Sarah*n*dipitous

Millefiori Story

For me, inspiration comes from a variety of different sources. Every since I was a child, I have been exposed to  incredible artforms and amazing pieces of hand made treasures. So, it wasn't any surprise when I received my copy of Judy Belcher's new DVD that I was plain giddy. Polymer clays you might ask, how can that possibly relate to stamping, scrapping or mixed media? Well, Judy Belcher is not only one of the most amazing folks I have ever met, she is a well-spring of inspiration. The ancient artform of Millefiori, as most of you may or may not know, is actually an artform that involves tiny glass pieces. Leave it to Judy to ask the question, how can this apply to my expertise in polymer clays..... Not only has she figured it out, she has knocked the proverbial ball out of the park!

After watching this DVD, not only am I inspired to break out the ole' pasta machine, but I can't help but wonder how many different ways I can apply the caning techniques to paper crafting and mixed media. One of the amazing things about this DVD in particular is the fact that you do not have to have any polymer claying experience to create something incredible (waving my hands wildly....as anyone who knows me, knows that I am technically not even close to being polymer clay proficient....). The complex looking bracelet on the cover is deceptively easy- I love that. Stuff like that makes me look good as a artist. It is something a kin to making a cake from a boxed mix and then spritzing your face with flour as you go out to serve it..... everyone thinks you spent hours slaving away.....love that (said in an almost singing way....) I encourage you all to go out and get yourself a copy of this amazing resource... let me just say, the Face Cane alone is worth the price of admission folks- absolutely STUNNING!!!

Reaping what you Sow

One of the things most folks do not realize about designers and those who free-lance in the crafting industry is the delayed payment aspect of the business. For example, you might turn in work for a deadline this week but, you would not be paid for it until it is actually published which can, in some cases, be more than 6 or 7 months down the road. I liken it to planting a seed and waiting for the harvest. Sometimes though, there are little unexpected surprises, like seeing your work turn up in a publication you forgot about or was unaware of, that bring joy to your mailbox (kinda like the wild grapes that are all over our yard- they were not planted yet, they just show up at harvest time). The object of a business built on your artistic endeavors is to create a perennial (things that come back year after year) garden rather than  one filled with a bunch of annuals you continually have to replant. Make the effort to continuously fill your pipeline with leads and projects that will in the long run help you weather the droughts we all face in our business cycles as well as bring in a bountiful harvest later on.

SWAG

For those who watch The Office- a guilty pleasure of mine (even if it is on DVD a season at a time..... sigh) the term SWAG (stuff we all get) was a term used when describing the trinkets and trash that are handed out at conventions and things. I think this term is just one of those things that can be used in everyday venacular. Paper Cuts for example are SWAG, stubbed toes and slivers, again SWAG. How about uninspired and stagmant in our creative journey? Makes you wonder huh? I started pondering about SWAG in general and the things I hear from other artists on a regular basis. Burned out, bored, frustrated, cluttered, rushed, having no free time to create, among many other things are common place for those who earn a living creating. So, it begs the question, how do you break free from the SWAG and find that rare and precious gem of inspiration? I think, it starts with identifying that SWAG exists, life happens and well, it is our job to rise above that and recapture that inner drive to seek out the stuff art is created from. It also comes from not accepting the stuff folks are handing out to everyone, it is being discerning about the stuff we are willing to drag around with us (I know from experience that when attending something like a CHA convention (the mother of all craft and hobby conventions) it is so easy to grab everything folks are handing out- seriously, we all innately hoard crap we don't need. We are like crows that see something shiny and interesting and "MUST" have it.... AND, as a result, our bags weigh a hundred pounds, the shipping costs to get everything home is insane and the blisters on our hands and feet attest to our greed.....)

Flocking

This time of year, the birds decide to be totally unpredicatable and completely dumb. They fly in flocks without a leader and create these massive clouds the weave and bob in some imaginary sequence as they prepare for their migration. Today, I actually had to pull the car over and wait for this massive congregation to fly past and settle on the nearby field. Right as I started the car up again, it startled one of them and sent the whole entire bunch of them back into the air. All I could think of was the Alfred Hitchcock movie and that blond screaming for her dear life. To me, that group of birds perfectly personified the mob rule of society- how people can follow and get themselves all worked up for no apparent reason and act stupid by allowing themselves to be directed by someone who hasn't a clue where they are going. I did not see any one of them go off on their own and do something different, they all needed to follow suit in one uniform swarm. In art, so often folks use the samples they see as a crutch and they end up creating a carbon copy of the sample aimlessly, never thinking to go off and do their own thing. Creativity is about gleaning inspiration and making it your own, putting your own touches on things and giving it a personality that reflects your own quirkiness; it's about choosing not to go with the flock.

The Great Pumpkin

One of the rites of passage every Fall season is watching the Peanuts and Charlie Brown in that Pumpkin Patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear. As a child I always felt sad that here this poor kid was missing out on everything because he was so determined to see that "something better". It is amazing how much of life, I mean really crazy wonderful things, we miss and let go by because we have our eyes on something we think is better. The market down the road put out their pumpkins today and the sun hit them in just the right way that they all glowed. I thought it was so pretty. My children on the other hand were running around looking for "the best" pumpkin that, by the time they had a moment to rest, the sun went behind the clouds and they missed it. Thankfully I caught it on camera to show them later but, just think on all the things that aren't captured on film that you miss.

