Swirly Girl

Expansion

I am so excited I can finally announce the expansion of The Christine Mason Miller Collection from Demdaco.  This line got its start last summer with 24 wall art designs, and we immediately got to to work on creations for new wall art, bookmarks and journals.  I can't wait to get my hands on them - so far I've only seen photos!

Here's the scoop on where you score these goodies:

* The Demdaco website has a Store Locator.  Scroll down to The Christine Mason Miller Collection, enter your zip code and you'll be shown where you can find everything.  If you'd like to double check, give their customer service number a call at 888-336-3226.

* There are a few of my original wall art images on Amazon, and more should be available there soon.

* I'm also going to be stocking up on some new inventory on my end, so I will let everyone know when they are available in my Etsy shop.

* I will also have some of the new items on hand at the Squam Art Workshops Vendor Night Saturday, June 5th.  I hope to see you there!

Sparklette #38

I know this sounds strange, but I have a soft spot in my heart for AC/DC's Back in Black.  It was the first album (yes, album) I asked for that my mom was really appalled by, which therefore meant it was one of my first memories of feeling like a bona fide rebel. 

My mom:  AC/DC?  Who are they?  And why do they have an album cover that is entirely black?  You crazy kids!

And later, when listening to it for the first time with me:  Ewwww

I remember getting the album as a gift, tearing off the plastic wrap and immediately putting it on the record player.  I remember placing the needle on the album and hearing the first sounds of a bell ringing - the prelude to the serious rock out of Hells Bells.  I think that is when I officially became a teenager (years I don't especially want to re-live, thank you very much.)

I was stuck in stop and go traffic on the 405 the other day, and You Shook Me All Night Long came on the radio, and let me tell you, I suddenly couldn't have cared less about the traffic, but it was awfully hard not to crank up the volume, jump out of my car and go for it. 

Tell Me It Wasn't Worth It

[My newest addition to my quirky art collection -"Grasshopper Hanging Leaves" by Lisa Wood.]

Dear Liz ~

I will never forget the way you laughed when I gave you my laundry list of goals for the next two months.  It was a chuckle that said, "You can probably pull it off, but when it's all said and done, rest assured I'll be there to help you get your sanity back."  I will also never forget the next little giggle that ensued when I told you that instead of spending the precious one hour I had left in my day before my meeting with this talented designer to discuss my new website, I wasn't planning on getting to work on any of these goals, but instead taking that hour to drive to Gold Bug in Pasadena in order to purchase a diorama entitled "Grasshopper Hanging Leaves". 

I mean really, why was that so funny?  It's not like I am easily distracted or anything (Oh wow, is that a butterfly outside, maybe I should go follow it...)

Whew.  That was close.  Not to worry - I'm still here.

OK, so maybe every once in a while - in a rare and few-and-far-between kind of way - my attention gets drawn away from the task at hand, but did you take a good look at the diorama up there?  I mean COME ON - tell me it wasn't worth it.  I DARE YOU.

Because not only is it a grasshopper hanging leaves, but the grasshopper's little clothespins are made with teeny tiny flower petals, and there is a tiny basket with tiny leaves, and she has a little tiny ant helper handing her more leaves!  Are you kidding me?  Tell me I didn't make the right decision.

Just in case you're still not convinced, here's a clearer image from the Gold Bug website:

This is the second piece of Lisa Wood's work I have now.  The first one is a diorama of - wait for it - a cricket and a ladybug playing hopscotch.  Hopscotch.

Did I make the right decision or what?

Love ~ Christine

Love Letter to Jenny Doh

[Jenny Doh :: The creative visionary behind Crescendoh]

Dear Jenny,

What can I say?  You had me at Happy Dance.

