The Art of Simplicity

Summer is officially over. It seems the holidays will follow shortly, our shadows will be longer and a bit misshapen, and some of us will have the desire to spend some time in bed reading a good book. I know this is true somewhere in the world but in Los Angeles the temperature has been hitting 100 degrees. Nonetheless, my dedicated and playful roommate ponders her reading list and her elongated image cast in front of her and is, no doubt, also contemplating what the next snack will be.

I like her simple approach to life; sleep when and where you want (in her case, it is her very favorite Barnes & Noble bag and it is 3/4 of her day), know enough to have a good conversation (again, reading the bag - her knowledge of titles is vast), know where the food is and go for the good stuff, and roll over if you think there's any possibility of getting a good rub and scratch. It seems to work for her. I might adopt the same basic principles.

In her off time, she tries to kill her fake mice, does weekends on top of the massage table, and stares out to the garden at the birdbath. Soon the birds will no longer be at the birdbath and she will go to her favorite winter activity which is batting around stray jewelry supplies that end up on the floor when I'm working. Since I've been working on pre-season designs, she also seems to be gearing up for some serious chases with fallen chain, misguided jump rings and the occasional bead that launches like a rocket when I've been in a hurry and lose control of such things. She loves when I'm working and so do I. We are a good team. In the six years that she's been my roommate, we have developed a mutual understanding. She doesn't eat my supplies, and I don't eat her food. We have solid boundaries. What more can we ask for? She is, in a way, my business partner, since she needs to sniff everything once its done, giving it her approval, and watch intently so I don't make mistakes. She plays her part well.

So "we" have a few new items we are working on to celebrate the upcoming holiday season which will be here quickly, arriving suddenly as if we didn't know to expect it, anticipating the last minute shopping spree.

We offer you a hint of what's coming and will be on my Etsy shop tomorrow afternoon - you can always check out the shop on the lower right of this blog.......these are fine silver (solid silver) crosses. Each is one-of-a-kind. Similar ones can be made but no two will be identical. I am using the symbol of a cross as a universal symbol as opposed to a religious one. I like the form itself. The ones you see here are heavily oxidized for maximum effect since they are highly textured.

So, as the summer ends and we enter a new season, think of the things you want to do to celebrate the upcoming winter - spend time with your family, learn to ski, get comfy beneath your winter throw and read a good book, start making hot chocolate - but if you live in Southern California, at least for now, don't put away your shorts because the heat isn't going away yet.

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This is the Rosebud cross (I will be making other versions of this) - one perfect tiny rosebud with two leaves - organic, textured, feminine - approximately 1 1/2 inches in length.

This is the Aztec cross - also well textured with wonderful high shiny points - a bit smaller than 1 1/2 inches in length - all my crosses are offered on 18 or 20" rubber cords with sterling silver clasps OR adjustable leather cord (no clasp).

And then, because I love the look of hammered metal, we have the Hammered cross - the center is a triangle on a circle on a heart - thick, rich, and substantial - again, approximately 1 1/2 inches in length.

So, whether its a fashion statement, a personal faith statement, or just because you like the form as I do, take a look at my Etsy shop (there are a few crosses on there already) tomorrow and see these and the rest of the pieces........my business partner has given her approval, she's educated now, she has good taste.....

Namaste'

New Jewelry on Etsy.com September 23, 2009

A few new designs on my Etsy store (link below, right - look for Etsy logo) available on September 23, 2009.....just a few samples here....everything, as always, is hand made by me, nothing is duplicated. I only make one-of-a-kind pieces.....fine and sterling silver, copper, semi-precious gemstones......

Namaste'

Look What I Found

Culling my many books, clippings, swatches and stones - and the wondrous worldwide web - in search of inspiration, as I do on days when I'm short of it, I came across something of a reminder and, I think, a brilliant one at that. Too bad it wasn't my idea. But there you go, we all have ideas but don't always act upon them. Lee Crutchley, graphic designer, finds quotations, plays with them a bit, scans them and creates art. So if he's been culling his quotation books, at least he's done something amazing with what he's found. I think this one in particular is appropriate for myself and a few of my friends.






Just a little reminder for all of us to take the things that come to us and do something with them, otherwise, no one will know how brilliant we really are....go ahead, be daring....make your art, because what you read on the left in Crutchley's piece, is true....and our talent is a gift....success of any kind only comes when we use our gift. To hell with what people think, make art, don't be a part of the common heap who give up.....and there are many of us.......be brave......

Lee Crutchley, graphic designer (Click here for his flicker set of other quotations......and look at this next one.....

Before you leave this page, take a look at another Crutchley wonder.....and wouldn't it be nice to take words and images and send this message to someone special.....

Namaste'

The Art of Yes

What if something appeared in front of you, something incredible, someone, a vision, an idea so strong that it took your breath away? What if you knew it could change your life? What if it could bring you the type of joy that eluded you prior to this very moment, a deep joy you'd come to believe was no longer possible to achieve? What if you knew deep inside that you could sprout wings, fly untethered if you just said Yes, find real faith, not the faith of religion but the faith of knowing that you are connected to a source so incredible that it has been, prior to this moment, too vast to comprehend so you'd set it aside? What if now, right here, it is speaking to you, staring into your eyes, crawling into your soul, creating a vibration beneath your skin? What if this is your destiny - and you know it? Would you need to label it, analyse it, dissect it or would you take a chance? What if no one believed in you except this vision? Would you say yes to the calling? Would you open your heart fully and fly? Would you?

