Contradiction

Shoes at Work // Cell Phone Photo

Coexistance

I think about my many self-contradictions and smile. I’ve been in conversations where contradiction was a bad thing, but I think this is only because we like to avoid the challenge of complexity. Gray space. I think we also mistake certain states and concepts as opposites. Science and religion, for example. Love and hate, perhaps? These things can coexist. In fact, I think we’d be surprised if we took the time to examine all the things that go on living together, whether in peace or chaos, every day, every hour, every minute.

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

-Walt Whitman in “Song of Myself”

 

Continue reading... Contradiction (207 words + 1 image, estimated 50 secs reading time)
Author name:
Discussion:
No Comments

Alas, woe is me! Time management fail.

taking up all my time.

Work this summer has been all-consuming. This is my first full time job, and though I have been working hard since I was a young lady and in some cases, “working” more than 40 hours per week, this is my first time balancing tasks and meeting goals in one place. Whereas before I worked multiple jobs and tackled my own projects, now I am working one job with multiple responsibilities. The stability this set-up creates has challenged my boundary setting and time management skills to the max, and I must confess that I did not do a very good job at balancing everything this summer.

Continue reading... Alas, woe is me! Time management fail. (592 words + 2 images, estimated 2:22 mins reading time)
Author name:
Discussion:
1 Comment

Dreams and Inspiration.

I’ve been thinking a lot about topics such as the purpose of life and goals. I’ve had nothing to say about it lately because my mind hasn’t been in the right place. After a particularly stimulating and freeing conversation with my fairy godmother on Tuesday (read: therapist), I finally feel centered enough to share. That, and I’ve found SoulPancake is an excellent place to get inspired. Here’s something I wrote there recently in response to the question:

“When should we give up on our dreams?”

I don’t believe we should ever “give up on our dreams.” I think the real problem is that people don’t dream big enough. We limit ourselves with dreams like “To be a dancer in New York” or “To sing on Broadway” or “To be in movies” when maybe acting in the community theatre or writing about dance would be just as fulfilling and touch more lives.

Continue reading... Dreams and Inspiration. (578 words + 5 images, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)
Author name:
Discussion:
No Comments

Weekend Wisdom

I have something long and thoughtful ready to share, but it needs photographs and editing. I’d been wanting to do a little post on wisdom and proverbs, since these little snippets of thought often go a long ways to inspire. Short and sweet, simple and to the point — I wish I was more like that.

People who do not break things first will never learn to create anything. – {fillipino proverb}

Creativeness often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left shoes were thought up only a little more than a century ago? – {Bernice Fitz-Gibbon}

Sunset Through Branches // Digital Photograph, 2010

Continue reading... Weekend Wisdom (250 words + 3 images, estimated 1:00 mins reading time)
Author name:
Discussion:
No Comments

Lessons for a snowy day.

It is often an outright struggle for me to stay aware and engaged in the present moment. My mind will wander off to explore a myriad of interesting fantasies and theoretical situations. The littlest idea or object will distract me, and I will be plummeted into a spell of imagining. I can’t complain, really, because this is where interesting ideas often come from, and day dreaming is entertaining or even relaxing. Though I support it’s practice, I think it is equally important for me to stay actively present.  As a creative, to stay engaged in what’s actually happening right now, all around me, is an essential component to finding inspiration.

Continue reading... Lessons for a snowy day. (666 words + 2 images, estimated 2:40 mins reading time)
Author name:
Discussion:
No Comments

Discipline! Discipline!

This week has been full of new wisdom. As a young creative working her way through the mists of life, I try to always stay involved in the journey. This is difficult, because the future is impossible to see and the past is always a distraction. So, when formulas and designs don’t seem to work, I make the attempt to stay intentional about the daily choices I make. Thus, I seek out opportunities to learn. This week I sought counsel on a number of topics; the same ol’ thing: How to keep moving — how to keep making progress.

Continue reading... Discipline! Discipline! (743 words + 3 images, estimated 2:58 mins reading time)
Author name:
Discussion:
No Comments

A New Year

It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable. – Moliere

Thus begins the New Year; with a struggle against the conflict in our lives. As the year turns and the numbers on our calendar shift, we attempt to wage war against that which troubles us by resolving to make change. Some people feel ambivalent about New Years Resolutions (because who follows these? Who meets these goals?), other people make them just for the added motivation in the beginning of the year. I’ve always thought about resolving to do something long term; and have even tried to concoct recipes for repeated short term change. It never ends as I expect it to (with some marketable formula for change, repeated success, predictable results, quantifiable growth).

Continue reading... A New Year (475 words + 2 images, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)
Author name:
Discussion:
1 Comment

This is the beginning

I’m still working out the kinks. Today I set up the gallery (plugins, resize/upload images, etc) and the “about” section. I have loads to do yet — linking to some of my favorite creative blogs and reorganizing my categories. I’ve felt for a long time that I needed one central space to use as a clearing house for all of my ideas and designs. I’ve admired many crafty bloggers from afar wishing that I had something as substantiative to share, but my life never fit into neatly tailored themes. I am not just an artist, but am also a writer, a thinker, a teacher… a gamer, a reader, and the list could go on.

Continue reading... This is the beginning (276 words, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)
Author name:
Discussion:
No Comments