Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Studio Scene from Nestle and Soar

Folk Art Flowers on Linen Pillow
Photography and Me...

I am learning how to better use my camera this week and here is a practice shot of one of my folk art pillows. I am learning about controlling the light in a shot and how it is half the trick to good photos. I am also learning how to set the timer on my camera -- it seems that my hands are shaker than I realized -- even using a tripod!

My mom used to say that in her business life, she wore many hats. Entrepreneurs often do wear many hats...even all the hats! One task I must do for myself is photography and I am only now getting training. For folks who make handmade items and then sell them through their virtual boutique, as I do, having a photography set up that is convenient to use is a must. When it is too much trouble to get my folk art photographed and up on one of my websites, then business comes to a quick standstill. I would love to hear of ways you have made the photography part of your life easier and of better quality. I am a person who needs to take photos, but doesn't particularly like to take photos! I always seem to forget my camera at family functions, for instance.


Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Friday, June 24, 2011

National Do-Over Day

I wouldn't turn clock back quite this far!
I have been reading an interesting book, What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty. In a nutshell, Alice hits her head while falling off of a spinning bike at the gym and forgets the past 10 years of her life. This is interesting because Moriarty does a good job writing about how people change/grow/live as seen through the opinions of others. "You always do such & such!" Or, perhaps, "You never seemed to like me." These are some of the revelations Alice is confronted with as she is introduced to her three children (whom she doesn't remember having, as well as her estranged husband, whom she thought was her newlywed perfect-match!) Yikes!

Reading this book has made me think about my life experiences and how others may have perceived them. This has not been a cheerful reverie! I could have definitely handled a number of things better. I plan to make a few adjustments with my coping style, that's for sure! I think one day next week should be declared National Do-Over Day, and everyone gets a chance to turn the clock back and redo something important. Are you in?

New Day...New Opportunity
"Reviewing our lives occasionally from different perspectives can be very useful. It will reveal the growth and evolution of awareness as well as give us more insight into living in the present moment. Reminiscing about our younger years is a very healing exercise if we let go and move on not becoming obsessed with the past at the expense for the future." Science of Mind, May 2011, pg. 48

I am hopeful that Alice and her amnesia work out well by the end of this story. It may be simply a cautionary tale about over exercising at spinning class! I've been suspicious of the folks in spinning class, to be truthful. It looks so painful! Or perhaps, the bigger observation is that in order to create a fulfilling life, we need to blend what we bring from the past and what we vision for our future into our actions in the present moment. Very well...off I go into a new day. Today is really the only day we get, after all. Best wishes on your new day!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Planting Seeds -- Within and Outside, too!

"Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate." Alert Schweitzer

"When a seed is put into the ground, the law pertaining to growth operates and a plant is produced...unless a seed is planted, no plant will be produced." The Science of the Mind, page 206

There are flowers growing in my yard on this fine Spring day. The seeds that became these flowers laid dormant for weeks or even all winter long, until the conditions for their growth set them free. Within each of us are seeds as well...seeds of peace, joy, recovery, health, and abundance. The thoughts we choose to keep and nurture in our mind create the conditions for the blossoming of these internal seeds. It is our role to create the right conditions, through our mind and heart, for these seeds to bear fruit. I will begin by making sure my thoughts of constant kindness are directed toward myself.

How does your garden grow...well I hope. Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Trust Yourself as a Creative Person

Vintage frame refurbished and ready...
Trust yourself. Trust yourself to do the things that only you know best.... Trust yourself to do what's right and not be second-guessed.... Trust yourself to know the way that will prove true in the end. Trust yourself. Bob Dylan

I found myself in the studio today second-guessing almost every action I needed to take. It really slows down the creative process.

Beauty can come to us as creative people, enter into our thoughts and heart through every sense, and then that beauty can be expressed as we manifest or create with our hands. This process is magnificent unto itself. Then, the humbling magic happens for me. When that beautiful item I created is purchased, placing it into the hands of another who enjoys the beauty I, too, can see, but also, gives that fiber art new meaning by thinking about it and enjoying it from their OWN PERSPECTIVE, then the circle is complete

Art does that--art touches something unexpected in people who look at it. The artist likely will never know the real meaning that the object acquires from its new owner. There is such poetry in this whole experience and I suggest that it can't often happen without Trust.

I decided today to ease-up on the second guessing in my studio. Instead, I can ask myself, "Does what I am doing at this moment contain kindness, possibility, or good energy? Does it feel comfortable, and does it sit well in my heart?" If so, just go with the flow, trust, create.

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne