Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Fifteen Going On Forty Something

It's My Birthday, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! embroideredhat

I celebrated my birthday this past weekend. Having a special day once a year where people are more or less required to be extra nice to you is always something to look forward to. However, as we age, birthdays can also bring a lot of mixed emotions.

I admit that ever since I turned forty I have vacillated between freaking out over how old I am and delighting in my own maturity. On the one hand, it seems like just yesterday that I was a fifteen year old girl and on the other hand, I am amazed that girl has managed to come this far and learn so much.

I like my forty something self a lot and I think that fifteen year old girl would too. In fact, when I start worrying that I haven't experienced or accomplished enough in my life, I often think of that girl. I imagine that I visit her in her small bedroom with the graffiti covered walls and I tell her all about the life we have now. She is genuinely impressed when I describe her future home and garden to her and she is relieved that we finally figure out what we want to be when we grow up.

Her most urgent question for me is, “Do we marry a rock star?”.

“Not exactly,” I say and then I describe Hippie to her. She agrees with me that he is a rock star, in his own way.

I wish I could warn her about all the mistakes and heartaches waiting for her but then I remember what gifts those experiences ultimately turned out to be. I want to tell her everything I have learned but I realize she already has that knowledge inside her. It will just take those painful experiences, and lots of joyful ones too, to bring it out in her.

“You're going to be okay,” I say to her and to myself, “you already have everything you need to be really happy.”

I don't think she believes me but I wholeheartedly do, and that is how I know I have really grown up.

Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels:

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Celebrating Color

Artistic Easter Egg Photography card
Artistic Easter Egg Photography Greeting Card by time2see
See more Artist Cards

I just took a peek at the next page in my calendar and had the happy realization that Easter will be here soon. For some people Easter is strictly a religious holiday, for others it is also about egg hunts and chocolate rabbits. Others may see Easter as a joyful recognition of fertility, rebirth or the Spring season. For me it is all these things and also a celebration of color.
It is quite possible that my love affair with color began with a few hard boiled eggs and some bottles of food coloring. As much as I have always loved chocolate, as a kid I looked forward to dyeing eggs far more than I did to biting the ears off a candy bunny. I also didn't like jelly beans that much but I could appreciate them as long as they were color coordinated with the rest of my Easter basket. In fact, I think I admired my Easter basket more for its creative possibilities than for it's sugar value.
These days I don't do much egg dyeing and while Hippie may gift me with a Reese's Peanut Butter Egg or two, I no longer receive an Easter basket. Yet, now more than ever, I look forward to Easter as a harbinger of the return of color to my world. Already my garden is looking greener and I know that by Easter it will have already begun the prismatic parade that will delight and inspire me well into autumn. If that isn't something to celebrate, I don't know what is.


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Friday, March 2, 2012

My Perfectly Imperfect Art Studio

And the words were written on the craft closet door: Embrace Imperfection

Hello my name is Victoria and I am a recovering perfectionist.  That is why I love art.  Nothing teaches me how to embrace imperfection more than making art does, with the possible exception of home ownership.

Hippie and I love the house we live in now but, like me, it has it's quirks and issues.  When we first moved in I tried to decorate each room according to the perfect vision in my head but I soon realized how impractical that was for our budget and our lifestyle.  I have since learned not only to accept but to appreciate and eventually prefer imperfection in my home furnishings and decor, especially in my art studio.

Hippie calls my art studio The Rainbow Room

It took Hippie a little time to adjust to my embracing imperfection in this way.  I remember when I asked him to investigate what was under the teal carpeting in the room that is now my studio that he was very dire about his findings.  "It's not good." he determined and then went on to explain that although there were original wood floors beneath the carpet, they were marred by abundant splatters of paint and glue.  I, on the other hand, was ecstatic.  What could be more perfect for an art studio than a floor already splattered with paint and glue?

My favorite little corner of the world

He also gave me a hard time when I brought home an ugly plaid wing chair from the thrift store.   He liked it better when I told him how little it cost and explained that I was just going to cover it with a drop cloth anyway.

I knew he had come around to my way of thinking when I asked his opinion of a desk I was considering buying.  He pointed out the missing middle drawer, The crooked drawer handles and a large split in the wood on the top of it and said, "It's perfect for your art studio."  It was and is.

My perfectly imperfect desk. 

If I had the resources for the custom furnishings and high end finishes I once envisioned, I'm sure my home and studio would look beautiful but I'm not sure they would look like my kind of beautiful.   Like me, my art studio is always going to be a work in progress and that's what makes it the perfect place for me to dream, imagine and create.

My rainbow walls are always a work in progress

Rainbows In Progress Artist's Brushes throwpillow
Rainbows In Progress Artist's Brushes by time2see
Browse other throw pillow designs on Zazzle.
Posted by at 5 comments:
Labels: , ,

Friday, February 24, 2012

Remembering The Words

Classic Rock is my second language Tshirt
Classic Rock is my second language Tshirt by kchippie
Look at Classic rock T-Shirts online at Zazzle.com

The other day Hippie and I were listening to the 70s music station on our satellite TV and before I knew it I was singing along to a song by The Stylistics I probably haven't heard for ten years or more.  It made me wonder just how many song lyrics are stored in my memory.

When it comes to music, I have very eclectic tastes.  I grew up listening to my parents' records, then my older siblings' records and then the records (eventually cassettes and cds) that my friends and I collected as teenagers.  That's about fifty years of music that I was exposed to before the age of twenty.  As a result, though sometimes I can't remember what day it is, I know, not just every word, but also "every Sha-la-la-la, every Wo-o-wo-o" to countless songs.

