a lil vaca for the soul

Last week I had a wonderful vacation in Panama, visiting my family.  It'd been three years and it felt so good to return.

My grandmother is getting much older, so the trip felt even more significant.  Here are some photos from the trip. 

My mom and I at Casa Cor Panama, an interior design expo my older cousin Alina Carrasco particpated in. 

Visited the island of iguanas, they're quite friendly. 

I was amazed at the variety of colors in crabs.  These little guys died. 

Some cool street art. 

Frank Gehry museum still in phase of being built. 

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Numen: Divine Will or Power Exhibition

Last Saturday was the opening reception for my senior exhibition, titled Numen: Divine Will or Power.  It was one of the most exhilarating nights of my life, it was so special to share what I've worked on over the past three years with my family and friends.  And the best part of it all was that my older brother flew in from Brooklyn, NY (while sick) for the show!!! That really made my day.

I was smiling ear to ear the entire night.  I did the show with a fellow senior, Kendall Temotio, which I'm so glad I did, it was good to have someone to rely on while preparing for the show.  Kendall and I have a similar aesthetic, we both love organic materials and are inspired by nature; my style is more rough and aggressive whereas Kendall's has a more delicate and refined quality.  We had the show at Art Avenue of course, I love how much the community has pulled together in support of Art Avenue and having a space for art graduates to continue their work.  Andy Denton and Jeremy Finemen have been the two background players - setting up tracking lights and really improving the structure of the space.  I'm really looking forward to setting up my studio and working with Art Avenue to make it even better.

So here are some photos from the opening reception - it seriously turned into a big party, we had to eventually kick everyone out at 9pm (closing time) as Kendall and I wanted to celebrate afterwards with our friends and family. 

Window shot of my poster and deer antler.

We had so much food (and wine)!

Here I am cheesin' with my parents and older brother.  My family has been so supportive of my dreams.

It's Ellis, the Jewelry Dr. (aka my boss)! and his lovely wife Margaret.  I was SO happy he came for the show. 

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Nemean Lion

Last week I traveled out to Omaha, Nebraska for a memorial service for my dear grandmother, on my fathers side.  My Dad has a very large family, 6 siblings, 18 cousins and 4 grandchildren...so when we all get together it's a big deal and hard to arrange.

My grandmother was one of those people that everyone liked to be around, so soft spoken and she had the funniest personality.  She loved birds, children and our family.  

I feel so honored to have been given her constellation charm, a piece of her will always be with me.  

Leo constellation charm.  The piece of jewelry my mother received from her belongings.

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The Marzee Collection at St. Andrews

Oh man, I wish they had more footage, I ate up this video of the Marzee collection,

"Galerie Marzee in the Netherlands, will be celebrating its 30th anniversary over the next year and this will be billed as one of the anniversary events. The gallery is the largest known gallery in the world dedicated to innovative contemporary jewellery (its displays extend over 4 floors of a former grain store) and its director, Marie-José van den Hout has built an extensive collection of some of the best international contemporary jewellery over the last 30 years. "

The Marzee Collection at St Andrews from Galerie Marzee on Vimeo.

The conversation in this video reminds me of one I was having with my Mom last week, when I visited my parents over spring break. Talking about how I used to play in her jewelry box and try on everything and ask when I was going to get it.

Now, I await anxiously for when my Mom gives me one of her pieces of jewelry. She's collected them over the years from Taiwan, Japan, Panama, Argentina, Peru...on and on and on.

Anywho, enjoy the video! Pin It