Aunt Sharon's Care Package

My dear sweet Aunt Sharon is fighting breast cancer...and she's already fought ovarian cancer, darnit! I recently sent her a care package, to boost her fighting spirit and make her smile. The care package included some of Jerry's and my luscious hand-crafted soaps (Lavender Rosemary and Spicy Carnation), my incredible Lush Life Body Butter, and two very special pieces of jewelry, a brooch and a charm bracelet.

Aunt Sharon had a partial mastectomy, and I figure any lady who is "wounded in the line of duty" like that deserves a purple heart, so I made one of my bead-embroidered brooches for her, complete with purple heart.
Bead embroidery is a very meditational form of art for me; I like to focus on who I'm creating the piece for. I invest lots of love and good energy and prayers into each stitch, and the result is a tangible expression of love.
The base of the brooch is felted wool, stabilized with my favorite not-necessarily-for-art-but-really-useful-anyway-product, Future Floor Acrylic. I added the baby blue beads around the edge, because about 20 years ago, Aunt Sharon told me she wanted to buy and ride a baby blue Harley Davidson. She's more into horses now, but I wanted to honor her adventurous streak.

I also wanted to share some of the awesome amazing ArtCharms from Amber's Think Pink Charm Swap - I figure Aunt Sharon needs all of the love and healing energy she can get right now, no matter who it's from.
I wound up giving her five of the ten charms I received, and I think she's going to LOVE the bracelet. I filled the rest of the bracelet in with charms made with pink freshwater pearls and my lampwork beads, and a charm I made featuring a Celtic triangle knot, which symbolizes Aunt Sharon's faith in the Divine, and a very sparkly Swarovski crystal, which symbolizes the light of love.

Here are the details regarding the charms from the Think Pink swap:

· The circular pink charm with the hot pink glitter, fabric appliqués and crystals in the center was made by Erica Faith, who is just 14!
· The bi-cone wrapped bead with the two dangles was made by Elizabeth Woodford.
· The fabric square with the flower, crystal, and “love” charm was created by Lana Lovingood Richey.
· The pale pink rose with pearl dangles was created by Susan Zacher.
· Cindy Ericsson made the tear-shaped charm, with the pink glass and silver wire wrapping.

I also threaded a gorgeous variegated ribbon through the links as a final touch; the colors in the ribbon complement all of the charms really well, and serve to unify the whole piece.

Aunt Sharon, you have my enduring love, best wishes, and prayers for your rapid and complete recovery!

Love,

Chris

Now THAT'S creativity!

Paul Smith had cerebral palsy, but didn’t let a little thing like that stop his creativity – he made some AMAZING “drawings” with his typewriter...check it out:

http://www.paulsmithfoundation.org/main_gallery.html

I am in AWE of this man’s talent and freedom of expression despite the limitations of his physical body! Do not miss the train pics, nor the one he did of President and Jacqueline Kennedy...

Best,
Chris

A little crazy, but fun!

I finally did something today that I've been meaning to do for oh, say, a couple years...and boy do I feel great about it! I can't believe it took me THIS long to do this, especially given how much it makes me smile and feel good inside. Yes, I finally stopped and bought myself a bunch of flowers for...get this...TWO DOLLARS! A lady who lives around the corner from our home has a little stand with a sign that reads "Mary's Bloomers, fresh flowers Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday." Another sign reads "bokays for $2."

I couldn't begin to tell you why I've never stopped before, but when I was driving past this morning, after dropping Thing One and Thing Two off at school, because they BOTH dawdled this morning and missed the bus, I saw Mary herself out by the road, arranging bouquets for her stand. I realized that even if I did only have $3 cash in my wallet, spending 2/3 of it on flowers was well worth the money. Mary, a very sweet lady, and I chatted a bit while she finished arranging the flowers. I told her $2 for her beautiful flowers was an amazing bargain, and she said "it's a little bit crazy, but it's fun...kind of like life!" I couldn't agree more, Mary, I couldn't agree more. Thank you Mary, for sharing your lovely garden with me! I think I'll be stopping by a little more often.

Living the Creative Life, by Rice Freeman-Zachery

Rice, thank you for sharing your heart and vision with the rest of us!

Reading your book, Living the Creative Life, was a huge affirmation for me as an artist - I'm in awe of the way you put it together, and how you incorporated the quotes and wisdom from the various artists. I no longer feel like an alien stuck on this planet, I realize now that other artists go through all the weird mental stuff that I do (OK, well, maybe not all the weird mental stuff, LOL.)

I'm in a transition phase right now, relying less on my freelance writing to sustain my business, and working to incorporate my art, teaching, and books into "what I do." Like any transition, it's a scary time and place for me, filled with fear and self-doubts, and yes, even the (shudder) completely filled-out (in a moment of weakness) application for employment.

I'm working on things, yes I am. Jerry and I made an ungodly amount of soap (which needs to be posted in my etsy shop), my writing partner Peg Krzyzewski and I sent out a number of proposals and queries for our book, I've written and submitted two articles for The Flow, and since my torch just got hooked back up, I'm melting glass again. (deep sigh of relief)

I believe in what I'm doing, and I believe this is what I'm supposed to be doing, but it takes a while for these efforts to bear fruit and faith can waver a bit. This is where Rice's book came in, to bolster my courage and refine my focus, and affirm that yes, I am an artist, and fully capable (with a lot of Divine intervention, thankyouverymuch) of succeeding beyond my wildest dreams.

My suggestion to other creative sorts, whether or not you plan to pursue your creativity full-time, is to bless yourself with a copy of Living the Creative Life at your earliest opportunity. http://www.amazon.com/Living-Creative-Life-Inspiration-Working/dp/1581809948/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4022737-5071116?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191342982&sr=8-1

P.S. Peg & I heard from a publisher earlier this week who's presenting our proposal to her acquisition committee...yippee! ...oh yeah, and that completed job application? It's still on my art table, being studiously ignored by me.

Peace,
Chris

Torch Booth is Complete! YAY Jerry, you did a TERRIFIC job!

I am the luckiest girl in the world - married to the bestest guy ever. Jerry finished my torch booth this past weekend, and it is beautiful! Thanks Jerry! You ROCK! I'm headed out to work on the torch right now, so following is a pic of the completed project. I now have terrific lighting and a ventilation system that really SUCKS! This pic was taken before I lit the torch, so the bench is still pretty clean...

Again, thanks Jerry! I love ya!
xoxo,
C