 

Receiving end

There is a saying that says, Somedays you are the Statue while other days, You are the Pigeon. The funny thing is, you never know what the day will bring and whether or not it is your turn to by the statue. This past weekend, we spent the majority of our days outside painting our house. It is so funny how when you are buying the paint (the whole delusion of grandeur moment when you actually think that it won't take that long because you actually love painting that it really isn't a chore moment) reality really isn't in your head at that point..... Sunburns, sore muscles, paint in your hair, paint splotches on the trim you just painted, and the infamous spot where you can't reach with any ladder you own (seriously, how did they paint that spot in the first place- they must have been descendants of the fabled Amazons or something....) At any rate, I was explaining my hard weekend to my friend on the phone- seriously whining and begging for the "AWWWWW you poor thing" coddling I wanted when she said, "You totally brought it on yourself...." Where's the love? No sooner had I hung up the phone, my kids started clammering to take a picture of all the new baby cows at the dairy farm. Right when I got the camera out and ready to take the picture did the dumb things do an about face..... that's right, we got a wonderful picture of the receiving end. I had to laugh. We waited for a good 10 minutes to see if they would "moooooove" (I couldn't resist) and to no avail.

Too Much to do

Seriously, I was reading my last few posts and it seems as if I have truly been fixated on time. It is rather funny really. I suppose the more you have to do, the less likely it will all get down. I was mentioning to a friend of mine about the onslaught of new magazines purporting to cure the cluttered lives we all live.... all the junk we have accumulated and have no where to put....every room in our house full of their respective piles. I discovered yet a new organizational type magazine and being the complete sucker I am, I bought it. It is funny, I buy these things hoping that they will magically transform my chaotic existence. For the record, they add to those ever lovin' piles that keep growing (only now, I have a nifty curtain made from linen napkins, duct tape and some chewing gum (in true DIY style) to hide behind out of sight and out of mind). I started thinking about my day planner and how chock full each day seems to be and how I insist on cramming more into it. The days fly by and well, I scarce remember anything of real merit that I have finished. It always seems that I dwell on all the undone things that I have to carry over to the next page of the calendar. While I was marinating on this a bit, my son pointed out this lovely snail on the driveway. How magnificent it really is to have a specific path set out, a point a to point b and the determination to finish it out. I thought about the saying, "A snail's pace" and how it can be sometimes interpreted as negative. At that very moment, I saw it as a wonderfully positive saying.

12 Weeks before December

Can you believe it, we have only 12 more weeks until December. This last quarter of the year seems to go by at mach speed. It is hard to think about Christmas without having the cold and snow but, I am reminded that in many parts of the world, they never have snow, or cool temperatures..... I decided to break down the remaining Christmas gifts and projects that need to get down into manageable bits spread out over the next 12 weeks (I know, I technically have more than 12 weeks before Christmas and, I have been known to give gifts with the glue holding them together still wet, but, that is besides the point....) It is amazing when you set your goals and start early how much you can accomplish! This wonderful little star book ornament was created using Michelle Ward's 12 days of Christmas cube, some scanned in background paper I had made, some beads, fibers and wire.....

Little Signals

I always think it is funny that I tend to go into stores at the last minute to buy groceries or something right as they are announcing that the store will be closing in a few more minutes and to make your final selections now.... I mean seriously, don't they understand that this is the very soonest I could get out of the house without the kiddos in tow to buy groceries? I guess it comes with the living in the country thing where everything is solar powered (meaning, they close when the sun goes down). Today I was reminded that I have precious little time left to get things down around the house- it was as if God was sending me a nice little signal reminding me that Winter is on it's way and that the warm days are numbered..... "please make your selections now, get those things that need to get done before I shut things down....." I guess my problem is that I love to window shop and look at the world around me and well, time just escapes me I suppose. I love walking around in the Fall, the colors are just so amazing and for some reason I totally have amnesia and forget that spray adhesives and such do not bode well in a garage that is barely above 30 degrees (I try not to spray the really smelly stuff in my studio.....) I have so many projects that truly need to get done and I am well, finding every excuse to not do them. Don't put off the things you can do today.....

Shakin' Jake

Shakin' Jake might not be a name many outside of Ann Arbor are familiar with. Shakin' Jake's trademarked, "You On The Move?" and his out of tune guitar brought joy to many. He practiced his art in the streets, on the corners and in coffee shops and his carefree and magnificent way of bringing people together is something that touched the very soul of folks who knew him. I remember seeing him only a handful of times but, it seemed that anytime I mentioned Ann Arbor or Hollander's, the conversation naturally included this charismatic man. He said he was around 102 years old, but, the obituary honoring his life said he was more like 82. Shakin' Jake went to his reward over the weekend and will be missed by many for years to come.

