skull to date to another state and rep her for me.  Scary, but again, I had references I trusted vouching for the whole situation and it meant I didn't have to sit in a trade show booth.  Truthfully it's not the long hours of working a booth that I dislike, I've done that before for multiple companies.  I've found the difference is when it's your own work.  It's one thing to hear people down-play a product of a company you work for and have the ammo in your back pocket to educate someone on why that product is actually awesome and they should buy it - or not and everyone moves on.  This is the first time I've ever had to hear people openly criticize something I not only made, but spent a ton of time on.  Frankly, it wears on a girl.  Needless to say I was ecstatic about not having to go to NFR myself, to send only one skull and cross my fingers that she sold and if not, I would only have one to ship back.  Well, I'm glad Katie talked me into this scenario because my skull sold in 3 hours!!  Not only that the gal Carrie from Just Peachy was amazing to communicate with and so bubbly and personable - she really made the whole experience fun.  I would love to be able to send another skull or two with her next year since it was a great way to get my style out there to a bigger market of people that are inclined to like what I've got going on.  All in all two enthusiastic thumbs up!...and I've already been dreaming up some ideas for next year.

"Photoshoot" with the Cheeky Cowboy

So I've been wanting to be IN the photo's with my skulls for awhile now and last weekend I had the opportunity since I had been all gussied up for a little cowboy baby shower and by the time I got home the natural light was ridiculously beautiful.  So I quickly rallied the Cheeky Cowboy (ie, my husband for those of you curious folk) and gave him a crash course in using my camera.  Meaning, he stood as a place holder, I set the aperture and point of focus, then we switched places.  "Make sure the red square is on my face!" I hollered and the Cowboy went to snapping! Snapping at rapid fire as if he were a high fashion photographer - Gilles Bensimon better take note.  After a flurry of pictures that left me rather off guard, we had a reconvening moment which basically entailed, "I seriously don't want to go through 100 photos dude".  To which he replied, "If I take 100's you'll have some good ones...".  *sigh* On we went -- with a flurry of clicks.  We did get a few good ones, but I feel a proper lesson in camera usage is in store for the Cheeky Cowboy since he (nor I) noticed the hair tie on my wrist or the plethora of photos with the end of my shirt folded over, or the serious of decent shots photobombed by the pack of dogs we tend to travel with. Once we put the pictures onto my laptop and looked threw a few, the Cheeky Cowboy retorted, "I am SUCH a good photographer" to which a chuckled and replied, "Yes you are dear, thank you."  Hey, you gotta keep the Help happy right? ;) Below are a few of my favorites from our mini-session.  Yes, a FEW, since you know, my husband is SUCH a good photographer...  (ps, the last one of Hula was taken by Yours Truly as I hurriedly snatched the camera out of my loving husbands hands #wifeoftheyear )

Inspiration and "Customs"

This topic is two sides of the same coin for me and yet I tend to have an odd perspective on a lot of things so see if you get my wavelength here, my apologies for being less than articulate if not.  Where and how is someone inspired to create something? And "Can you make..."?  A few people, ie my mother, have asked me where I come up with the ideas for my cow skulls and a few others have asked if I can create something specific. 

Firstly, the inspo comes from all over.  Often times I think of the name of the skull before I start creating it - something along the lines of "Thalia is a cool name, Now what would she look like if it were a skull".  Or a color pattern or swatch.  Or friends giving me leftover art supplies (weee thanks Friends!). Or an abstract idea. Or materials not commonly seen together such as the skull "Penelope" - I just decided one day that pennies and pearls needed to go together.  So that's where it comes from for me, now for where it DOESN'T come from...Other people's art.  And here we have arrived at the other side of the coin.

