Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The Grind



The week has gone by so fast, and I have definitely been on my grind....with many things. I have almost successfully completed another button piece that I started on Saturday. Yes...the one that is posted. Sewing is becoming second nature. My fingers are not as sore, and I don't have as many stab wounds to attest to the sewing of thousands of buttons. I haven't actually counted how many I have sewn, but it is definitely over 1,000. I will make a big to do about the 10,000 button mark. You all will know about that one for sure. It's a funny thing...I am unable to productively sew buttons outside of the confines of my bedroom. I can do everything else successfully in my studio, but the sewing elsewhere just does not work.

It is absolutely amazing how creativity flows when you just start to give unto it. I guess it is much like anything else. You give and you receive. Some call it the law of reciprocity, but I accredit it to the Lord. Call me super spiritual if you would like, however I would have lost the little bit of sense that I have without Him. They say that you must walk a mile in someones shoes to really know where they have been. I say, I don't want to walk a mile in any ones shoes, but my own. See we view folks on the tube, in our neighborhoods, sometimes family and friends that have millions, but we have no idea what they had to endure to get there. Remember people...the grass always looks greener on the other side, but what did that side have to do to make their grass so green? Did they water it daily (put in honest and necessary work to make it)? Did they use fertilizer (got some help from trusty friends and family using their networking skills)? Did they roll out fresh grass over top old and dead grass (Desperate times call for desperate measures...they hooked and crooked or slept their way to the top. They cover up their dirt with glitz and glamour that looks good on the outside.)? Just some food for thought!

In Other News:
Graham is moving back to her old abode tomorrow. It's rather strange, but she is elated. Talk about the grass being greener on the other side. I guess she thought being here was going to be a walk in the park. Although our home is a great spot to be in...much to her dismay, it was not a five star resort. Not because it couldn't be, but because we didn't allow it to be for her. Here she had to do some things for herself (not that she didn't at her old abode). Truthfully, she has a better support system (one that she is accustom to) at her old abode. She must return by tomorrow to get some important paperwork filled out and signed.

So her departure will be tomorrow, but of course without a bang of an exit. She is taking the train. One would think that was simple enough. We take you all the way to the platform, get on the train with you to make sure that you are situated, ask the conductor to keep a close eye on you to make sure that you are alright and that you don't miss your stop, and someone will be on the other end to do the same when you arrive to your destination. Not with Graham though. She is too sick and weak to do the above routine. It is way too much walking for her (although we have assured her that we could get a wheelchair if need be), and she would rather be driven to her 2 hour destination. Here are her options for who could drive her (although they are not options at all):

D: My cousin. He works 3rd shift and has a family that consists of a wife and four children (aging from 1 to 13). So she doesn't want to ask him. He has to work and has a family to take care of. He needs to get rest.

Jim: My cousin as well. Age 70 and is recovering from a heart attack he had 3 weeks ago. She doesn't really want to ask him either, although he is back to work. He should not be up and about. He needs to rest and recover.

*She doesn't want to bother either of these family members, but has no problem mentioning that she was going to ask them to take her hadn't the above circumstances been existing. All in hopes that they would make an exception this one time for her.

Sieg: A child from her old stomping ground. Okay...he is no longer a child, but she helped to raise him (you know...it takes a village to raise a child). She has no problem asking him, but has had trouble catching up with him until today. She couldn't find his phone number, as she has not spoken to him in years. She had been calling every contact that she knew to get it, and today she got her golden ticket. However, it wasn't so golden when she found out that he was not able to oblige her request. He doesn't do much highway driving, and has two jobs.

Bottom line...Graham will be riding the rails tomorrow, much to her chagrin. She will get over it and tell us how pleasurable her trip was, once it is over. That is just how it goes for her.

Although she was only here for a short time, I learned a lot about her and myself. She offered more inspiration than she would ever know. She opened the door to allow me to do what the Spirit that lived within me was telling me to do all along. She doesn't know it, but she allowed me to have faith in what I knew to be right. I've always loved her, but love and respect her all the more for what she has done.

Pearls of Wisdom:
Family quarrels have a total bitterness unmatched by others. Yet it sometimes happens that they also have a kind of tang, a pleasantness beneath the unpleasantness, based on the tacit understanding that this is not for keeps; that any limb you climb out on will still be there later for you to climb back.
~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

Do you honor your family although sometimes they may not be worthy of honoring?

Be blessed!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

86 and 2

I don't think that I would have ever thought that the numbers 86 and 2 could have been so much alike. Yes...they are far from one another in numerical sense, but when talking about age, I am convinced that they are much the same.

I had the opportunity to take care of Graham all by my lonesome last week. My mother had the luxury of taking a vacation (a word that is foreign to me-a whole different blog). We usually take turns....I am home engaging Graham during the day and mom takes care of the evening. There are a few moments where Graham has to fend for herself for a couple of hours while we take care of business in order to keep the lights on. However, last week I had her around the clock....breakfast, meds, nap, snack, lunch, nap, snack, dinner, meds, sleep, and stories that I have heard a hundred times before in between. We did well together. We went to the stores, although she stays in the car (unless it is for food), and she even let me cut her hair.

So, I have decided to list the things that are so similar between the two ages:
-They need balanced meals, often with snacks in between
-They are sometimes messy eaters
-They wake up every morning before you do and knock at your door - Graham no longer does this, but she did in the beginning
-They take lots of naps
-When going out, they have to be monitored. If not, they get lost
-They need and love to be catered to
-They talk a lot, telling the same story repeatedly
-Time flys when you are with them-for various reasons
-They think that they are the boss
-They are set in their ways with no desire to change
-If they don't get their way, they get cranky
-They some times have to wear pants to hold their water (pull-ups or depends)

In My Art World:

Button Paintings: I have started 2 more pieces. They are going well. I have become a staple at Jo-Ann fabrics. I told her what I was up to with all the buttons that I was buying. She said, " I hope that I can say I knew you when you become famous. I can say, 'She used to come in the store all the time.' It was a statement that made me feel empowered to continue on my grind. On the flip side, I had to revamp the button piece that I displayed earlier. I did something that I didn't like and therefore had to change some things. I was upset at first, but quickly got over it, realizing that I could change things around if I wanted to. Isn't that what life is about? We make mistakes and hopefully learn from them the first go round.

Photography: Trying to make it a point to shoot at least once a week. I did some shooting last week and was not too impressed with the outcome. However, I wasn't all that jazzed about the subject matter that I was shooting either. I find that I do far better with people and things or places that really intrigue me. So, I will do some shooting this weekend and prayerfully come out with something better.

Jewelry: I have had some tremendous support from those of you in this blog world...Lovebabz and Torrance to state a few. I thank you! I am making it a point to try and have a couple of peices completed (by mid-June) that I can take to show for consignment at this high end store in town. I am still looking for opportunities to sell other places as well (craft shows, online, amongst friends and family, etc.).

Grants/Galleries: Still in the process of looking for grants and opportunities to enter my stuff in galleries. I am excited about the world seeing my work, and take away from it what they may.

Pearls of Wisdom:
We ought to be wise with the choices that we make. These choices have an effect on the next generation, and the next generation, and the next. Choice never affects one single person alone. It goes on and on and the effect goes out into geography and history. You are a part of history and your choices become a part of history. -Edith Schaeffer

Are you making your choices count as a affective and countable part of history?

Be blessed!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Graffiti



Today I took an excursion into the city. Okay...I had a partial day where I spent some time in the office, but I took Buddy (my camera) with me. I thought that I would be able to take some pics in Rittenhouse Square, but nothing seemed to particularly move me. I thought that perhaps I would run into some cozy couples on a bench. However, that didn't happen. There were too many people out, and why wouldn't they be. It was absolutely gorgeous out today. I am...as we would say back in the day, "salty", that I have to take care of some business this evening and am not out frolicking in the beautiful sun. It's all good, I didn't have anyone to frolic with anyway.


So, instead of cozy couples, I took some pics of this wall with graffiti graced upon it. These pics do the artistry no justice. It is quite amazing. I was never so fascinated with graffiti, but this piece gets me every time, especially the hooded child. For as crazy as it may seem, I spent many days staring at him and explaining a problem or two. I felt at times like he may be able to understand. After all, he looked as if he had been through the ringer too, and perhaps we could understand and ease each others pain. It sounds kooky, I know...but some days it's just like that.
Pearls of Wisdom
To understand the heart of and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to."
-Kahlil Gibran
Be blessed!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

The Craft Show








I know...I know....it's been a minute. A sister has been working hard for the last two weeks getting ready for the craft show I was involved in this morning/afternoon. It was more like a bazaar, but served as a craft show for me, since I was showcasing my jewelry. I made out okay. I sold six pieces, which was okay considering I made more than what my table cost me. I have to find the perfect niche to sell my stuff though. Some of my pieces are very ethnic, while others are rather dainty. I am not quite sure that they would all fit in the same arena. I also wanted my packaging to be a little unique. I started off with store brought wooden boxes. I applied string on the outside, and fabric on the inside to cushion the jewelry. I have put plenty of pics here, so you all can let me know what you think.

Again, I used my wonderful camera. I am getting quite used to it....I love it! I am ready to test it out. I want to shoot some couples really soon. Do I have the couples? No...not yet. It's actually important that the couples are able to be transparent, comfortable, and affectionate in front of me. We are not talking about porno though here people. Just simple, fun, playful, and innocent embraces...kisses...etc.

Since I have been reminded from Lovebabz that April is poetry month, I decided to add a poem:
As a Possible Love / LeRoi Jones
Practices
silence, the way of wind
bursting
its early lull. Cold morning
to night, we go so
slowly, without
thought
to ourselves. (Enough
to have thought
tonight, nothing
finishes it. What
you are, will have
no certainty, or
end. That you will
stay, where you are,
a human gentle wisp
of life. Ah...)
practices
loneliness,
as a virtue. A single
specious need
to keep
what you have
never really
had.

Be Blessed!