simple truths

You might think that all we do around here is gallivant.  Lucky for me, when Wally has a day off, he wants to go exploring too, which we try to squeeze in with all the must-do's.

 

So on Saturday we took off to the Halifax area to do some household research

and peek into a few fun shops along the way. I was taken with this glorious ornamental kale with its giant drop of water caught in its leaves.

There was a huge craft/antique/food show at the Halifax Forum that we arrived at late in the afternoon.

I know there is a term for this kind of oriental ceramic figurine, but darned if I can remember it.

 Regardless, I wanted to share its perfectly imperfect delightfulness with you.

 

 





like this worn wooden sculpture too.

 

An earthy pair of sea nymphs, bold and bawdy

 

And this brazen mermaid sat among the ship wheels, buoys, ropes and brass navigation tools and nautical paraphernalia that Wally and I became enmeshed in. What fun we had. Wally selected a copper-coloured brass swivelling hook and eye from amongst that pile you can see to the left of the mermaid

 

Here is the little owl (waiting for her bottom weight) that I made from felted sweater scraps

 that were donated by an artist for stuffing at the sock monkey class I took 5! weeks ago (I know, "Where does the time go??")  I unstuffed my monkey (yet to be finished) when I got home from that class and recently bought some recycled polyester filling for stuffing dolls which I feel much better about, especially the recycled part. My owl is a first attempt at stitching cut up sweaters, naively made without a pattern as I was so eager to get started (which slowed me down a little as you can imagine.) She has a pale blue hood, a tail and a name: Polly.

 

There's been a certain something on my mind since researching that link I made on Maud Lewis in my last post.  It's got to do with poverty and age. Last week I found this amazing article, watched the 1934 version of Imitation of Life on Youtube, and then today was sent this delightful link, all of which have substantiated my feelings not only about the richness that can be found in the simplest of things, but how essential it is to make room in our lives for this. 

 

Clarity, the inner eye of the storm, is where authenticity can be found.

This is a universal truth that will lead us to peace one step at a time.

I believe this.

 

Daily Project 2012: day seven, twelve days later

Twelve days later.  100 posts so far.  With this, 101.

I watch the days slip away like wild creatures  ripping pages off my calendar.
Where's my broom?  I must chase those rascals away.

It has taken this long to regain my composure.  Two weeks ago I was invited to join my old high school chum on a trip to Costa Rica and the floor fell out from under me.

I have travelled before, always with friends or family, but never to so exotic a place.  Not even on my radar as a destination, I thought Costa Rica was an island in the Caribbean Sea.  But it is a small country located between Nicaragua and Panama in Central America on the Isthmus of Panama, with coasts on the Caribbean and the Pacific.  It has the highest percentage of land designated as National Park in the world.  It is the land of rain forests, volcanoes, 4 kinds of monkeys, sloths, sea turtles and a population that prides itself on its pacifism and friendliness.



I realize now that my wording could be misconstrued to mean I've already gone and returned.  But that's how excited I've been, the anticipation and prepartations robbing me of sleep and the other normal stuff of life. Getting my passport photo alone took  nine!! attempts!


In the meantime...

I had what I consider to be a "normal" day, embroidering between housecleaning, both of which act as satisfying counterpoints to each other.

and I played with my new camera, a lower-priced, what-if-I-lose-it-in-Costa-Rica digital camera. Well I guess they're all digitals now. 

I'm afraid this is all the daily project that I have to show for these last 12 days of my absence.  I've plucked out the stitching for the original head, realizing it was proportionally too small, and redid it in a slightly darker colour.  Yes, I'm saving the face for last.  There is a certain wear and tear on the stitching in the course of handling this project, and as I intend to sew the face in with a finer thread than the embroidery floss I am using, I am saving the best, so to speak, for last.

My partner in crime

This  has been a labour of love, this project, and has sidled out many of the other creative ideas I wish to do.  But it has been so rewarding to see a body of work build up, even one so small.  It is an interesting discipline considering it is juxtaposed with a no refined sugar diet I have put myself on.  I am re-teaching myself to look for sweetness in my life in other ways.

