Repetition & Reminders

You know I am a neophyte to the world of blogging (and it has been around for years) so (I hope) you will forgive me for being excited that I added a subscription function to this blog. This means you can be informed via email (and other ways I believe) of when I post and also the content of the latest posts. I am not sure if anyone will subscribe, but I use that option when available on blogs I enjoy reading so that I am reminded of them (I do tend to have odd memory problems).

It seems I have a lot more to learn about blogging, but I am going slowly. This is all an experiment for me (much like life): to discover if I have anything to say; to work on my communication skills; to see patterns in all things; to express myself; to play around with ideas and concepts; to connect with others; to find value in the mundane; to keep up with something; to learn; to explore; to find focus and meaning....

I imagine I am reiterating a lot of what I have already written concerning my reason for this blog, but often we need repetition to create a rhythm of memory...a beat our minds can attune to in order to remember a thought or even a conglomeration of ideas creating an ideology. I wonder how much these things are fermented in our dreams? Perhaps images become bookmarks or placeholders.

With time, effort and patience I think I may just learn how to create a dynamic blog. I have found that it takes me a while to find my way, but once I do the possibilities are endless. I hope you remain around for the journey, dear reader. I know you will expand my horizons and maybe--just maybe--I may expand yours.

If you wish to have a reminder about this blog, please subscribe at left.

Celebrating Life

This Saturday I found myself at another baby shower--actually only my second (my first being this summer and held for the older sister of the woman for whom this particular baby shower was given. I even had a chance to make the acquaintance of the little man that was the reason for the first baby shower. He is unbelievably even tempered like his parents. I wonder what his little girl cousin will be like?). I have also only attended a handful of weddings in my life too. What can I say, either I don't know many people or circumstances mean I can't attend (lived too far away) or didn't know a friend when they married or had babies.

The two baby showers I attended were truly joyous and fun events because of the hostesses, guests of honor and guests. These are generous, warm, happy and creative souls. I have met all of the ladies through a local stamping & paper arts store. This means that there are a slew of handmade cards and gifts, which are passed around for all to see and enthuse about. This particular baby shower was held at the home of a friend who is an extremely gifted multi-media artist with this incredibly colorful, whimsical house that you could spend your life in and still find something new and wondrous to explore. Everything about her house has her mark on it. The colors on the walls are bold with colors like marigold, terra cotta and cobalt blue. There are pillows sewn and created by her on her emerald green couch, art (hers and others) everywhere. Her studio made us all envious: it is large, well organized and brimming with fascinating objects, books, tools and projects. Her front yard and backyard also show her artistry including mosaic pots and garden steps she has made (and fountains made of found objects). Many of us wondered if we could just hang out in her studio, peruse the books and watch her work.

I think one thing we all came away from the baby shower with is that we thoroughly enjoy each other's company and we need to get together more often. In that vein, we are going to have one dinner this month and perhaps more in the future. One of the reasons for the addition was to have plenty of room to entertain friends and family. So far we have only had a couple of dinner parties and two holiday dinners. We try to go all out for the dinner parties, spending hours culling through our vast collection of magazines, cookbooks, newspaper clippings, downloaded recipes and the like. I love the planning process of putting together a menu from different sources designed specifically with the specific guests in mind that makes them coo with delight and feel special for all the care and attention we give to them. We don't play it safe either. We try a set of new recipes that allow us to experiment and try new techniques, flavors and ingredients.

For October's Halloween inspired party we are going to do heavy appetizers rather than a more formal dinner party and also in the works for later this autumn or winter is a party with appetizers, three soups (I adore soup), homemade breads (I adore bread) and cookies & bars (you guessed it, I adore cookies & bars) for dessert. I also want to try a supper club, but that is another things entirely....

I do know one other thing: having these ceremonies bring vitality, brightness, humor, warmth and a sense of the extraordinary to everyday life and makes me aware of what is most important and nurturing when the mundane and dreary tries to take hold.

Design Crush

I have been searching the web for seventies design, textiles and the like. I am firmly in the love with the graphic quality of seventies prints. I have always admired the bohemian meets psychedelic meets Victorian design found in England during the 1970's, but haven't had much appreciation for other aspects of the 1970's. How wrong I was! I have stumbled on numerous really cool blogs today and I have to share this blog: Cassapinka. She chronicles the making of a home including offbeat finds and what she does with them. I adore her style and I am enamored with the wallpaper she chose for her entryway. It a gorgeous black & white cherry blossom design from the 1970's (see right. Look at that woodwork too!).

Have I mentioned by penchant for black & white? I love how colors pop off black & white (like intense red, turquoise, lime green, pink & orange) Black & white is also unbelievably versatile, timeless, bold, fresh and elegant all at once.

Also look at her awesome finds like the Amy Leonard Sculptural Lamps (July 25, 2007 entry). How cool are they?!? I love the idea of using found objects to create a story under glass. Fantastic, in my opinion. I think her taste in art is grand.

Under the July 14, 2007 post is actually an x upholstered chair I have seen before and really liked...after scanning through her pictures I can't write down all the things I love although there is a picture of another blogger's bedroom and I want that black & white rug for my bedroom!

Yes, I realize I am gushing like a schoolgirl because simply put: I am giddy over this stuff!

