day of the moon

full moon mama - MOONbowARTworks

'someone's having a case of the mondays.' -
peter gibbons, office space

don't do that! monday is kind of a cool day - named after the moon in many countries, around 1000 AD the name originated in old english... mandag in norwegian (the only reason i am not giving it in other languages is because i don't know how to get the alphabets that have the proper accents, etc)... monday gets such a bad rap - beginning of the work and school week... i understand it, but it's kind of unfortunate...

so here comes the stream of consciousness thinking that makes my kids laugh... monday, moon day, moon... women are connected to the moon by its cyclical nature... luna is the greek & roman goddess of the moon... moonstone is considered to be a wonderful stone for women... and for men wanting to get in touch with their creative and emotional sides...

'i like to think that the moon is there even if i am not looking at it.'
- albert einstein

while it is so easy to take nature's incredible cycles for granted, try to be mindful... i read about an african tradition of giving thanks on the full moon and making wishes on the new moon... i try really hard to integrate that into our family's rituals... the full moon is also a good time for purging ceremonies as it sheds light on the things that are blocking us spiritually...

'three things cannot be long hidden:
the sun, the moon and the truth.'
- the buddha

so here's your chance to start a new ritual, a way to express your gratitude in an intimate and beautiful way... there's something special about the brightness of the full moon... and then you feel really proud when you remember the new moon - because it isn't something you can see... its mystery lies in its absence and potential to begin anew... (like monday - see, it's not so bad!)

july's full moon is called the full buck moon or the thunder moon ...
full moon occurs at 5:22am 7 july
new moon occurs at 10:35pm 21 july

enjoy!

you are the key

there is in every true woman's heart, a spark of heavenly fire,
which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity,
but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.'
- washington irving

search the phrase 'the key to...' on google and you will find an almost infinite number of results... the key to happiness, love, success, freedom, etc... everyone has something to say on the matter... but truly, it all comes down to you, that beautiful woman who is one of a kind, has so much to offer the world & who often doubts herself... everyone's situation is different, adversities vary, but we all face challenges and our own personal demons... having love and support is critical, but we need to realize that even if it comes in baby steps, we can find our way...

'continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key
to unlocking our potential.'
- winston churchill

this double vintaj bracelet is adorned with reminders of your inner power... i found a gorgeous pewter green girl studios naked lady bead at beadlady and fell in love with her... she holds herself gently, looking out into the world... the vintaj key is for obvious reasons! ... glass beads by pinocean in earthy colors of sky blue, green & brown & in different shapes and sizes - like our obstacles... when faced with something unexpected, i try to bring myself up quickly with the assessment - inconvenience or problem? a vintaj 'inspire' tag keeps you aware of the fact that your tenacity, your loving attitude and gentle spirit may be inspiring others... a single lapis lazuli bead (given to me by a treasured friend) encourages taking charge of life & self-awareness... it is also a protective stone...

'no man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience.'
- john locke

so when your world feels like it is crumbling or when you feel unfathomable joy, know that you can now push forward further than you could have before... wear this bracelet to keep you conscious of all that is great within you...

what i made of my gift

'life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity and responsibility
to give something back by becoming more.'
- anthony robbins

mellisa at chinook designs asked for some help naming this glaze color in her blog... she liked my suggestion which was blue spruce and gave me this beautiful pendant! it was a gift - but i felt like a kid who had won a prize! this gift has given me the privilege, opportunity and responsibility to give back by helping it to become more!

i love the deep texture, line and natural motif that it possesses... i did not want to overwhelm the pendant but to enhance it... thinking about blue spruce, took me to large shade tree, took me to sanctuary... thinking of a summer breeze moving the large branches, butterflies fluttering & dragonflies buzzing brought me to movement... and so i dangled a single bead from pinocean off of its own chain behind the pendant... other than that, i chose only 3 more components... a perfectly colored blue/green spacer bead from linden avenue designs (that i had just received - perfect timing), a green porcelain bead and a vintaj filigree drop that reminded me of a pinecone... sounds so simple saying it, but it took a long time to figure it all out... i kept leaving the room and coming back just to look at it through the different stages...

