My friend, Alicia, introduced me to the work of Lorena Angulo last year. I’ve been fascinated with it ever since.

Who wouldn’t be?

I mean… just take a look at this piece, a brooch:

Breathtaking. 

Now check out this video of her work:

Thinking that some of you might be enchanted by her intricate and beautiful jewelry designs, I sent Lorena some questions and asked permission to share photos of her jewelry here at RedWhiteandGrew.com.

She graciously agreed.

(Note: All photos and designs are copyright Lorena Angulo. If you opt to pin an image from this post to Pinterest, please note that she is the artist–not me.)

1. Tell us about how you came to design jewelry.

I have always loved and appreciate any art form, mostly ethnic and folk art. My husband told me I should take some classes at Southwest School of Art because he knew I had always wanted to something like that. Thanks to his encouragement I took my first class at SSA almost 7 years ago. I enrolled myself in a metals and drawing classes and since that day I knew I finally found the wings for me to be able to express all my ideas.

I love the drawing and painting classes but my heart was 100% happy when I was in the metals studio. Claire Holliday was my first teacher and she became a wonderful friend and mentor, she always was very supportive of my work and my creative voice.

2. What are your inspirations? How have these inspirations evolved/changed over time?

Since the beginning I found my inspiration on my culture and traditions from Mexico. I still have my drawing book with my first ideas and I can see how strongly my creative voice and style were since the beginning.

I still remember how I noticed my designs were so totally different from my other jeweler friends and felt that maybe I was wrong and needed to design in a more contemporary way. I start trying to move into another direction but I felt like someone cut my wings because I was not inspired and happy at all, because of this I decided to follow my heart and I continue with my designs that have a very strong influence in what I am and where I come from.  

3. What’s your favorite piece from your collection–and what are you working on right now?

This is a very hard question because I have so many pieces that I love but if I have to mention one in particular it will be my first piece I made where I really felt I finally was able to make something that will express my big love and passion for what I do. This piece was also my first work I got published in a book:

FLAMING HEART by Lorena Angulo; photo credit Dean Powell

4. What’s the one thing that you think that people should know about the life of a jewelry designer?

Good question. We are as normal as everybody else but as artists we are very passionate about life in general.

In my case I am very blessed to have my family, my husband and kids are the best that could happen to me but I also know that all the time I spent creating and making my work makes me extremely happy.

I can spend a lot of nights without sleeping because I am creating but I do not mind doing it because when I see the finished piece in the hands of my clients and see how happy they are, it is all worth it.

5. Why is it important for people to purchase jewelry from an individual artist? What makes a hand-made item special, for the giver and the recipient?

I think that when you buy something that was made by hand 100% and with all the care and love, the piece of jewelry has more meaning and feeling.

I always said that I make jewelry with soul, and I think this can explain why I feel buying from an individual artist is better. We as individual artists transmit feelings with our work, we tell a story with every piece we create.

Most of my work is one of a kind, and this also gives the wearer the great feeling to know that no one else will have something as unique and original as the piece they are wearing.

6. You’re based in San Antonio, so I have to ask–do you exhibit locally? For people elsewhere, where can they find you? Do you ship internationally?

Yes, I have my work at the Gallery Shop in Southwest School of Art, Kathleen Sommers and Robert Hughes Gallery here in San Antonio. Some of my pieces are in Europe at the  Art Clay Scotland Jewellery Studio.  I also have some paintings and a figurine in the beautiful Kubiak Gallery in Douglas, Michigan.

I have an online shop on Etsy.com but at this moment I do not have a lot of items in it. I do ship internationally, and most of my sales I have made when customers contact me via email and ask for a piece in particular.

Your readers can find all my pieces and designs in my following links:

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Food Allergy Awareness Week 2012 flew right past me. I shared some stories via social media, but I never got a post up.  Oops. Well, by way of a belated contribution, I’m offering up this recipe. Ours is a household with a food allergic kiddo–it’s the primary reason that we decided to homeschool, in fact.

Growing up, we didn’t each much peanut butter. I don’t recall ever really eating it until I was in high school. Peanuts were around regularly, but not in great quantities.

In my twenties and thirties, however, I consumed them regularly. A cheap and protein-rich food item, peanuts and their butter were a breakfast staple.

