Possibility

I adore old keys. Growing up in ancient houses probably helped spark my adoration of keys as I remember the skeleton keys that went to our locks. Holding one in my hand today is a flashback to the past. A piece of key shaped childhood. Of freedom and fun, play and carefree days.

Antique keys hold so much mystery. They unlock the imagination. Who did they belong to? What secrets did they lock safely away? They represent security.

I was gifted a handful of keys (pic taken via iPad) recently from a lovely friend. I have great hope for their use as the possibilities are endless. I imagine using them in photographs, encaustic art, making a mobile or windchime, something loving and artsy. Instead, they end up hidden away in a drawer. Treasures of their own, ironically locked away for safe keeping, their potential lying stagnant as I cannot bare to part with them. Perhaps it was growing up poor that causes me to hang onto treasure as when I open the drawer that holds my collection, I feel like the richest girl on the block. That alone makes them worth their weight.

Still, it saddens me, this inability to use them. I fear not doing them justice. Not having an art piece turn out good enough. Not having the pictures successfully represent their beauty. It is the "not good enough" part that causes me to keep them locked away. "Not good enough" is not good enough for me anymore.

What a cathartic post! I wasn't expecting it to end this way! What an epiphany! I think I'll take my key collection and proudly display them in a bowl where I will pass them regularly and they can whisper to me and spark my creativity. They will say, "You are good enough! Come play!"

No Time

"I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!"

Before I head out today

I wanted to share 

these.

I'm trying to get more comfortable at putting myself out there. I am a student of encaustics. Not a perfectionist, not a brilliant artist, just someone who shows up to the medium to see what lessons it will be teaching me that day.

I am hoping to list them in my Etsy Shop soon.

Have a brilliant and lovely day!

For A Good Cause

    An idea has been rolling around in my head. Actually, that's been happening a lot lately. Recently I became aware of an organization called One Billion Rising and I want to rise with. 
    There are no events happening near me but I did find a site that was promoting an art show that was accepting entries. A meager $15 to enter a piece of art. Whether the piece is accepted or not, the entrance fee goes to support worthy causes for women. If the piece sells at show, a portion of the money is kept and donated as well.
     A picture came to my mind. I wanted to create it. Not a masterpiece for a museum. Simple storytelling. The Call for Entries stated "Entries should evoke a sense of women's empowerment and overcoming obstacles and/or be a celebration of the way the world can be when violence against women no longer exists."
     I created a piece. Not being exactly happy with it, hubby made suggestions and told me to create another. Once the pieces were created, I went back to the site to find the information. I knew I had to enter with an electronic file, then mail a check. What I overlooked was the fact that if a piece was accepted in to the show, it required hand delivery. Snafu city. The gallery is fifteen hours away! Drat.
     No event near me. No gallery entrance. No luck this go round. Perhaps I'll end up selling it in a local shop and send the proceeds to One Billion Rising or my local Women's Shelter. 
     I give myself an "E" for effort. A step up from an "F" at least! Anyway, here are the encaustic pieces for what they're worth.  

Creativity Kicking In

My last post was a teaser to an idea I conjured up recently. My mind has been bubbling over with ideas lately. A few weeks ago my husband gifted me an iPad for our anniversary (I love you honey!). Something sparked inside my brain on a visit to our library a few days later. There is an adorable coffee shop in the basement that also sells used books. I spotted a book on a shelf that was just the right size and only $2 (what a steal).

 

I purchased the book and cut the cover off. Gulp! Yes. I destroyed a perfectly good (but old) book. Being a bibliophile, I used to have major issues with the thought of destroying books for any reason. I still have great respect for books and teach my children to respect books. That being said, I also found out how many old books end up in landfills every year. The landfill! 

Decorative paper lines the inside walls.

Taking old books and repurposing into useful items, reclaiming pages, spines etc... for the sake of art, or just plain recycling them makes so much more sense.

I got over my fear of destroying the book as my intentions were to make it useful in a different way. I turned it into a carry case for my iPad! The signatures are still intact and being enjoyed by my family as a coverless book. When we are done using the pages for historical lessons and viewing pleasure (gorgeous pictures), we will use them to create art. All remaining material will be recycled.

Win, win, win!

The sides of the carry case are made from strips of jeans material from an old torn pair of my son's jeans. The inside is lined with decorative paper covered pizza box panels. The carry handles came from a gift bag received years ago.

iPad carry case.

It was a challenge to create but I am absolutely thrilled with how it turned out.

Broken

Torn and broken?

or

Awaiting reclamation?

Weathered

I have not been feeling very chatty lately.

Wrapping up a very hard year.

Anxiously awaiting the unfolding of a new and (I pray) promising one. The recent brash of violence in the news has put its finishing touches on my depression.

I feel fragile, weathered, pulled tight, a bit like a barbed wire.

 I decided to go back and visit the pictures of a carving my husband recently finished. He was commissioned by a local to carve a female tree spirit rising out of her tree. She met with us. She chose him for the honor of carving. She honored me by suggesting he use me as his model. He made the spirit pregnant (unlike me) with new life rising out of the dying tree. Vine wrapped around her belly, arms raised in praise and protection of all that is natural in the world. She's a bit sad. Aren't we all?

