From Nothing to Something

Ever wonder how an artist designs jewelry? I sure do. Do they draw it all out? Do they count every bead or coil of wire to be sure they have all they need for the project? When I am itching to wrap a stone, I follow my own approach but wonder how other artists approach their work.

I can tell you that I don't look for clasps in my stash until I'm done with the piece. If I don't have the right clasp then I will either make one or buy one when I know what the finished piece demands. Besides, often times I don't know if my wire wrapping will swallow up a stone or get shaped into earrings or a bracelet.

I've just realized that this weave is too stiff and bulky for earrings, and I hear the rocks calling! At this stage I'm wondering if I want such a sharp contrast between the stone and the woven wires... Is this stone "the one"?Too many factors can distract me from the excitement of wire wrapping, and the anticipation of what I will produce! Ah, distractions, the biggest challenge to my attention span, easily influence my design and the artist within is good at resisting them. I wish I did as well in my day-to-day activities! But I digress...My design process is difficult to describe. The only plan I have, at the outset, is to gather wire, beads, and a rock that enhance each other-- in some odd way-- and then I start wrapping. I tend to let the piece create itself. I just tell myself it is an experiment and I'm not to worry about the end result. I can make it work, in the end!Though the backside tips are wrapped tightly, they will not hold long term without a strong foundation to hold them in place. What to do?

This additional weave will do the trick! Stay tuned...

The good news is that I always find a way to recover when the piece is not balanced or not strong enough to hold its shape and its cloak of wire. If I'm not struggling a bit with the ensuing design issues that present themselves then the piece just isn't worth making. This piece? I've got a plan to tie it all together securely and beautifully!

But I'm left wondering... How does the artist in you approach your creative process?

Inspiration is all around me!

One of the main reasons that my husband and I moved from the Southeastern US to the Southwestern US is our attraction to the mountainous desert here. We were bored with the humid jungle of Florida so we opted for arid Utah to make a change. And what a change it is! We currently live in the Northeast corner of the Mohave Desert and thought we would be here six months or so before moving on to other explorations of the West. We were wrong! We are fascinated with the landscapes that are flush with desert colors and splashed with green life here and there. Whenever we hike these areas, my chest gets full of excitement as I absorb the sights and listen to the sounds, or lack thereof. What peaceful places we are finding! And we expect to stay here at least another year.

I come home from our adventures full of fresh air and an ache to pick up my jewelry making where I left off. You see, one seems to feed the other. I hope you will enjoy this blog from time to time as I progress with my artistry. Enjoy the view of our latest jaunt to Hell's Hole in Ivin's, Utah.

Moving into the Now Moment

Much has been written about the Now Moment so I'm not going to explain it here. I just want to say that I think I've been inducted into this special space in the past few weeks. I haven't had much to write about from a philosophical angle and I am not into writing a travel log or sharing all the daily details of life so I've been remiss in posting to my blog. I really haven't had much to say. Then it hit me this morning that I've been busy "being" instead of "doing". Yes, I've been active during many of the "being" moments but the joy in those moments has been constant and timeless.  To me timelessness resides in a Now Moment. There is no past and no future, just now.  This my life now. My goal is to keep it that way.

So for those not on Facebook, you've missed a number of posts that I will present here pictorially... while I was "being". We have continued to hike and, more recently, bike!  And I've made some phenomenal necklaces which you can see on my website.  I am working on connecting with retailers downtown to sell it all. I have to make room for more!  This one is my current favorite.

I'm learning to control my bike before I risk live and limb on local bike trails which exist all over St. George. Right now I ride the local neighborhood streets and do figure eights in the parking lot where we live. This is a biking town! It is energizing and youth-ifying...  (a made up word). 

Sunday morning's walk took us to the Crosby Family Confluence Park where the Santa Clara runs into the Virgin River. Some bike trails are shared with pedestrians (like us) but the bikes get priority. This helped us decide to go get some bikes.

The skies, clouds, and sunsets here are phenomenal...  Until next time, savor your Now Moments!

Settling In

Settling in isn't as easy as it sounds.  The occasional uneasiness I feel during any one day tells me that I am in the process of settling in, whatever that is supposed to mean. We've only been here 17 days now. As you know, patience isn't one of my virtues so I have been (naively?) hoping that after unpacking the car and arranging our things, finding the grocery stores that suit our lifestyle, and setting a daily routine of walking these incredible St. George trails, some of the foreignness would melt away. And some of it has, actually. I can now take a shower and have all my things at my fingertips instead of searching through a travel cosmetic bag.  My pots and pans have taken over the kitchen here and the resident pots are stored away. Luckily, our furnished condo has the best of furniture and we sleep so well in its king size bed.  I was not expecting a plug and play experience when we moved away from everything we owned and everyone we knew, don't get me wrong. In fact, I wanted a complete change and that's what I'm getting. I'm not saying that any one thing is bothering me just that I feel like a fish out of water.

My studio is setup here but it is not the same studio I had there. Far from it. My creative energy wants there and it cannot have it. So I am ignoring the new studio and have moved to the living room couch in front of the TV (not) watching with Nathan but working on jewelry there. There is a sort of "clingy-ness" between myself and Nathan, me to him. I have a studio here but it's not that studio.  Something about sitting in my domain, that studio was feeding my soul. Now something is missing.  I spent a large portion of my day in there and that part of my life has to be recreated.  We will move from here in four months so this is really just an interim studio. I am learning from this rental just how to manage the next one. Until we decide to settle down in one place, this will be the drill.

