A to Z, 2012-- R is for...

Reading!

I'm an avid reader. I love books-- I love the way they feel, I love to learn, and I love experiencing new worlds and new ideas. My childhood nickname was "Belle"~ as in, the Beauty from "Beauty and the Beast~ the one whose nose is always stuck in a book.

I own over 1,000 novels and books of poetry... even more if you include books from my former classroom and my own childhood, and even more than that if you include reference books and art books.

I'm currently reading two books:

Borrowed from my mother-in-law...

... and this one, purchased by me!

Although the second one is much more applicable to this blog, the first one (and all others by the same author) is DEFINITELY worth a mention on here as a hysterically funny "must-read" book! While it's absolutely worth the purchase, take a click over here to see the website that began it all. The author of the book has graciously left a great deal of the content on his website, so you'll be able to read it before you buy it- Woo-hoo! My favorite is the segment about Aunt Jenny, but the whole thing is AB-SO-LUTELY HY-STERICAL. If you've got an offbeat sense of humor and/or a love of all things food, you will not be able to resist cracking a smile with this book and the others in its series!

I don't want to spend too much time writing today-- suffice to say that the second book is so much fun to read! I'm starting to get into polymer clay, to make my own beads, and this has been an invaluable resource... perfect for me, because I'm not a COMPLETE beginner (I dabbled in it when I was a little girl), but I'm also not ready for those super-fancy inspiring books for experts.

I am WAY BEHIND with my blogging-- as one of my friends said recently, I can't do it all... I can only do what I can do. So here I am, doing what I can. Next up, the letter "S"~

A to Z, 2012-- Q is for... (PART TWO)

QUOTATIONS!

Borrowed from my Pinterest wall... as much as I love the quote, the accompanying image just makes it a million times better!

I've always loved collecting them. From stories I've read... to movies and television shows... famous people... friends, family... if it's quotable, I've written it down.

Another Pinterest-"borrowed" image.

I used to have TONS of notepad files on my computer, filled with quotes I'd collected. I have some actual, real-life notebooks filled up, too. And one year, for Christmas, I gave all my friends personalized notebooks with images of their favorite TV shows, with all the funny things from the year written in.

One of my favorite quotes of all time, is a rather obscure one about love...

• "The kiss originated when the first male reptile licked the first female reptile, implying in a subtle, complimentary way that she was as succulent as the small reptile he had for dinner the night before." --F. Scott Fitzgerald

I just couldn't resist throwing that one into the mix today! For the purposes of keeping this blog post short-ish, however, the rest of my quotes will be all about art and artists and artistry and creativity and creation:

• "An intellectual is a man who says a simple thing in a difficult way; an artist is a man who says a difficult thing in a simple way." --Charles Bukowski 

• “Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.” --Leo Tolstoy

•  “An artist is a dreamer consenting to dream of the actual world.” --George Santayana  

•  “I've been called many names like perfectionist, difficult and obsessive. I think it takes obsession, takes searching for the details for any artist to be good.” --Barbara Streisand  

•  “Were I called on to define, very briefly, the term Art, I should call it 'the reproduction of what the Senses perceive in Nature through the veil of the soul.' The mere imitation, however accurate, of what is in Nature, entitles no man to the sacred name of 'Artist.'” --Edgar Allan Poe

•  “An artist needn't be a clergyman or a churchwarden, but he certainly must have a warm heart for his fellow men.” --Vincent VanGogh

• “Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” --Henry Ward Beecher 

• “I'm painting an idea, not an ideal. Basically I'm trying to paint a structured painting full of controlled, and therefore potent, emotion.” --Euan Uglow 

•  “I’m not an abstractionist. I’m not interested in the relationship of color or form or anything else. I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on.” --Mark Rothko

One quote I found on my hard drive, long lost and buried, combines my two careers, my two loves-- teaching and art:

• “I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.” --John Steinbeck

I will leave you all with this one last quote, this one last thought. It does not deal with art per se, but I came across it today:

• "Some asked me where the rubies grew, / And nothing I did say; / But with my finger pointed to / The lips of Julia." --Robert Herrick

What makes me smile most about that last quote, is that it not only mentions my name, but also my birth stone. Coincidence? Or just one of those things that was "meant" to be found by me? You be the judge!

