As Light As A Feather

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Feathers amaze me. They are so delicate and fragile. There seems to be nothing to them; regardless of their size, big, small, tiny they are wispy and light and yet how amazing what they can do. They are strong enough to carry a bird in flight, just a slight turn in the angle of a wing tip can send a bird diving into a body of water to capture a fish in it's talons and then send that same bird back into the air in a beautiful, seamless ballet. Those delicate feathers provide the ability of flight, repel water, retain warmth, all qualities that provide the well being and life of the bird. It's very existence is linked to those delicate feathers. 

A miracle of nature. Strength can be found in what appears fragile and insignificant. 

To Look Inward

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There are moments I simply must stop all forward movement. I must stand still and take time to look inside in order to gather my thoughts and feelings for the day, to make sense of it all. Some days there is much to think about and to consider before taking that first step in any direction. If we don't take time to understand ourselves how can expect others to? There are times it is simply best to take stock of what matters to us, what do we want to bring to the day in front of us and what do we hope to take from it. Take a few minutes to listen to the beating of your own heart; strong, vital, empowering; that is my thought for you today.

xxxoooxxx  

Fragile

Fragile.

Handle with care.

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Too many things going on to share. Too many fires that needed tending to over the weekend. My time was split into milliseconds, at least that is what it felt like. I found myself feeling smaller and smaller against forces that appeared to have the upper hand, I couldn't get a foot hold; there seemed no way to protect myself. There are I times when I feel so fragile; when my life feels like glass; dropped, shattered, fractured into a million tiny shards. Sometimes it is just best to walk away; to put distance between myself and those that fail to respect the life that is mine. 

We all have people like that in our lives. I find it's best to remind myself that I am the one still in charge of the life I call my own.  It's OK to put ourselves first once in awhile. 

Today on this day of love remember to tell yourself that you embrace who YOU are, that there is not another YOU out in the world. That YOU matter to many people and that sometimes they simply forget to tell you. They are human too and sometimes fall short. 

Remember to spread a little bit of love on those around you. It's not about the big bouquet of roses, the pretty card, the box of chocolates. It's about when you walk into the house after a long day, tired, maybe just a little crabby and you are greeted with hugs, and smiles, maybe a wagging tail or a ball of fur curling around your legs and you know in that moment that nothing else matters but what is happening right then. That is what real love looks like, in all our moments of imperfection. Love is about what happens on each and every day not about a date on a calendar that appears once each year. 

Wishing YOU LOVE each and every moment of each and every day. 

xxxoooxxx

Heart Wide Open

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Heart 

wide open to

intuition

I listen for this all the time. Today I began to wonder if intuition isn't the stronger voice when it comes to creative pursuits. If inspiration is really intuition disguised as an inner idea that starts from within rather than from an outside source. I know those things that excite my creative spirit, colors, texture, depth, imagery from nature, a photo, or simply something far less tangible but as real as anything else in my life but much harder to pin down; that 'intuition' that I am following my true path. 

Intuition to me comes as tiny bursts of inner light that I see with my heart rather than my eyes and inner lightness of spirit that excites me from within, an energy so big and true that it is impossible to ignore. I know that feeling. I've experienced so many times and know that when I create from that place, when that is where it begins that I am following my own creative intentions rather than creating from a far less comfortable place, when the creativity stalls and refuses to move forward no matter what I do. 

When I am creating from my heart there is a rhythm to the flow. It is natural and comes with very little effort from me, I just have to be open to it and allow it to happen. When I am creating either because I feel I must produce something, or because I have been asked to create something and my heart is not in it; i tend to fight the process. Creativity becomes a battle ground and I tend to simply shut down. I might still be in my art room creating but in the end what flows from my hands in those moments rarely satisfies my creative spirit. I think the best art happens when we simply are not expecting it to, when we are open to the process without the need to steer it to in any given direction but rather to let it go and simply follow it and see what unfolds, what surprises we might find within the layers. 

At Home

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Just a house and a few random fragments holding it all together. 

Seems to me that is what holds most 'homes' together. It's not the walls, the mortar, the bricks, the paint and windows. It is the people who live under the roof, their care and love for each other, during the best times as well as the hard ones. 

This weekend I will be home working on dance studio props and set pieces and doing a lot of painting. Right now my kitchen and dining area looks more like a work room than the place I'll be making our meals for the next few weeks. We are used to this, it happens every year at this time. Everyone who ventures in the front door knows that they must be careful where they walk, that if it looks like wet paint, it probably is and that they are entering at their own risk. Every corner of any given room can become my work area at any given time day or night and whatever rooms I don't work in will most likely become a temporary holding area until  whatever it is, is complete and can be loaded and hauled back to the dance studio. Currently I am working on painting and detailing about 30 wooden round platforms. We call them the coins as that is what they will look like when I am done with them. They are 24" wide and 6" tall. They take up a lot of room. Then in the living room are wooden frames about the size of an average door that are being transformed into giant spiderweb platforms. There are 3 of those in various stages of production. There is a very large tree stump made out of insulation foam that needs priming and under construction is a wooden frame made to look like a jail cell that will be 6' tall and 8' long when it's finished and then it can be painted; most likely in my kitchen. I think it is safe to say I will will be kept busy. And when coats of paint are drying I can still go down to my art room and work on journals and other 'art' related passions that keep me centered.

And speaking of being centered. On Monday Flora Bowley's class; Bloom True begins and I am so excited to get started. If you want to expand your comfort level with paint I think this class fits the bill. I have a link in my side bar with all the details. I am looking forward to Monday. 

xxxooooxxx 

Signing off for now and getting back to work on all those props. 

Fog

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The past few nights around here have been foggy.

This page matches the view out my windows.

I really liked the veiled intimacy between the man and women in the photo; you can't really be sure what their interaction is or might be. Life can be like that, we think we know what is happening but sometimes there are other things going on in the shadows that we can't always be sure of and or how they might affect our lives. I actually like fog. I like how it softens the edges of everything, blurring the lines a bit and there are times when that softening can be just what we need. 

This page is not quite complete but there are times when I will leave a page as is until it speaks to me; until it's story emerges. 

I Know Nothing

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I still love looking up

at a star filled sky

in the middle of the night

when the world is asleep

and I feel as tho I am

the only one who is witness

to the party going on up there.

A million tiny lights 

held in place by invisible strings.

I love looking and waiting for 

the site of a shooting star 

and still make a wish

and still believe 

in the magic 

of that wish

I still dream

and make wishes

and catch a falling star

and hold it in my heart.

Remember to look up

once and awhile.