the work of life

'i will not let anyone walk through my mind with dirty feet.'
- gandhi

'no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.'

- eleanor roosevelt

like meditation and yoga, self-healing is a practice... it is daily work... i have certain mantras that i use in different situations, while striving to do and not just to try... being immersed in my creative space can even temporarily free me from negative feelings or environmental conditions and guide me toward those more uplifting...

'at times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.'
- albert schweitzer

i know i have used those words before, but they have a more universal application this time... that thanks go to family, friends, new acquaintances and members of this community... a reminder for me that those who extend compassion and/or empathy have their own lives as well... and it is critical not to drain their spirit... while never done selfishly, it is careless and unmindful... an extra amount of attentiveness to this is added to my list... for i definitely try to live by the 'first do no harm' principle & to be supportive of others... it is my sole responsibility to not let the tinders go out...

i know i am a bit of a quote hound, but i am inspired by the wisdom of those who have lived and lived well... so at the age of 43, here's a goal -

'i am not afraid of storms, for i am learning how to sail my own ship.'
- louisa may alcott

copying?

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
- oscar wilde

beth at hint brought up the topic of copying/copyrighting/originality last wednesday and will continue to delve into it over the next couple of wednesdays... it's fascinating and has been on my mind since her first blog about it... she is approaching it more from the spiritual & emotional aspect, not the legal...
the comments that have come in are mesmerizing and thought provoking... i have grown because of this discussion and appreciate that so much...
i know that throughout my life i have absorbed oodles of images and experiences... as an art history major at college & a child fortunate enough to have had aunts who lived in manhattan, i saw significant and beautiful things in person.... i walked around gazing up at the architectural sculpture... i was also the child who could sit watching an ant hill, or looking for four leaf clover, or finding shapes in the clouds for hours... nature and art are key to my being... i have always been more of a visual learner... and i can still slow my family down when something catches my eye - like a preying mantis...
i have been designing jewelry for 10 years now... my style has been evolving & i hope that will never end... i entered the world of etsy a few months ago and, quite honestly, it was daunting... while i have made personal discoveries of artists who work in metal, glass, ceramic that have freed me, i have seen designers that have made me worry... why?
i don't want anyone to think i have copied them... i have even contacted people that i have 'run into' on blogs or flickr to let them know i am not... i just made the aquaintance of a really awesome designer - lorelei1141... and i panicked! she had just made some pieces using components that i had just picked up at a bead shop the week before - 'oh no' my head screamed, 'she won't like me, she'll think i'm a bad person, she'll think i'm ... copying.' and i felt compelled to let her know... she was patient with my fears and pointed out correctly that while we are inspired by similar things, our work is different... i knew this, and never in a million years would think it of another person, but i didn't want it thought of me...
i really value the people i have been fortunate enough to come into contact with in this community and don't want to jeopardize any of the relationships... i guess i would hope to be thought of as on an equal (or close to equal) footing with those i admire...
i know that when i work with components i have purchased, i feel a responsibility to those who made the original creation - those things that allow me to express myself in my designs... i am grateful for the talent and artistry that pushes me to dig deeper...

when i first purchased raku beads from makustudio, i had only seen her beads - and i loved them... because they seemed so special and unique i was determined to teach myself wire wrapping... so i picked up a book, etc... then i went onto her full shop and saw that she had done that herself! 'oh no! i'll be copying even though i didn't know it.'... so i came up with something else i hadn't done before... and that was ok - because i really love what came of it... and what it started for me...
for many of us, 'copying' means 'you are bad' ... like when you were in school and it was a rule or in terms of copyright infringement... of course, it just feels wrong and if you are in touch with your feelings at all you don't go there, but you can see the finger pointing at you... i even got nervous at the thought of someone thinking i might be when i wasn't...
in a different place and time, as julie from the hint blog pointed out, aspiring painters, sculptors, architects learned by copying from the hand of a master... it was respectable and practical... why wouldn't you learn from someone who excelled at what they did? and then you grow... your style evolves based upon any number of influences... if you are creative, it happens naturally...
when i am creating, i can feel almost as if i am outside of myself... i kid when i say the beads whisper to me, but it can feel as if i am guided (which is where the stories of the muses come from i am sure) - i guess it's really just a deep connectedness which transcends the beads into yourself and further...
i think for me it has to do with sincerity... and sincerity cannot exist without a pure heart... if you are pulling from yourself, even if you have absorbed images and influences from other places, it will be yours...
while i don't know that what i make will ever be completely original, i know where it comes from... and if i can come up with a personal type of signature, i am ok with that...
for me it becomes interesting when i am able to go past where i was - then i wonder if i can do it again... a bead i got from mika at pinocean did that, as did an acorn charm i got from beth... and so we grow... pleasantly surprising ourselves at times...
and which naturally, as another commentor pointed out, separates us from the copiers...