See you all tomorrow, for the letter R~ 

A to Z, 2012-- P is for...

Pain.

Ah yes, my standard picture of pain. The Dread Pirate Roberts has returned!

Before things got too far removed, I just wanted to say thank you, to those who took time out of their day to wish me well.

The new medication (the one mentioned a few days ago) has been incredibly helpful. I'm not quite up to my normal speed, but it is indeed helping to keep my elevated pain levels under control.

I'm not so happy with the world spinning, as a side effect, but when I raised my concern about this, my doctor pointed out an interesting fact. "You're already not able to do anything when things get bad," he said, "But with this, at least you'll feel some pain relief while you're not able to do much!"

Touche, doc. Touche.

Anyway, this was not the "P" word that I had in mind. I have another word that I'll be talking more about tomorrow, in conjunction with the letter "Q". Or perhaps separately. I haven't decided yet.

See you then~!

A to Z, 2012-- O is for...

The OCEAN!

This photo (Copyright TJ Wasik) was taken by one of my best friends, on a trip to the USVI. The water was such a gorgeous color of blue!

So those of you who know me, know that I'm a water-baby through and through. Even though I was the slowest child on earth to learn how to swim (I don't think I took my swimmies off until I turned seven!), I've always loved being in the water and I practically grew up in the ocean.

Look at me-- a nautical natural! Ahoy, mateys and Mickeys! Of course I look like a natural on the water... I am a Cancer, after all, and that makes me a crab baby! Just look at those "claws", expertly holding onto my food~

See, my grandparents had a boat. Every summer, I would visit them-- sometimes with my mom and dad and brother, sometimes on my own. We would ride over to a nearby barrier island, park in the marina, and stay for as long as we liked. There was the bay (shown above, older my shoulder), there was the ocean (not pictured above), there was sand as far as the eye could see. We had boogie boards and money for ice cream cones, and when I was tired of playing in the water there were parks next to the marina, with swings and slides and monkey bars.

The ocean was where I got to spend time with my family and read as many books as I liked. But most importantly, the ocean was where I learned not just how to make jewelry, but where I grew to love it and learned how to sell it!

(I'll talk more about that at a later date. If I put it in this blog post, it would be longer than some of Hemmingway's short stories!)

In any case, the ocean is a place that fills me with joy. When I am there, I am filled with a warm and blissful calm. When I am thinking about it, I can't help but smile.

And most importantly for this blog, it inspires me artistically.

A to Z, 2012-- M and N is for...

Medicine. New Medicine, to be specific.

Okay, so it's probably not the most exciting or inspired thing that I could post about. Actually, I had intended for my M post to be all about my Mommy... before the new M-word took over.

When I realized I wouldn't be able to write anything deep or emotional, I started to write about My Favorite Things. But again, my M-word took over my life and made it nigh impossible to write.

Mother Superior is not amused. "Shame on you!" she seems to say.

Regarding the letter N, the same thing happened. I had a whole other post that I got about halfway done~ see, I went shopping the other day and got lots of NEW and fun things to show off~ so *that* was what I was desperately trying to write about! On one hand, the word is still the same, so that's a win for me. On the other, this post has no resemblance to my original idea, so I'm not sure how happy I am about that part.

So here's the skinny. Those who have followed my blog for a bit now, know that I am dealing with chronic pain that seriously affects my quality of life. We're talking excruciating pain of the "every day of my life" variety. I have Endometriosis, plain and simple, and there is no real cure for my condition... or at least, none that are viable options for the way it has uniquely manifested itself in my body.

Because there is no real cure, my doctors are just managing my pain as best as they can. The past couple months have been exceptionally hard-- I was bed-ridden for weeks at a time, and I reached a point where my "bad" health days outnumbered the "good" ones. So my doctor prescribed a new medicine to try and keep those higher levels of pain in check.

After a couple days of trying it out, I'm pleased to say that the medicine DOES lower my pain levels. It's making the whole thing much more manageable-- instead of being bed-ridden I can actually get things done!

... Well... theoretically I would be able to get things done.

Reality, however, is a different story.

The new medicine is designed to combine with a different prescription of mine-- they enhance each other's effects and make both more effective. Unfortunately the combination makes me all kinds of dizzy and fuzzy, and it's not easy to get things done.

