Tuesday, April 29, 2008
We're here, amazed spring is almost over.
Gracie, who is now 2 and a half, started a toddler program at a local learning center. As a result, our family is cycling through many, many, many colds and viruses as our immune systems catch up to speed.
There's a detailed update of Miss Gracie on my LiveJournal.
I'm working hard on jewelry- new spring and summer collections.
I haven't painted or collaged or scrapbooked in ages. I really want to get back to those things. I miss them so much. I'm still just trying to figure out how to find balance between being a mom and being an artist.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Want to exchange holiday cards this year? Just drop me an email with your address, and even if you are sure I have it, please please please send me it to me again.
Every year I say I am going to make the cards or be really crafty, and I'll warn you now- this year it's not happening (it never really does, even though I WANT it to). So, while you may not get an amazing handcrafted card, you WILL get a holiday card, a few photos of Gracie, and a personalized message from her (ie bizarre drawing on part of the card- she's currently into circles and zigzags). So it'll be "handmade" in a different way.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
I was very sad to hear that Martha Stewart's mom, Martha Koystra, passed away. I know Martha Stewart must be devastated, especially so close to the holidays. I truly though Martha Sr. was going to live forever.
I really think it's awesome that Martha Stewart included her in her public life- I love that stars are doing that more.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
I found this out and thought I would share. It's only useful for those with iPod shuffles (2nd gen) who uses a case that doesn't allow access to the on/off switch, but anyway...
You can put an iPod shuffle to sleep by pausing it and leaving it paused for a few minutes. It shuts itself off, and next time you press "play" it wakes up. No wasted batteries, etc. Even if you leave it for 24 hours, it doesn't kill the battery.
This is useful to me because the waterproof case I use when I swim with my iPod (H20 waterproof shuffle case) is VERY hard to take apart and doesn't allow access to the on/off switch. For weeks I had been taking the whole setup apart after every swim, which took awhile. Now I can just put the iPod to sleep and wake it up the next day when I swim. Easy Peasy.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Okay, so we have a TiVo, which is why I am writing this now.
What on EARTH are the ER (TV show) writers thinking?? It's not enough Abby is no longer sober, is taking care of the baby on her own, AND working full time as a doctor, now her marriage is going to fall apart?
Can't anyone on this show EVER have a happy ending? Just once?
I don't know why I keep watching- for years and years the writers have been manipulating viewers, changing characters at the drop of the hat (remember when the tank came after Archie? And now he's the nice guy?!), ruining all the doctors' lives, putting them through hell, killing them, etc.
At least Grey's Anatomy is FUNNY (and Eric Dane, ala McSteamy, is HOT). That makes the misery (and the endlessness of Meredith and McDreamy- ugh) tolerable.
But ER?
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Tonight Tom and I hosted the semi-annual Vegan Potluck here at the house. It was yummy, ESPECIALLY the banana cake with frosting.
However, I am exhausted. I can't wait to curl up in bed with my book and then sleep in a bit tomorrow. I was so amped up about today that I barely got any sleep last night.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Gracie sometimes watches "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" on Disney Channel. The reason I say "sometimes" is because, as much as I love Walt Disney World, I'm not a giant Disney fan in general. The only thing that makes the show halfway tolerable is the fact that They Might Be Giants did some of the music.
ANYWAY.
On this show, there's the typical Mickey Mouse bunch, and every episode there's a little challenge, blah blah blah.
Well here's my question- why on EARTH do they hang out with Captain Pete? He's such an ass. I mean, if the whole thing is imaginary (you have to say magic words for the Clubhouse and all the characters in it to appear), why not just NOT imagine Pete?
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Tonight we had pasta for dinner, with tomato sauce. When Gracie is done eating, sometimes she sort of messes with her food until we can get her down from the highchair. Usually she just separates it into piles or moves it into another section of her plate. I guess tonight her nose was itching, and she rubbed her hand (which had tomato sauce on it) across her face to scratch the itch.