My Space

Here you thought this was about the infamous networking site MySpace....sorry to disappoint you. I am always fascinated by the things folks do to make their personal space sing about who they are and what they are about. Not far from where we live, there is an amazing guy who basically got tired of going to his local watering hole and running the risk of driving home intoxicated I suppose. He created the ultimate "Man Cave" where he can hang out with his buddies. On any given evening, you can drive by this garage and truly, you would be hard pressed not to think it was a bonafide biker bar. The time and energy put into the details, the authentic concert posters and neon signs are just plain cool. It is hard to get a real nice picture driving by, but I hope you are inspired to make your own space reflect who you are.

Walking in someone else's shoes

I remember my Grandma telling me once to not cast judgement until you've walked in that person's shoes. I always wondered if they would actually give me their shoes to walk in if I asked..... Seriously, if someone was to walk up to you and say, "Hey, I wanted to know what it is you do and how you go about your day, can I just walk in your shoes for the day?" would you let them? What would that person discover about you and how it is you live your life? It is a level of honesty that is brutal and raw. I think in art, there is an opportunity to be real but, that very few actually take it. We create scrapbook pages that reflect only the good times, we create collages and artistic journals with that thought in the back of our head that someone might see this sometime so, better not tell the whole story..... What if, we laid our shoes out at the front door and welcomed whomever to come and take them out for a spin? I wonder where they would take them and what we would learn in the process?

Hit the Ground Running

Every once in a while we get the opportunity to see life as it happens. The kids and I were driving down the dirt road first thing in the morning passing a small family dairy farm when lo and behold, a female cow up and gave birth to a new calf right in front of us. I was floored by the fact that the calf simply dropped to the ground while the mother was still standing and immediately got up on wobbling legs to nurse. The mother went on to graze on some nearby grass as the minutes old calf found it's way to the milk supply. In addition to just marveling at the wonders of nature, I thought about how many new beginnings we have in life and how many times we sit there and wallow rather than hit the ground ready to take on the world. The calf was hungry and sought out the sustenance it needed to survive, it did not wait to be given anything, it went after it even knowing that it's legs did not quite work. There were no excuses, it just did it. Pretty amazing. Each day is a new beginning, an opportunity to take on the world, it is up to you to hit the ground running.

Git er Done.....

I love the Fall. I love the colors, the fact that it is the harvest and you are able to see a return on the work you have completed over the Summer. All this being said, when the leaves start to change, something in me clicks on and all the sudden I realize that there are precious few days left to get things done. It is like a little fire is lit under my tail and the "Ta-Do List" seems to multiply by the minute. It is as if a little internal clock is ticking away and the necessity to organize and hunker down before the long Winter is a looming deadline just nipping at my heels. For me, much of the "class supplies" (the stuff I load around in bins from here and there all over the place when I teach classes) have found a wonderful home out of sight and mind in my garage. The problem is, art supplies do not bode well in sub-artic temperatures and need to find their way back into my studio......a studio that is already stuffed to the ever lovin' gills. To add insult to injury is the fact that my husband has every intention of parking the car in the garage out of the snow come Winter.....such a shame that it is, that my stuff is occupying that space. Sigh. It is time to "git er done". Organizing is a forced fun activity- I find no joy in it and truth be told, I am easily distracted from my obligations....afterall, the weather is just so nice and it would be a shame to waste it inside right?

Remembering Alan Bondarenko

Last year, a friend of mine created a special online tribute to those who lost their lives on September 11th, 2001. Those who participated "adopted" a victim to honor on their blogs as a way to remember the lives of those innocent folks that were just showing up to work on that fateful day. It is strange to me in that, just 1 year prior to the tragedy, I myself was in World Trade Two receiving training for my then profession, as a financial advisor. I remember looking out of the windows from the 67th floor and thinking about what an incredible view it was- for those of us who had never lived in New York, we all took pictures and gawked like the tourists we were...... I always wondered how many of the folks who lost their lives on September 11th just one year later were people I had perhaps shared an elevator ride with or stood next to in line waiting for lunch in the cafeteria. I remember the faces of the people I did know, the people I did not send a Christmas card to, the people I never got to say goodbye to and my heart aches for their families and friends.

6 Years have passed. I will never forget that day. I will never forget watching the first building burning and seeing that second plane crash. I will never forget the chills that went down my spine and the tears that streamed down my face when I realized people I knew personally were no longer living. I will never forget when the buildings collapsed and the crushing blow I felt when I knew that  those brave firefighters who ran up the stairs in thick black smoke and  the still trappped victims laid there in a heap of twisted metal and debris. I will never forget.

I will never forget that Mr. Bondarenko was an amazing man with a life and a family and friends who adored him. Even though I had never met him, from the messages his family had sent me and the comments others had made about him, he seemed like a fun loving person, someone I would have loved to sit and have a cup of coffee with.

The writer Herman Melville once wrote that were are not alone in our existence here, our lives are all intertwined and connected by thousands of invisible threads. By agreeing to participate in last year's tribute, the victims of 9/11 became more than a name on a list, they became faces with stories to tell and legacies to leave. For my own family, Mr. Marino and Mr. Bondarenko will never be forgotten.

In Memory of Alan Bondarenko