Monday, March 29, 2010

First Anniversary

This blog is a year old! My how time flies. I like to tell stories with a lot of pictures and few words but today I feel the need for going on a bit.

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I started out on this journey by signing up for an Etsy shop – my crafting needs to be more self-supporting though I still haven’t opened. Some said that a good way to promote the shop was to blog. Blog? You mean put yourself out on the web? Are you nuts? I imagined blogs as the territory of self absorbed, love-lorn teenagers swooning over Robert Pattinson or literary blogs with solitary writers reaching out for peer review and grammatically correct companionship from fellow wordsmiths, but I’d never heard of crafting blogs.  And then I spotted this -

 

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I was perusing the magazines at Barnes & Noble when the colours on the cover of this issue of “Artful Blogging” caught my eye, I opened it and was blown away – so much colour, so much creativity, so much positive attitude; I started visiting the blogs in the magazine, much too timid to venture a comment. I noticed a recurring observation – many bloggers would say how blogging had helped to grow artistically, how the photography was improving. This is exactly what I needed – the motivation to improve – so I jumped in. I had (and often still have) no idea what I’m doing or where I’m headed but I’m in this for the journey. And because there’s bound to be a lot of wandering here and there and an eclectic mix of stuff I though I should travel as a gypsy – much of my life has been an un-rooted wandering, always eager to see what was over the next hill. I’ve discovered there are a lot of gypsies in Blogland!

 

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I also like the circus, with its mystery, colour, fantastic costumes and general creepiness. So this gypsy dabbles in magic – of the entertaining kind. I’ve also discovered something deeper, the community: when one person makes a positive comment on a blog I’m reading, even though I don’t know these women (mostly women) and the comment wasn’t directed to me, I feel uplifted by it. The goodness spreads like the rings in a pond after a pebble is tossed in and it influences so many.

 

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There is a Buddhist prayer:

“I go for refuge to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha until the attainment of the enlightenment. From the virtuous merit that I collect by practicing giving and other perfections, may I attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.”

The Buddha is the teacher, the Dharma is the law and the Sangha is the community of believers. In blogging I have been able to take refuge in this very generous community of believers so I would like to thank you: for creating your beauty and sharing, for uplifting and positive actions, for your companionship.

And to celebrate this blog’s birthday in true Hobbit style I would like to give you something – if you like vintage images please feel free to snag a few, below are some old postcards from my collection.

 

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Happy Easter!

 

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Because we all need love!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Inspiration

My studio looks likes this - 

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It’ll be nice when it’s done but that will be a while, life has a way of rearranging my plans. Since I can’t actually work on projects I can think about all the things to do when the decorating is finished. This led me to wonder about the things that spark creativity, here are a few things I find inspiring.

 

The Red Book

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I collect pictures from magazines and put them in sheet protectors in binders – this isn’t the original red binder, that fell apart years ago, but some of the items in this book are almost thirty years old. This beautiful picture of cherries inspired:

 

“Cherries” beaded medicine bag

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A picture of a magician’s assistant costume from the 1920’s

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with scarabs in gold and black inspired:

 

“Magic” beaded medicine bag

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Black cats and gold scarabs on the strap, a flap of gold and black and lots of fringe!

 

This beautiful book on a favorite subject -

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is filled with pictures of fantastic costumes

 

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like this, which inspired:

 

“Bee Happy” beaded medicine bag

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A close up shows the texture of the cylinder beads used in this project – the bead weaving feels like the skin of a glass lizard.

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What inspires you? Pictures filled with colour? The beauty of a sunset? Music? Interesting old junque? There’s so much inspiration and beauty all around and it’s such a joy to take it in!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Spring!

The apricot trees are blooming…

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Spring must be here in western Washington, er, Arizona! It’s been raining every weekend for over a month ( it seems) and it’s my fault. I used to live in Washington so the webs are growing between my toes and slug-a-palooza is happening under the porch. And yes, it’s my fault; I decided to paint my studio, I only need three week-end days without rain; all the stuff is in boxes and it can sit outside while I redecorate – but not when outside is so soggy!

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Painting can wait – I’ll squish around the yard and enjoy the beautiful flowers and clean, fresh air. Happy spring!