Despite all the side effects, however, taking the medicine it is much better than the alternative. I might not be as productive as I want to be, but I can at least get SOME things done~!

So here's to my New Medicine-- the letters M and N. See you all tomorrow for the next letter!

A to Z, 2012-- K is for...

KNITTING, of "kourse"!

This photo was taken a while back-- I've made much more progress on this project since then-- but I just HAD to show off this picture because I love the skirt I'm wearing!!!

I learned how to knit when I was only three years-old. My mother taught me how, probably after I begged so much that my voice was hoarse. I remember that she was knitting a lot back then, and I wanted to be just like her. I made a small red square.

... Well... half of a small red square.

... Well... okay, it was way less than half a square. Mommy cast-on and knit half of it to get it started and show me, then helped me for a few rows, then I did a few rows on my own... and then she did the bind-off.

But the point is, I learned. And I was pretty good for my age-- I made a lap blanket for Barbie! And then promptly forgot all about the process, until I was seven and she re-taught me. It's like riding a bike, she said. Once you learn you never forget.

Which was good to know, since she had to re-teach me again when I was turned ten, and yet again when I turned fifteen. By the time I got to college, I was probably the world's most expert beginner when it came to knitting!

I re-learned for the millionth time as a freshman, volunteering to knit items for homeless people. Yarn and needles were provided. Picture an entire room of people who were learning how to knit, just to accomplish the purpose of keeping some complete strangers warm in the winter. It was equal parts inspiring and ridiculous, since hardly anyone there knew what they were doing.

Thankfully I remembered what I was doing pretty quickly, and realized that wow, I actually had a knack for this! Not only did I have a knack for it, I was damn good! I was amazing! Swell! Wonderful! Impressive, even!

... and then I realized that while I had actually managed to knit the whole scarf up, it was all kinds of misshapen and icky. The kind of a project that only a mother could be proud of.

Which she was, by the way. Of course.

In any case, since I'd learned so many times throughout the years, I became quite good quite fast. I ended up teaching all my friends how to knit, at some point or another, and became known as the girl who always had yarn in her purse. I brought my yarn and needles to my brother's hockey games... to movie nights at college... to friend's houses... on the bus and train... at the baseball fields... if you can name it, I knit there at one time or another.

And I basically haven't stopped knitting since.

Now, as a special "thank you" to my blog readers, I have here a knitting pattern that I'm going to share with you all! YAAAAAYYYYY!!!

A to Z, 2012-- I is for...

INSPIRATION!

I absolutely love this inspiration board-- pardon the pun, but it's such an inspiration! It's not mine, but you can click on the image to be taken to the original source~

I originally intended to post up a photo of my own inspiration board, from my studio. Unfortunately, my board was one of the casualties of the flood-- it was hung on the wall where the water came from, and is no longer useable. So many of my pretty images are gone-- I'm only glad that my "current project" inspirations are hung immediately above my work station, no where near the water source! I would take a photograph of *that*, but there's only one or two images currently up... nothing truly exciting or inspiring there!

While I'm a huge fan of Pinterest, and the website was a complete game-changer in the way people store images and links, there is way too much to talk about for it to be part of today's post. Since that's a different issue, I'll have to save that discussion for a different day.

As a side note, for those of you who, like me, look for inspiration in the world of color, there's a website out there that lets you create palettes of up to five colors. It's called ColourLovers-- and they have programs that let you pull colors from a photograph, and others that help you turn those colors into patterns. I find myself inspired by at least one thing, every single time I go on the site! But again, the site deserves more of an in-depth look, so I'll have to hold off on this topic as well.

Studio flooding issues and interesting websites aside, in addition to my "Pinspiration" boards as I call them, I have (or had...) bulletin boards. I think I'm going to use this flooding incident as an opportunity to start over in the studio, and get myself a TON of bulletin boards, basically cover a section of the wall with them (akin to the photo above). I use these boards mostly when I'm in the studio, and need more ideas for a project I'm working on. I swivel my chair around, take a look, then spin back and create.

I looooove my spinny-chair!

... Moving along ...

I also have a notebook that I carry around with me, wherever I go. My phone is a camera, so inspiring color combinations are easy to capture for later~ just one click away~ but designs are awfully hard to replicate on a digital sketch via a small screen and clumsy fingers! That is where my book comes in. It's shaped like Harry Potter's book for "Care of Magical Creatures", and it looks absolutely ridiculous:

Rawr!

