Creating with a handicap...

I am not talking about being permanently handicapped amd being creative. I am talking about when something changes either with your body, or your environment that makes it impossible to do the creative work you normally love to do.

I have spent the better part of a week feeling sorry for myself because I can't make jewelry or practice cello (or swim, or do many other things I like to do). I am an artist and a maker. I have to always be making something. I can't just sit around and wait.

 My left arm is in a cast because of massive over-strain with tendinitis. My doctor said absolutely NO to any of the creative things I normally do and to try to minimize how I use my left hand and arm while at work. I could hardly stand it. I am thinking to myself, "I can't draw....at all. I don't plan my designs, so there would be no point in forcing myself to do that." It seemed like I had no options.

Then, I thought, photography! Yes! I'll take pictures. I know very little about photography, but manage to do a decent job taking pictures of my jewelry. So, for now and the forseeable future, taking pictures is how I am going to express myself.

And if anyone has any ideas of artistic things I can do mostly one handed, please let me know. It is looking like I may be wearing this cast much longer than the two weeks the doctor first recommended. Also, I am using PhotoFiltre to edit my photos. If there are any online tools that are free to use, that you think would be fun for me to try, please send me the links!

And a word to anyone else going through something like this. There are always going to be ways to create. You just have to find them.

Artist thoughts....

More random ramblings to provoke thought and insight about your creative endeavors....

Invest yourself in the process, not the outcome. Why do I say this? It is the process where all of the learning happens. Know the process intimately. Be observant. Be mindful of how mistakes or accidents occur in your work, and make a deliberate attempt to approach that task differently. Love the materials you are working with and explore all their properties. All of these things will improve the outcome, and the journey will be much more meaningful.

Is it remarkable? Is what you are making worthy of a remark? How is what you are creating going to stand out from the crowd? What are you doing that others aren't doing? What is the outstanding quality of your work? If there is no outstanding quality, ask yourself why? Are you afraid to step out and walk through uncharted territory? Do you feel you don't have the skill (yet)? Do you say, "I can't come up with anything?"
I say, yes you can. If you truly enjoy what you are doing, why would you carry around "I can't" statements, placing your own limits on your creativity?

Whimsy matters. Why? Because I said so... Which aspects of your own work matter the most to you? What creative part, if taken away from your work, would take away your look or your vision? Have you spent time thinking about how that aspect could be drawn out and further explored in your work? Is this the defining aspect that would make your work "remarkable"?

The only way to do great work is to do what you love. Do you love what you are doing? Life is short. Are you wasting time doing things that you don't care about? What really matters? What journey are you on? Ask yourself, "Is this a/the journey I want to take? Realize that your actions are always a choice. Is your life better for the actions you take? Or are you on a journey that is destructive to yourself and others? Have you decided to savor life and appreciate what you have? Or are your decisions motivated by fear and anxiety? If your fears are valid and justified, is living in constant worry, stress, and panic helping the situation? Remember, we choose to worry and stress out. If you feel that is the only path to doing what you love, is it worth it? Are you content? Have you involved yourself with people or projects that are going to drag you down? Are you seeking out work that you are excited to do? Are you taking the time to fill your creative tank? Getting enough rest? How are you spending your time? Are you working toward anything at all, or are you in a holding pattern. Consider these things and ask yourself if you need to adjust your thinking or your actions. These things have everything to do with how and what we create.

Cherry Creek Jasper

My newest love in gemstones....Cherry Creek Jasper. It's colors and patterns are almost endless. Every piece is unique, inspiring all kinds of design possibilities...

Cherry Creek jasper is metamorphic limestone, Metamorphosis is one of the three ways stones are formed (the other kinds of stones are igneous and sedimentary).

Geologically, a metamorphic stone forms deep in the earth, its essential nature altered by heat and pressure. It may go through metamorphosis more than once, and each time new elements are added to its composition. Only those aspects of the stone which are impermeable to pressure and heat are preserved.

Cherry Creek jasper is 6.0- 7.0 on the Moh's Hardness Scale, and predominantly mined in Utah.

 Of the metamorphic stones, the patterns of Cherry Creek jasper are particularly striking, and one may see them as maps (in whatever natural or polished shape it occurs) of the crystal's transformational path.

Yep...it's still winter!

Snowed In... It has been snowing and frigid, and snowing and blowing, and snowing and fogging, and snowing and icing for better than three weeks now. I think I speak for most folks in the Midwest when I say that most of us feel like we have been snowed in. I have a large picture window in my living room, and mocha brown walls. I look out that window and all I see is ice and snow. This piece was inspired by that now, overly familiar view from my sofa. Snow and trees looking north from my front yard. Nothing but white, articulated by naked trees. Slow Thaw... This past week we finally had high temperatures above 32 degrees. And slowly, the streets and sidewalks are beginning to show their wet surfaces as the snow thins out on well traveled roadways and paths. The snow is still everywhere, but we are full of cheer as we see just a little of what is hiding under the snow. Yes, it's mud puddles and dead grass... but it is much more tolerable. Today, I even saw sunshine! Dried out ornamental grass in my parents' front yard. The pot it's in is completely covered by a foot of snow.

Even though it is snowing in Kansas....

I am inspired by ocean life. I am dreaming of beaches and warm weather... fishes and coral... sand between my toes, and NO snow shoveling! I have always been inspired by the beauty that the ocean holds, so it isn't surprising that I am continuing to produce work that reflects my love and interest in it. Image above, taken by Flickr member Stephane Bailliez, all rights reserved. This piece is titled "Manta", it's shape inspired by the Manta Ray. These next two are custom pieces which I have not titled yet, but are equally influenced my ocean life. Both are made of fossilized coral. Image above, taken by Flickr member SymbioticService San Diego, all rights reserved.Image above, taken by Flickr member Erwin Poliakoff, all rights reserved.For now, this is what it looks like in Kansas... On these cold, cold days, I am dreaming of California....

Happy Thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for this year. I have a wonderful family and friends who truly love me. I have found my health and get stronger every day, thanks to my CPAP. And I have finally found love... rather love found me. I am so grateful and blessed... I am thankful for the person I am... the many facets that make up my uniqueness... the good and the bad. So today, I hope to inspire you to appreciate and be thankful, for not only what you have, but who you are.... My new love, Scott, shared this thought with us a few months ago on Flickr, along with this picture of some of the stained glass in his home.

"What do we absorb?
What do we transmit?
Where are we bright?
And where are we dark?
And does it all not make us who we are?"-Scott Schreiber

The Bizarre Bazaar! This Saturday, November 28th

That's right! It the annual Bizarre Bazaar this Saturday, November 28th, from 9:00am tho 5:00pm at the Lawrence Arts Center in downtown Lawrence, KS. Every kind of art and craft you can imagine! Really cool stuff! Along with an eclectic mix of vendors, artists like Kathie of Paper Treasures, Rachael Sudlow, and Angelia Perkins, as well as myself, will be showing our best wares. Come out and get some Christmas shopping done, and enjoy the bake sale while you take it all in!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/aperkins Angelia Perkins, Funky jewelry from fishing lures. http://www.rachaelsudlow.com/index.htm Rachael Sudlow, metalsmith and organic jewelry Kathie of Paper Treasures