Paradise

The other day I was catching up with an artist friend of mine on the phone. The topic moved beyond the normal "how'ya beens and whatcha workin' ons" to a deeper conversation about goals, the direction the art itself was taking in each of our lives, and our own individual struggles as moms, women, balancing life, and of course being creatives who can never manage to shut their heads off at night. My friend said, "My version of paradise right now is a convertible sportscar." I laughed thinking about all the bugs she'd swallow and how long hair tends to fly forward as opposed to flowing back all sexy like as she was imagining. My version of paradise was a cup of coffee in some side street outdoor cafe outside of Budapest at that moment I think, coffee she'd never drink no matter where it was served. It got me thinking about what it is that makes folks happy and how, although we are all human, our versions of happiness are as unique as we are. It made me thankful in that very second that we are not all the same, that our voices, our art, our experiences and stories are incredibly varied because, quite frankly, only we ourselves are qualified to define our own personal paradise.

paradise

NaNoWriMo

As November closes, so does the last chapter on the 55K+ words I wrote during this year's NaNoWriMo undertaking. This is the fourth novel I've finished during National Novel Writing Month. For me personally, there is no greater joy than to see the kids I mentor follow through and craft some spectacular stories. My 11 year old son participated again this year typing along side highschoolers night after night and I could not be more proud of his accomplishment. The passion for writing is more than telling a good story, it is setting to ink that which makes humanity insanely unique and special. I can think of no better way to spend a month than in the company of such fantastic characters. Much love to all those who inspire me daily and spur me on to be the better I never thought I could be by being the amazing that they are.

Ruffles Attached

As I get older, I realize the truth and wisdom tucked away in that adage, "there is nothing new under the sun." Styles, trends, and daresay, ideas, all have their seasons and all in turn, come back into favor at somepoint. Today it was about ruffles.

I remember wanting a ruffled skirt in the 3rd grade. I wanted this skirt so badly that I had decided to go on a hunger strike until I was given one. The idea of a ruffled skirt permeated my every thought, it was an invasive species that had attached itself to practically every sentence that left my lips. I had become dead wood and this ruffled desire, was fungus eating away at my shell. My great-grandmother, being the amazingly astute person she was, sat me down and taught me how to sew a ruffle and add it to anything my heart desired. She taught me a valuable lesson that day. We have the power to change the things we'd like by learning a skill and having the initiative to do-it-yourself.

This afternoon my daughter came running into the kitchen wanting ruffles on her skirt... and history repeated itself right there before my eyes.   

Slow and Steady

 On my adventures over the summer, we came across this meditative area in the woods. I saw this bronze statue from a distance and instantly felt kinship to it... she was an Indian Princess from a Michigan tribe represented by the turtle but, I saw her as the patron saint of slow and steady. As an artist, so many things in my studio are in various stages of not done... works in progress. My natural instinct is to hurry them through, complete them and cast out the clutter rather than have to look at the mediocre waiting to find a stroke of genius and be deemed well, better than mediocre I suppose. In this statue I saw an act of charity extended to all those who create in their shells, in the sanctuary of their own hearts. It is in the knowing that one isn't alone in the woods, that there are others there meditating upon that same patron saint of the slow and steady and that we are all perhaps, works in progress.