When I can't remember something I often joke that the lyrics to "American Pie" are taking up the space where more important information is supposed to be stored.  I even know the words to songs I don't like.  I could probably rattle off a few lines of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" faster than I could tell you what my cell phone number is.

There is a sort of jukebox in my mind that is activated by certain words, phrases or situations.  Sometimes just someone saying "hey" to me can have me humming Led Zeppelin (Hey Hey What Can I do) or BJ Thomas ([Hey Won't You Play] Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song) for the rest of the day. The phrase "Wish You Were Here" always triggers a Pink Floyd concert flashback.  And when I am having a hard time articulating my feelings "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da" is all I want to say to you.

Hippie can speak a little German and I know a little Spanish but we are both fluent in a language we call Beatles-ese.  Neither of us can ever say that something is Getting Better without the other one chiming in, "It can't get no worse".  He'll say yes and I'll say no, he'll say stop and I'l say go, go go.  Oh no.

Music may be the universal language but song lyrics are more esoteric than that.  Everybody likes something with a good beat that you can dance to, but the lyrics are what make a song personal.  So I guess it's really no wonder that the lyrics to songs that have provided the soundtrack to my life are among my most enduring misty water colored memories.  It's only a wonder that I don't burst into song during every conversation.

And if there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now...


Music Is Love shirt
Music Is Love by kchippie
Browse other tees made on zazzle
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels:

Thursday, February 16, 2012

And The Valentine's Day Cat Card Winner Is...

Snuggle Cat!!!


"Come Snuggle" Card by Victoreeah

Congratulations to this year's winner of the annual Battle of the Valentine's Day Cat Cards, Snuggle Cat!  It was a very close race for awhile but I'm glad that Snuggles won out in the end (not that I'm playing favorites or anything).  In fact, though second in sales to the all time champion, Sarcastic Cat, Snuggle Cat was the "most popular" Valentine's Day Cat overall this year.

Our runner up this year was On My Mind Cat who just edged out Basket Case Cat at the last minute.  And our newcomer, Sassy Cat, made a very respectable showing, I think she is definitely one to watch next year!

Of course, you don't have to wait until next Valentine's Day to give a cute cat card.  You'll be happy to know that all of our contestants have all occasion, just for fun and friendship, versions of their card as well.  Hurray! 
Sassy Cat & Froggy Friendship card
Sassy Cat & Froggy Friendship Card by time2see
Shop for a different greeting card template online at zazzle
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

My Journal & Joni



There is no sunny weather for me to complain about today. Though still mild for this time of year, the days have been slightly more winter like. I was finally able to carve out some free time to spend with a few of my favorite things, mainly my journal and my Joni Mitchell CD’s.

Anyone curious as to what I write in my journal would probably be disappointed if they actually read it. I do a lot of “stream of consciousness” type of writing, recording my thoughts as they come to me. More often than not those thoughts are boring, superficial, negative and sometimes just plain depressing.

There are moments when I am tempted to try and write more profound or positive entries in my journals but that would defeat the purpose of writing them for me. Instead I find that, by purging myself of my more mundane or troubling thoughts and feelings this way, I am actually able to get at what is waiting behind them. After journaling for a few hours or over the course of a few days, I discover that my mind is much clearer and more open to receive new ideas, positive insights and creative solutions. I try to jot those things down too but usually by the time I get to that point I am ready to stop writing and to start creating.

So why does this ritual require that I listen to Joni Mitchell? I sort of wondered that myself until I read an interview with the musician/artist where she said, “I sing my sorrow and I paint my joy”. Since I find it difficult to hit many of the notes that Joni does, perhaps writing in my journal is just my way of singing along.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Warm Winter Blues

Blue Skies and Blue Mist Seed Head

All the leaves are brown...but the sky is blue, not gray.  We have been having the mildest winter ever and it is really getting on my nerves.  Yesterday when I got out of bed it was already 60 degrees and sunny outside and all I could think was, "Not this again.  Now I have to go outside."


A Winter Home
I know I shouldn't complain about good weather but I had big plans for this winter.  I was going to spend lots of time in my studio painting and by the fireplace reading.  I was going to sit in my favorite chair with my cat and a blanket and write in my journal while listening to Joni Mitchell for countless hours.  I was not even going to contemplate going outside unless I ran out of art supplies or chocolate and I was absolutely not going to go anywhere near my garden.



My friend Albert (the one who is still a Cardinal)
But like John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".  So yesterday, I visited my garden in January for the first time ever.  There were no hummingbirds or butterflies to keep me company but I did encounter a cardinal who looked down at me from his perch in a tree with an expression that seemed to say "can you believe this weather we're having?"





Limelight Hydrangeas make great dried flowers

There were no vibrant flowers but I could still see beauty in the dried blooms and seed heads. 


Star Magnolia Flower Bud




I also thought the buds on my shrubs and trees were beautiful though seeing them this early does not bode well for flowers and fruit in spring or summer.  What was not in the least bit appealing were the weeds.  I suppose it is too much to hope that a hard freeze would kill those off.

 




Shadows and Light

So even though it wasn't what I planned on doing, I really enjoyed the fresh air, the sunshine and seeing my garden from a new perspective.  I even enjoyed the little bit of work that I did.  That being said, today I decided to enjoy the mild temperatures in a way that was a little less physically demanding.  I went shopping for paint and chocolate.  After all, this weather can not last forever, might as well be proactive. 
The Purple Garden 2013 Wall Calendars
The Purple Garden 2013 Wall Calendars by time2see
Browse Purple Calendars online at Zazzle.com
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)