The Photos

I can never resist an old photo find…. recently these two captured my eye… they just might be a Freudian representation of the past and future of my point in time? 

They sit on the work table, that way they can inspire me with their stories… the one that I create for them based on my day’s viewpoint.  After awhile they will be moved to the bin to make room for new finds… which always makes me feel a bit of regret.  Photos are taken to be displayed… but how can I display all these folks (unknown) that wander into my home…. then I saw this!

What a marvelous simple solution!
To see more….
Jeffrey Moss's Home - stylist for Pottery Barn and Target.

The Gifts

'Tis that time of year where all us eclectic folks dig into our piles of forgotten finds to make gifts that we know will be loved by those “like” us… “like” being those who appreciated the discarded treasures, with worn edges and much loved details, that can only be found at estate sales hiding in long forgotten basement places amongst cobwebs… those treasures that we quickly grab up (as if anyone else really wanted them) … at the time we have no idea what we will do with them…but know we will do SOMETHING with them!
My given….

My gottens…

 What a wonderful time of year….

The Pretty

Two sides of pretty today...
One Side - treated myself to this wonderful hand blown Christmas Bulb…but with no tree what am I do with it? It becomes my looking glass through the kitchen window to a garden full of snow. So pretty.... thanks to those that create and share.

Bob Pozarski-Ohio Art Glass-fused and blown glass

The other side – As I pinch and pull my neck to a firmer tighter time in life and hope it will stay up … only to have it fall ... as I gently pat little crow feets with the creamy cures, I realize pretty is getting harder to find some days on the face of this woman.  And, then like a Christmas present I run across this video and I am reminded I am pretty…. pretty unique, pretty talented and just pretty damn fortunate!

Katie Makkai - Pretty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6wJl37N9C0



The Gratitude

 

Doesn’t that just about sum it all up…. be happy about where I am, what I have, who I love… and feel gratitude that life will be a continuing blessing.

So many of life’s disappointments and obstacles have forced me to journey further down this path. A life of ease would have never offered me the push, shove, jolt to grow this strong.

So today I feel gratitude that this path is mine… and I am thankful for the amazing journey!

The Trading

So today I took some of my jewelry to this wonderful shop and I am so honored to be included in the company of such talented local artist… love the Wolf Creek Trading Co.

Wolf Creek Trading Co started out as the creative vision of John Fitzgibbons to have a neat place to gather and share art, music and just cool stuff.   Now hard work, sweat, and I am sure a few tears has completed the conversion of the carriage house into The Wolf Creek Gallery.

http://wolfcreektradingco.blogspot.com/

Wolf Creek Trading Co is located at 2361 S. Cleve-Mass Road in Copley Ohio

 ... less then 5 minutes from The Winery at Wolf Creek ...  wine and art in one trip!

Visit and see the amazing artists that we have in the area…and leave with a necklace or two… he he he!

The Hazel Tree

Did you ever walk into a shop and just feel like you came to a friend's home…the structure welcomes you, the owners greet and share stories with you, your eyes are full of excitement to look in the next corner … it’s a feeling and yes, we do shop with feeling.

Well I was just there! Hazel Tree in Akron!!

It was a wandering in from me not a purposed arrival...sometimes the best kind! It is this marvelous shop owed by Karen Starr and Jon Haidet …. talented, creative, married couple! The shop is this filled with treasures from local artists, craftspeople and dealers.  

Check out their site or make a purposed arrival!
http://hazeltreeinteriors.com/

The Break

So I should be working ... creating spreadsheets, reviewing data ... coming up with some brilliant conclusion on how to solve the corporate dilemmas… but instead my mind wanders.  Sitting in a three walled cube I begin to take a blog journey.  And what do I discover… that I am overwhelmed by the generosity of woman who blog and share!  I have been drenched for 15 minutes with the most beautiful talent and heart filling inspiration that I handle...in a beige cubed world. 
So take a blog journey break… some of what I found along the way! 

http://www.innertoddler.blogspot.com/

http://www.31experiment.blogspot.com/

http://www.allididwaslisten.blogspot.com/

The Ride

So when the road does not take you where you think you are suppose to go ... let go of the destination and enjoy the ride!  That is what we did and ended up at a GREAT auction in the woods.  The property was a home /antique store/ doll hospital.... what an interesting and truck bed filled day!

The Returning

I love the gathering, but one woman can only hold on to so much before being nominated for the next episode of Hoarders … so I am back at Brother’s Antique Mall.  This time I am only selling in a case vs. a booth, a bit easier on the back, no hauling ... but should be just as fun!

Brothers is the most fantastic place to sell.... and buy, which gets me in trouble! 

