food for thought

as of late, my meandering time on blogger has been limited... but i was so happy to have come upon a post by nan of spirit rattles and nan emmett studio... her ceramic work is beautiful and i feel lucky that she is now sharing beads with us! and by the way, nan - you are killing me with those hands!

open hand talisman pendant

ok, back to topic - 

she shared a journal by david byrne - the talking heads - that i am so appreciative of... 

a teen when 'stop making sense' was released, i admired him... a modern day renaissance man, he explores the schism/chasm between art and craft... the ideology, the cultural influence... highly intelligent, incredibly well versed - he also discusses the education of those desiring to pursue their interest in the arts... there are questions that at times haunt me... 'what am i considered to be?'  'who decides?'  'does it matter?'  should a label matter? of course not... as an avid student of art history, i find the term 'artist' and even 'fine artist' to be defined by those items found in  museums... but is that accurate? all i can do is work from what i feel... anymore, anything else seems superficial to me... which can present its challenges under different circumstances... for to attempt to make some kind of living at this, one has to be able to produce things that will also sell and at different price ranges... it's like you have to separate yourself at times to achieve the two goals... or maybe realize that it is the two parts that make the whole... for to be a starving 'artist' as a mom of three seems rather unfair to the three who didn't choose that path... 

the libra in me is babbling - trying to find balance & harmony... sorry!

home

'i long, as does every human being,

to be at home wherever i find myself.'

~ maya angelou

'where do you call home?'

for many, the house we reside in is home... for others it is not... or you can have more than one place that makes you feel that special way... when i am in the woods i feel at home - no demands, no electronics, no laundry or dirty dishes & hopefully people who just let me be... to me, home is where you can be vulnerable, be yourself, be accepted... i try to teach my kids that home is their 'safe place'... meaning (outside of the normal sibling stuff) there will be no intentional wounding of either the physical or emotional type done within these 4 walls... it is something that is very important to me...maya angelou wants us to be so comfortable within ourselves that we carry that feeling around... i think that is an awesome goal to work towards...

i made the bird and leaf charms and had been back and forth about what i wanted to do with them... figured that i would use some of mika's small etched glass beads... but what else? the meaning and expectation one should have of 'home' has been on my mind a lot... and so i decided to build nests (i know they might look like wreaths & am planning on seeing what else i can do to them) out of different elements - using sterling, brass & copper wire instead of twigs, string, reeds, grasses...

i would like to thank everyone that left comments on the etching experiment and the cancer awareness earrings! i am always touched when i see comments on my posts, but there were lots left for these... 

and i would like to thank those seasoned pros who patiently answer the questions posed to them by those who are learning... you know who you are! i always have the utmost respect for your time, your vision, your hard earned experience & the time it took you to learn what you have learned... 

as an alternative for the simpler things, i thought i would share a site i found that has lots of online video classes, some of which are free... www.beaducation.com ...  

feeling kind of antsy tonight because i found out there is still time to be in the hoboken music & art festival... it's only 10 days away, it costs more because it is last minute, but it sounds sooo cool! hoboken (birthplace of sinatra) would be my first non-local show... it just seems like an awesome opportunity... 

hope tonight finds you at home ~