Perhaps the "Art" in our lives is to recognize when we are being called to an awakening, a freedom that only comes when we follow our dreams, and if we don't follow our dreams, they follow us until we....Say Yes...

Photo: Evocation of Butterlies - Odilon Redon Courtesy of Art in the Picture

Namaste'

Creativity Creating

I was so impressed when I discovered this that I had to post it on the blog. This is a perfect example of what creativity/art combined with technology - which is an art in itself - can do for art/artists. I can't think of a better use of talent than the creation of possibilities for other talent to thrive when faced with extreme circumstances. It is a true act of giving just to imagine such an incredible device because to deny an artist the making of their own art, is like taking away their air.....

The EyeWriter - (a simplistic sketch of what is to come is below).....will enable people with ALS and others with only the use of their eyelids to create art......courtesy of F.A.T. - Free Art & Technology...

And you absolutely must check out the direct link to the EyeWriter article at F.A.T. here and view the videos and read the comments about what this will be able to do because I couldn't possibly write anything that would do it justice.....really, its amazing.....



Namaste'

Blame It On Julia

Remind me not to see another food movie for awhile. Dangerous thoughts run through my head.
If I could literally be anything in the world without considering talent or ability, I would have chosen to be a blues singer. Alas, I sound like Yoko Ono on drugs. My second fantasy would be a pastry chef in a grand restaurant, but once I realized how much I truly loved baking (and I'm really good at it), I gave it up for health reasons. I could make a cake in my sleep. Ask any of my friends about my cupcakes. Really good eating. And nice to look at because I try to put a bit of art into everything I do and, well, sometimes I get carried away. Note these:

I promised a really wonderful group of people that I would make them something sweet and what they inquired about is not easily transportable so they're getting this cheesecake.

I chose cheesecake because I've been making this for over 30 years and its something I can make without licking the bowl, without eating half the raw batter and having my insulin spike like a lie detector test on a lying thief. And I chose it because its really yummy and because it needs nothing to adorn it (except a few stars......but no sauce, no filling, nothing, just the core essence of the cheesecake). In its own true self it is perfect, like the people we care about, flawless even with cracks, a taste you want to have often, and definitely worth splurging on because when we see what true decadence is, and how easy it is to find, we want to embrace it fully. The people we meet and invest ourselves in are the true decadence in our lives, at least they are in mine, that richness that only comes with quality ingredients, understanding how to put them together, the right amount of warmth, and knowing when to open the door and let them breathe.

Really nice people. I'm quite grateful.


Namaste'

The Art of Pleasure

I finally saw the movie "Julie & Julia" in which the lives of Julia Child and modern day blogger, Julie Powell, are paralleled. See it if you haven't because it is delightful. However, I warn you, you will leave hungry and possibly wanting to cook.


There are the obvious delights: learning that Julia Child had a wonderful and warm relationship with her husband Paul, somewhat sexy also. Meryl Streep is flawless and Stanley Tucci, well, how can you not love Stanley Tucci. Amy Adams, Chris Messina and all the other actors were wonderful. But why would I mention a movie on my blog? Because it is about pleasure, it is about bliss, not just food (although the food was amazing), and pleasure is an art, perhaps the truest art of all because it is simple and it is our right as humans. And bliss is a state of being we often feel is difficult to attain. With all that spirituality, religion, and politics running around loose, sometimes we think life needs to be lofty and it really just needs to be real.


Joseph Campbell said Follow your bliss and it has been said in many ways by many people but his quote is my favorite. Really, following your bliss is following your pleasure. Doing something because you simply love it can and should be its only real reward, although following your bliss will bring you the security you need because within you there is a sense of peace not found by people who are doing things just for money and without great pleasure, and following your bliss puts you on the path you probably should have been on in the first place, before you believed everyone else about who you were.....I think I've said that before....LOL


Julia Child began as most women did, as an ordinary cook. Yet she wanted something to do other than just "be", something with purpose, with pizazz; always a happy eater she fell in love with food while living in Paris. She took cooking lessons to feed her loving husband, Paul, and to de-mystify French cooking for those of us who were "servantless". She fell in love with french cooking to the degree of an obsession and in doing so, changed the world of home cooking.


Julie Powell held a non-bliss job and decided she needed something more. Another cook looking for passion that was right there in front of her and she began her blog The Julie/Julia Project (you will need to navigate your own way through the blog but it is fabulous reading) which later became a book and then the movie. It began as a self-challenge, to cook her way through Julia Child's magnificent book (and one of the first cookbooks I read as a young woman) Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. And she did. Brilliantly.

If you want a taste of what it means to Follow Your Bliss, watch the movie and read the original blog by Powell. A simple dedication to something you truly love brings meaning to life. To me, that is art in its fullest form. Just being happy with who you are, what you "choose" to do, and how you pass your time, when done with gusto and fearlessness is an amazing thing.

Namaste'