Centering oneself with nature.

Sometimes it's the only way to feel okay.

Balance

life

balance

finding center

dancing without falling

playing, praying, searching

moments overflow with pleasure

crash into each other with such force

finding self upside down and inside out

unable to breathe, unable to find the light

twist and turn, find footing, stand tall and firm

the light above shining down with such love

always there for the taking, just waiting

to be noticed again, grasped again

shines down onto crown

filling you whole

entire soul

lit up

I Lost My Groove

I can't believe I lost my blog groove! I've looked everywhere! One simple hiatus followed by a trip to Florida and it is gone, gone, gone. I guess I'll have to fake it to make it. Come up with a new groove. Head in a new direction. Play around. 

In order to get the ball rolling, I am starting off with a post of random "stuff" (I love random)...



Florida

stingrays at the aquarium in Tampa

lovely little flowers at Saddlebrook Resort

palm with ferns growing on it - cool!

cypress trees (always wondered what they looked like - here are the bottoms!)

tootsie meets gator

Information

I picked up a book at the library a few days ago.

The Collage Workbook

by Randel Plowman

It's fun, colorful and easy to read. It's also full of good information!

For instance, the author shares some great online resources for downloadable images to use in your art. Some are completely copyright free, others supply notes and restrictions on how the images may be used. I can't wait to check them out!

Library of Congress Image Database (has notes on restrictions & copyright use)

Library of Congress' Flickr Photostream (no known copyright restrictions)

Reusable Art (copyright free in the US)

Karen's Whimsy (free images courtesy of the author)

Public Domain Pictures (royalty-free stock photos)

Artists

Here are a few I have been enjoying lately.

David O'Keefe has so much fun and whimsy in his paintings, one cannot help but spread a smile across one's face while indulging in his art.

Chasing the Moon - an up and coming jewelry artist who just happens to be holding a give-a-way!

Jenni Horne whom I have been a fan of for many years now. She paints, she makes jewelry, she teaches art to young children, she inspires! I just love her whimsical style and her cheery use of color. I always feel good after spending time in her space.

I love her even more now that she has introduced me to these delicious paints! I must get my hands on some. Pronto!

Alrighty. Enough random time wasting. Back to work for me. Now... where did I put that 'to-do' list anyway... (shuffle shuffle shuffle).

Hey you! You still here? Well bless your heart for staying through to the end. I want you to know how much I truly appreciate you, my dear reader. I truly, truly do. Thank you for making me feel even a wee bit worthy of your time. What a precious gift you have given me. Thank you!

A Friend's Give-a-way

Head over to my friend and fellow blogger's page for a give-a-way.

John is an author, a healer, an artist and all around beautiful spirit.

(if you don't win, you can always follow one of his page links to his Etsy stores!)

He creates healing art pieces and is giving one of his prints away.

You can enter for a chance to win a copy of the print below.

For your chance, click HERE.

Your print will arrive all the way from Tenerife, Spain!

(Perhaps for some of you that's not so far. For me? It's quite dreamy!)

Poo on You!

Have you ever heard of the superstition that if a bird poops on you, it is good luck and money will follow? If this holds any truth, I am in for good times and a mega windfall! Check out what I woke up to a few weeks ago. This is our bay window.

Can't quite make it out? Step in a little closer!

Ewwwww!!!! Yup. That is all bird poo!

Poo induced or not,

I will take luck (and money) any way I can get it! 

~ ~ ~ ~

In other news, I had a spurt of creative energy during my recent hiatus and have created some new encaustic pieces. They will be listed in my Etsy shop very soon.

Have a brilliant weekend.

Odd One Out

Cutesy, little, fun encaustic piece.

Odd One Out

Speaking of fun...

The kids and I went for a walk on a local trail.

We spotted a vine that hung from the trees across the trail.

My son tried it first.

Darling Daughter was second.

Doesn't it look fun? Yeah! That's what I thought.

This is me thinking I'm young and light like a child!

I grab the vine, head up the little hill...

What you don't see is me lying flat on my back on the

right side of the path!!! Oh the vine worked alright. 

I didn't get enough height so I yanked real hard trying to

pull myself higher. SMASH!!!! Down went the vine.

Down I went. Flat on my back lying in the ditch on the

on the right side of the path. It knocked the breath out of me,

jolted my neck and cut up my arm! Am I getting too old for this stuff? Never! I got right back up and laughed my butt off!

My son (bless his heart) came rushing over out of concern.

If it would have been my oldest, he would have seen this as

the perfect photo op!!! Can't say that I would blame him!

"You cannot always wait for the perfect time, sometimes you must dare to jump. Life is all about risks and it requires you to jump. Don't be a person who has to look back and wonder what they would have or could have had. No one wait forever."   ~ Mark Twain (I believe)

More Choices

 Good Morning Blog Land!

 I'm happy to report that my days are looking brighter and my mood has lifted considerably. Part of this new found lease on life is due to the time I have had to heal and the work I have been doing to heal what woes me. Part of it is due to the warmth and love of those around me who reached out with supportive embraces and threw lifelines for me to grab if needed. Another part of healing my heart is my recent epiphany about choices. (Read my last post on choices if you're not sure what I'm referring to).