I have also been asked a lot if I can make something specific or custom, which is an idea I'm open to... Truthfully I'm not WIDE open to the idea since I started this endeavor as a way to express myself and I have so many ideas for skulls bubbling up inside me (yes I am that weird).  My own personal artistic journey if you will (yes I am aware of the pompous tone of that last statement and I truly don't mean it that way).  I just wanted to push myself to simply "see if I could".  I always wanted to be artsy, even as kid.  I thought up all these great ideas but could never seem to put them into form.  I wasn't very good at pottery in school, I can't cut or draw in a straight line, knitting and crocheting seem like they take an insane amount of dexterity and well I just sucked at calligraphy.  It was a bummer to see such beautiful things around me and not be able to Create myself.  (I grew up in SF and therefore museum visits were a frequent excursion and still are).  It finally got fun when my aunt started teaching me how to take photos when I was 18, but that is another story and I'm very good at digressing...maybe I can really be an artist after all!   Where was I?  oh yeah "Can you create?"  Since that was a question I've been asking myself for awhile I guess it was only natural for other people to begin asking it at some point.  Which was cool at first because it seemed like a good way to press myself further, to try new things and mediums.  It became Not Cool, when I started getting asked to copy - not necessarily create.  Let me make my point very clear:  I will NEVER copy someone's work.  Ever.  Being creative and artsy is a gutsy and brave thing I'm finding out and sometimes, very hard! So someone puts their mind, passion, talent and labor on the line and puts it out there for people to see, appreciate and potentially buy.  Awesome and kudos to them!  So go buy it there if you like it, but do not ask me to try and copy it.  Whether it's a painting or skull, if it's already out there, I'm not going to do what's been done.  I strive to be unique and one-of-a-kind...just like everybody else.

This coin might be three sided now, so let's think of it as a cube for easy reference. Since I refuse to copy, I assumed for some reason that other artists had that philosophy as well.  Well, you know what they say about Assuming right?  Mmm hmm.  Since I started my Facebook page, I get very excited when my phone tells me I have a bunch of activity on my page.  Yes it is usually my sister liking every single picture to show her support, but I still get excited ok?  Even better when I see my page or a post is getting shared!  Heeellllo internet viral goodness.  But then sometimes I read the comments on the Shares and see things like, "oh hey so-and-so, you should totally do this one", or "I can make that p-sha".  And I'm sitting staring at my screen thinking, but HEY, I made that!  I was lamenting my dismay to a fellow craftsman last week and he said, "But that's art, where there is art, there will be copying.  Consider it flattery." Um ok if you say so (?!?(&^(&)^?!?) So while I'm still trying to change my perspective on that notion, I stand by my choice to not copy the work of others.  Ok, this rant is officially over.  I'm going to go paint some skulls now and attempt to call it Art.

"Penelope" - because Pennies and Pearls just work together

Meet Hula - Personal Assistant Extraordinaire!

Many of you have probably heard me mention Hula or a "Personal Assistant" from time to time.  Well before you think me completely bat-shit crazy - let me explain...it might actually make matters worse but oh well.  Hula is my dog that I received from my husband when we were still dating.  She was the runt of the litter and after he let all his cowboy friends choose puppies out of the litter (and after he chose his), she was left.  Now rumor has it that she hid from some of the cowboys when they had their turn choosing.  She would run to the back or hide under her mother in an effort not to be chosen.  This shyness did not last long.  As soon as she became mine I started taking her to the horse ranch I worked on every day and man was she a tough puppy!  Very hard-headed and would wander everywhere and run after anything that moved.  She started showing her heritage by stalking the horses in the pastures and creeping up on them.  Her affinity for livestock was so strong that it resulted in a wrist fracture when she was just a little thing.  Of course I put her on the Canine Platinum Performance supplement and to this day you can't even tell which wrist was injured.  Injured or not, nothing ever slows her down and she still loves running after squirrels, cows and at the beach.  Running after horses is NOT allowed and she needs a little reminder every now and then - that hard-headed streak shows up once in awhile.  I learned a lot training her and luckily always had the Cheeky Cowboy to turn to with training questions.  For awhile he was encouraging me to take her to dog trials because he said "You could get that dog to juggle if you wanted to!", but I'm pretty convinced she would get distracted by the crowd and run back and forth attempting to get people to do "The Wave". The girl has personality that's for sure.  She has been with me through thick and thin and is extremely loyal.   She will occasionally pinch hit for the Cheeky Cowboy and work cows, but she truly works best for me.  (Remember Dave my Yard Bull? Yeah, I wouldn't have been able to get him to budge an inch without her).  She's more than a working companion for me, I joke that she wears many hats as a vermin abatement technician, trespasser alarm system, thunder buddy, spirit animal, furry BFF, and partner in crime, but really she is my best friend.  So naturally she is spoiled rotten and sleeps on the big comfy bed whenever she wants and gets a well deserved belly rub every night! 