I am missing the companionship of my girlfriends even though we did not see each other all that often. One month ago, a phone call could mean a lunch date or at least a nice phone chat over coffee. Those phone chats over coffee are something I am beginning to reach out for now that I'm (a little more) settled.  As I reread this I realize that settling in (for me) literally means transitioning into a new environment.  And so this is the way it must be for now.  I thank my lucky stars I still have all my jewelry making supplies to feed my creative needs, and I am pleasantly surprised that my creativity does not get derailed by the television in front of me.  I am wrapping stones and creating some gorgeous original pieces!  The energy in the mountainous trails we explore is feeding me.

I am beginning to enjoy cooking again with MY pots and pans. (smile). In past years I was preoccupied for so long with other activities--usually business related-- that cooking became more of a have-to than a want-to. Nathan did much of the cooking (thank God)! Now unencumbered, I have time to focus more on preparing fresh foods for cooking and returning to the cooking ritual that always soothed me.  I am more aware of what I am feeding my body. I feel better physically. Mentally is up for grabs (for now).

I just wanted to share the reality of what is happening here in our new location. I don't quite know how to end this post other than to try to say something funny.  How about "Mama said there'd be days like this.."? My Love to all of you...

Receiving with ease

I learned about the phrase "receive with ease" as a Unity truth student in the mid-90's. My interpretation of it has meant to accept the goodness that comes my way and not question whether or not I deserve it.  It also tells me not to wonder if there is "a catch" to such good fortune.  For me, that has meant learning to "relax into" the gifts I receive and savor the good feelings they invoke within my being.  In other words, let my self feel the love. Without going into detail, let's just say that I was very often disappointed growing up and learned not to expect people to keep their promises or build hope that what was promised would actually happen (for me).  So the importance of learning this concept has helped me to expect that good is always intended for me, that I deserve to have all the goodness (gifts) that come my way, and that if I am -- for any reason -- disappointed in the outcome of my expectations then that gift was not intended for me. "Don't take anything personally" -from chapter two of The Four Agreements by Don Miguel- contributed to my understanding of this concept. This is a comforting concept to embrace!

All this comes to my mind this morning as I experience all the good feelings and unexpected gifts from having moved across country from Florida, the verdant humid paradise, to Utah, the arid extremity of red rock, black lava and peeping greens that pop!  My heart is so grateful for the gift that Nathan and I have given ourselves with our life decision to purge and play for this indefinite period.  We have set the stage for new adventures, all of which will come wrapped in western sunrises and sunsets, vistas of red and orange and rust and black.  The energy of the mountains is the most powerful gift of all, to contribute to our spirits, our physical energy and youth, and the depth of our relationship.

Are we tired yet? Absolutely! We are somewhat exhausted by months of preparation that went into making this move.  The funny thing is that we agree the 11 day journey here felt more like a 4 day journey. Why? We don't care why. We accept the gift. We know it was just another sign that we are Supported in taking this step.  So now we rest and revel in our new surroundings, getting back to home cooking, sleeping without having to get up and attend to anything other than resting and eating and taking a walk. Our new home --for the next 4 months--has turned out to be a place for a perfect retreat from everything!  We haven't heard one siren. Instead, we hear absolute silence, and outside just the birds and an occasional golf cart drifting by on batteries. THANK YOU is all we can say!

Ode to 5305 Chez Levy circa 1948

Our old house, dubbed "Chez Levy" on a dinner party menu I made years back, was built in 1948. It is no longer ours but I had to capture its essence in photos before we left it--as best as I could--that is, if it's even possible to photograph those parts of us that stay behind in grace and beauty and color and style.   Every inch of brush stroke and corner cleaned to our satisfaction. Every window dressing something discussed and decided upon. Every color chosen carefully. Every repair done skillfully with loving hands to maintain our investment. Every inch cleaned with a commitment to keeping things nice.  Every foot of acreage seeping with Nathan's environmental stewardship and love for the land and nature. 

The furniture is no longer there but part of us--and everyone who entered its space--remains. This was not what one might call a fancy home, ah, but such a real one! Filled with love and parties and friends and caring and sharing. A home that supported us as entrepreneurs, lending itself as an administrative office for a training business, a studio for artistic endeavors, cottage industry home cooking, a center for education in diverse healthful subjects, and a distribution center for healthy locally grown food by St. Petersburg urban farmers. This home was privy to tough subjects, mournful tears, warming hugs, and friends who met there and remain good friends to this day. This home was a meeting place for such a wide variety of people who may never have met if this home had not opened its doors and welcomed all who entered.

Here is my Ode to Chez Levy... in all its nakedness... and ours.

We're "not in Kansas anymore"

F

Enjoy a little video I took this morning in GA...

Our two night stay in Mableton, Georgia was comfortable and relaxing yet our excitement for getting to the mountains got us up early this morning and on the road. Nathan and I were captivated by the roadside fields of wild flowers that adorn the highways through Alabama and Mississippi. Within sight of these fields, lone Confederate flags appear here and there to remind us that we don't all think alike. When we crossed the state line into Mississippi, the shock was palpable when the road surface and color changed abruptly from the smooth charcoal grey pavement of Alabama to a rougher surface of creamy colored coffee entering Mississippi.  We had lunch at a roadside diner that didn't taste "normal" to us.

It's clear that we have abandoned our comfort zone and are starting to sound like Ma and Pa Kettle on a Road Trip. Tomorrow we head to Conway, Arkansas!