tread lightly

ocean mist no. 5 by mika at pinocean

porcelain sand dollar by erin at EveryHeartCrafts

living by the beach in new jersey, the summer officially begins with memorial day... and things will now change dramatically until labor day... personally i love the beach off season, but i understand why summer draws crowds...

as kids, we were familiar with the summer saying 'benny go home' ... benny being an acronym for the stops on the bay head to new york train - bayonne, elizabeth, newark, new york... it was nothing personal, we were just local kids who noticed the influx of people each year... it had to do with being upset with the irreverent treatment of the beach by some visitors (and locals who are just as guilty and should know better)... vacationers are crucial to our local economy - the beach towns have always counted upon summer business for their survival...

here is the issue i have - and i know that i am not alone in this - please just tread lightly... do not treat our beaches as if they were disposable, as if they don't exist when you aren't here... as if the sea birds and ocean life are not affected by your litter... this applies to our whole planet naturally, but i feel a bit protective of the places nearest to me...

call me a scrooge, but my skin crawls when i hear the small boats & jet skis flying through our bay... i know people love these, and i am sure that they are fun... but we have a bird sanctuary here - egrets, osprey, swans, herons, all kinds of ducks and even eagles who also have their little ones about ... the noise and intrusion scare them... we even have an area where horseshoe crabs - dating back to the prehistoric era - come to mate... where is the concern for these true residents of the bay?

'treat the earth well. we do not inherit it from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.' - part of a native american proverb...

so come, enjoy the beaches - there is nothing like the sound of the water pounding on the sand... learning about where to set up when you arrive in the morning if it is low tide- seems like a good idea to sit near the water, right? but then the tide comes in! watching people jump the waves, listening to the sound of laughter and sea gulls screaming... feeling the sun on your skin... finding out that when the water is still cold, there may be crabs in the shallower water... enjoying the wonders of the ecosystem... becoming mesmerized by tiny tide pools on the jetties... holding a sea star... using a seining net, placing your catch in a bucket of cold water & then releasing the life after you look at it... finding hermit crabs on the tide line at low tide... wonder after wonder after wonder...

and then as the sun goes down - walking the boardwalk, playing miniature golf, getting ice cream... & maybe going to the glass blowing studio...

erin's charm and mika's beads make me smile, they both draw inspiration from nature... the work shown reminds me of walking along the beach after a storm, searching for treasures of sea glass, sand dollars and drift wood... they have recreated these things so perfectly - and i thank them for it! mika is currently (and patiently) enduring my requests for custom orders... i already have my charm & when mika's beads arrive, i will anticipate the beads whispering to me...

i can't wait - for the anticipated final design or for the summer fun to begin!

birdsong

'a bird doesn't sing because it has an answer,
it sings because it has a song.'
- maya angelou

it's 5 am, or earlier, and the birds begin to sing... how do you feel?

as i have gotten older, i have learned to just lay there and listen - it makes me feel peaceful... no more groaning because it's earlier than my alarm clock is set for, i now count upon the song to wake me (that and the kitten licking my face because he's up too!)... and i know i am lucky - afterall, it could be car horns or sirens...

this charm by laura flavin at modernbird sums up the whole experience of nature in such a beautiful way... everything is what it is - and is true to its nature ... birds sing, flowers grow, rain falls, there is balance and harmony... this charm and the natural order yearn to keep things simple and beautiful... we are the ones who botch it up... i love the modern vision that laura brings to her pieces - her clean edge is both aesthetic and symbolic (at least it seems to me)... that is then combined with the diversity and beauty of her metalsmithing... i am truly in love with the textures she applies...

i know that soon the symphony will change and added to it will be the small but demanding chirps of hungry mouths... so when i hear the birds sing in the morning, i know that a whole world awaits, a world that doesn't need me... that no matter how my day goes, things will be what they will be, and i find that to be comforting... i'm ready for the day...

new day

'you must do the thing you think you cannot do.'
- eleanor roosevelt

so very aptly named by beth at hint, this scarab charm captures the essence of conquering the challenges within ourselves that we face daily - "wear a sacred beetle as a remembrance that you are slowly coming into being, creating something magnificent from seemingly nothing."

while tests come from the outside world in bucketfuls, some of the most deeply seated ones reside within us... we can be our harshest critics and our worst enemies... it is so freeing to take on something we are uncertain about or even fear ... and so gratifying to work it through...

we were in philly today at my youngest son's first tae kwon do tournament... he is a child who has been through a great deal due to his extreme prematurity... every accomplishment is a victory... this morning he sat huddled on the floor with tears pouring from his eyes... 'i can't do it,' he said... a new situation combined with a gym that was filled with people and the accompanying noise that comes with a crowd had brought him to a standstill... there are things he has to do medically that i cannot change or control... but this was an opportunity for him to appreciate his strengths... all i wanted to see him do was get on the mat, i didn't care if he froze and did nothing, just stepping out there would be more than he thought he could do... well, he did get out there, and later stated, 'i can't believe i was so upset about doing this.'

