If Anything Was Possible...

If anything was possible I would wish for...

Funny how my imagination FLIES with ideas...then stops, "oh noooooo." Then opens again, then closes again. A fantasy begins to form, the POOF! "the voice of reason" makes it disappear.

I get annoyed.

OH, BE QUIET! you naysayer voices inside my head.

So much time is spent in turmoil with the inner-naysayer.
How much freer would I be without it/her/him/them. What would be possible for me if I were free?

And...what would be possible without all those real people out there who seem to always know more than me and make it her/his business to tell me how wrong I am..or how much I don't know...better take this class and get that certificate... THIS is the best book to read and THAT is the best thing to do...I've been doing this for X-many years and therefore....

*sigh*

Why do we create these inner barriers...and why do people become literal barriers?

If anything were possible I would wish for ALL the Naysayers, Critics, and Negative People to ... go away. Join together and have a great time naysaying and criticizing each other...but leave me alone.

I know what I am doing. I am making my own choices for a reason.
If I do not ask, it may mean I am content on my path, EVEN IF it doesn't look right to YOU...it may be the perfect fit for me.

If anything were possible, I would wish for a world (inner and outer) free of Naysayers.

Say I...




(It's Wishcasting Wednesday over at Jamie Ridler Studios!)

Who Do You Wish To Become?

Jamie Ridler posts the question "Who Do You Wish To Become...?"

I am incredibly curious as to what some of the other bloggers have posted, but I am holding myself back! Not easy! What will they say? How do they handle this question?

It's a good one!

I think about it. Check my journal...go outside and look at the gorgeous full moon. Feed the stray cat. Check on bread dough rising in the kitchen. I realize...

My answer is simple.

I wish to become the best me that I can be.

And the best me isn't about being an artist, or writer, or [fill in anything]... It is about who I am without all those labels. It has been a difficult week. I didn't always have the best of me showing. I had an evening of "spinning out" as a beloved friend calls it.

But I "spinned out" incredibly well, and then bounced back from it with just as much....energy.

Perhaps this IS the best...I can be horrifying with amazing skill...or make something of incredible beauty...or cook with wild passion. It is all me.

The best of me is about pushing and gusto and reaching and trying and passion...and not worrying about the "right" punctuation.

I wish to become the best me that I can discover....and it will take my entire lifetime.

For more about Jamie Ridler click here.

Morning Pages - July Kick-off

Jamie Ridler has awakened some of us to the practice of writing 'morning pages' starting today, July 1.

"The Artists' Way" and "Vein of Gold", by Julia Cameron, introduces us to the practice of Morning Pages: to begin your day by writing...BY HAND... three pages of dumping out mind chatter. Ok...that is definitely MY definition!

I did pages for awhile while reading The Artists' Way...then lost the habit. Again, I did morning pages while reading "Vein of Gold"...and dropped the habit. And something here I do not understand. I LOVE doing morning pages, and yet, I keep dropping this activity that I love? What is up with that?

Doing morning pages is a total brain bath. I write everything down. From thinking that the journal I am writing in is 'larger' than most notebooks and maybe a page and a half is the same as three other sorts of pages... LOL. To wondering which bill to pay...to hoping that the next art piece will come together like I see it in my head. I yell at others and myself. I write about when I stop writing to feed the stray cat. I comment on the weather. Anything goes. Anything. It is freeing and enlightening.

Writing my morning pages gets SO MUCH out of my head. Morning pages burns off the crap that seems insistent on building up...and, the best part...morning pages always results in at least, AT LEAST, one nugget of amazing truth.

Yes. Why would I walk away from this delicious habit?

Check out Jamie's blog where she talks about Morning Pages...click here.
Julia Cameron LIVE/The Artists Way blog is wonderful...click here.

My favorite is "Vein of Gold." I have just decided that I'm going to dig that book out and go through it ... again.

Wishcasting Wednesday - Heart's Wish

Today for Wishcasting Wednesday, Jamie Ridler asks "What is your heart's wish?"

...in case of you are wondering, of course you can have it all. What are you going to do? Everything, is my guess. It will be a little messy, but embrace the mess. It will be complicated, but rejoice in the complications. It will not be anything like what you think it will be like, but surprises are good for you. And don't be frightened: you can always change your mind. I know: I've had four careers and three husbands." - From Ephron's 1996 commencement speech at Wellesly College, her alma mater.

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.”
― Nora Ephron

 

My heart's wish is to embrace the mess and rejoice in the complications. Enjoy the surprises, not be frightened and change my mind. And...my deepest heart's wish is to be the heroine of my life.

 

Thank you, Nora.

 

(Lisa Kewish)

Life outside of the studio...Lisa's POV

A few snapshots of my day today...Josh and I wandered through Sutter Creek and Jackson, California.

For the bride who wants to go vintage, this set up had it all. All very pretty...so not me, but I can appreciate the charm of it all.

Ok...this is me! LOVE LOVE LOVE these shoes!! Even the little handbag.

Note it is a Chevy. Note the crunched bumper. Note the Nissan tag.

 

This vase gave me quite the creative idea. Instead of surrounding a stone with metal, why not surround metal with a stone...????

 

I am fascinated with old, falling apart buildings. Here is a window that someone once gazed out of...and now...the flora has taken over.

When did this lace curtain fall?

Cafe De Coco. Very good cappucino!

Need to hold a meeting? This strange little room was adjacent to the main dining area in Cafe De Coco. Just a big plain room. This is the view when you exit the bathroom!

I found white buttons...brought them home and began to paint them.

Doodles and Dreams

A frequent question we are asked is, "Where do you get your inspiration?"

Anywhere! After almost back-to-back viewings of "Avatar"... I have walked away with TONS of ideas! We have a vine growing around our front porch that has these spiral tendrils...I've made lots of spiral tendrils out of wire! Leaves are another favorite of mine...plenty of those blowing around this time of year! I look at a lot of pictures on line. I like to do a google search on different pendant images. I keep my favorite ones...I don't copy those pieces, I just study them for my own ideas...here's an example from my notebook...

Another source of ideas are from my own doodles...mostly done during meetings at work! (I'm listening...really!!!)

Another source...my dreams! In the image below, there is a sketch of a broken wine glass with wine flowing out of the break...the wine becoming a chrysanthemum on top of a snake spiraling around the wine glass. I drew that sketch the next day at work...along with some other doodles. The wine glass/snake was actually a tattoo on a woman's cheek in my dream. Don't know what any of that means...but the image was so powerful that it stayed with me and even translated well to paper! (sketching is NOT my strongest skill)

Last night I was having another dream. In the dream I was opening a jewelry box to show a buyer an amazing piece I had made. In the dream I had the awareness that this piece was outstanding and demanded a very high price. I was opening the box for the buyer to see it one more time before it was sealed for the recipient. As I moved the lid of the box to the side, I caught a glimpse of the silver with a spiral...and then...

one of my cats FREAKED OUT AND SCAMPERED ACROSS THE BED...waking me up before I could see the entire piece.

DERN CAT!!!!

The frustration of not seeing the entire piece is about as frustrating as the time I dreamed I won the lotto...and was staring at my winning ticket...and could not read the numbers!!! ARGHHH!

Most of my waking hours today have been trying to remember what I knew in my dream. :)

Anyway...inspiration...comes from anywhere... from anything... at anytime. The artist's goal is to catch it when it happens...and in the meantime...always be working...sometimes it can be an accident while working on something else. You just never know.

(authored by Lisa)

The Adventures of "I 'heart' ME"

I had the day to myself in the studio. Josh was (well, still is) away working a show...and everything is mine all mine. I sat at the workbench staring at piles of copper and silver wire. I believe in working even if not inspired. Just work, and inspiration will appear as you are actively involved in creating. But, there I sat. Rummaged through this pile...gazed at that. Looked at a few stones. Nothing.

I went online to Facebook, and uncovered a post from a friend of mine. She wrote some beautiful things and at the end suggested to put on lipstick and give one's self a smooch in a mirror.

a HA!

Sat back down with a silver disc...took some wire and formed two words and one symbol.

I "heart" ME.

Took the items to the block to hammer and flatten out the words and symbol. The first "I" shot out from under the hammer and who knows where it ended. I looked around, but not for long and not carefully. Rather half-hearted as a matter of fact.

Ok..form another "I". Hm...interesting that this one came out more interesting than the first "I". Take it to the block, hammer and THIS one shot out onto the floor somewhere. Looked for a bit...well, I suppose one day when I get around to vacuuming, I will hear the "I" get sucked into the dusty whirlwind of the Great Suck Monster (our cats' name for 'vacuume').

Well, isn't that kinda how life is. You think you have it all together...and off you shoot into nowhere only to have to pull it together and re-create your self again. Well...it's a profound thought for ME anyway!

I formed a third "I"...took it to the block and carefully hammered it flat. So far so good.

Fused the words and heart onto the silver disc. Pickle...clean...apply a texture...brass brush it...

I stood admiring it.

I do not know how it happened...but suddenly my lovely charm exclaiming one's first order of life's business...JUMPED...yes JUMPED from my hand and went flying SOMEWHERE!

Crap...I dismantled the shelves that hold all our supplies and moved the casing a few feet from the wall...THERE it was. "I "Heart" Me" laying in the middle of some dust bunnies.

OK OK I breathe to my subconscious...I GET the message.

(Lisa)

Chip Tips...

Yes, that is a fire opal resting on a tortilla chip.

Here's the back story.

April 14 is our wedding anniversary. We met for lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. We ordered our usual pre-meal chips and salsa. We munched on the chips and talked about our life...you know, anniversary stuff! We ate our meal, drank our sodas and nibbled on a few more chips. I lifted up a chip and looked at it carefully. Then I held it up as if it were a pendant. We both declared that it was a lovely shape and would look incredible in silver.

We then began to dig through the basket of chips looking for other aesthetically pleasing pieces of fried tortillas. We found one other chip worthy of becoming the model for a piece of 'fine art jewelry'.

I cradled these two precious chips in my hand as we left the restaurant. I'm sure the staff that bid us "Have a nice day" wondered why I was carrying out two tortilla chips.

I placed the chips carefully in the car, Josh took them home...and carefully placed them in our "up-and-coming" jewelry stash.

Tonight...I pulled out the fire opal and the tortilla chip.

Stay tuned for the final product!

...and if you want to know how to keep your tortilla chips fresh...

go here: http://www.ehow.com/how_4679910_keep-tortilla-chips-fresh.html

(Lisa)

Listen to your inner voice to find inspiration

A while ago Lisa and I found these unusual beads made from compressed old furniture and other recycled bits. We bought several of them without really knowing what we were going to do with them. They sat in a box for months until just this last week when I suddenly remembered them as I was looking for inspiration for an upcoming Earth Day celebration. Earth Day...recycled jewelry components...INSPIRATION!

So now I am making a series of pieces using those beads. The first one is already done--silver, copper and recycled furniture. How cool is that? I wore it last night and got several positive comments from strangers.

The lesson? If you see something that catches your eye, but don't know what to do with it, trust your instincts. Take a moment, listen that inner voice, and if it tells you there is something there, then pay attention.

In this case, not only have I come up with a new series of work, I am helping the environment by using recycled materials. It is a win-win.

--Joshua