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Monday, December 31, 2012

SOMETHING WONDERFUL THIS WAY COMES...

 "We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."

 ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce~
(Images from Karen's Whimsy)

 There is something so anticipatory about being on the cusp of a new year with all those neat blank squares on the calender pages waiting to be filled with living.  I feel ready to rise up to the challenges the new year might present and excited over the opportunities that might come my way.  Mostly I am grateful to have made it through this past year.  This will not be a time where I will want to reflect back overmuch choosing instead to set my sights forward.

I have spent months in personal preparation for the new years arrival knowing changes would be on the horizon.  Now that is is finally here I feel a tad bit at loose ends as to how to begin at a brand new beginning.  This is the year that I need to start to earn a viable, rather than the current sporadic, income from playing with words, paper, or fibers or else I will need to enter the workforce.  I can only imagine who would hire me when my resume reads something like this:  Skills:  Plays with paper, paint, scissors, and glue, often with wire, beads, and fibers too. 
Everything is in readiness.  My home has been prepared by a thorough culling and cleaning to help with easier maintenance.  The studio stands open awaiting the creative process to begin.  The writing cottage has been turned inside out and is ready for the sounds of tapping or scribbling out of words.  I have untangled myself from any unnecessary commitments and really taken stock of what is needful at this juncture in life.  After careful consideration a 10 week course is about to embarked upon to help me get going in the right direction.  A new schedule has been drawn up with actual built in work days and times.  The hardest part will be consistency on my part and enforcing boundaries for those who have grown use to my flexible availability.

I am feeling anxious, excited, and open to change.  I anticipate that something wonderful this way comes whether it is through a chosen path or an unexpected avenue.  My plan is simple, I will journey along at a steady pace stepping toward one realistic goal at a time.  This year I make no bold statements or resolutions, I choose no word to manifest itself from time to time in the coming year, I make no promises for paths to follow, my only aim to remain faithful to the one thing that is most needful at any given moment and live the new year one moment, one circumstance, one breath at a time, no running ahead, no falling back, just being present in the present.
 "Here's to the bright New Year
And a fond farewell to the old;
Here's to the things that are yet to come
And to the memories that we hold."

~Irish Blessing~

May a blessed and Happy New Year be yours!

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

MERRY CHRISTMAS...

 An amazing Christmas gift arrived in the form of a Cindy Loo Who slip of girl who came to stand beside me mimicking my stance.  Her tiny little hand patted my leg to get my attention.  I smiled down at her as she tipped her dimple cheeked face to mine.  "Hannah?"  "Yes?"  She laid her cheek against my leg, "I love you very, very, very, very much."  I scooped her up hugging her tight and whispered how much I loved her in return.  The gift of love was given and received...priceless.

A look of awe covered a little boys face as he held a box before him in disbelief.  Time froze, his eyes a big as saucers and his mouth a prefect "O".  He fumbled opening the box, still not sure its contents matched the image on the outside.  He whirled the room until our eyes met, "Hannah!  This the best gift I ever imagined!"  All evening long Grandpa and I were showered with hugs and love, with "thank you's" and exclamations of this being the best Christmas ever.  The gift of joy was given and received...priceless.

A family gathered around a table groaning with the bounty of a Christmas feast.  Topics were tossed about amid exclamations of appreciation for this or that dish complimenting the cook.  The air buzzed with voices and laughter to the accompaniment of Christmas carols in the background.  I paused to take it all in...tiny tots at the children's table giggling over the antics of chocolate sucker elves who were holding an animated conversation...young adults talking over technology, latest movies, and oddly enough, pickles...older folks reminisced over Christmas' long long ago...as I sat happily sandwiched in between all ages and stages of life.  The gift of family, as fractured as it can be at times...priceless.
 
I sit here this Christmas morning swaddled in a luxurious blanket with a fur baby cuddled in my lap quietly tapping out memories of our annual family Christmas Eve gathering, savoring all my favorite moments.  I think of you, my extended cyber family, and I wish you a priceless Christmas too, one filled with happy memories in the making, the notice of the little things that make the season bright, one gilded with love and graced with joy.  May this be your very merriest Christmas ever!

 

Sunday, December 23, 2012

FEATURED AT: THE ALTERED PAGE...

 Today a morsel of my artwork is being featured as a side dish to some amazing main course meals in mixed media at The Altered Page, 5x5: Chapter 8, the online version of Seth's "The Pulse of Mixed Media".  I had the honor and privilege of being a part of Seth Apter's 5x5 Project where an open call was held for mixed media artwork that was 5 in. x 5in. in scale.  Seth has curated an online gallery of posts being featured each Sunday for the months of November and December 2012 with photos, quotes, and links to each featured artist.  
(ELEMENTS OF NATURE, mixed media book)

I have truly enjoyed the weekly posts, meeting different artist through their artwork, being inspired by the diversity of the mediums and amazing talents that Seth has shared through this project, along with the added bonus of connecting with a like-minded community.  I hope you too will enjoy a Sunday afternoon stroll through Seth's virtual gallery.
(ELEMENTS OF NATURE, book text)

Heartfelt thanks goes out to Seth for being a champion of the art community and for the opportunity to be a small part of this project.

Monday, December 3, 2012

RESILIENCE...

While many of you have decking your halls and shopping at malls I have been pondering the thought of resilience.  I sit here beside a half decorated tree in a house adorned with a bit of outdoor garland and somehow this year it seems enough. Due to circumstances beyond my control I have been pushed beyond my physical and emotional limits in recent weeks.  I am awed by the design of the human mind, body, emotions, and spirit and its resilience. 

The fact that after deformation that any of these can return to their original shape after being pushed to or beyond their limit amazes me.   I found myself bone tired and weary at each days end last week and yet during the night my body regenerated itself and the next day I was able to carry on with resilience, buoyant from the act of sleep.

Heart wrenching circumstances sent me into a flurry of worry that churned up my thoughts and emotions and yet after a time of meditation and prayer a quiet calm reigned over both, resilience, buoyant from the act of acceptance and surrender, peace and calm restored.

My flagging spirit felt crushed under the weight of the responsibility that was thrust upon me so suddenly making this the most challenging holiday season I have ever known and strange as it seems it might be the best one I might ever remember in years to come, resilience, buoyant from the act of rising to meet an unexpected challenge.

Tears, fears, laughter, and thanks have filled my heart and head this holiday season, tacked on is a silent prayer of gratitude.  In the kitchen a candle burns and a kettle simmers.  Sweet spice scents of cinnamon and cloves linger in the air along with the rich aroma of resilience.  I dart a glance around at my minimalist Christmas decor and think of everyone so wrapped up in the holiday hubbub, stretching themselves and their purse strings to the limit and beyond, and whisper another kind of prayer of resilience for them...one where joys fills hearts, happiness reigns in emotion, peace fills the mind, and uplift is the posture of the spirit.  May this be the most memorable, blessed holiday season for you all!


P.S.  Due to unforeseen circumstances I will be on an extended blog break until after the first of the year.  May your Christmas be filled with all that is merry and bright and your New Year be filled with delight! 
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