Thank you most kindly for your many visits, as the stats on my blog dashboard indicate. Thank you also to new follower Stefanie Seltner who is also working on a daily project.

Here's to Sweetness in our Life

Daily project 2012: day four

 

I'm not really one for rules and regulations, and don't get me started on deadlines (there's something wrong with that word.)  But I certainly understand why they're necessary for getting things done.  I suppose it would all seem more real if I had to cover my seedlings before a night's frost or get my cake out of the oven before it dried out, or worse, burned.  You can see how I struggle with this Daily Project already by how late I get my daily blog posted.  Yet the irony is I love the results of actually making my daily project;   I haven't produced like this for myself for a long long time.  It's clear to me how I've got deadlines confused with work when they can be quite exciting things to meet.  Isn't it something like a racehorse that wants to run?  Perhaps they don't realize there's a finish line, but they want to run nonetheless.  Putting myself in this race with the clock has been laughable as my kitchen gets tidier and tidier as if sitting down to the project where some kind of punishment.

But I only have to sit quietly with my little doll,  my muse,  and it doesn't take long before I'm willing to pick up a pencil.   Today was going to be fabric collage day.  I have some beautiful textiles all picked out and ready to go,  but as it was the end of the day,  only a pencil would do.

 

Day Four done on a lovely unbleached acid free paper with a mechanical pencil 

I haven't told you about one of my new year's resoloutions,  but I see this deadline issue of mine as yet another reason that I remember it and share it with you.  This is a tough one as it isn't nearly as easy to keep as the daily project.  It is this:   that I be present with every moment that presents itself, not indulging in past fears, however they might present themselves ( for they sneak in in many ways as regrets, insecurities, old wounds, etc...) 

The miraculous exists in every moment; I want to be there when it happens!

Daily Project 2012: day two

I find myself posting at the end of the day again.  A day goes so fast lately.   I hope you are feeling encouraged as we slip into the new year with all its promise and potential.  It's been interesting  for me to see Day Two of my daily project come to fruition, a new bud on the vine so to speak.  I can see the myriad of possibilities before me, and I am realizing the inevitable growth that can come of this exercise.  Just drawing the same doll over and over will certainly improve my technical skills and observation.  But what I am most eager to see is how the doll projects will evolve into a more interpretative style which I am long overdue at realizing.  As I heard Oprah Winfrey say today, " If you want to step out of your past you have to put intention into the moment."

My Christmas doll;  he charms me so.

 

Today's pencil drawing begun in an old ledger book.

 

And the finished drawing with a watercolour wash.    Day Two.

 

It is lovely when someone drops by to have a look at what I'm doing, leaves a comment and decides to become a follower.  Thank you  Cosmic Arcata for your thoughtful comments and blog.  After following several links I realize many of us have caught the Daily Project bug.  It seems to have a different cachet from an every day commitment that is done for one's own good, a discipline.  There is a certain joy in the air as one feels the creativity bubbling all about.  As Oprah said so beautifully,

"You are defined by the moment and by the hope and the light you bring to this moment."

Pleasant Dreams

Daily Project 2012: day one



Well here we are on the first page of a fresh new year.   I hope you like the new design.  I'm altogether tickled with it!  It does seem altogether too easy to require too much of ourselves on New Year's Day;   already I've broken 2 or 3 resolutions as I scramble to get so much done in so little time.  Why is it that exercise and meditation are the first to go?  I was afraid I might not even meet Day One of my daily project.  But with little more than an hour to go til midnight, I have a little watercolour to show you of my Christmas doll.

I can't begin to tell you how delighted I am with this little doll made of composition material - probably sawdust and glue.  I am guessing it was a souvenire doll made for the American market in the 1920's.   The front of his clothes have faded to these beautiful sage and golden peach colours while the back of his jacket is a garish blue, his pants a bright yellow!  I love the faded side.

He'll need a name.  I'm open to suggestions.   Have you any ideas?

#1 a quick little watercolour

 

Thank you for stopping by and having a look at what I'm up to.  Did I mention I'm rather excited about the whole thing?   This is just the kind of challenge I need to get the old girl going :)  Check out Cathy Cullis' post for some ideas of your own.