But then I had a child with a peanut allergy. It’s been eye-opening, let me tell you. I had no idea that peanuts, unlike most food allergies, carry the greatest risk of anaphylaxis and death of all the food allergies.  Yes, some reactions can be mild. Yet in some people, a mild reaction one time may be followed by severe anaphylaxis the next.

And THAT is why we all need to be cautious about serving peanuts around any child who has had even the slightest reaction to a peanut in her past.

Mind you, I’m not mourning the loss of my morning peanuts over here. I’ve discovered the wonders of Sunbutter, which is a butter made of sunflower seeds in a peanut-free facility. It’s also gluten free. Gluten isn’t a big issue around here, but I do gravitate to gluten-free baking mixes and breads because they tend to be nut-free. (Always check the package, every time you purchase a product.)

If I could, I’d love to see every school and community-centered kitchen in America (not to mention every food bank) stock and promote Sunbutter as a safe alternative to peanut butter.

Sunflower seed butter is somewhat of an acquired taste–smokier and richer than peanut butter, so I’m sharing one of my favorite breakfast recipes as a way that you can introduce your family to this food.

Ingredients

• Cinnamon raisin bread (We like Udi’s)
• Sunbutter-brand sunflower butter (Check your market and ask for it, if you can. If not, here it is in bulk on Amazon.com.)
• Honey (Go with locally produced if you can find it–and support your local beekeepers!)
• Thinly sliced, crisp apple

Method

Lightly toast the bread. Apply a thin layer of Sunbutter. Top with a thin apple slice. Add another thin layer of Sunbutter and a drizzle of honey. Top with second slice of bread. Serve.

Photos

Check your grocer’s freezer section. (This bread is so good that we even eat the heel toasted with plain butter!)

Ingredient money shot! (Peaches are just there for fun.)

… and more Sunbutter with a drizzle of honey. (You could just eat it open faced.)

Delicious, nutritious, and safe for peanut-allergic kids!

Explore More:

• Snack idea for the peanut allergic

• The gift of safety while traveling

• Remember Amarria Johnson

• Unhealthy Truth book review

• Check out this post by another Texas blogger about how she discovered her child is peanut-allergic

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A new graphic for a new RW&G series!

Dear friends:

I have a book deal.

Yup.

And I got it from a blog post shortly after I reshared via social media–on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter simultaneously using BufferApp.com–several months after it first appeared here at RW&G.

There’s a lesson here about making the transition from blogger to newbie author.

A couple of them, actually.

Lemme break them down for you:

1. Write good content. If you want people to “discover” your mad word skills, you gotta put yourself out there.  And what you write needs to be good. I’m not talking about immaculate paragraphs filled with textbook-calibre grammar, folks. As a former magazine editor for a regional publication, I gave up on grammatical perfection a long time ago. (Unless your biz card reads “Copy Editor,” and then it’s your job to be perfect). Nope, in the case of most writers, your work needs to channel your unique voice and interests. Plus, the more you practice writing, the better you’ll get at it, so…

2. Write often. I’ve been hearing for years that I should “post every day.” Last fall, I decided to try it for six months, see what happened. One of the blog posts–written because I’d developed the “habit” of writing so often–is, you guessed it, the very one that the my new editor “discovered.” Creating a large volume of writings and diversified topics gave me a boost as a writer. (There’s a bit more to discuss regarding the wonders of daily posting that I plan to address in the future.) Once you’ve written your posts though, they aren’t going to do anyone any good unless you drive traffic to your site, so…

3. Regularly place links to your posts via social media where people can see it. And if an opportunity presents itself, put a good post out there again. I wish I could take credit for the idea of resharing old content, but I can’t. Some bloggers are fearful of doing that–it feels dishonest to them or “spammy”, but if you’ve got a lot of content on your blog or site and it’s just sitting there in isolation, you are putting a great big ol’ basket over your awesomeness. Actively seek out opportunities (a conversation, a meme, a Zeitgeist thing) to reshare relevant and engaging material. Then pin, tweet and share away. If you’re worried about overkill, keep a list in your head or on a sheet of paper and make a point to reshare only one post per week.

