like going to oz

yes, going to newark, nj can feel like going to oz! emily and i headed off to the opening of the exhibition 'make me something beautiful' the 2010 craft arts annual... i was fortunate enough to have a piece accepted into the show - and how strange to see it in a glass museum case with so  many other unique and beautiful pieces... sculpture, metalsmithing, ceramic, and on and on... no pictures were allowed - but there will be a catalogue... 

'there are two ways to live:

you can live as if nothing is a miracle;

you can live as if everything is a miracle.'

~ albert einstein

it felt like one of those miracle moments - and one of the neat things is that a lot of the artists knew each other... i introduced myself to thea clark who heads the nj metal arts guild - an organization i would like to become active in... 

thank you for the interest in my new etsy shop speakingyourtruth - i already have sales and am so glad that you are finding things you like... i have yet to get to etching and mica and more resin... end of school year activities are plentiful and keeping our family very busy... 

here are some of the things i have in the shop:

'dream' bead caps - 3 colors of enamel layered in different areas - blues, purples and deep turquoise... on antiqued copper...

'bing' bead caps - the deep blue red of bing cherries on antiqued copper... 

'sante fe' bead caps - 2 colors of enamel layered in such a way that the overlap creates an almost adobe red color... 

this is a ring i made for myself... i really love the symbolism and meaning of lotus flowers in buddhism... how they are firmly rooted in the muck and mud of the bottom of a pond, growing up towards the light... and upon reaching the surface, they blossom... opening and unfolding... this is symbolic of awakening... 

work in progress... 

'the secret of happiness is freedom.

the secret of freedom is courage.'

~thucydides

the middle

'the doors we open and close each day

decide the lives we lead'

~ flora whittemore

i have been sharing with you my journey through fear, through reluctance, through getting in my own way to attain what my heart desires and my inspiration pushes me to do... the beginning - the april challenge i set for myself... meeting a deadline for a publication (no news yet, but that's ok), a deadline to submit a piece to an exhibition at a museum, and teaching a demo at an art festival... 

behind this very heavy door was the registrar for the newark museum, it is nj's largest museum - and i had an appt this morning to meet with her~

because my piece had been accepted!
in early april, a forwarded email came in with a call for work from the museum for their 100th anniversary... my alter printed it out and decided that the piece i had just finished (thanks to erin's challenge) would be perfect... it's kismet - she argued... and so i spent the next week or so hammering out a cover page, resume and artist's statement - with the very generous help of friends - for i had never done it before! and now i have them to work off of... then there was/is learning about the photography specs - you know the drill... did i survive it? yes... was it stressful? yes... but am i elated i pushed through it? definitely... 

this middle is a process - these shifts have caused major tremors in my life... but it's about momentum and continued hard work now... and not letting the fear crawl up and over me again... 

'if you do not change direction,

you may end up where you are heading.'

~ lao tzu

be aware of the choices you make and how you treat yourself... life is a gift and very short... take risks... if i can do it, you can do it... xo