Fumbling with Design

I have been contemplating design lately. The Holidays are drawing nearer and nearer and I still haven't a clue of what my card design (or designs) is going to be. Do I go elegant, fun, festive, funky or traditional? I really want to do special handmade cards this year...in fact I feel compelled to do them this year. I think a lot of my indecision stems from my being unsure of what my style is (something I have mentioned in an earlier post). I have noticed this frustrating inability to be cleanly and clearly me from my attempts at making artist trading cards (ATC). They aren't me. Rather the cards are a proximity of what I can do in a given amount of time with a certain theme. I ponder the themes for weeks and I am only compelled to do something by the deadline and often it is a compromise rather than any fulfillment of a "vision".

I think it may be time to exercise my creative muscles like I have with writing. For the past few weeks I have not only been writing on this blog, but more regularly writing in a personal journal. My journal has to be some of the most boring writing around, but I am learning to write consistently and not worrying about the quality nor the content as that is not the point. The personal journal is a means of chronicling my life and having an outlet rather than something to entertain others or even myself. I need to do a similar thing only visually to open up my artistic horizons and learn more about myself as a creator. I know what I am drawn to: art with a historic twist; incorporates a story as words and letters are important and beautiful to me; a touch of elegance and/or the ornate; a sense of chaotic movement; bold colors and ideas and an aspect of dark emotion (perhaps even morbid humor) and deep passions. How can I use these elements to create something that is me and that has the quality I desire? That is the question.

I have a circus themed ATC I am working on right now and I have decided to deal with elephants. For some reason I have this idea of an elephant feeling demeaned and angered by how it must pose, perform and is treated with little care for all her effort. I have named my fictional elephant Jade. I think for this theme I will also carve an elephant stamp--it is amazingly fun and gratifying to carve stamps. At right is a little of my preliminary planning for the circus ATC's (by the way the handwriting is the handwriting I have when it is for myself--it is a bit messier).

The other theme in October is orange. Now, I am a lover of orange, but I haven't a clue what my handle is on the color. I think it may be the 1970's...I keep thinking of the oranges found in the decor then (not to mention shag carpeting, macramé, owls, wooden beads, dark wood paneling, avocado green and harvest gold appliances and zigzags) and how many of my peers are now inspired by those same colors from their childhood and the reemergence of the popularity of orange in interior decorating.


In my search of Edward Gorey's illustrations (one of my favorites), I found Reusch Sketchbooks, a blog of an artist who posts images from his numerous sketchbooks. I haven't had a chance to at too many of his art, but what I have is intriguing to me. I especially like the first two sketches on the
Monday, March 5, 2007 entry on first glance.

See Spot Run

On the second hour of The Diane Rehm Show (yes, it is on NPR) the subject was the emotional life of dogs (the guest was Patricia B. McConnell author of For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend). I am slightly (okay, more than slightly) consumed with my dogs. I bore the hell out of people by talking about them, but since so much of my life is about dealing with them I don't know how I could not.... I do have other topics on my mind and I can converse about just about anything (notice I did not say intelligently as I am pretty unknowledgeable about an innumerable amount of things) as I am willing to learn about new things, yet I tend to come back to my dogs. You can imagine then how interested I was in a radio show devoted to what my dogs are feeling. It looks like I will be watching my dogs even more intently to discover signs of their emotions and also it would be helpful for me to watch human behavior.

I wish people were as easy as dogs to pin down and that they tolerated you to investigate them. Here is what I imagine such a conversation would go if I were to ask someone for permission: "Hey, Bob, would you mind if I followed you around and watched how you interact with others and in daily life so I can better understand you and human behavior, motivation, conversation, thoughts, emotions--basically the sum of life is all? Surely you would be fine with me taking notes and staring at your face for facial movement? And then asked you repeatedly what you are feeling in that moment? What your motivation is? You wouldn't mind the intrusion, right? That isn't really creepy, is it?" How could Bob not give me an enthusiastic yes? I have a feeling (oh, how intuitive am I?) Bob would more than likely run like the hounds of hell were after him. Still, if there were game Bobs or Jennies--their female counterparts--it would be so helpful. Yet, humans aren't like that. We aren't that open or easy to understand even to ourselves and it is certainly not simple to explain ourselves to someone else no matter how willing and nonjudgmental they are.

So much of life is hiding and masking our vulnerabilities, our idiosyncrasies, our flaws, our fears, our emotions and even our strengths that I wonder if we fully understand how we are also fundamentally alike and what makes each person an individual?

My last entry I mentioned how I often feel guilt...I am beginning to understand why I do. I try to place myself in other people's shoes and to ever remain cognizant that each person are dealing with their own set of conditions and that they are just as important in this world at large as I am. I want to abate hurt whenever possible and make people feel they are understood and to help them to either realize or reaffirm that they are valuable. I like to be a peacemaker. I strive to be a soothing influence and this is a colossal ideal--to be beneficial to everyone I encounter (of course the extent would vary greatly--for a stranger I might just be a girl who smiled at them or opened the door for them and for a close friend I ideally am someone who accepts them for who they are and they trust will value who they are). That is who I want to be. Yes, I desire to be liked by everyone because of the opportunities it affords me. I am welcome to ease troubles amongst groups or friends because I am on good terms with each party and I care about each of them. For me to not feel concerned about how another feels and how something I did or did not do impacted them would be analogous (in my little world) to me dismissing them. It would betray a sacred truth I rely on to define who I am.

Yes, there is a certain arrogance in my assumptions and the role I have cast myself into, but we must all aspire to something more to make a contribution.