I like to explore and tell descriptive stories about places. I also make jewelry, music and mixed-media art.
July 2026, North Georgia/NC This summer, I don’t go to Franklin for the gem shows. Since 2018, it’s been a major seasonal event for me, only skipping over one year because of the pandemic. However, I passed through the town on the 4th of July and had another kind of insightful experience. DRAINED SWAMP The […]
Read More Interdepence Day, A JourneySpruce Pine Mining District, North Carolina, July 2025 At the access to the mica mine stands a sign, “area closed to storm damage/not safe to enter.” Fallen trees and rocks rolled by nature can be seen. This is my first trip to western NC after Hurricane Helene. IT’S A SHAME ABOUT RAY I came for the […]
Read More GEMS OF THE BLUE RIDGE, GOING THROUGH CHANGESAugust 2-4, 2024, Virginia and North Carolina It’s a sunny early morning at Fancy Gap, and I’m going to the Saturday market in nearby Galax, Virginia, to set up with my jewelry. While it’s my first time at this market, and I didn’t get prior confirmation, I’m able to get a metal stall in the […]
Read More Galax, Fries, Pittsboro: fair markets and stormy weatherMay, 2023, A and V We roll into New Orleans at night, crossing the Pearl River after sundown on our way from Virginia to Texas. The crescent moon floats above, guiding us into the Crescent City for what could be a couple of hours or an overnight. This is a spontaneous detour, one we decided […]
Read More New Orleans, a slight returnMay, 2023, Afton and Waynesboro, VA INTERSECTIONS and PORTALS I’m standing at Rockfish Gap of the Blue Ridge, looking east as Interstate 64 descends toward the Virginia piedmont and Charlottesville. To the west, the highway drops in to the Shenandoah valley. Here the Blue Ridge Parkway meets Skyline Drive, to the south and north respectively, […]
Read More Rockfish Gap and Waynesboro, part 1: CROSSING and ARRIVAL
arianna's creative travels 