'he who leaves the pine-tree, leaves his friend,
unnerves his strength, invites his end.'
- ralph waldo emerson

thanks mellisa for the opportunity to work with this piece! it was an honor...

when i first exhaled

lillia frantin - mid to late 1980s

'don't forget to love yourself.'
- soren kierkegaard

while i was walking, my mind wandered to people who had helped me to grow & to words spoken that had caused me to see life differently and redirect my path... i am a libra... but thru my early college years, in an attempt to validate myself to myself, i became a borderline type A personality... i was very detail - oriented... for example, as a kid i would build houses from shoeboxes - but with smaller rooms, levels, furniture, phones, etc... but often missed the bigger picture... in high school i couldn't figure out what to do as i did well in all subjects - i didn't consider how i liked them, just how i performed in them... so i went off to college to prove myself... first engineering, then economics, doing well, but not happy... i had a surgery that required me to come home and be home for a year... so i attended my community college...

i signed up for an art history class because i just felt like i wanted to take something i might enjoy... sit down in the auditorium, very earthy woman walks in with silver earrings dangling and she begins to talk... she makes note of a new development that was going up and the irony of how they usually choose names for the communities that reflect what was torn down - like green meadow, etc... and then came the art... it was a lightbulb moment's worth of excitement combined with the release of an exhale held for 20 years... i was done, it was over... this is a major? something i love can be something i can do for my life's work?... i was floored... lillia frantin freed me... i took money i had saved and money i made at work and bought an oil painting of hers at a gallery... i love the van gogh/matisse-like feel it has, the way line roams around the painting keeping the eye moving... and to my serious mind now beginning to relax, the color was exquisite...

when i returned to rutgers, it was to the art history department, where i absorbed every art history class i could... still there was that rigidly detail-oriented person who lingered... it was priscilla, the ph.d. student, who unlocked that door for me... she was explaining how to take the tests when slides are placed side by side for comparison... my way was usually to be very specific... and then she said, "what is the point of the comparison?" ... it sounds so simple now, but hearing someone say "what is the point?" what is the big picture? i felt myself stepping back and seeing everything differently... it is a lesson i count as one of my greatest...

i then met matthew baigell, the american art professor who i did my year long honors thesis with... he was very interested in revised history... i studied the difference in how the westward movement was painted vs. how it was diaried by women who actually made the trip... i went to him one time and asked a question... he replied, "i don't know, but let me find out."... again, this was momentous... i had always felt like i had to know and here was this man i respected so much telling me he didn't know... i had put so much pressure on myself... and he blew the door off the hinges...

i wasn't hard on others, only on myself... holding myself to a near impossible standard that was pulling me apart... the world of art and academic art has been good to me, and i began to heal - but that is the process of a lifetime...

this blog was not meant to be purely self-indulgent, but rather to trigger the memories of lessons learned that free us... sometimes we get so busy we forget them, and need only to be reminded...

lillia's painting is one of my treasures, for it represents a key shift in who i became...

don't forget to love yourself...

hint of sound

namaste

'when you are describing A shape, a sound, or tint; Don't state the matter plainly. But put it in a hint; And learn to look at all things With a sort of mental squint''

-lewis carroll

a comment in one of my blog posts got me to thinking... mellisa from chinook jewelry designs mentioned about my 'who will you find in the sea' bracelet that 'it looks like it might make a subtle little jingle when worn'... and she was right... i am a very visual person... in fact, if you asked me to name my favorite sounds they would be wind, rain, wind chimes, birdsong and waves... i think i tune out a lot(a skill i refined because of all of the background noise that comes along with kids)... but that comment set me to wondering - i try to be a mindful person, but i was missing things... i love when a suggestion can make you more contemplative, taking you deeper into awareness... a friend once told me that i jingle, and i had forgotten that...

so i am enjoying making non-traditional type charm bracelets... finding ways to try to keep it simple while integrating more... keeping to a feeling or idea... like a collage of beads, unified... and speaking of collages, there is a website to help you create word collages... beth at hint, my daughter has created a number of word clouds on wordle.net and is hooked! it is now making the rounds of familiy and friends... thanks for sharing that creative link!

this bracelet is a harmonious combination of a number of ideas, colors, and symbols... it takes the spiritual gesture of namaste - 'i honor the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells, i honor the place in you which is of Love, of Integrity, of Wisdom and of Peace. when you are in that place in you, and i am in that place in me, we are One.' - and attempts to make it a wearable representation...

symbols of the aum(or om), spiral, goddess, leaf & buddha are combined with colors representing the four elements... hung from an earthy vintaj brass double chain - 2 being the number of balance and harmony...

it will have just a hint of sound to keep you aware - better than snapping a rubber band on your wrist, yes?

rebirth

firebird by beth hemmila

on june 8th, cindy pack shared this quote...

'we are here, it seems, to be transformed, and transformed again, and again and again.'

