taking stock of your spearheads

having a collection of used (and unused) spearheads doesn't mean you aren't a peaceful person...


we all have to take on fears, doubts and other things that lurk in the shadows


in defense of ourselves, our family, our friends.


i wish we could make all the spearheads visual, to see how far we've come,


and to know that whatever else comes our way - be it now, tomorrow or in ten years,


 we are equipped to manage it


if we only believe.

georgia

nov. 15 - the birthdate of georgia o'keeffe... 


honoring a woman who as a person and through her art has influenced me profoundly... 

'i've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life -

and i've never let it keep me from doing a single thing  i wanted to do.'

'to create one's own world in any of the arts takes courage.'

'whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing.

making your unknown known is the important thing.'

'the days you work are the best days.'

and here is my girl, 6 ft. above me - atop the suburban - capturing her world through a camera lens... may she always know that she is bigger than fear... 

authenticity pt. 2

authenticity is presenting to the world that who you are on the inside

openly

proudly

honestly

uncompromisingly... 

to get to that part of yourself, one must strip away habits, expectations, implementations of survival... 

'this above all: to thine own self be true.' ~ shakespeare, hamlet ... piece of text preserved in resin, aged around the edges... words as old as time to be worn as crown jewels... 

hematite is a grounding stone bestowing courage and and strength to the wearer... 

healing

'healing takes courage, and we all have courage,

 even if we have to dig a little to find it.'

~ tori amos

tears and water can wash away the rough edges of life... 

loosening thoughts and feelings long buried... 

indeed it does

thoughts and things born in solitude

'he who is brave is free.'

~ seneca

and borrowing from ruth rae i will share a desk view... why a striped tablecloth? because 4 years ago i started working on it and have never cleared it off to remove it... simple!

'there is something about the presence of a cat...

that seems to take the bite out of being alone.'

~ louis camuti

(even when they lay on the things that you are trying to get to)

synchronicity

near the end of class on sunday i started one last bezel for a cab of fossilized palm frond that i had to have when i darted into the vendor area... 

i used bronze sheet and stamped 'courage' into it... the cab had reminded me a bit of a spear head... and the bronze made me think of ancient times in history... 


but my chest started vibrating when i would touch it or start to work with it - it was feeling too masculine and intimidated me... so i left it alone... i happened to be 'talking' to a friend who mentioned that she had a landlady named elysium... which got me to thinking about the elysian fields in greek mythology (and for which the woman was named)... the fields are the final resting place for the souls of the heroic and the virtuous... 

And those that have three times kept to their oaths,

Keeping their souls clean and pure,

Never letting their hearts be defiled by the taint

Of evil and injustice,

And barbaric venality,

They are led by Zeus to the end:

To the palace of Kronos

courageous women, fighting often battles of the domestic sort, continuing to love & care for their children and friends and family under sometimes the most difficult of circumstances... i chose one paddle with 'fear' on it and one that was smaller and clear to represent tears... overcoming struggles, becoming a warrior in the spiritual way... the fibers are the colors of the sky, waters and things that grow... they are soft and beautiful... 


this talisman is attached to a copper bar with winding sterling wire which compositionally was necessary as a transition but symbolically represents growth... 


and i just don't know that i can part with it - 

fundametalist blog post #2

'i prefer to explore the most intimate moments,

the smaller, crystallized details we all

hinge our lives on.'

~rita dove

like those unsee-able moments when we venture forth, taking the steps from that which we solidly know, to that which is unsure... mica from fundametals has been cut to size, slightly larger than the metal sheet - stepping on to thin ice... with garnet for courage... you will be fine, just take a breath and believe... for you will undoubtedly grow... 

more fun with those washers that are carried on the site... this is a variation of the design i used in step by step wire... 

and resin - how i love ice resin... this medium constantly has me stepping out of my comfort zone... often to the point where i get frozen with doubt... and then that alter of mine issues the warning to get out of her way - and we begin...

july's abs entry wouldn't have been possible without it... 

'fear' revisited ~

by valentina

like 'not good enough', 'not talented enough', 'not smart enough', 'not (you fill in the blank) enough'?

while perusing the blogs tonight i came upon someone expressing her frustration at self-sabotage... and a commenter who admitted to doing the same... both of these people are super talented... and so i am sad... why do we do this?

i get it... i was afraid to submit to a publication because i was sure i wouldn't be accepted... i got accepted and became afraid that i can't write the article... i will write the article and then be afraid that i will appear so stupid that they will never want me back again... 

this is all so ridiculous!! we have to stop standing in our own way... even if things don't go the way you thought they would, at least you'll know you tried... and even then a door will open - just one you weren't looking for!

'what we seek we shall find;

what we flee from flees from us.'

~ralph waldo emerson

this is really ironic - i was just journaling about this today... my new philosophy for myself is that if i feel my chest tighten at something (dangerous things do not apply here) i have to do it... it takes practice, but i like it... and each time i do it, i gain confidence... this is surely going to take awhile, but the goal here is to gain momentum... keep moving forward... i don't expect  to overcome all fear, but i do expect to be able to take a breath and move through it... 

'heaDinG oUt' by tam

if fear kept a bird from doing what comes naturally, it would never fly... it's the same with you... ALLOW yourself to fly... please... 

how come we tell our kids that there is only one of them in the world, with their way of seeing things and doing things... that their unique-ness should be embraced... and then don't believe that as we get older? 

'the greatest barrier to success 

is the fear of failure.'

~ sven goran eriksson

look at the athletes participating in the olympics right now - i am sure they must be afraid of things, but it doesn't stop them... and how many people are sitting at home, wondering what would have happened if only they had taken a chance... 

'courage is not the absence of fear,

but rather the judgment that something else

is more important than fear.'

~ ambrose redmoon

pick one thing tomorrow that makes you pause and start to say 'i can't...' and do it... i will borrow from yoda here - 'there is no try, only do.'

have fun! tomorrow is a new day... and the only way to live it is to, well, live it!

be still

'courage doesn't always roar. 

sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end

of the day saying, 

'i will try again tomorrow.''

~ mary ann radmacher

it's there if you listen earrings... calming, empowering... wear your affirmation to grow quiet and listen to your inner voice...

'listen' is set in resin with a concave surface as one has to turn inside and dig deep at times... the paper was left unprotected and so is a bit darker - also reflecting quietude... 

'voice' has been preserved with some dried seeds... seeds to remind you of your potential for growth and of opportunity... use of faceted african opal (which is just so very beautiful), vintaj brass and bezels from objects and elements... 

this can be an overwhelming time of year... while joyous, it also places upon many extra demands created by heightened expectations... it can be hard to get through the day and when the day passes you merely feel like you have one less to accomplish your goals... take a moment, be still, breathe... enjoy what the holiday season really means to you & set aside all else for just a bit... 

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?