 It all starts with the first step.   Stay in your centre and you will be surprised what can happen!

 

a winter's night doll

 

 

 

Can you feel it?  Yes there IS  magic in the air on days like this.

Waking up to a morning like this... well, I have no words...

The canoe sits on sawhorses protected by this great fir.

Yes, it is cold; a dampness fills the air...

the garden huddles

the wheelbarrow set aside til spring

 

and a new doll is born.

Such a shy one she is too,  taking over a month to make her debut.  She is definitely a night doll.

A sensitive girl, a romantic, yet unto herself.  I love it that she is softly stuffed yet can stand on her own. I am more pleased than I was at first, dismayed that she was so wonky.  But it makes sense to me now, as so much does the next morning, ( having finished her last night) .

*

We are about to enter a new year.  This journey I am on,  exploring a creative world of possibilities that are born out of joy,   that evolve as they would,   not necessarily as I would have them,   has been both exciting and difficult.  As I slowly shed the shackles of obligation,  I have found that, without some kind of container,  my freedom goes splaying all about;  I cannot seem to meet my personal deadlines,  and rules, even my own,  cause me a kind of anxiety.  I find myself often at a loss for a raison d'etre.

Two weeks ago I read Cathy Cullis'  blog on a " daily project".  It caught me by the toe and wouldn't let go.  Within a few days I came up with an idea that excited me because it combined  a myriad of ideas that  I've had over the years into one.  The trick for me was to find something that could hold my attention for a YEAR.  A year can be a long time when one is doing something they dislike or awaiting something they desire.  But that year comes up awfully short and fast when one is putting the building blocks together for a personal dream.  I will reveal more to you tomorrow.

Sweet dreams 'til then.

December doll evolves

Ah, how this month chugs along like "the little engine that could"; we make our way closer to the top of the mountain: the holidays and the end of the year. There always seems like one more thing to do, but I'm learning as the years move on to require less of myself. No longer the "mighty multi-tasker", I find I am having a more pleasant time this time of year than in years past.

 

I love the serious snow fall that covers everything in a kind of fairy dust.  The pond is almost covered here yet still not frozen.

 

Like the cyclamen, I am happy to do my blooming on the inside looking out.

 

 

 I have spent a lot of time working on the little doll I showed you in the last post,  more time than is viable for a reasonable price, so I will probably put her in my etsy shop at much lower price than the hours spent on her would suggest.  I just can't help myself; I love working on her so much.

The copper thread for her hair is something I've be saving for a special project for at least a dozen years or more. This taupe ultrasuede seemed to just call out out for it.  And even where the copper wears away, the main gold-coloured thread looks hair-like.  I'm so pleased!

This is such an emotional time of the year for so many.  Yesterday I read a passage from a new book interviewing the Dalai Lama where he reminds us that there is no compassion for others when we seek to satisfy ourselves.  We must shelve self-interest in order to love others better.  It is a hard lesson sometimes, but one worth learning.

I wish you all love in your lives. Sweet, kind, tender love.  Starting with the self, we work our way outwards embracing in our hearts those in our lives who don't know how to give it back, seeking not for ourselves except to give that which is so necessary to truly being alive.  Like forgiveness, it is the gift we give ourselves.

 

the making of a doll

Season's Greetings!



An early morning dusting of snow, the third in a series of first snows as the lovely snowfall we had last week was all but gone with rain and milder temperatures.



And even as I write this the sun has been veiled by a serious curtain of snow.



It has been a quiet week thus far as I take a slow learning curve starting a new doll.  Originally it was going to be an elephant and then a bear but has become, of all things...

or rather, is becoming this young lady, taken from an original watercolour of mine.  I'd practically sewn her all up inside out when I realized I wouldn't be able to sew her features without sewing right through to her back... so I open a side seam up so that I would have access.  Even so, I have sewn the eye on the right 3 times and taken out many other stitches that didn't seem quite right.  Ah, the indignity of being constantly redrawn.  But therein lays yet another irony, the indignity of life that may only regain balance with grace, forgiveness and, bless us, a sense of humour!

staying in the moment...