Inspired

Merrily Down the Stream

What a great weekend...warm, fun and relaxing...does it get any better? 

  

On Saturday we cheered on Robin (my son) and his team at the Rowing Regatta in Victoria's Gorge waterway.

...they've trained diligently for months now and with a final push they pulled ahead of their nearest competition...

...to win their race!  Of course that led to celebrations...

Meg and Dave were there to help toast the victory...

and Jackie (Robin's partner) was there to record it all...

while Ethan did what 4 year old boys do best...

...scrambled over rocks and threw pebbles in the water.

The crew proudly wearing their bronze medals!  Robin is third from the left.  I wish I had a taken a close up shot of the T-shirts...they were designed by Jackie and were fantastic. 

Sun, fun, food, and then medals to top it all off...it was a great day!

Women of Jaurez

What do you know about the women of Juarez, Mexico? 

If you're anything like me...even though I spend two months of every year in Mexico, I had never heard of this horrendous tragedy.

A click that took me to Monica's blog at "Girl gone Thread Wild" ended my ignorance.  I hadn't seen the movie "Border Town" and hadn't heard that over 400 women have been murdered in this border town (across the river from El Paso, Texas) since the early 1990's.  Authorities are slow to investigate and there are fears that some may even be involved.

The subject is obviously too complex to go into detail here but please go over to Monica's site to learn more about her request...her hope...that all artists who would like to do something, will join her in aDRESSing the issue.  So often we feel there's nothing we can do, so here's our opportunity to make a public statement in a creative way.

In Monica's own words...

My thought is this...

(grinning big here)

to BOMBARD

Stampington & Company
with

ART

DRESSES

of our own

in the hopes

THEY will write an article about this?!!!
.
It's about doing SOMETHING.
.

Even a small something

that brings ATTENTION.

.

Who knows,

maybe ONE person from Mexico

will see our art and know that WE CARE.

The idea is you make whatever you want,

let it resemble a DRESS.

.

Tag your art & package with:

aDRESSing the Situation!

.

Mail to:

Stampington & Company

aDRESSing the Situation!

22992 Mill Creek, Suite B
Laguna Hills, CA 92653

.

(add a note if you wish and don't forget to put your address on the tag

and include RETURN POSTAGE if you ever want to see your art again)

YOU DON'T HAVE TO LINK ME

Or even mention my name.

This is about YOU helping to bring attention.

Period.

Now, finally..

SHIP YOUR dress out

JULY 1, 2009

so that as many dresses as possible reach S&C at one time.

Get the kids involved!

What do you say?

You in?

xo, me

This can be in any medium...the object is to bring attention to this situation.  A link can be found hereto a newly formed Flickr group of DRESSes that have been made for this project .

And yes, I'l  be joining in too.

Sweet Sundays

I hope your Sunday was the perfect Sunday for you...perhaps you had time to sit on a bench somewhere, surrounded by flowers, contemplating the perfection of life in all it's varying moments of bliss and yes, even pain.

A big hug to all of the mothers that visit here...your job is immense and beyond measure in any logical, right brained way.  And don't worry, you won't get it perfect but it will be perfect none the less.  And blessings to all the wonderful nurturers who may not have given birth but have given a child a "soft place to fall" when it's been needed, 

A huge thank you to all who drop by for a visit here.  I love the connections! 

(the photograph above was taken in my daughter's neighbour's yard...which they themselves used to live in until they moved next door)

May

Just as my sheep herding dog

pushes her soft wet nose

against my leg

and nudges me towards her food bowl,

May nudges me,

gently but surely,

towards new life

unfolding.

With gentle warmth

and laden boughs,

May enfolds me

as I rest my weary head

against her scented bark.

On soft and silky breezes,

May whispers 

"Wake up dear one.

Open your eyes. 

We have a short time together,

you and I.

Sit with me now

and breathe me in,

as we watch

the unfurling of my soul.

I will tell you stories

of Mays gone by

and of Mays yet to come,

as you awaken

to the stirring

of your own

hearts

desire.

I've been having fun with textures and overlays on my photographs recently.  If you have a photo manipulation program and enjoy experimenting, check out the free textures at this Flickr pool.

Endless Possibilities

We're almost organized here in our temporary basement digs...rods have now been installed to hang up our clothes, beds are up and desks in place.  We don't want to get too comfortable as we'll be on the move again in mid July!  This is truly going to be a year of travelling light and staying flexible.

I'm coming to realize that this year will also be a bit of a creative dry spell for me.  This makes me a little sad/cranky at times but I also know that creativity cuts a broad swathe throughout out lives, in many ways and on many levels...the most exciting of which, will be building a new home. 

Artistically speaking, I'm still able to pursue photography and will soon be busy with the SOFOBOMO '09 project.  As well, I'm  still working on a few Blurb books that I've begun and not yet finished.  My plan was to work on those while I was in Mexico but for various reasons, that didn't happen!  I'm really just getting my head around my limited access to "hands on" work...projects that I can immerse myself in, in a tactile way. 

I'm missing that.

but...the sun is shining and I'm now living just a block from the ocean and two blocks from the centre of the village and our favourite cafe.  It's fun to be so close to everything and we'll be taking full advantage of it.

Yesterday as I was standing at the kitchen sink with the back door open, I was suddenly aware of the cries of seagulls.  Although we were only about a kilometre from the ocean before we moved, we had so much forest around us that we never saw or heard the gulls...woodpeckers, owls, finches, tree creepers, junko's, chickadee's, ravens and even eagles...but never a sea gull!  Some might say that's a good thing, but after living on the west coast for so much of my life, I love listening to the cries of the gulls.

I love the smell of seaweed too...I know, I know, it's stinky...but just the smell of it transports me to my childhood and a magical place of endless possibilities; building forts with driftwood, drinking "tea" from seashells and lifting rocks in search of crabs.  The most magical of all though, was to lay on the docks and gaze into the water, utterly and completely enchanted by the graceful movements of the jelly fish as they danced through their watery universe.

Once again, I am choosing daily to become enchanted with life's endless possibilities.  I hope your universe was full of sweet possibilities this weekend as well.