Although I knew we were creative kindred spirits after hearing your talk on the opening night of Squam Art Workshops last fall, I had no idea you would play such an important role in my life.  The simplest way I can put it is to say that you have given my creative, desire-to-inspire spark a whole new life.  This light never went entirely away, but a while back it went through a bit of a storm, lost some of its sparkle, and I then had to begin the work of building it back up to its original strength.  When I met you, I had been fanning the flames, adding fuel, and focusing on the task at hand.  When I met you, I knew I was moving in the right direction, but was still sometimes plagued by the worry that I might not be able to get it back to its full strength.

Every once in a while someone walks into my life to remind me of all that is good and passionate and clear in the world, and while I must acknowledge that my family, circle of friends and creative community is filled with such extraordinary people, there is something special about the light you shine, Jenny Doh.  You once wrote (and I quoted you here on this blog not so long ago):

"The lesson I've learned through it all is this: work hard.  ALWAYS WORK HARD.  And always be committed to quality and attention to details.  Because when you do, you create a foundation of credibility that can weather anything ... a foundation upon which you can construct with unbridled imagination, your destiny."

When I first read this, I already had the honor of working with you on a number of different projects, so I knew you were bona fide, but with these words you caused the spark within me to burst outward like a giant sparkler.  You reminded me how simple it all really is - that no matter what, whether the sun is shining or the storms are raging, my best and most positive course of action is to do my best work.  To sit quietly and let the storms pass in their own time, to get to work on a painting or a piece of writing or even a doodle instead of giving negativity one millisecond of air time.

Thank you Jenny Doh - for your passion, your positivity, your hard work, your exquisite attention to detail, and your commitment to all that is good and light and beautiful in the world.

Blessings...Christine

Siren Call

Wrap Up Africa Promo from Amanda Bontecou on Vimeo.

I have been in contact with Letha Sandison, Founder of Wrap Up Africa, for a long time now, and her passion and commitment to her community in Uganda is awe-inspiring.  Letha came to me and many other people in our community recently with a very special and important request.  Please read her message and then find out how you can get all kinds of Ordinary Sparkling goodies when you donate.

A message from Letha Sandison, Founder of Wrap Up Africa:

Hello all,

I am writing to ask for help - Wrap Up Africa has a wonderful opportunity wrapped in a challenge.

Our building has become unstable and dangerous.  There are no strict building regulations in Uganda and unfortunately this has disastrous consequences from time to time.  The foundation on our space was not poured correctly for our building and heavy rains have washed away the soil beneath one side of the house.  The landlord does not have the funding to repair the damage and therefore the building is not safe.  Because of this, I am unable to renew our lease when it expires in May.

Serendipitously, there is a new building available in the same neighborhood.  It is a wonderful opportunity as there are very few buildings that are within the hospital area that would be suitable for our uses.  Because the US Embassy funded this commercial space there was oversight during its construction and it was built using good and safe building practices.  The landlord is an employee of the embassy and is willing to sign a long-term lease with us.

This is a huge opportunity for us to take a space that is clean, has running water, power (which we have been working without for the last year), and allows for the expansion and launch of several programs for which our previous space had no room.   In addition, this space helps us convey a more professional image to potential collaborators, donors and retailers.

Our goal is to move into the new space by May 1st.  In order to do this we need to pay a year of rent upfront, a typical requirement in Uganda.   As this was unexpected, these funds are not available in our current budget.  We are seeking to raise $5,500 in order to accomplish this goal, and this is where you can make a huge difference.  With your help, we can take advantage of this opportunity and continue to expand the programs we've created to help more children become cancer survivors here in Uganda.

This is an exciting time for Wrap Up Africa and this space will allow us to make the most of upcoming opportunities.  We have just been offered a complimentary membership to the Clinton Global Initiative and invited to attend their upcoming meeting in September.  USAID is bringing buyers from large retailers out to visit our facilities and I hope to share more exciting updates with you soon.

Thank you for your willingness to help! 

~

I've put together some special Wrap Up Africa Give Aways, and if I hear about more on other sites, I'll post them here as well.  Please pass this along, share the link, Twitter and shout from the rooftops!