No Rest for the Wicked!

This weekend I was able to finish up a piece named "Thalia" and begin on "Penelope" and "Portia", if you follow me on Instagram you can check out the sneak peeks there!  "Thalia" is available for viewing in the Facebook page and Etsy shop.  My evenings have been consisting of scrubbing and cleaning and finally prepping for these three.  The scrubbing and cleaning continues for the next set so I don't have so much lag-time between piece "debuts" (let's pretend I'm fancy so I can say the word "debut").  So if you get a chance, visit my Social Media channels and let me know what you think in the comments! 

Meet "Noletta"

Last week, I asked for names for a piece I was working on and the winning name was "Evita".  On Friday night I noticed a comment from my friend Noletta that I should name one after her.  Since Evita was already named I told her I would love to name one after her at some point.  As I drove home I got to thinking, what would "Noletta" the skull look like.  And BAM!  It hit me like that - exactly what she would look like.  She would need to be as boho-chic and cowgirl-glam as my friend.  Noletta happens to be a pint-sized ball of fire with honey blonde hair and champagne highlights.  She rocks a red lip, funky turquoise jewelry and pearl earrings like nobody's business.  To top it off she barrel races like a champ and loves her horses and dogs fiercely.  "Noletta" the skull was going to have to be pretty good to measure up to Noletta the girl.  Luckily I had all the materials needed at home to get started and one perfect skull I had been working on prepping for the last three weeks was finally ready to go!  I worked on this piece for a total of 18-20+ hours and could not be more thrilled with the results.  "Noletta" the skull features a champagne base with areas of darker gold.  Vibrant red, purple and turquoise paint, with turquoise, pearl and Swarovski crystal accents.  She is a show-stopper and looks fantastic in low light settings since that really makes her crystals sparkle when they catch the light juuuust right.  I'm happy to say the piece turned out FABULOUS, but only half as fabulous as the Real Deal Herself!

"Sourcing"

My darling husband recently had the thought that people might not know where I'm sourcing my skulls from.  As a cowboy and caregiver of living bovine creatures, his fear was that people would think we have a ton of dead cows laying about the ranch all willy-nilly.  Let me inform you that this is not the case.  I am sourcing them from ranches all over California, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and a few have even come from Pennsylvania from friends and family and their neighboring ranches.  Every ranch, no matter how diligent they are at caring for the animals on their land, are going to experience death loss.  It's a part of ranching life and culture to be able to deal with heart-breaking situations and find the silver lining or simply look forward.  Death happens everywhere and even in the livestock industry from natural causes.  A cow may just be old or have trouble calving or step off a hill funny and break her leg.  These things happen everywhere and my initial thought when I saw my first skull and picked her up was that "I can't just leave her here".  True, if I had, nature would have taken it's course and the coyotes and bobcats probably would have moved her off slowly and over several years.  But something inside me that day last March just told me to pick part of her up and take it back to the headquarters.  I felt that she had played her role on our ranch by raising calves and being a part of the land management and that her life was worth more than being scattered around until there was nothing left.  We raise animals for food production to feed people, and each life that goes into the productive cycle is cared for and nourished their entire life until they leave us.  I felt that just because a cow did not make it fully into the food production cycle, that her life was still worth celebrating and remembering.  Perhaps as art in someone's home to be forever celebrated and remembered. 

Truthfully when I started collecting the skulls last year my husband was a little turned off by the idea as I soon found out- he saw the skulls as a failure on his part.  His whole life he has wanted nothing more than to be a good cowboy and learn all the ranching traditions handed down to him by family members.  A sense of pride washes over him when we go out to check cows and calves and they all look slick, shiny and healthy.  When we find one down or injured or dead from trying to birth a big calf, I know my husband can't help of let that eat at him. One year we had several "lepie" calves cruising around the yard as over-grown pets as my husband was bottle feeding them several times throughout the day.  Their mothers had either passed on or rejected them and it was now up to us to keep them alive and healthy.  Moments like this can be so rewarding when it works out and utterly devastating when it doesn't.  A few of those heifer calves are now full grown cows on the ranch producing their own babies and living large out on the Coastal California hills.