If you are ever in the area wandering around please visit  http://brothersantiquemall.com/

The Memory

When does creativity begin?  I think it is forever in us, only to mutate itself over and over at different times, in different ways, at different stages of our lives.
Recently while visiting my Mom, who is currently going through the “let me give you things that I have had forever” stage of her life she handed over a small jewelry box which contained a broken bracelet.

The Song

Inspired by a request for my favorite things and the thought of so few bare foot autumn mornings left to listen to them sing

The Creating

The challenge, create something to teach others to create! First research, find an inspiration, find a vision, create it…… hate it, throw it away. Then just jump into the moment of making and creating what your hands pull into it, what your eyes spot on the table, what the background music tells you to do….finish it. Love it!

The Seeing

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. ~Anaïs Nin

The Sunny

Today I was still in the mood for color... sunny yellow finds on Etsy!! All have been either recycled or repurposed... so they are yellow and "green"!

The Color

I rarely wear color… when buying new pants I return with either black, gray, or khaki. I have beige, white, and gray shirts and sweaters. But today color seeped out of my imagination… outfit worn during the color explosion…khaki shorts and a white tee!

The Waiting

Waiting to leave… going to visit my child. Sometime anticipation can be a tricky thing, if the feeling is fought it may distraught us, if enjoyed and embraced it can enthrall us.

The Food

I thought I would share one of the new recipes I tried while being the “hostess” …. this actually turned out to be delicious and easy!

Watermelon and Goat Cheese Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

For the Vinaigrette:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste
Whisk all above in a large bowl, add 4 cups diced seedless watermelon and ¼ cup very thinly sliced red onion.  Coat the fruit and onions with the vinaigrette.
Divide mixed salad greens onto plates, layer on the fruit, and drizzle with dressing from bowl.  Top with some crumbled goat cheese.
Makes about 5 servings.

The Hosting

Normally we have a social life comparable to hermits, but this past week I found myself hosting one event and attending two others.
There is something about creating food, a mood, and an environment for guests that coaches our creativity. For my evening it was the elements of the dinner, having it  mesh into the evening of garden tables and art projects.  As a host I just wanted to focus on welcoming friends to a comfortable place. In the past I may have got caught up in the details, but age has led me to keep it real, and keep it me ...and host too can enjoy the event!

 As a guest I found myself taking notice of the details that my hosts had created and that created a gratitude and appreciation…. and a realization I should party more!

The Muse

My usual is to take classes that I created something, but this week it was a class on creativity. I had no expectations (which always works out to my benefit) and was so touched by the evening and information.

The class: Rediscovering the Muse Within

The place: Craft Akron
http://www.craftakron.com/

The teacher: Deborah Phelps Miller

It was an introduction to the nine Greek muses…. none of which I had been formally introduced to prior to this evening... but now know they may have danced in my mind a time or two! We explored what each  brings as an offering of enlightment to the world and how we can use them to awaken our own creativity.

The Abandoned

I have always had a “thing” for abandoned houses. Perhaps it began when I was a little girl and my Grandmother would take me back to the family farm, years abandoned and dilapidated. Since those days I have wandered in the houses without doors and windows to keep me out, in cities and in far forgotten places. There are wonderful discovers to be made in abandoned houses, like natural peeling wallpaper that exposes early 1900 stencils…. and not so wonderful things …I will let you use your own imagination. There are things that tell stories, some touching, some tragic all narrated in my mind.

The Locals

I don’t know how a woman could live within an hour of Cleveland’s West Side Market and not discover it for 50 years? But boy did we discover it this weekend! It was an overload to the senses, the sights, the smell, and the conversations absorbed me.
My favorite had to be the Artisan Bread and yes, this was truly art. The family business of Michelle’s Bakery took dough to a whole new level.

Right now I could open a soup kitchen with all I bought…but the good part…the bags were full of fruits, veggies, or homemade goodness from my new wonderful local friends.

The Others

who share their words... "He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands, his head and his heart is an artist." ~ St.Francis of Assisi
who share their art...

(found wandering the streets of NYC)

whom with we share our gratitude...

The Dirty Girl

For the longest time I have felt this connection to spirituality in the most uncommon place… the dirt! It’s not so much about connecting with the dirt and the earth. It is more this awesome realization that something goes into the ground, takes root, we walk on it, torture it with summer heat, freeze it with Ohio winters, drench it with thunderstorms, some 4-legged friends passing by watering it in other ways, crawling and flying life nibbles on it to feed, and yet it blooms! Not by the grace of a master gardener, but the grace of the being that lets me also bloom!

The Gathering

What a wonderful night! Each month I gather with a group of creative souls and we take turns teaching and learning.

The Starting

I have been all the things a woman could be, daughter, mother, wife, lover, student, teacher, explorer, inventor, giver and taker. But was too busy doing other things to embrace the experiences … now I want to reattach to my life.