Humblearts Journal

Cool like that?

How sweet!  Lori over at Best Indie Shops picked humblebeads.com as the cool indie shop of the day.  Darn, now that I put up the banner here, does that mean I'm not humble anymore? 

Where does the name humblebeads come from?  They are humblebeads based on the humble material they are created from: poor underrated polymer clay.  It's been the beadmaking world's homely little sister.  But like any Cinderella story, she's just a diamond in the rough waiting for a talented fairy godmother to transform her into beautiful art beads.  Oh, I like being the fairy godmother. 

The Good Life

We grew up living next door to my Great Grandmother.  If we were lucky on weekend mornings she would walk across the yard with a neatly wrapped package in tin foil.  Inside would be a still-warm loaf of banana or zucchini bread.  Some days it would be 6 perfect blueberry muffins, made with Michigan blueberries and sugar sprinkled on the top. 

Here are 3 people who have great influenced my ideals of domestic bliss:

The first one is my Great Grandmother and her cooking.  One Thanksgiving she made 13 pies, from scratch!  Do I want to spend hours and hours cooking?  Not really, but my grandma thoroughly enjoyed cooking for others and I do too.  I like when we have family and friends over for meals and I like taking the time to make good food for Jess and the girls. 

The second influence was my best friend's mother.  She made sure everything in their home was something beautiful that they enjoyed.  Definitely a quality over quantity type family.  They also greatly appreciated the handmade and valued artistic expression in home decorating. 

The third was my Step-Mother Donna.  Who has spent her entire life devoted to her family.  Time with family is the most important part of the day.  Every night she and my dad would finish the day with a hot cup of tea.  I'm sure they still do.  If they watched TV it was an activity that they would do together, even then it would be a family movie, usually rated PG.  The TV was never on as background noise.  You are much more likely to find a book in their hands than a remote control.  Donna also makes sure every holiday and celebration is focused on keeping her family's thoughts towards the spiritual. 

I find that each one of them has influenced how I live my day to day life and how I celebrate the holidays.  Enjoying the simple pleasures of family, nature and creating are good values to have inherited from these women.

If you are wondering about the image, it's from Tasha Tudor, who is the epitome of simple living. 

Studio Friday - Sparkle/Shine

Studio Friday is all about sparkle & shine.  I can relate.  Beads glimmer and tempt me all through my studio.  I really love working with the tiny seed beads in a artist's palette of colors.  Above is my current projects.  Beaded starfish on a hand-felted base.  Eventually they will be the centerpieces of some Caribbean-inspired necklaces.  Tomorrow I'll take a better picture of the starfish that is almost finished.  You can see just a peak of it on the right-hand side there.

The little Bead-n-Go container is from Sova-enterprises and was one of the many goodies we got in our Bead Cruise gift bags.  : )

A new edition to my studio library, Complete Craft by Katherine Sorrell is filled with all sorts of ideas to add sparkle and shine to your creative space.  I really, really love this book. I picked it up in the bargain section of Barnes & Nobles.  Seriously, go pick it up or order it, you'll thank me a million times over. 

And out of the studio, I'm looking forward to checking out the local sparkle and shine at the annual Southwest School of Arts & Crafts Fiesta Art Fair.  Ohhh, I will be so inspired after tomorrow.  This is the best show in the city, hands down.  Can't wait. Next year I'd like to get a booth there, but competition is stiff!   

I hope you have a very inspiring and creative weekend.

Too Much Day Dreaming!

Seriously, doesn't this look like a little slice of Art Heaven?

Ox-bow 

I've wanted to attending this art school retreat since I was in high school.  It's sponsored by the Art Institute of Chicago. 

But what do I really want?  A week of no responsibilities with the goal of exploring my creative thoughts in a relaxing, beautiful, in tune with nature atmosphere. And surrounded by other creative types for inspiration.  Hmm, could I manage that without the trip to Michigan and paying the outrageous tuition? 

Wouldn't it be cool to rent a cabin for a long weekend with a few other artist friends, bringing along our supplies and spend the days creating.  I need an art retreat.  Hmm, I could put one together.  I have 3 art families in mind who would probably enjoy the retreat too.  Oh, I'm in trouble now.

Other random crazy ideas I've had this week:

Traveling across country in an RV teaching all over the states.

Starting an art day camp for kids for the summer.

Talking Jesse into quitting his job and living the artiste boheme life with me.

Signing up for crappy market days, because I miss the torture of outdoor art shows. 

Opening a bead shop/gallery in my hometown of South Haven.

Spending one weekend every month this summer at one of the little hill country towns for mini-vacations.

A weekend in South Padre Island. 

Okay, I need a disposable income.   I'd like to be on vacation for a year or so, just playing and traveling.  Hmm, I better get back to making those beads so that I can afford all these crazy ideas!  Okay, back to reality for me...

content

...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.   Philippians 4:11-13

How do you balance wanting a better life, but enjoying every minute that is set before you?  I'm trying.  I'm thankful and happy and I do have a great life.  But there are times when I want something more. 

Somedays thoughts of living back home and not in Texas overwhelm me.  I heard once that during WWI, Russian soldiers were so homesick that they weren't able to fight.  They labeled it nostalgia.  Longing for the past and what was.  Of course the cure was to be shot, so that doesn't help much. 

I want to live near the beach in Michigan.

I want Jesse and I to both be able to work and live as artists.

I want to raise my girls in a small town.

I want to live a simpler life, with less pressure and stress.

I want to be near my family. 

No matter what, home will always be home. 

Run, Run Now...

Before I bore you to death with family vacation photos!

Our Motel, right on the beach.

Views from our window.

Shopping and eating on the Strand, downtown Galveston.

Not the only crab we found this weekend...

We added two new members to our family, Sam and Patrick, hermit crabs extraordinaire!

Shopping at Mermaid Pier and Murdoch's Bath House.  Fun, relaxing and breezy.

I warned you! 

It was a perfect weekend.  Jess is now planning our next weekend coastal trip, Corpus Christi anyone?  Of course, the ocean doesn't compare to the calm and peaceful shores of West Michigan!

Easter Holiday

Eggcellent...okay back from the Bead Cruise, which I will blog all about after the weekend.  The Bead Cruise was great and I would have had the time of my life if my mom hadn't become deathly ill.  Literally.  It was a scary week and she ended up in the hospital for 5 days.  She is heading home today and now I can breath a sigh of relief.  And she is just happy to be breathing!

So now, I'm doing something completely out of character and skipping any family celebrations this Easter weekend.  We are heading back to Galveston for the day to enjoy a little sand, surf and shopping.  I need to relax, a vacation from my vacation.  Which was anything but a vacation!!!  I'll ignore my little pangs of guilt for taking off during the holiday, but sometimes you just have to do something off the wall.

I know I always feel more at peace near the water.  And Galveston reminds me so much of home. 

       Deep calls to deep
       in the roar of your waterfalls;
       all your waves and breakers
       have swept over me.

       By day the LORD directs his love,
       at night his song is with me—
       a prayer to the God of my life.

-from Psalm 42