urbanrosary

Follow Your Dreams

A solo vacation in Bali, eh? I know what you are thinking. Nah, I’m not trying to relive Elizabeth Gilbert’s EPL journey and have no interest in visiting Ketut in Ubud. I sort of already did “that soul vacation” in Bali 10 years prior to Liz, before soy lattes and dot com explosion. I didn’t find love with a Brazilian, but does a 3 day romance with Aussie I met on Kuta beach count? Okay, maybe not. Instead, I fell in love with a British man that I met in Hong Kong who later became my husband. I missed the boat when I forgot to write a book or a song about it. I’m sitting on my patio at the same homestay in Candidasa. It’s hardly recognizable now. New bungalows now replace the landscaping, and the name of the homestay has changed along with the owners. Still, the spiritual and cultural essence of Bali radiates profoundly throughout the land. I met an Indonesian woman during my first visit to Candidasa in January 1996. I was sitting on a black sand beach and she showed me her traditional style paintings. If you haven't traveled to third world countries, you become numb and put up your walls with the touts. Ni Wayan was different, she stood out. The soulful depth in her eyes captured my attention, her features were strikingly beautiful and what she said to me sent a tingle up my spine. She told me how I was lucky to live in America because there is more opportunity and how she dreamed of a better life. It broke my heart. I told her I was an artist as well and that it was my second year out of university. Her eyes brightened with excitement and she gave me the biggest smile. She said “You artist, too. That is good. You do well, k? You work hard, k? Someday you become famous, make lot of money selling you art and come back to Bali.” I laughed. Her expression changed. She nodded her head with seriousness and said “Yes, Jan-ey. Not possible for me. But, FOR YOU possible!”

via jenniferparkerdesigns.typepad.com

Love this artist, her thoughts and her amazing creative spirit. Worth reading and following!

The Way on Leading and Living

The Way (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)
Recently I saw the movie The Way and I could not stop thinking about it. And the line that stuck with me is this: "You don't choose a life Dad ... you live one."

In fact, my husband and I saw it together and then we each went to see it separately again because of how much we thought the movie made us think about how we are leading and living our lives.

"The Way" is a powerful and inspirational story about family, friends, and the challenges we face while navigating this ever changing and complicated world. Martin Sheen plays Tom, an irascible American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son (played by Emilio Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking The Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James.

Rather than return home, Tom decides embark on the historical pilgrimage to honor his son's desire to finish the journey. What Tom doesn't plan on, is the profound impact the journey will have on him. While he thinks he is on "the way" by himself as a personal quest, he meets interesting characters along the way that also influence his thinking and his life. I grew attached to these characters as each of them was on pilgrimage for some kind of healing or closure.

I thought of the book by Rabbi Harold Kushner When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough where he talks about there is a time in our lives when we change from focusing from looking ahead to how high we are climbing the corporate ladder to looking behind to determine if our lives are making a difference--which is legacy work.

During the movie, I also thought of our three boys who are each on their own life journey now. They are living their lives and the movie reminded me to "let go" and let them live it. While sometimes they make choices I would not make, we gave them wings and now I have to let them fly. And when Martin Sheen starts the journey that his son did not get to complete, you can see that he has decided to live his life differently. The son had a lasting impact on him and the friends he makes on the journey challenge his thinking also.

In an interview, Estevez said the movie is about “pro people, pro life — not anti — anything.” He also called it a celebration of life. Martin Sheen described the film as one that exposes the brokenness of humanity, but also the connectedness we have with each other and with God, even if we don’t recognize it.

"The Way", written and directed by Emilio Estevez, was filmed entirely in Spain and France along the actual Camino de Santiago. Interestingly, besides its spiritual and scenic aspects, the movie passes through Galicia, birthplace of Sheen's father, Francisco, to whom the film is dedicated.

For me, making my trips to the monastery for silent retreats is part of walking "the way" for me. This is my time for reflection, question, and renewal.

Small Altar reflective of the sea with shells and driftwood...

Vintage is for Lovers

My inspiring Mom posted this remarkable video on her facebook page the other day; and I have been watching it over and over again, as if it is my daily meditation or prayer. Directed and produced by award winning, visionary Louie Schwartzberg, "The Happiness Revealed Project" is a beautiful message of imagination and gratitude, by a child and an elder. {note: begins about 4 minutes in but the introduction is magical}

via www.vintageisforlovers.com

An amazing young woman I met in Laguna years ago...we lost track of each other and then found each other again a quaint small sushi restaurant in laguna beach. By then she had married and become a mother of two small little boys. Facebook and her blog keep me connected to her work and life. I had seen this Gratitude video on TED.com and then again here on Samantha's VINTAGE IS FOR LOVERS website. I am echoing her thoughts and passing this along through my blog. Please enjoy!

Love of Collage

Sifting through my photos of past work, I came across this photo of collage enclosed in glass that I did a few years ago.  It was interesting going through the photographs because each devotional altered bottle and other pieces that I made are so individual and I frequently forget their design.  I guess, I surprized myself in a way...on how many things I have made.  It has been a journey that I know will continue as I am inspired.  I need new findings to inspire me...I need to explore.

Small little creations

Vintage perfume bottles featuring a crown and a swan...a small antique salt and pepper shaker and some small medicinal bottles are all used for these devotional pieces...

