Butterfly House, Chesterfield, Missouri

The Butterfly House in Chesterfield, Missouri is one of my favorite locations in the St. Louis region. It is truly one of the best butterfly houses I have ever been to. Since my partner and I will soon be uprooting ourselves in order to move to Massachusetts, we are creating a "bucket list" of sorts, places and restaurants we want to go to again before our transition. Not having much else planned today, I heard the butterflies calling! With my camera in hand, I set off. It was a great day; the conservatory was very active! Thousands of lepidoptera were flying around the room, many landing and resting on the tropical plants all around. They just seem to be oblivious of the many humans surrounding them.

For nine years, I have been part of a teaching team inspiring second graders about these majestic creatures. From the life cycle, to behavior patterns and other interesting facts. In my quest to inform them, I have learned so much and am forever grateful for the knowledge and appreciation I have gained. This environmental passion was heightened and magnified through the inspiration of two wonderful colleagues. One of my favorite parts of this kind of environmental education is that children learn how delicate nature can be, also how colorful, amazing, and patient.


It is interesting to stand back and watch other people interact with them too. You can see the uncertainty on the face of some - young and old. Some of the children are quite afraid of them; I understand that. They might but them in the same category as bees or other flying creatures. I can't wait to explore some of the natural aspects of western Massachusetts. I hope one day to be able to plant a butterfly garden in my own yard so I can watch these awe-inspiring transformations in my own space.

I have added a photography section to my Etsy page; one of these photos is there now - the others will soon follow.

Amherst and Lupe

It has been a while since life has allowed me to move forward on bookbinding projects. My partner is a scientist and has been on the job hunt this past fall. He just accepted a faculty position at Amherst College and we will be moving there this summer. We have known that a move would be coming and are both very glad to know where we are headed. The details during this initial decision making process have kept both of us quite busy! I truly look forward to getting to know more about the art community in and around Amherst. Now, it is my turn to explore job opportunities as an elementary teacher. Now that this major move is in place and we have announced it to those close to us, we can get back into some sort of routine once again. For me, this means carving out some time to create handmade books. Although, I also realize that I don't have much more time for bookbinding in St. Louis.

This afternoon, I finished one more upcycled book; this time, using a 1934 copy of the book, Lupe Goes to School by Esther Brann. It has an orange cover with black lettering. A little girl is walking across the cover. One of my favorite features of the book appears on the back cover. The fabric from the spine has been carefully detached and reapplied on the back cover. I love the fact that this old book has been given new life. It will make a perfect journal for just the special someone!


I have some other pieces of spine fabric that I have removed from other antique books. I might incorporate those into another upcoming handmade journal. This project also includes scanned portraits from a 1929 yearbook. Currently, the book is sewn and sitting in my "to do" pile. I look forward to the final product (hopefully, I can finish it this weekend or early next week).