-michael cunningham

for harry potter fans, fawkes the phoenix is a literal example of rebirth... he is dumbledore's loyal friend who also happens to help harry out of some very serious situations... the brilliant j.k.rowling looked back to greek mythology for this amazing creature... known to have scarlet and golden tailfeathers and able to live 500-1000 years... when it 'dies' it bursts into flames, only to be reborn into a young phoenix or an egg which arises from the ashes...

this is my interpretation of the phoenix... deep red and yellow vintage german glass is hung on antiqued hoops from rocki... the red & yellow beads are symbolic of both the phoenix's tailfeathers and the fire... the oxidized finish of the metal is like the deep grey of ash... a bali bead hangs from the center like a small egg... i love how deep, rich colors look against oxidized silver...

'it is our choices, harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.'

- albus dumbledore, cos p.333

we are faced with situations where choices must be made - either with care or quick thinking... but if we choose well, the ones that scare us or push us further than we thought we could go reward us the most...

and we are transformed...

discovery of bizarro

have you ever had conjoined banana twins in your kitchen?

was letting some bananas get ready for banana bread when i changed my mind and wanted one on my cereal this morning... and this is what i found the last two looked like - they were actually one! see how the top is connected (that is called a stem on a banana, right?)... when i opened it up, they were growing as individuals but were still slightly connected... wild! :0)
hey, maybe these little developing island/tropic dwellers liked bob marley's 'one love'!

"let's get together and feel all right"....

who will you find in the sea?

maggie and millie and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles, and

millie befriended a stranded star
who's rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles; and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

for whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea.

- e.e. cummings

this is the creation that came from the beads by mika and the sand dollar charm by erin... i know my usual is chunky & the original plan was to have a lot of shiny silver... however, after finding out that mika hand sands each bead, i felt that it was a disservice to hide all of that surface area... and the flat sides of the discs are more like the sea glass that one finds anyway... erin's charm is so highly detailed that the same applied... keep it simple, natural, random...

so i began to think of the tide line left on the beach when the water retreats after a storm... piles of broken reeds, sea weed, skate pods, sand dollars, sea stars, all sorts of shells &, if you are lucky, sea glass... sea glass in varying shapes and sizes but having a certain color range - brown, blue, green, and clear... in thinking about it today, i realized that sea glass is the result of pollution - i guess it's the only kind i am ok with then (& i didn't think i was ok with any of it)... as you inspect the ocean's offering, you enter a kind of trance... searching for the perfect ____ (you fill in the blank)... and when you do, you treasure it - for you have found a gift that means more to you than anything material... and isn't it interesting how you are satisfied with just one (whatever you found)? in a world where people collect and look for more, you unconsciously stop and feel complete...

science tells us that we feel relaxed and happy at the beach because of the negative ions that are released by the crashing water... that may be true, but i think there is something to just connecting with nature... it takes us to a simpler place... a place where we can just be... a place where we can believe that everything will be okay, that our goals can be achieved and our challenges overcome...

simple pleasures

'i have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. these three are your greatest treasures.' - lao tzu

i love when bloggers share how their purchases/treasures come to them wrapped in their finest... to me, it demonstrates how artists live artistically... how beauty permeates so much that they do... so i wanted to share one with you as well... when you purchase from mika at pinocean, you get simplicity - just look at that stamp! when asked where it came from, she stated - 'i made it from a jenga block.' how? i wondered... 'with a very sharp knife.' and she uses red shu-niku (ink in japanese)...

and then you open the box and find her beads set against a beautiful green card... these beads happened to be a custom order... it is so hard to open everything slowly when you have been waiting for the mail anxiously... i have many times been seen opening my etsy packages while standing on the lawn! maybe that's why i am a jewelry designer and not bead maker - i get temporary presents all of the time from talented people that i marvel at and which bring me joy even when they leave my hands!

helping hands?

there is no 'now you see them,' it's just 'now you don't'... & it isn't the work of magic, but rather the work of ...

paws! the kitten is really the perpetrator, the others are just guilty by association - or so it seems...

the lighting this morning is perfect! it is overcast, my favorite time to shoot pics of my pieces... but (dun dun dun duuuuuuun) it did not coincide with nap time... & you know they are going to end up sleeping all day - it's raining!

what takes the most time for you when you shoot? lighting? a camera that just won't get in close enough? figuring out a good backdrop? editing?

mine is keeping the pieces on the paper or stool or whatever...

it must have taken 20 minutes to get a few shots of a pair of earrings... why do i bother? because i have to help out with a baby shower for the teacher at school today (hopefully showering before it!) , then drop the kids off at the movies, go to tae kwon do, etc, etc...

i think lorelei may have it right - shots on the body at least keep the jewelry where it should be!