I guess the sauce got in her nose and stung a little, so she started to blow air out of her nose- hard. Before we could get to her and wipe the sauce away from her nose, she exhaled and...
a six inch piece of fettucine just flew out of her tiny nose!I knew milk and liquids could be ejected from the nose- she's even managed to get soap in her nose during baths and blow a ton of bubbles (which fascinated her to no end...)- but not large noodles. Wow!
It must have hurt- the noodle was wide and tomato sauce is acidic and spicy. But she laughed and laughed. Wow.
I guess her sinuses are going to be clear for a while.
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"As free human beings we can use our unique intelligence to try to understand ourselves and our world. But if we are prevented from using our creative potential, we are deprived of one of the basic characteristics of a human being."
---His Holiness the Dalai Lama
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I did a little more re-org in the studio today, but I think I finally got to where I need to be. I got most of the crap off my workspace, which is really important to me. I get easily distracted, and since I tend to really spread out when I work, I need all the space I can get. So I finally started to stash things away. I always resisted that because "out of sight, out of mind..." but sometimes you just have to store things away.
After I cleaned and organized, I made a bunch of necklaces and bracelets. I'm getting into the jewelry making groove, which is good, especially with the holidays coming up and the thousands of beads I have made in the last year waiting around in clear storage boxes.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Argh! I hate when I lose photos in the transition from camera to computer. I took the cutest pictures of Chester sleeping on the couch, flat on his back, with his back paws straight up in the air.
*sob*
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.
---Pablo Picasso
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
---Sally Berger
We must have the courage to allow a little disorder in our lives.
---Ben Weininger
Today was busy- the cat shelter I volunteer at had its annual fundraising gala called "The Hairball". It was busy and crazy and I truly hope we raised a ton of money for the shelter and the kitties who we take care of.
There was a psychic at the gala and the cost of a psychic reading went to the shelter, so in between running around I had a reading done. Very interesting (and confusing). She told me a lot about the people in my life, but I was hoping to hear more about the creative process since that's sort of been my focus in the past few weeks.
I'm sort of in the middle of a creativity crisis. I am desperate to create and get into my studio, but I have no time, and when I get a little time, I have no energy, and when I have the energy, I just sit there, completely uninspired. I am gobbling up all the books on creativity, the creative process, and art that I can find, in hopes it will help me find energy to be more creative and get my life a little bit more in balance.
Maybe I was hoping the psychic might point me in a good direction, but I guess the ultimate lesson I learned was that I am the only one in control of my creative detsiny.
And I think the answer lies in getting up much earlier (love daylight savings for this!), forcing myself to get more alone time, and also forcing myself to just do ANYTHING when I sit down with my art supplies. Even if I just make a quick card, or stamp something a few times, it's something. Better than me organizing my studio for the 40th time.
Friday, November 2, 2007
What is...
1. one place you volunteer (or would like to)? Why?
The cat shelter! I love animals, especially adult cats. I always felt so helpless when I heard about all the cats and kittens being put down in shelters, abandoned, or abused (usually because people claim they "hate cats".) I feel so incredibly lucky to have a shelter so close to me and be able to play such a big role (board member, volunteer, advocate, media...)
2. one book you'd like to see made into a movie? Why?
I have been reading "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver and for a minute I thought "hey, this would make a great movie!" until I remembered that every time a book I love gets made into a movie, it sucks and totally ruins the book (a la "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood").
3. one creature (living, extinct, or mythical) you'd like for a pet? Why?
A miniature horse. I love horses, but we have no room for one. A little tiny one would be amazing.
4. one place on Earth you'd like to visit? Why?
Australia, New Zeland. Just because I feel like I'm *supposed* to go there.
5. one talent or skill you'd like to develop? Why?
Is confidence a "skill"? I could use some self-esteem. I'd love to be able to dance really well. Considering I don't walk that well, that's not gonna happen. so, for reality... I would like to become a better swimmer.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
I'm reading a terrific book right now- "Living the Creative Life" by Rice Freeman-Zachary. It features 15 different artists, and discusses their inspiration, their work space, their work habits, etc. It also has little exercises sprinkled throughout the chapters designed to help the reader integrate their creativity with the rest of their life.