***

As you can guess, I’m pretty excited about this book project. It’s the perfect blend of my interests, my current skill level as a non-fiction author, and reflects the changing face of book publishing. For my first book (detect the optimism?), I was lucky to sign with an upstart, boutique publisher that has an excellent reputation in a growing niche market. I’ve promised not to reveal too much about the specific topic until my publisher does some sharing of their own, but the rest of the book scoop shall appear here very soon.

Now, guess what? I intend to share this new experience with you, dear readers, in a series of short posts entitled “From Blog Post to Bookshelf: One Writer’s Journey.” (Hence the new graphic up top.) I love process-oriented posts that offer readers a glimpse “behind the scenes,” and I thought this would be a great way to show what it’s like for me and perhaps inspire one (or two!) of you to make the transition.

Note that my friend Chris Barton (a fabulous, award-winning writer and fellow former East Texan) started a process-oriented series on his blog, Bartography, for his latest book just as I was signing the contract for my project. Credit to him for the general idea–and please go read his blog and buy all his books. Stat!

As for my series, feel free to weigh in here or via Facebook or Twitter (links below) with any specific questions that you have about this newbie author process thing, and I’ll see what I can provide by way of an answer.

Explore More:

• Be sure to check out my Career? What Career? Pinterest board. Lots of good stuff over there for writers, bloggers, authors, etc. Currently, I have this image pinned (with old-fashioned pins) above my desk for inspiration.

• Earlier this year I decided to go with a monthly book giveaway program. It’s helped me reach new audiences and get the word out on some great books by fellow (!) authors. This month’s featured giveaway is here. Go register!

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Our neighbor’s peaches.

My grandmother’s wooden bowl.

My mother’s garden chair.

A warm, late Spring morning in Central Texas with air full of birdsong.

This is the stuff of which memories are made.

And that’s why there’s a new masthead on the site and Facebook page.

Because some memories are meant to be preserved and shared, much like sweet, sun-warmed fruit fresh from the tree.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

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Science as song.

What’s not to love?

(In the car, I like to sing the ladybug part.)

This catchy little ditty appears on They Might Be Giants CD/DVD “Here Comes Science,” which is a huge hit around our house. As in we listen to it at least once a day, but sing the songs far more often. Another favorite? The one about the paleontologist:

Oh, and then there’s the one about how science is both REAL and AWESOME.

The CD is a couple of years old, but here’s what the cover looks like, in the event you run into it at a used CD store.

If you see it, get it–especially if you’re like us and supplement your kid’s education via carschooling.

You can also purchase “Here Comes Science” via Amazon.com.

Explore More:

• The RW&G Homegrown Kids page and Pinterest board are always available to be read. (Well, assuming that WordPress.com is operating and Pinterest isn’t overrun with visitors.)
• Earlier this week I put up a site badge for Gifted Homeschoolers Forum at RedWhiteandGrew.com. They have a Pinterest presence now, too.

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Cacti are tough, y’all. Resilient. Hardy.

Much like mothers are.

Have a great day.

***

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I’ve always wanted to go DIY with an idiomatic expression, and this one fits.

And it’s how I feel. Like deep-fried foodstuffs, baby.

But not the fried butter.

That’s just nasty.

In all seriousness, there’s  lots of cool things coming my way this month, both professionally and personally.

I promise to fill y’all in on some of the details very soon, but in the interim, know that I’m intentionally scaling back posts here at RedWhiteandGrew.com.

See, after several months of weekday postings (by the way, it does exactly what “they” say it will do for your blog’s visibility*), I need to tinker with the schedule. Yup, real life is intervening. I’m going to try switching to posting just once or twice a week.

Spoiler alert: Be on the lookout for an interview here next week with designer Lorena Angulo! 

Plus, don’t forget the May book giveaway!

I’ll try my best to keep some daily action going over on Facebook and Twitter, but if you want to be “in the know” re: RW&G, then be sure to sure to grab the RSS feed.

When I spill the beans about what I’m up to, then I’ll do it here first.

Now I’m off like… well, a dirty shirt.

Ciao, y’all.

P.S. Ran across this description of RW&G last week and it gave me a terrific chuckle:

Thanks for the delightful review, Fish Out of Water Homeschool!

I just hope that comparison isn’t some foreshadowing about my ending up in the slammer. Because that would really suck, perhaps in a way similar to the taste of deep-fried butter. (Not that I’ve ever tried it because… ick.)

