Spanish Moss

There is something melancholy about the end of Jazz Fest for me. For New Orleanians, it is like springs version of Labor Day. All the joy and excitement of festival season is over and it is time to buckle-down. Some how it all feels of the end of summer, however; summer is just beginning. I feel like there is a level of weight that has imposed itself on my surroundings, I saw that weight in the trees in Audubon Park this morning. The air has started to simmer, and the Spanish moss looks like it is stretching to touch the greened grass. The only thing I can equate it to is the roiled air one sees in the Cyprus trees in Tuscany at the peak of summer . I have been waiting for the heat to come and the finger prints it leaves on the greenery. The leaves look richer, deeper and profound. I am constantly reminded of what a Yankee I am, however I feel most comfortable here. I would readily admit that my remembrances of reading A Light in August came back very strongly as I shared the park with the birds.

The plan is to do a bike ride this week along the Nachez Trace, finishing in Nachez, Mississippi. I hope its hot and humid, I want to feel and see as much weight in the air as I can. It's a win win situation. Purge the effect sof Jazz Fest and absorb the nature of the deep south. I'm addicted to it. I know full well that this bike trip will create the tenor of my entire next collection. Whatever I take from the ride will affect the stones I choose for the color palate of pieces finished in September. I am leaning towards African tourmalines that face up orangey pink, yet really are watermelon pink with green when viewed pavilion-up. They are warm, really warm; with a singular unique voice when faceted. I've used several before with what I consider great success. The stones are a similar color to the Mississippi River bluffer pearls I have collected over the years. I have the largest collection on the planet, yet to this point have not had the conviction to use them in a series of pieces. I trust that the bike ride will get me closer to figuring out how to set these pearls. They are not the most valuable pearls ever purchased, however; I know them to be exceptionally rare, and believe them to be the most important pearls I have the responsibility to set.  I will try very hard to imbue the pieces with the sentimentality that they need to have. So often sentimentality weakens art, in this case its important to punctuate the jewelry with it. The answers will come more vividly with heat and Spanish Moss and Pinetop Perkins. I hope.