This topic is really relevant to me at the moment since I haven't had much creative time since Gracie came home. I'm getting more and more time in my studio now that Gracie is older, but when I get in there, I have no idea where to start. I either organize, clean, or do busy-work, like label finished jewelry, answer email, or putter around. It seems like such a tremendous waste since I generally feel really inspired and am always itching to get to my desk and *work*.
A great idea from the book is to have a little ritual to mark the beginning of creative time. Some artists light candles, some write in a journal, some do a quick sketch. I'm trying to figure out one that might work for me. Since I'm a list maker, and I keep a big sketchbook with photos, sketches, and notes about what I'm working on, I think it might be a good thing for me to list what I have been thinking about, what I *want* to try, and what I hope to get accomplished that day in the studio. Maybe it will help me get going.
I HAVE been working- I have been busy finishing several projects I started a while back. I finished about 40 photo/art pendants. Right now, I finally am finishing a project I started months and months ago- the "candy pop" beads (see photo to your right). I have had a lot of requests for them, so I am making over a thousand. It's VERY time consuming to wrap and decorate every.single.bead, but it's sort of hypnotic and soothing.
My lesson from this? When you start a project, finish it. It's okay to put it off a bit, but it's not so fun when you have 40 unfinished projects floating around and have ideas for 50 more projects you can't really start because of all the stuff going on!
Monday, September 3, 2007
I've been thinking about social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.
I don't spend much time on them as I have the (online) attention span of a gnat, but I wondered why I would even bother to sign up for them. Almost all my online friends communicate via LiveJournal and email, and I have no "long lost friends" I am really wanting to connect with (except for two people, and one I *did* reconnect with via MySpace, so I have to acknowledge that- the other is still MIA and I hope he and I can reconnect sometime in the future...)
A little history: I went to a really small high school, and there were maybe 60 people in my graduating class. So we all knew each other well after spending four years together. But I wasn't really FRIENDS with any of them. I was out of school a lot because of all the surgery I had, and when I was in school, I didn't know where I belonged. It was an odd situation, often heartbreaking. And the day I graduated was blissful- I practically ran off campus, overjoyed.
So, with this in my past, why bother including my alma mater in my profile and joining the alumni groups?
I think it's this, and this is me being maybe TOO honest:
I think I am hoping that all the people in high school who didn't really know me, or didn't really connect with me, will say "I was wrong about you. I never gave you a chance. Let's get to know one another."
I know you can't go back and change the past. I guess I am hoping that maybe there's a chance I can someday go back and be able to heal some of those old wounds, be able to think about high school without becoming numb. Lately I have been thinking a lot about my 16 year old self and how I wish I could go back in time and let her know that it all turns out okay, that she just needed to get through a few rough years before it all turned around. I'm feeling really tender toward her.
And then there's also the ways high school shapes your view of yourself. And my struggle to shake that after all these years. That was NOT real life, and I need to stop thinking that just because I had four rocky social years when I was a teenager, it's going to always be that way.
Just thinking...
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
So anyway, a redesign. I have been meaning to do it for ages.
So why the change? I really feel like in the past year my life has become less compartmentalized and more "gelled". I am no longer a woman who lives in Florida who happens to make jewelry and is also in the process of adopting a child. Gracie's been home for over a year, and I've been making beads and jewelry for several years now, so I think I can finally describe myself as a:
"jewelry making mom who spends all her free time in her art studio and loves to watch her small family evolve."
My child, my family, my art, my home, my new routines in life- these are no longer just interests, they are my daily life. I got tired of having all these different websites about all these different things going on in my life- they've all become part of a whole.
I have no idea what this looks like in any other browser except Safari on Mac and I'm almost too afraid to find out. I'll check it tomorrow.
So, hello. Take off your coat, your shoes, grab a cup of tea and a cookie and stay for a while.
