in this moment.

know this:
right now
in this moment
you are not alone

five (really) good things (about today)

beach view. westport, washington. 4.12.08

1. connecting and really feeling heard by another person. (thank you)

2. getting a phone call from a friend who shared some really great news. a new baby will be welcomed into this world in november. i love that kind of news.

3. finally beginning to work on some new flag sets. (and getting my order from papier valise with some delightful bits to add to them.)

4. mugs of genmaicha tea.

5. the sun shining brightly through the window.

what five things were good about your day?
take a moment...think about them...then share them if you want. (please...just put them right in the comments of this post or on your blog and let me know about them. thinking about your five good things might just change your life...or at least your perspective for a bit.)

breathing above water (in westport, washington)

in my dreams
they nudge me hello, then teach me to breathe
and i twist and turn and swim beside them

and saturday, i got to spend time with them outside my dreams
and they came as close as ten yards from the side of the boat

i laughed through tears of joy
as my heart felt like it was home

*photos taken by jonny*

a little about artfest

I must admit that no, I haven't unpacked yet. And, ahem, I am still in my pajamas this Thursday afternoon.

My heart is still full of the joy that was Artfest. The connection and the creating…this is what I will remember. I learned so much this year…especially about myself. I tapped into confidence, which in turn tapped into a sense of self-joy. Is that a phrase? Self-joy? Well, it seems to represent how I was and am feeling.

I was indeed twirling during Artfest just as I had been twirling the previous weekend.

And, just like the last two Artfests, I was too present in the moment to take photos. I guess I just wanted to experience more than document. I think we have to do that sometimes. Step away from the camera (or maybe the need to capture something to blog about it) and be with the people who surround us as we experience something, whether it was something out of the ordinary like Artfest or something a bit more everyday like sitting at a table eating lunch.

But, it is also a joy to document…oh yes it is. And, I have loved reading the posts on others' blogs about their Artfest experience and seeing their photos. People made the most incredible art this year. (Yes, this happens every year, but for some reason show and tell night just seemed full of more vibrancy and more people feeling brave enough to share their creations.)

After my first Artfest, I came back to this space and wrote about all of it in several parts. My head was just spinning with all the wonder that was my experience. Although I would like to tell you about my classes (I will take photos of what I created...I promise I will Jen) and why I love Port Townsend and so many other things, today, I am feeling more drawn to say this:

This year, Artfest was about me meeting me.

I had Annie Lockhart's class the first day and I decided to use a vintage hand mirror in my assemblage piece. Although that piece was hanging in my dorm room for the rest of Artfest, I felt as though I carried that hand mirror around with me and was constantly looking in it seeing my true self.

Through connecting with so many people…through the many conversations and the shared truths with Kelly Rae…through the moment when I heard Michelle's voice for the first time Wednesday and felt my heart widen…through watching the joy on Kelly's mom Carol's face after her first class…through the laughter until tears rolled down my face…through the deep friendship I feel when I spend time with Kim…through the "oh yes I totally get that" moments shared with Candice and Julie…through eyes meeting with understanding as I talked to my new blogging friend Kelly…through the shared meals with Diane…through the hugs with Blue Poppy and the immediate connection I felt with her friend Mindy…through the moments after class with Ali and Dona and Jill and Stephanie…through learning and chatting with Reisha (am I spelling your name right girl? email me and tell me please)…through the sunshine and the windy rain…through the "how are you?" moments with Misty…through the tears...through sitting on the floor in the dorm hallway sharing about classes and life and a common love for Theo's artwork...through the wise words of Susan…through the joy (and wisdom gained) that is time spent with Katie and Judy…through the commiserating over no heat or hot water…through the learning from Annie, Bee, and Nina…through the connecting with familiar faces like Ginny and Joyce and Sharon and Kristen…through so many other moments…through it all…I also connected with me.

I spend so much of my time alone that it took this year at Artfest, and the time spent with others, for me to get out of my own head and see myself.

Through the excitement and ups and downs and creating and connecting, I feel strong and grounded in the person I am becoming.

senses. owens beach morning.

i am usually quiet in these posts, so imagine i am whispering these words: i want to collect my thoughts when my head is less sleepy and my mind less fuzzy from this lack of sleep and threatening cold and then i will write about some of the details that were my artfest experience (my favorite artfest yet)...but for now i wanted to share these photos from my quick jaunt with michelle to owens beach in point defiance park this morning just before she headed to the airport to go home...

*******

{smell}

{touch}

{see}

{hear}

{taste}

{and know}

twirling inside

the plate of the car in front of diane, susan, and me at barnes and noble sunday evening.

i spent the weekend twirling inside friendship, community, and words, lucky enough to spend an afternoon with a friend then an evening with two goddesses and a day writing and listening to poetry and another evening of laughter, words, and truths...

i. love. poetry.

i took another workshop with susan wooldridge. when asked why i was there that day, i said that taking her workshop last year helped me to find another layer of my authentic voice.

yes. yes. yes.

some words i wrote on sunday:

i am a baby blue fifth chakra'd studebaker convertible
i am the fourth from the landing brown-carpeted step on garland circle
i am ignored red lips stroking your hair
i am tangerine fringe tickling the top of her silver damasked living room
i am the comma following the disappearing, webspinning secrets
i am the coocooing echo
i am clutter
i am mending

diane begins the workshops she hosts in a small one-room"house" on her property. we sat in a circle and the air seemed to crackle with all that was about to happen in a little workshop filled with words as people shared why they were here and a bit of their hopes. the sacredness of a circle of women. in this case, women i had never met until that day. i am ready to go back to diane's for a workshop as soon as i can. (you should join me.)

susan invites such a sense of safety and openness in her workshops. listening to the words of others is partly what makes the experience feel like such a sacred one. all day monday, their phrases kept running through my mind. such beauty and truth in their words. you can get to know a person you have just met by listening to their response to prompts like: "i am" "my soul says" "i know" "my mother says" "write one line about the prom"

fantastic.

i. love. poetry.

in just a bit, after i finish packing and somehow complete one more load of laundry, i will leave again. this time i am headed to artfest.

another opportunity to twirl inside friendship, joy, beauty, words, color, community.

i am blessed.
so very blessed.

today, i am sending you, yes you reading this, love, peace, and poetry.
and i invite you to go read a poem. go on. then come back here and tell me about it.
i dare you.

blessings,
liz

PS if you have sent me an email recently, sorry i have not replied. i will when i return. thanks for understanding.

snow on the blossoms.

today.

snow on spring.