 

The Lost Art of Handwritten Letters: Why We Should Bring Them Back | Office Organization & Office Efficiency | OfficeArrow

If you were born after 1979, you may have never sent a handwritten letter to anyone. So accustomed to email and now IMing, actually picking up a pen and writing a personal message to someone - not on a sticky note, but on actual stationery - may seem foreign to you.

via www.officearrow.com

I relished in the fact that I had good handwriting as a young child. I loved the art of making my letters perfect. and I especially loved that fact that I got an "A" on every report card. I remember it making my mother smile.

Recently, I received a sympathy card after my mother's death. It was from a friend of mine that is very cherished. She wrote a long note in her card, remembering my mother through her eyes. I am not able to spend time with that girlfriend since she lives so far away, but seeing her handwriting and her memories of my mother written made everything seem so personal. I had been thinking of this for a long time. I would love to bring this art back to life...so it becomes an extension of who we are and part of our personality.

There is so much more to say about writing "it out all out"...

Feeling Down On Yourself? You won’t after you read this…. | Mel Robbins

Back in June, I climbed into a cab driven by a 26-year-old guy named PJ. He looked like “The Situation” from Jersey Shore. He had on his black wrap-around glasses, his big diver watch, slicked back hair and I could tell the dude worked out, just by looking at him from the back of the cab. I peppered him with questions and PJ chatted up a storm. PJ’s family owns six cabs. He doesn’t normally drive the cab, but today one of the normal drivers was sick. PJ grew up in Queens, and just finished his associate’s degree in marketing, but what he really wants to do is pursue his DJ business. I asked him all kinds of questions about the club scene in NYC and the economics of the DJ business. And yes, I of course had to give him some advice about ignoring his parents’ concerns and following his passion. Then PJ got a call. “Do you mind if I take this? It’s a promoter that books me a lot.” I said, “Go for it.”

via melrobbins.com

To get past my blocks creatively I decided that I would search out and find a career counselor. I thought at first I would like to go to one, but then I found this woman on TED.com. Mel Robbins. Her message is simple and for those of us creatives who can't get out of our own way, I thought I would re-post from her blog.

Adding On...

I have officially designed my new business cards.  I have been building my portfolio in graphic arts and I am getting ready to start posting some designs that I have done.  Some of those designs were for friends, and some for personal expression.  I have been working on a graphics certification for the last two years at the community college.  It has been an amazing experience and I absolutely love doing graphics.  

Occasionally, I will continue on as I am inspired, to do my devotional art pieces.  I have so many findings and treasures that I know I can let too much time go by before I will need to create those again too.  In the meantime I will be taking special orders and considerations.  I have visions and ideas of moving towards utilizing mosiacs in my pieces, and have been gathering ideas for some new pieces. 

Inspired by a trip to Italy I took years ago with my dear friend Natalie, I captured Italian mosiacs with my camera. Being Italian in decent, I am wanting to deepen those roots by incorporating that art form in my work.  

It may be slow in coming as I have had a big year this year with so many changes.  Changes I am learning to embrace with grace.

 

A love story

*names have been changed to protect the identity of the temporarily heart-broken

Louise* and Lance* were best friends. Just friends, never so much as smooched. They were roomies, they got drunk at concerts together, they slept in the same tent, exchanged great Christmas presents. Lance dated other people. Louise was in love with Lance. Plain as day, we all could see it. Well, maybe someday Lance will get it.

Twelve years went by. New partners and holidays came and went. It was good n' truly time for Louise to lay down the torch. She decided make a pitch. This is the crescendo of all romantic comedies where the protagonist decides to go for it:

It's 4am and we'd all been dancing at a fabulous wedding. Louise and Lance are slow dancing as the DJ starts packing up. There is a small audience of us in the corner table balancing Stella bottles and wearing neckties around our heads. "Oh...my...I think she's going for it," one of the cast says. We lean in to gawk, trying to read their lips.

Sure enough, with heart in hand and Cabernet courage Louise made her overture...Do you think we could make a go of it? Lance listened. He's a great guy. He listened softly. And softly he said: If it were going to happen, it would have happened by now. Truth bomb. Gently dropped.

If it were going to happen, it would have happened by now.

Even destiny has an expiry date. This is such primal wisdom. I'm all for relentless dreaming and fierce faith. But if you're spending an overly long time trying to wish, hammer, hope, push and ploy things into form, maybe it's time to point your dream in another direction. If a crop isn't growing, the farmer doesn't keep wasting water and fertilizer on it. He yanks it out, tills the soil and plants a whole new kind of seed.

Let 'em go. Kill the project. Shut down a division. And take that same longing for love, or creative fulfillment, or phat cash and face forward!

HERE'S THE KEY DANCE MOVE:

Hold on to the core desire of the dream -- that feeling you want to feel when the dream is realized, but shift to a wholly new target. Change directions and a new form of satisfaction could be right around the corner.

...just like it was for Louise. She got on with her life. And fell in love with someone who fell crazy in love with her -- easy breezy and right away.

After reading this in the morning after coffee and before yoga, I thought this is me...this is me and my bottles...I need to be the farmer...I need to make a change.  I have been working on making that change and now I need to take a different kind of leap.

I have been learning computer graphics for the last two years.  Yes I plod along and it is difficult for me, but I LOVE computer graphics...it's tedious in a different way than making the bottles...

I have my work station for bottle making always beaconing me, and it is not that I don't want make and create them, but I feel hopeless in doing it.  They are really a lot of work.  I am not afraid of hard work, but I need to work smart not hard all the time.

So in that, I am going to be working on a line of greeting cards and doing graphics.  Maybe I will continue doing the bottles maybe not.  I have so many beautiful crystals and other findings that I can't just pack up in a box and put in storage.  So...maybe I will just make them as I am inspired as gifts for friends...