this and a little of that

(some of my ever-growing) vintage button collection . march 2009

Today is one of those days where I am finally catching up on a few things I really want to share:

I am (beyond) excited to share that Jen Goff and I will be team teaching a workshop this fall at Art and Soul in Portland. The class is an evening class about self-nurturing and is called "Recipes for Self-Care." (You can read more about it here.)

(The beautiful spirit who is) Glenny (and company) has created quite a fantastic lineup for this fall's retreat. There are so many great teachers at this event! Jen is also teaching a self-portrait class, Stephanie will be there and Judy and Katie and LK and Misty and Lisa and Carla and oh how the list goes on!!

Registration began yesterday and I encourage you to check it out at the Art and Soul website. Portland is one of my favorite cities and if you haven't visited, I hope you will think about coming and playing and connecting at this event this fall.

******

Attention Squamettes:

The first annual Squam Art Show: A Vision of Squam is taking submissions! This is going to be an incredible art show full of the energy and creations that represent this amazing event and the beautiful experience participants had last year. Liz Kalloch dreamed this idea into reality, and Susan Schwake is hosting the event at ArtStream.

I have been thinking about all I want to say about this and why you should submit for a while now, but then I read Kelly's post and then Jenica's post and, well, those two just say it all. In a nutshell: Squamettes, just do it!

There is a lot more information about the show here. (Note that you have to have attended the 2008 Squam Art Workshops to submit.)

And if you are thinking about going to Squam, well, I think you should. It is going to be all kinds of fun. (Read more about the June and September workshops here.)

*****

Today's soundtrack has gone from rain rain rain to a lunch break with the golden girls to the birds chirping as though insisting to mother nature that they want spring to settle in. The sun is peeking out a bit and I am amazed at how much that lifts my spirits. I feel so blessed to be resting inside possibility again these days. Blessed to have friends who support me and push me and see me. Blessed to be learning. Blessed to be open to what is to come.

I honor that attending art retreats like Artfest, Art and Soul, and Squam have invited me to see what being in community with open-hearted, real people can bring into my life. I honor that these events are part of the inspiration behind my decision to follow my dreams and create the Be Present Retreats. And as people register for the Summer retreat and as I work on the Fall and Winter retreats, I hold what I have learned in my heart and am thankful.

Hope things are beautiful in your corner of the world today...

i am

frontyard, looking up . march 9, 2009

breath
space
holding on
heart
cracking open
seeking
beauty
twirling
thought
endless
hope
grasping
truth

nine. (written down as they arrived throughout the day)

front-yard dusting . march 9, 2009

this morning i awoke to snow on the crocuses. snow on the crocuses. i think this might be a delightful name for a blog or a poem. i should write that poem. perhaps i will. (if you decide to write it though, please share.)

the west wing and mash are my two favorite television shows of all time. all time.

i don't often find myself being pulled back to indiana. but when the snow falls, as it is doing now, and i see the birds flitting about hoping to get a quick bite before the temperature drops, i think about the house on oak road and suddenly i am eleven. i am eleven and the snow is falling at that house and i am looking out the kitchen window at the acres of woods and seeing the trees sway and watching the birds at the feeders, and i am believing that i am okay, that all of us in that house will be okay.

several times today i wished for a cup of coffee...and i almost made one. let me try again, i almost got into my car and went to the drive-through starbucks in my pajamas. instead, i settled for hot cocoa around 4 and was quite happy about that choice.

i really enjoy listening to books on tape...hmmm...i really enjoy listening to books on my ipod although i still call them books on tape. my favorites are mysteries. i love it when the person reading the book acts out each character, assigning a specific voice to each person. my favorites right now, because it is truly like listening to an old radio show, except for the part where it probably isn't as i have probably not really heard "an old radio show" before so let's instead say that it is kind of like what i imagine listening to an old radio show would be minus the sound effects and with a few more gruesome details about the crime scenes and other fun things...my favorites right now are the "In Death" series by JD Robb. I feel pretty okay that I can go from listening to Billy Collins on my iPod to listening to Kenny Rogers sing about a warm summer's eve to reading a (beautiful and deeply meaningful) book by Christina Baldwin to pulling down Kate Chopin's The Awakening to find that one specific passage knocking on my memory to listening to Promises in Death...all in one day. yep. that is a good day in my world.

the nice thing about listening to mystery books while i sew or crochet is that my mind is forced to quiet a bit. sometimes i just can't hush those whirring, swirling thoughts even as i try to let myself relax into the rhythm of creating. a good mystery book captures my attention and gives me the space me to sink into another world while trying to figure out who might have "done it."

