Ms. Messy Comes Home

10 Months.

I can hardly believe it’s been that long since I blogged here.  When I popped in to harvest some photos from this blog and got looking back at the postings, I realized that I miss Just Make a Mess.  I miss it a lot.

So I’m back.

I’m afraid I got terribly sidetracked.  I looked at the post about how I over-analyze and second-guess myself at times, and that’s certainly the case with this blog.  I thought maybe I should do a different blog.  Different name, different focus, different format. I created a blog for my art studio and there it sits…sad, lonely and pretty much empty.  I tried another focus with a Homesteading theme.  It’s ok but nothing special.  Here are some of the other things that were a result of this wandering journey:

I started teaching art classes…

My band played some gigs….

I even planted a garden…

Oh…and I’ve lost 93 pounds.  Yay me!

So I dabbled with other sites and flirted with different formats, but I have come to realize that I need to just stay here.  I like it here.  It’s home.

And there’s no place like home.

Doggy Bag

Because I have to divide my time between my home studio and my work studio, I end up having to haul a lot of stuff back and forth.  If I intend to get anything done it’s necessary that my art and jewelry supplies follow me around.  What this mostly means is that I cuss a lot because something is invariably missing from my bag because I forgot to pack it.  I am very, very good at sabotaging myself, apparently.

I do, however, have a wicked-cool doggy-bag to haul all my stuff around in.  This is one of my Laurel Burch bags.  Yes, one of them.  I also have a purse and a suitcase designed by Laurel Burch.  It’s not all that surprising that I’m drawn to her work…just LOOK at those colours!!  A bag like this can lift your spirits from the depths of the doldrums and put a definite skip in your step.

What came out of the bag at home today:  gesso, acrylic retarder, impasto medium, iridescent medium, camera, large tube of acrylic titanium white, large tube of an amazing copper/burgundy/metallic gold acrylic paint.  I don’t remember what the colour is called but it’s the kind of colour you just want to squeeze a glob of into your hand and smear  all over your canvas….or your face.  I know.  I’m weird.  But this colour is THAT yummy.

What went into the bag to come to work with me:  my journal, my sketchbook, watercolour pencils, 6 x 6 watercolour paper, letter-sized watercolour paper, water pen, scotch tape.

Things that stay in the bag all the time:  archival ink pens, drawing pencils, a small ruler, gum eraser, white eraser, a very basic drawing pad, a bottle of masking fluid, and my camera  manual.

This poor bag has a constant ebb and flow of supplies.  Things go in, things go out.  It’s like a daily tide of supplies and goodies.  Sometimes everything stays inside because I don’t get to it or my Muse takes a powder, but sometimes…..sometimes magical things happen when things come out of the bag.

Now a question for all you creative types out there:  Have you ever bought an art or craft supply just because you fell in love with or were intrigued by it, but didn’t have a single clue what you were going to do with it?  Something you just HAD to have that you may or may not have ever done anything with?  Sort of like a tube of amazing copper/burgundy/metallic gold acrylic paint?  Let me know in the comments.  Come on….fess up….have ya huh?  The lady with paint all over her face promises not to laugh.

Introducing Firefly

When I made the decision to focus on my own jewelry I also made the decision to let the Cara Luna name go dormant for now.  I needed a name that encompasses the new direction my jewelry designs are taking.

The new name  is a hint.  I’m not quite ready to reveal the new line as I’m still doing some research and trying to budget for the new tools I need.  Suffice it to say that it involves melting something.  Glass to be exact. Oboy, oboy, oboy!!

I’ve started the website that will feature the new line.  It can be seen HERE.  It’s just the flash intro and the “Coming Soon” page, but it’s PRETTY.  Yellows and oranges are my thing these days;  I think it’s tied to my fire obsession.  This page will ultimately link to my Etsy store and should be up and running as soon as I have enough product to post.  So check it out and tell me what you think.

While you’re at it, leave me a note here in the comments if there’s something specific you’d like to see in the new line.  I want the line to reflect the tastes of those close to me.  I’m not terribly interested in designing for anonymous people whose tastes may or may not even resemble my own.  Let me know what you like.  Who knows, you might see it here soon!

