Exclusive ocean patterns now available at Monterey Bay Aquarium!

Hello friends! I’m beyond excited to share that you can now find my artwork at the Monterey Bay Aquarium! This has been a long-held dream come true, and I am so honored align in the Aquarium’s mission to inspire conservation of the ocean. The Aquarium is a vital heart of our community, a vast source of wonder, a symbol of the resilience of Monterey Bay, and a beacon of hope for the future of life on our blue planet. As a photographer, I began capturing the patterns and colors of the rich biodiversity of the coast as a way to learn about all the beauty I became enraptured with upon moving here from the Great Lakes in 2012. While I was learning to surf and freedive, I fell in love with giant kelp. One day, I brought home a washed up spiraling scimitar blade from the sand - this is the growing tip of this majestic algae that you know from MBA’s logo. I filled my bathtub with water and photograped it, which became a habit with every new life form that met my loving gaze. I found myself wanting to wear this beauty and share it with others, and began designing a collection of the “Patterns of Californina.” Printed on silks and organic cotton cothing, I delighted in sharing these pieces in my small, colorful gallery in San Carlos Square (Carmel) for three years before the pandemic hit. My mission has always been to inspire close, loving observation of our world and the life of the Holocene - whether ubiq- uitous or endangered. It was an honor to create and finesse 9 of my ocean patterns for this new collection. A number of them are exclusive to MBA, so please consider heading to one of their two gift shops (one inside, one down Cannery Row) when you are looking for super special, local gift that supports both a local artist and a great cause simultaneously! Each comes with a robust 5”x5” interpretive tag with a poetic description of each species. The silk habotai is from Italy, dons a delicate hand-rolled hem, and is printed in the USA. Original pattern art includes giant kelp, feather boa kelp, pacific rose algae, saltgrass, dungeness crab, purple-striped jellyfish and Ernst Haeckel inspired diatoms and copepods. With gratitude for everyone who has supported this joyful collection since its inception back in 2016.