creative self-care (a one-day inner excavation workshop)

I am so delighted to announce my first local one-day workshop!

Come along and explore ideas and themes brought up in my book Inner Excavation: Explore Your Self Through Photography, Poetry, and Mixed Media. In this workshop, we will look at how to use writing and photography to find the beauty in the everyday moments in our lives, and we will explore how seeking this beauty becomes a brave practice in self-care. You will be invited to slow down and notice where you are in this moment and to think about how creating a daily practice can support where you are on your journey. During our time together, we will also play with paper and color to create a simple journal to house our inner excavation observations. This day will be all about reflection, recharging, and fun!

Details

When and Where: 
Saturday, October 29, 10 am - 5 pm
Tacoma Pregnancy, Birth, and Family Education Center
7406 27th Street West, Suite 301 (top floor), Tacoma, WA 98466 

Supplies needed:
Notebook + favorite pen/pencil
Scissors 
Digital or instant camera (a cell phone camera is great; if you don’t have a camera, we will have one or two for people to share)

Optional supplies (the following are not required): 
A few copies of photos that you can use in your journal. Examples include: nature photos, self-portraits, childhood photos, and so on. Images from magazines are also great.
A quote or poem that has meaning for you.

Supplies provided:
Kit + all art supplies needed to create the journal 
Printer to print out photos taken during our time together
Other surprise goodies for our adventure

Cost: $130 
Lunch included (sandwich, fruit, chips, cookie from the GreenSpot Tea House)
Snacks and beverages included throughout the day

To register (or ask any questions):
Email me (you can also click the email link in the sidebar)  

Please note:
This workshop is for women only. 
Because this has come up in a few emails, I want to just let you know that even though this workshop is being held at a birth and family education center, the workshop is not about pregnancy or birth and is open to all women.

*****

For several months now, I have been hoping to find the perfect place for local one-day and evening workshops. During this time, I had no idea that Patti Ramos, our doula for Ellie Jane's birth, was living one of her dreams into reality and opening the Tacoma Pregnancy, Birth, and Family Education Center. In July, we had an incredible afternoon that went into the evening brainstorming session and the idea for me to teach a few classes at the center was born. This is the first class in a series that will be taught at the Center over the next few months. I am thrilled that Patti wants to encourage all types of gatherings at her new sacred space.

If you would like to make a weekend trip to the Seattle/Tacoma area to attend the workshop, there are some great B&Bs and hotels here. Just email me with any questions. 

If you are interested in more of a retreat experience, there are still a few spots left at Create Magic, the Fall Be Present Retreat, that I am hosting and teaching at with Vivienne McMaster and Mindy Lacefield.

oh yes, it was good.

because i promised cupcake photos. 

(and when you visit, we are so going there.)

on the move

just in case you thought i was kidding about that 15 month old on the move thing...

in the shop...

a few necklaces from the current collection in the shop

Today, I'm spending time sketching out some designs and plans for my fall and early winter necklace collections. In doing that, I realized that I hadn't yet shared a glimpse into the current late summer collection I just uploaded to the shop last week. The mosaic above shows just a few. I was really inspired to make some long (and even longer) layering pieces. A couple of customers were so inspired by the sneak peek photo of Betty that they ordered a grouping of necklaces from this collection to be worn layered. Love all those layers! 

I am also working on a plan to simplify custom orders around the holidays. I have never quite wrapped my arms around this process, but I am brainstorming to try and find the best way to facilitate this on Etsy. Right now, I think having a page on my website to direct customer's to might be the best option. It would include photos and instructions on what can be customized and so on. Still rolling that around in my mind though...

And now, since all members of my family are currently napping in this afternoon heat, I am off to get that cupcake I mentioned in yesterday's post. For real. Yep. Photos to come.

over here...

one very small dahlia . point defiance park, august 2011

goodness it has been quite a week over here. the usual living stuff combined with jon's return to school and the schedule that brings combined with some pushes and pulls that have me a bit off kilter.

i'm trying to remember the self-care tricks i have up my sleeve while also chasing an always-on-the-move 15-month-old little girl. i'm trying to fit it all in somehow. i'm trying to breathe more than worry. i'm trying to quiet the chatter within. i'm trying to put family first while caring for my dreams. i'm trying to soak up the last few days of blue skies and warmth. i'm trying to let go and listen.

i guess the truth is that in some ways, i'm trying to find my way as i look for all that i already know...as i look for the light that is (always) waiting.

i hope this weekend brings you moments to rest and laugh and breathe it all in...and maybe a cupcake. yes. a cupcake would be perfection right about now, don't you think?

blessings,
liz

brooklyn (2)

backyard restaurant reflection . brooklyn, august 2011

somewhere in the midst of the truths and laughter, i began to believe that magic lives in the spaces between all that might be and all that once was. 

joy seeker (august)

Usually it goes like this: You will suddenly look at one of us and pause whatever you are doing. Then, you will frown. Then you will almost start laughing, but instead, you will frown even deeper. Then, you will close your eyes for a few seconds. Blink. Blink. Blink. Now you will open your twinkling eyes wide. Then, you will giggle until your whole body shakes. You laugh even harder if one of us frowns back at you.

I think this is my most favorite game ever.

*****

the series "joy seeker" is one way that i plan to document the "joy" superhero power that this kid has. i hope to gather these glimpses here on the blog from her first to second birthday, and then, i will put them all together and have them printed in a small book.

live it baby girl {soul mantra stories}

live it baby girl, a whispered soul mantra locket in the shop

People often ask me where the soul mantra phrases come from. Sometimes the phrases arrive almost "on the wind" when I am in my studio working with the letters and lockets, and they push me to pound them into metal. Sometimes the mantras are born from my experiences and from stories my friends share with me. Then there are the phrases that whisper in moments of quiet when I am in the midst of living. 

From time to time, I am going to share these stories, beginning today with the story of the "live it baby girl" soul mantra.

*****

The day was thick with missing and grief.

I walked along the water, my eyes turned toward the spaces between sand and rock, hoping to find the small tumbled glass, hoping it would connect me to her. With each step, the sadness grew as I was pulled back to the last time we walked on the beach years ago. Realizing I remembered so little from that last ocean visit, I wished I could go back, right back, and hear her laughter. As I found the first piece of small, rounded green glass, my chest hurt with the longing to look up and see her a few steps ahead of me. I would call out to her and say, "I found one!" and rush over...my 26-year-old self becoming my 5-year-old self in that moment as I would seek the approval and perhaps even the jealousy of my grandmother. Instead, my 33-year-old self walked alone inside the missing that day.

The tears tapped at the backs of my eyes as I searched between the grey, white, brown rocks, bending over even though my back ached. Tucking the sea glass into my pockets, the truth of grief my companion.

Finally, I unfolded, coming out of the searcher's stance and faced the neverending lapping, pushing, pulling water. I closed my eyes and tried to hear her voice inside the memories, but I kept getting caught up in my own words, "I miss you. I can't remember. I wish...I wish..." Taking a breath, I tried again to hear her. Giving up, I opened my eyes and looked at the mountains in the distance; my face softening with the truths that seemed to float inside me. Then it came:

Live it baby girl. 

Was it her voice? My voice? The voice of something greater than me? I brushed the wondering aside and made the choice to just be right there, breathing in the grief, the truth, the beauty, and all that she taught me.