In order to qualify for the give-aways, donations must be made by April 30th, but I'll be making donations through the Etsy items listed below through the end of May!  The donation button is at the bottom of this entry.

* Donate between $5 - $19, and be entered in a drawing for one of my Ordinary Sparkling Postcard Sets.

* Donate between $20 - $49, and be entered in a drawing for a signed copy of Ordinary Sparkling Moments.

* Donate $50 or more, and be entered in a drawing for a signed Limited Edition Hardcover copy of Ordinary Sparkling Moments.

* AND if you buy a copy of Ordinary Sparkling Moments right here, $10 will be donated contributed to this project.  If you buy a Limited Edition Hardcover copy right here, $20 will be donated.  These donations will be made through the end of May.

Too Many People Have Loved This Story

Let me start by saying that after posting this entry a mere two days ago, I am a little bit concerned I'm going to give the impression that I'm a nutcase who can't make up her mind about anything since this is the third entry I've written today for my blog.  But a situation with my back that started a few days ago has gotten progressively worse, and I'm now parked on our couch for the remainder of the afternoon, trying to rest all the muscles in my back that refuse to stop seizing up as well as trying to invite a nap since my sleep has been interrupted repeatedly over the past two nights by the pain.  Last night I even dreamed someone was stabbing my back with little razors. 

Good times.

But enough of the oh, woe is me talk, what I'm really trying to say is that I'm here!  On my couch!  And I'm going to write some more on my blog!  And while this is a story from something that happened last week, I feel inspired to share it here because the few people I've told this story to have all responded the same way:  Laughter, followed by, 'That is awesome." 

So I wrote this entry around mid-morning April 8th.  If you don't feel like having to review that in detail, the gist of the entry was that I was in the zone of peace and harmony, wanting to buy the world a Coke, at one with the universe - feeling deeply content and awash in light.  About two hours later, my husband comes home for lunch.  By this time there had been about a week of mild tension between us.  This particular kind of tension is familiar territory for us, having to do with his stress from work and my need to distance myself from his stress in order to avoid getting sucked into it.  I have found that when he is going through an especially stressful period, the best thing I can do is not take it on.  This works pretty well even though every once in a while it is hard to be in a, you know, serenely peaceful place only to have my partner come home with a dark cloud over his head.  (And trust me, we each take turns carrying around the dark clouds, so I know this is something he has to deal with from me as well from time to time.)

So he comes home, something wasn't going the way he wanted it to, he started griping and I tried to remain detached.  Then after a brief back and forth about it, he looks at me, cocks his head to one side and says, "What?"  You know that what - it is an entire sentence unto itself, a condensed version of "What was I thinking when I thought it was a good idea to get married?"  And we begin a "conversation", during which he quickly pushes my button.  The button.  The one that is big and red and protected with a glass case - the one with a sign that says "Oh no you did-ent."  That one.

And let me tell you - I freaked out.  Freaked.  Out.  Got up from the table and stormed upstairs, went to my studio and sat at my desk fuming like a charged bull on steroids.   And then after a few minutes of feeling my blood pulsing through my veins, what did I decide to do to continue the rampage?

Laundry.

And I tried to make it the most angry laundry possible.  Dumping the clothes in the hamper.  Yanking the towels off the racks.  Throwing them into the washing machine.  Slamming the washing machine door so hard it bounced back open (Dang!)  I poured the liquid laundry detergent in the cup so passionately it splashed.  And the clothes that had already finished in the dryer?  They didn't just get folded - they got angry folded.

During this time my husband was getting ready to head back to work - having to take a shower after his lunchtime bike ride.  So by the time I was nearly finished with the pile of clothes that got folded in a fit of rage, my husband walks in the laundry room, corners me and - the nerve - apologizes.  Because then he had me, and I had to not only let go of my angry folding, but also of all the ideas swirling around in my mind for some angry dishwashing and angry organizing.  He took that fire that was roaring in me and snuffed it right out.