Their are successes and failures in life.  So why not turn a "failure" into a success.  I guess that might be my purpose here with Echoes of Wild.  Death is not the end and beauty can come from the darkest of places.

The Process

As we quickly approach Christmas, I'm thrilled to say that so many of my creations have sold already with a few pending "interested parties".  It's been a crazy past few weeks of launching my art online for everyone to see - talk about intimidating.  But now that all my painted ones are sold, I'm scrambling to finish cleaning the handful of cow skulls I have at the house and the process of acquiring and cleaning is not always the easiest! 

Step 1 is acquiring them.  We've pretty much exhausted the supply on our ranch leases (thank God - my husband wanted me to specifically point out that the "raw materials" for my creations do NOT all come from our ranch - we're in the business of live cattle, not those that have passed on.  But when you don't collect them or pick them up for 8 years, you will eventually find yourself with a small collection.  Such is Ranch Life.) As a result, my friends and family have been great about collecting them for me from their own ranches and leases as well as neighbors.  "Hey Neighbor, can I borrow a cup of sugar... got any cow skulls laying around".  You know, typical conversation stuff. 

One of the neat things I've found out through this process of acquiring skulls through friends is how a skull will "age" based on the environment it's in.  The coastal skulls stay smooth and almost "glossy" for the most part, where as the ones hailing from the desert are "chalky" or ridged in places.  These chalky ones are the most difficult to paint as the brush and paint can't glide as well as it does on a smoother surfaced skull.  But, I'm always up for a challenge and have even started sanding out the particularly bad spots on those type of skulls.  Waste not, want not.

After a skull is acquired, I begin the cleaning process by soaking them in a huge bucket of warm (not hot or boiling water) with tons-o-soap to loosen up some of the dirt and debris that might be on them.  If a skull has a lot of rawhide still on it, I let it sit out for awhile longer or try to pull off what I can using pliers, screwdrivers and even a wood chisel.  I'm not going to lie...it's yucky sometimes, but I try not to collect that type.  Just let nature take its course on those for a while longer... After they've soaked for a day or two, it's scrub a dub dub time with my arsenal of scrub brushes and baby bottle brushes...and more soap.  Then rinse and repeat until satisfied.  Since I tend to be Type A, this may take several washing and consequently, several weeks.  Then make sure any and all rawhide is completely gone.  The last thing I would want is for them to get stinky in someone's home because I left traces of "nature" on there.  Then all you have to do is let them dry.  I will admit this part is the hardest since it's the biggest test of my patience (I have none).  You have no idea how much water bone can hold on to!  But unless she's completely "bone dry", the paint will bubble up and she'll be ruined. This may take a few days to a week or so to dry.  Then it's prime, paint and go - my favorite part!

So there you have a little window into my "Process"!

Soaking...

Horned vs. Polled

As you may have noticed most of my skulls are polled,  or without horns.  This is because most people run a polled herd for herd health management purposes and horns are seen as less that optimal when you consider sorting cattle or loading them in trucks and trailers.  It also means the cattle can't bruise each other as readily if they are polled.  I realize that most people are going to want the horned ones for decor purposes however.  While I have a few (due to some throw back genetics), I will mostly be able to provide polled skulls.  Since I've been looking around and researching this hobby for the last few months, I've found that the majority of horned skulls out there are actually fake.  Wood horns carved and placed on polled skulls with resin or plaster.  Sometimes actual horn caps are used, but the result is the same - the skull itself did not have horns and they were placed there. 

     I decided early on that I didn't want to do that and came up with the idea of painting the polled ones for use in a garden setting or using flowers and other embellishments for a "cleaner" and more modern decor theme.  I tried to reflect the market demand in my designs and prices.  Horned skulls are going to cost more due to the demand for them.  I see myself pricing those around $350 (if you price compare, I think you will find this is more than fair and actually under what many people charge for these types of skulls - most people start at $350-400 and can even go as high as $600-700 depending on what's on it!!).  As far as my polled skull creations go, they will be priced at $90-150 depending on what is on them.

     I thought you might like to know why you are seeing what you are seeing as far as my creations go.  I may have horned skulls on here from time to time, but they won't be the majority that's for sure.  But you can be certain if I have one, it's real!

Thanks for reading and even more for Liking my page and for all the kind feedback I've received so far - I truly appreciate it.