*Also surprisingly helpful to your blog’s visibility? Participation in the whole Ryan Gosling meme thingy. Seriously. Most popular post ever on here. Go figure.

This is Matt. He sells peaches. Specifically, he sells Texas hill country peaches from the Fredericksburg area. He said that the ones pictured were plucked yesterday, and he’ll be stationed behind the Willie’s Grill & Icehouse in Leon Springs most days (not Sundays) for awhile.

Wanna see another photo?

And, yes, I bought some.

Of course.

They’ll hold us over until the fruit on our neighbor’s tree ripens.

One of the great things about homeschooling (and, yes, afterschooling) is that you get to think at depth about hot topics like childhood bullying (including relational aggression) and hitting.

For me, I’ve always seen these issues as multi-dimensional problems. On the one hand, with children, there’s emotional and physical manipulation tactics being employed that simply must be addressed to ensure safety and well-being. On the other are issues related to conflict management.

The second set of challenges is, in many ways, the most significant because it is a life skill. That’s why, for me, books that restrict the conversation to “it’s wrong to hit” or “be nice and sunny to everyone” come up short.

The way that I see it, if one seeks to stop physical and emotional aggression a playground (or in the board room), then one must have a handle on peaceful means to negotiating lasting resolutions. Moreover, one must come to prize the protection of emotional and physical safety. And although we don’t talk about it much as a society, sometimes one must be prepared to accept that the most sensible course of action is to completely sever all ties with a repeat aggressor–especially when it comes to relational aggression actions like exclusion, shunning, gossip, social humiliation, withdrawing attention or friendship, and cyber-bullying. (Yes, I’m thinking about “mean girls”–or my new preferred term “bullies in disguise.” )

Pictured above are a round up of books that we’ve used to get at this issue, to really try to peel back the layers to the problem.

Here’s the list, in no particular order:

• We Can Work It Out: Conflict Resolution for Children by Barbara K. Polland
• How to Behave and Why by Munro Leaf
• Talk and Work It Out (Learning to Get Along) by Cheri J. Meiners
• What Does It Mean to Be Safe? by Rana DiOrio (discussed here previously at RW&G)
• Three books in the “A First Look At…” series by Pat Thomas, who is my favorite go-to author for thorny childhood issues: Is It Right to Fight?, I Can Be Safe, and Stop Picking On Me

I’ve placed this group of books in a special category over on my Amazon store so that you can take a closer look at them and check out other reader’s reviews. Many of them are in your local library, too. Note that while We Can Work It Out is out of print, it’s worth locating a used copy online, if you can.

What about you and your family–how do you approach issues of interpersonal conflict, bullying, and aggression? Any favorite books or videos to recommend?

Update: This site, LoveAndLogic.com, was recommended by a RW&G Facebook fan, Mandy. It looks good, so I’m mentioning it here.

It’s that time again! Time to announce another book giveaway.

This month’s featured giveaway is Homesweet Homegrown: How to Grow, Make, and Store Food No Matter Where You Live by Robyn Jasko.

This is Robyn:

And this is an excerpt from Robyn’s email to me:

In addition to raising awareness of GMOS, organics and heirlooms,  HSHG encourages people to start their own modern homestead, complete with grow guides for 25 crops, easy recipes by vegetable, diy garden projects, canning/fermenting and food storage guides, and plans for starting a garden no matter where you live.

This book was inspired from my site Grow Indie.com, which I started with the mission to empower people everywhere to have the tools, know how and moxie to grow their own food.

You can read more in this press release.

Here’s the scoop on the giveaway:

Giveaway details:

• The contest deadline is 5:00 PM on Friday, May 25, 2012.

• To enter, simply leave a note in the comments section of this post and/or:

• Tweet a link to this post (just copy me @redwhiteandgrew so I *see* your tweet!)
• Leave a comment on my Facebook page.
• Repin the giveaway pin on Pinterest. You’ll find it on this pin board later today. [UPDATE: Here's the pin.]

Each of the above actions by you counts as a separate entry. That’s right, you can register up to FOUR times for this contest.

• The winner must be a resident of the continental U.S. (Sorry, Canadian and Australian friends!)

• I’ll announce the winner in an update to this post and on my Facebook page during the week of May 28. The winner will be selected by a random drawing.

• Can’t wait. You can always go order a copy.