And then we were OK, and that was that. 

The craziest part?  We both knew we needed it - were due for a little bit of a blow-up - but weren't at all interested in making it anything bigger than what it was, which was one of those moments in a marriage when the perfect combination of moods, timing, low blood sugar and dirty clothes come together to create just enough chaos to remind you both you still love each other.  I know it sounds weird, but that's how it tends to work for us.  We might arch our backs, growl and bark at each other, but before too long we're back to discussing what's for dinner.

When I've shared this story over the past week, I've always explained that not two hours before I became the Tasmanian Devil I wrote an entry in which I declared "...there has been a deeper softening in my heart than I have ever felt, and there is a level of stillness in my mind that I am still getting used to."  And I meant it - all of that was (and is) true.  And that is what makes the story so compelling, the reason why everyone has said, "That is awesome."  It is awesome in the sense that aren't we humans funny creatures?  And isn't kind of funny how silly we can be, how certain circumstances can send us reeling in five different directions at once, and sometimes this isn't an especially pretty or flattering part of our journey? 

I was in a place of total bliss, and then I flipped out, and then I had to laugh.  I literally started laughing about it before my husband had walked out the door on the way back to work.  This story is awesome, because these two experiences don't cancel each other out, they are all part of the same crazy whirlwind that is my life.  The fact that they occurred within 120 minutes of each other made it all that much more vivid, that much more poetic and magical and joyful.  Perhaps these are strange words to use about a blow-up between my husband and I, but to see it any other way is to miss the beauty of it, and that's simply not something I'm willing to surrender.  Life is blissful-kooky-happy-nutty, and isn't that just awesome?

The Dead Sea

[Yara, Swirly & Renee, waiting for our mud to dry before getting back into the Dead Sea for another float.  This picture is now my screen saver.  Photo taken by Tara Bradford.]

I just posted some more photos from my recent trip to Jordan.  They are all right here, and recent uploads have images from the Jordan River, the Dead Sea and Aqaba.  I have stories to share from each of these places, and I'll start here with the Dead Sea, an experience that took me by surprise in terms of how much crazy fun it was.  All I knew about the Dead Sea before going was that it is the lowest point on earth, its high salt content meant that nothing lived in its waters, and I would float.  I knew it was going to be a unique experience, but I had no idea it would be so much fun.

I will never forget wading into the water with my fellow travelers, and the water was just chilly enough to make us all a tiny bit hesitant.  Renee was the first to let herself fall back into the water, and as soon as she began floating it was "OHMYGOSH, this is so trippy!!", and her excitement inspired me to follow her lead immediately, which led to my own version of "OHMYGOSH, this is wild!!" and one by one, we each did our own little freak out.

It is hard to explain the feeling of floating in the water.  We could float in a sort of v-shape (butts down, arms on top of the water, feet pointed up), could turn over onto our stomachs and pretend we were Superman, or we could make our bodies flat like a board with our arms folded behind our heads as if we were lying on the grass watching the clouds go by.  And we could not stop laughing, could not prevent ourselves from expressing how amazed and excited we were to be floating.

We also had fun slathering the warm mud from the Dead Sea all over ourselves, and after twenty minutes or so when we rinsed it all off, our skin was glowing and smooth.  We then enjoyed some more time pretending we were lily pads - floating still on top of the water - and reluctantly headed back inside to change when it was time to go.

When I lived in Santa Barbara, I used to surf regularly.  I still can't believe I did this, but I was serious enough that during the high surf season, which was winter, I would get up and be in the water by 6:00 or 6:30am, braving the icy cold water so I could get sloshed around as if I were in a giant washing machine for a couple of hours.  Dragging myself out of bed and facing that first feeling of bracing cold ocean water pouring into every crevice of my wetsuit was always worth it though, because letting the ocean toss me around for a while always gave me the most tremendous energy.  I literally felt like I was tingling and glowing inside after surfing.  I felt the same way this past summer in Hawaii - when I spent as much time in the water as possible - and I felt that way after floating in the Dead Sea.  Every cell in my body is happy when I spend time in the ocean, and that is one of the reasons I said good-bye to the Dead Sea feeling ever so slightly buzzed - grateful for every moment with the salt, the sun, the mud and the laughter.