my 10-yr-old did something today that will change him forever - he grew... is he wiped and cranky right now? you bet - those really emotional pushes drain us... but they are so valuable... and i wept with happiness for him...

it took me months to finally put something onto etsy - i was so afraid that i had nothing to offer, that no one would like what i made, that i couldn't manage the photo editing... now i anticipate making something to list - i love the process... finding the beads, making the finished piece, then naming, photographing and writing about it... marketing is still a challenge, but i am working on it...

i have entered the worlds of blogging, flickr-ing and even listing on artfire... do blogs make my stomach churn? yes, indeed... but here's one more...

so what was i afraid of? and why do we hold ourselves back? whenever i am reluctant to do something i think of eleanor roosevelt, a woman who truly pushed herself to become everything that she could be... and who certainly excelled at it...

one step (and sometimes a leap) at a time we evolve...

what will you do today?

a real surprise from Art Bead Scene

i was very grateful to be chosen as designer of the week by art bead scene - thank you, heather!
and thanks to donna at purplepozies for the beautiful glass beads that inspire me...

here's the link:

Art Bead Scene Blog: Featured Designer fo the Week - Maire Dodd

your day

'biology is the least of what makes someone a mother'

~ oprah winfrey

happy mother's day to those who unconditionally love and nurture

adrift

'not all those who wander are lost'
the fellowship of the ring
j.r.r. tolkien

we go walking in a park where a stream runs through... there is even a wooden bridge that crosses it which makes me think of the one that christopher robin and company stand on to play pooh-sticks... trees filled with their warm weather garb form a canopy... your view of the bright blue cloudless sky is filtered through the branches and the leaves... when you look into the water, you see that same view reflected back on the shimmering water...
and then a soft breeze blows, rustling the leaves... some of the small dead ones from the forest floor are swept up and drop into the water, and they are adrift... swirling along with the water as it moves around branches and rocks... gliding along with the stream's curving path...
'not all those who wander are lost'...
we all need time to wander, to free ourselves from the over scheduled, task-oriented lifestyle we often find ourselves caught up in... wandering can be physical - going to the beach, a park, or on a walk - and we find ourselves rejuvenated by nature... but really, more important than where you are is your mindset while you are there... did you free yourself? or did you think about how long you can stay so you can go on to your next task? you can be in the midst of your office or home and as long as you can shut off the head static and let your mind go, you are wandering... go for it...
the metallic blue lentil beads with raku finish from blue seraphim make me think of leaves floating on water... and only mak's raku beads could compliment them... thank you both... and to jenn at blue seraphim, you have my apologies for not mentioning you in my first blog... i'm a newbie but getting better!

endless possibility

Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
Listen to the DON'TS
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me -
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.
-shel silverstein

for all of those people in the world who support, encourage & nurture... whether they be female or male... whether they have children of the human persuasion or care for the young of other species... in whatever capacity you have helped someone else to become more or pushed yourself to grow... however you have helped the earth to survive the onslaught it endures daily or the animals that share this planet to live another day...
you are appreciated and necessary... you make a difference... and we are better off because of you...

thank you for believing that 'anything can be'!

gratitude

'at times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.'
- albert schweitzer

no doubt, the appropriate way to begin this blog is to say 'thank you' - to family and friends who love and encourage and to the amazing artists i have met through etsy who have helped me to grow and create in ways that i didn't know i could...

since joining etsy and discovering the artists that dwell there, i have been more inspired than ever and pushed myself harder... and i am so happy for that... maybe it's because i feel like i know the people behind the art, so i feel more responsible to do their work justice with my work... there is a connection that exists when you purchase directly - even though your new friends are in other parts of the country or even canada... they have all been patient and kind when i shoot out my ideas and ask for custom orders - i thank you all for that...

i would like to mention in particular (but in no particular order!)

mak at MAKUstudio for her beautiful raku beads
beth at hintjewelry for her inspiring and eloquently created charms
cathy at cathydailey for her unique sterling components created in the art of lost wax casting
nicole at NValentineStudio for her incredible glass work - especially the goddesses!
rocki at RockisSupplies for her metal work providing ear wires and clasps that i choose not to work without
donna at purplepozies for her beautiful glass beads that i count on
maryann at LindenAvenueDesigns for glass offerings that support my eclectic nature
marie at BleuVerre for inspiration and unique glass beads that i count on for my funky days

so thank you one and all for helping me to do what i love ~ creating with pieces i love to touch and work with, pieces i can feel the hands and imagination of the artist in... i have a connection to the final designs when they are done for when i look at them, i think of each of you and how you helped to make it happen...