In the meantime, dream of Fireflies.  They’re magical, mystical, and miraculous.

Serenity in Solitude

Ever find life to be a little…..well…..manic?  I know I do.  The minute I step out the door I often feel like the world is going so much faster than it needs to.  I guess I’m getting old.   Let me rephrase that…..I AM getting old.

Between the connectivity within society via cellphones and other electronic marvels and the “acquire stuff”  lifestyle that the media and advertisers mercilessly promote, is it any wonder that we often feel like we’re trying to dart across an eight-lane freeway that’s full of freight trucks only to find that when we get to the other side we’ve got to jump the train tracks before the next commuter train roars through?

Stage 1 - Soft Pastel, Gouache, and Icky Masking Fluid

It affects kids and teenagers too.  They are seldom solitary.  Between school, friends, sports, and a plethora of other extra-curricular activities, they don’t get much alone-time.  Add to that the fact that their cellphones are seldom turned off and are constantly beeping the next incoming text, where can they escape to?  I’m still looking for the up-side to all of this connectivity.  I do know the down-side is the inability to escape negative peer pressure or  bullying.  In the olden days (way back in the 60’s and 70’s), you could just go home.  If you didn’t want to be around someone or deal with them, you didn’t answer their phone calls and just hung out with people you liked being with.  Now kids are subjected to all that negative stuff via Facebook and cellphones.  To me, that’s a real down-side.

I love my solitary time.  For some, me-time means going out with their friends, golfing, or traveling.  For me, me-time is the best when it’s just being able to be at home.  Whether it’s to knit, write, garden, paint, or build jewelry, it’s time that’s Mine.  While not strictly solitary as my hubby is usually around and about, he’s my best friend so it makes for a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere.  Even when we travel, we’re happy to just put up a tent and stare at the lake for a week. It’s nice to just get away from all the zoom-zoom.

I encourage everyone reading this to try some quiet down-time.  Turn off the phones, shut off the computer, maybe even make the kids do the same.  Take some down time.  Some time for yourself and your family.  Talk to each other….listen to each other….have some fun reconnecting with each other without all the electronic bubble and fizz that has become such a huge part of your life.  Try it.  I dare ya.  Let me know how it goes.  I’m betting you’ll find some serenity…something we can all use a little more of.

 

Serenity in Solitude – Little Pink Houses Series

11″x15″ — Soft Pastel, Watercolour, Gouache, Archival Ink

A Moment Frozen in my Mind

I have several moments  frozen in my mind.  One is watching the Challenger explode.  Another is my mother yelling “John Lennon is dead!”.  I watched the Twin Towers fall on Live TV with a co-worker and kept thinking “Oh my God….those buildings are full of people.”

Technology today allows us to witness our times’ greatest tragedies Live and in High Definition.  I still haven’t decided if that’s a good thing or a bad thing but I do know that bearing witness to these catastrophic events leaves me feeling like I have a responsibility, even obligation, to take the lessons taught by these events and grow from them personally. I can never, ever forget how lucky I am.

It’s so easy to take our comfort, safety, and even our lives for granted.  As we watched the tsunami roll over Sendai we knew we were witnessing the unspeakable;  there were people in those buildings and vehicles that were dying in the devastation.  To helplessly watch as these people died, knowing there wasn’t a thing anyone could do, caused a cold, inner stillness as the realization of our own fragile mortality was driven like a steel stake into our hearts.  To know that the forces of nature can strip from us our families, our friends, our safety, our homes, our livelihoods.   To really KNOW that it can happen between beats of a hummingbird’s wings.  That fast.  That final.

As I continue to watch the unfolding disaster in Japan my heart breaks for the millions of people affected, both there and around the world via family and friends.  And yet, as I watch, I am thankful for the lesson.  Now go hug someone you love.

Requiem for Japan

8 1/4″ x 11 3/4″

Soft Pastel, Watercolor, Archival Ink, Gouache