i also love listening to memoirs, especially if they are read by the author. (do you have a favorite memoir? would love to add it to my list.)

my hair is long again. i feel like me.

sometimes i think i might be crazy to be trying out this new adventure in the midst of this economy. but then the core of who i am whispers to me and i remember why i am following this dream wherever it might take me...

what thoughts are on your mind in this moment? where are you?

all dressed up...

betty models the new (all dressed up) soul mantra necklaces

i have been having fun with vintage beads lately and am introducing a new line of soul mantra necklaces to the shop. because of the sparkles added to them, i am calling this the "all dressed up" soul mantra line.

a new day, (an all dressed up) soul mantra necklace

each necklace includes a soul mantra pendant along with a gathering of a few vintage baubles. the colors of these beads are making me so happy. i had such fun while taking product photographs in different ways.

have faith, (an all dressed up) soul mantra necklace

the truth is that product photos are so important on etsy, and i have often struggled with them. but lately, i have been thinking of other ways to bring interest to the photos, so that someone will take that step and "click" to investigate more. we so often fail to discuss the marketing side of our little shops. i know it might feel uncomfortable to admit that we are hoping someone will click and investigate what we have made. yet, isn't that what we are hoping for? i think it is safe to simply admit that yes, this is true.

while taking these new photos, i realized i could capture the pieces of these necklaces that make me so happy: the colors, the shapes of the beads, the words...

be, (an all dressed up) soul mantra necklace

and even though i was freezing (snow on the crocuses this weekend), it felt good to push myself and play. it is a gift to again be invited to look at the lesson that reminds me that it is when our hearts are the most open, when a smile tugs at our mouths, when we can stand back and say, "yes. love this," that this is when we know we are really doing it. this is when we understand why we were lead on our path to this moment.

and even though sometimes the path is so full of tangled thorny brush, i am grateful that the path brings me to a day in march where the sun shines on my head and i can take photos of what i have created and i can smile and just breathe it all in.

the blue.

gearhart, oregon . february, 2009

the blue sky peeks in at me as i sit here, still in blue flannel pajamas, collar softly brushing my neck, and thick socks; a quilt someone's someone made years ago tucked around me. the childhood taste of cheerios and milk still resting in my mouth and the smell of both in the air. the "letting go" candle burns on the table beside me as millie sleeps to the sound of the heater kicking on and blowing its whirring warm air around us. i stare back at the sky through the slits. i stare back at the reaching toward the blue pine and let the whirring thoughts rest for a moment. the thoughts rest for just a moment as i breathe in and try to focus only on the way the breath moves around my heart and through my body from my toes to my crown. i focus on this breath and the blue and i close my eyes. i close my eyes as the salted water arrives and i try to hold onto the space. with each breath, i try to hold onto the space.

i wait all year for this day

seven

the april bag...story to come

lucky to have a husband who takes care of me, of us

blessed to have friends who give me space to be me

happy (really really happy) to be playing (to be finally playing) with fabric and thread and putting that pedal to the floor

content to hear the dripping on the roof and the wind rustling the trees

owning that i choose how to respond in each moment (even if i want to pretend that isn't the truth sometimes)

grounded while listening to jakob dylan

open to what is to come

(what is going on in your world?)

my sacred life

notes for the journey . february twenty-sixth

where i am . gearhart, oregon . 2.21.09

i have been collecting links to several photographers lately...
here are a few that have me gasping out loud:

the photography of elle moss. some of my favorites in her shop include this and this and this one. (and today, i just discovered that she has a blog...love that.)

kristybee photography. these two have me calling on spring to quicken her steps.

the photography of cig harvey. this portfolio collection has me swooning. literally. (via the delightful gypsy girl alex whose shop houses another current fav of mine.)

this (wow!) photograph by john and fish (via creature comforts). i could spend hours looking at these photographs.

every day this month, when i turn on my computer, i have felt the love while looking at this photo on my desktop (via the photo at the end of this post - thank you susannah for this daily reminder). and whenever i look at this photo in susannah's shop, i just want to step inside my computer screen.

and finally...do you know about habit? (you should. this blog will remind you to bring awareness into each moment.)

*****

thank you so much for your support about my dream that is becoming that is the be present retreats. i have deeply appreciated the comments and emails sent my way.

registration for the june retreat, self-portrait excavation, began this week and i am so delighted that we have some people who have already decided to join judy, jen, and me on this adventure.

hope you are breathing deeply and taking care of you wherever you are in the world...wherever you are in this moment.

blessings,
liz