When I was at my lowest, feeling devastation and heartbreak, I lost all faith. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you will know that "faith" happens to be my word of the year. I was warned (by my soul sis Elena) that picking a word for the year is entirely different than when a word picks you. "When one picks you" she warned, "watch out!" She wasn't kidding!!!!!

One not so great feeling I experienced during my recent life upheaval was the loss of joy. I felt as if the joy was sucked right out of me. When the clouds started to clear and my heart started to heal, I thought about joy and how much I missed it. Remembering my new daily choice ritual, the decision was made to put joy at the top of my daily choice list. When I think of joy, one of the people I think of is Ashley from Li'l Blue Boo. She is an amazing woman with a beautiful family, strength of steel and an uber fun blog and business! She is a huge proponent of Choosing Joy. You can find out more about her HERE.

While on her blog, make sure you check out her tutorials, give-a-way opportunities, free downloads, her shop and more! If you click on the link, you will also find out more about her choose joy mission and the bracelets she sells. In honor of my new found choices ritual, to support joy and to help support and honor Ashley, I have purchased a pack of her "Choose Joy" bracelets. I have plans for most of them, but I would like to take this opportunity to host a give-a-way of my own!

photo source: www.lilblueboo.com

If you comment on this post, I will put your name in a hat for a chance to win a choose joy bracelet. I will randomly pick three winners to be part of the "Choose Joy" movement! If chosen, I will e-mail you and let you know you have won! Simply e-mail a response with your mailing information and I will send your bracelet on its way! Names have been chosen - winners will be contacted. Thank you!

The choice to promote My Etsy Shop has always felt like a hard one. I am really good at promoting others, believing in others, seeing the potential in others, helping others. I am not, however, very good at applying the same care to myself. Consider it a mix of fear, unease, disbelief... do you see a negative pattern here? Me too! THAT has to stop! I choose to be successful, I choose to stop hiding, I choose to lose the fear of judgment and embrace self-expression. Also, my oldest son is graduating from high school in a few months and this at-home-mama is cash poor!!! I want to throw one heck-of-a party for my first born so self-promote I will! To kick start my party fund, I am holding a one week sale in my shop. For 20% off, enter the code "yippee" at checkout. Feel free to spread the word! Thanks!

To go along with the shameless self-promotion of my shop, I should give a shout-out to the fact tat I'm teaching a class!!! Yay!!!! I adore encaustics and cannot wait to share my passion with others.

Here is the tiny hotplate I use for my encaustic medium.

Here is the new hotplate purchased to make gobs of medium to share with the class.

 

Here is the beeswax and damar resin mixing and melting away.

 

Here you have glorious encaustic medium waiting for eager students to play!

Are you still here? Well, blessings to you for your patience!

Hugs, love and all that ooey gooey stuff to you and yours this weekend.

♡♥♡♥♡♥♡

Been A While

Hello Blog Land.

It's been a while.

Sorry for my absence.

~~~

Have you ever experienced something in life that turned your world upside down?

Have you ever had a time where you felt as if you were drowning?

No matter how hard you fought to reach the surface, you just couldn't catch your breath?

That's how it's been for me lately.

It's been hard.

~~~

I've been trying to learn from this experience.

I have been trying to remember to breathe.

Mostly, I have been soul searching through tears.

~~~

I am in the process of healing my heart,

cleansing my soul and clearing my mind.

I have had trouble visiting this page.

What do I write?

I don't have sunshine and happiness to share.

I don't have wise words and silly stories.

I'm feeling much better and starting to smile again.

Still, how do I transition back to the page?

The words have been fighting me.

~~~

I have come to this space time and time again looking at the blank page.

The blank page just stares back at me.

Today I offer up this honest bit for what it's worth.

Not much to say.

No sense to make.

Just me, trying to find the words once again.

~~~

Step One.

Post something.

Anything.

The following are photos of a wind chime I made recently. A little art therapy.

Every centimeter of this wind chime has personal meaning.

When the wind comes along, it plays a healing reminder.

If you're here in this space, blessings to you for hanging in there with me.

If you're experiencing your own personal pain, prayers of healing to you.

Play Day

A magical play day.

Visions of dreams.

Good eats, loads of laughs, art abound, all around.

hey

play

day

Imagination awakened.

Heart light.

Happiness flitting about like leaves in the wind.

hey

play

day

Weekend gone.

Play day done.

Back to the daily grind.

hey

play

day

Look back now

on shadow self

wondering where she went.

hey

play

day

Life lacks lustor

during everyday tasks.

Back to the daily grind.

hey

play

day

Make new mission.

New life position.

Make every day a play day.

hey

play

day

play day with a friend

Sometimes You Just Have To Play

Some people have studios.

I have a dungeon.

I've been playing in my dungeon!

note to self: dungeons are not the best place for photo shots 

Something has shifted in me this year.

Perhaps it's my word for 2012.

Faith.

It has allowed me more freedom to be.

Faith. Play.
Two words highly recommended by yours truly.