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."  ~Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Five Things

Five Things that have been on my radar this week:

1.  Golden's Small Gold Mica Flakes - I've never used this before but now I'm obsessed with it.

2.  Polaroid!  I just got some film for my long-neglected Polaroid camera, and now I am raring to go.  Leonie's latest Polaroids got me even more excited.

3.  Have you stopped by the Wish Studio's new website?  It was designed by the uber-talented Christine Castro of Darling Studio, who, I am thrilled to report, will be giving my website a whole new look!

4.  Mackey Blue - It would be so easy to go totally nuts here.

5.  And I'd like to know how I can get a pair of whatever this gal is wearing.

Sparklette #37

Sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake.  It dawned on me just now that I can create Sparklettes using just images.  At first I thought they had to involve me telling some kind of wee story, which meant that when I thought of a good story I had to try to remember it, which usually didn't happen, so when I'd sit down ready to write a new Sparklette my mind would be a wide open, serene state of utter blankness.

But now, problem solved!  (Is this what is known as a problem that didn't really need fixing?)  Photographic Sparklettes!

In any case, this idea was inspired by Brian Ferry, Forever is Today (which I found through Brian Ferry) and Mary Beth LaRue.

I'll still be telling stories, but when I'm stumped, I'll invite you to share any little thoughts, musings or stories that the images I post inspire.

Detached

[Photo taken with my Diana camera eons ago in Santa Monica.]

A funny thing has been happening ever since I got back from Jordan, the result of a strange confluence of events, experiences, rejections, opportunities and awakenings.  And, most importantly, a softening, a letting go.  A certain kind of grasping has been loosened like never before, and one effect of this has been a new level of ambivalence surrounding the idea of things like online marketing, social networking, and building my "brand".  It isn't that I don't care about this community or my place in it, it is more that I feel totally and completely ready to walk away from all the pressure I've put on myself in the past to keep up in a certain way.  I don't want to spend my time Twittering more often in order to get more followers; I am no longer interested in comparing myself to what anyone else is doing.  I see now that all of these pursuits are exercises in grasping - in reaching for something that some part of me thinks will give me...what?  Success?  Contentment?  A new pair of shoes? 

This recent post by Karen Maezen Miller really struck a cord for me, and enticed me even further along this path of detachment, reminding me that anything I do - online, in my studio, or for my family - needs to be done for the sake of doing it.  The minute I start trying to do things in order to receive something I begin to tread on shaky ground.  I am all about the pursuit of dreams and making them real, but it is the process of those pursuits that needs to be my motivation.  The joy is in the act of forward movement, and in all the experiences I will have along the way.

It is a profound gift to be working on my next body of mixed media work with this level of detachment, for the greater my detachment from what other people are doing, what they might think or what I think will sell, the more creative freedom I have.  I am creating work that I think is beautiful, and I am trying to take each piece to its ultimate conclusion - even if that conclusion is to cover it all up and start from scratch - and I am working quietly, peacefully, without the angst and anxiety of fears over how it might match up to anyone else.

So if I seem quiet, it is simply because I am working.  I am creating, I am painting.  And as eager as I am to share these first pieces here, they are about to be shipped down south to Stampington, to be photographed for an upcoming issue of Somerset Studio, which I am thrilled about.  Inspired by Marianne's post here, I am embracing where I am right now, in this moment, which is feeling quiet, feeling detached, wanting most of all to dive deep into my work. 

"The artist is nothing without gift, but gift is nothing without work."  ~Emile Zola