In addition to being awesome, this notebook has the added bonus of freaking people out when they see me pull it out. Striking terror into the hearts of strangers is apparently my new hobby. SCORE!

How does inspiration play a role in YOUR studio's layout and your creative process?

A to Z, 2012-- H is for...

Happiness.

Okay, so I'm going to go all corny on all of you. There's this song from a musical, "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" that is incredibly sweet-- so sweet, in fact, that it's probably been linked to tooth decay. And possibly diabetes.

(Please excuse the video's warbly singing indicative of an adult pretending to be a child. While the voices are not as polished as I would prefer, the accompanying animation more than makes up for it.)

For me, the best part is the last line of the song-- "Happiness is anyone and anything at all that's loved by you."

See, it's easy to get caught up in sadness. When you have a chronic condition of ANY kind, when you're constantly reminded of what you can't accomplish, or the disparity between how your life is and how you want it to be, it's easy to let the negative things in life truly take over. And those of you who know me, know that I'm not just some overly optimistic Pollyanna speaking hypothetically-- I know more than most just how hard it is to accomplish this. When life throws major wrenches your way, it's hard to stay happy while you're constantly ducking!

But even when life is at its worst, this song never fails to teach and re-teach me that while there might be things out of my control, there is always something good to balance out the bad. The song is a lesson in counting your blessings, a fresh reminder that the small things in life actually do matter.

My happiness for today-- my metaphorical "tying a shoe for the very first time", to quote the song-- is a new twirly skirt that has pockets. It was a gift from the "Easter Bunny", found in my basket from yesterday. Floor length, flowy, made from cotton, and (of course!) blue with white ferns fanning out in all directions. Perfect for a spring day, and the kind of thing that made me smile from head to toe just thinking about it!

What is YOUR happiness-- in other words, your metaphorical "pizza with sausage"? What made you smile today, even for a split second?

A Quick Explaination...

Okay, so I've written half of like three different blog posts... but I have had such a crazy few days that I haven't been able to actually finish them and post them up.

It started on Saturday, with market day-- a busy day, a hectic day, a LONG day-- followed by an Easter dinner party with some friends. I had no time for a nap, much less for writing on the blog.

It continued on Sunday. I woke up to find Hubby sprawled out on the other bed, throwing up into a bowl. He is a diabetic and his blood sugars were out of control, thanks to some insulin that had "gone bad" without us knowing. After helping him... and getting him some new insulin... and taking care of my OWN health issues... it was time for Easter dinner with Hubby's family. And just when I thought it was safe to say that I could finish up on the blog... and do the giveaway... I went to the studio to grab something, and arrived to find a FLOOD of water all over the floor.

It was still insane today. The plumber came over to investigate this morning-- turns out that there is a leak in the kitchen's pipes, specifically with the sink. Which means that the water from there was running down the walls of the studio, and forming wading pools for our stinkbug tenants and neighbors. Lovely. And then after all that, we had not-quite-Easter with my family.

It's a wonder I'm still conscious, but that won't be true for much longer. I am going to go to sleep, get a good night's sleep, then spend tomorrow writing and creating jewelry.

Oh, and I'm going to *actually* draw the names for the giveaway. I am TERRIBLY sorry for all of you who have been waiting... but I'm too tired tonight to do anything but flop down on my bed.

Tomorrow, I'll be sending up some amazingly fun posts and the exciting announcement about my giveaway winner. See you then!

A to Z, 2012-- D is for...

Decisions.

We make decisions every day, every single one of us. Chefs, healers, doctors, mothers, engineers, teachers, athletes, movie stars, musicians, cashiers, day laborers, and yes, artists. It doesn't matter if we are rich or poor, happy or sad, strong or weak, we all make decisions every single day.

Morpheus and Neo know where it's at! What'll it be-- the red pill or the blue pill?

Some decisions are small, so small you don't even have to think about it-- for example, what music you will listen to on your commute. Others are made so often that they become part of a routine-- like what you will put in your coffee, or how you will style your hair, or what you do first in the morning after you wake up. Some decisions are new every day, but require some thought-- what to wear, what to cook, what you will do after work is over.

And some decisions we must make are so tremendously huge that they consume your thoughts and your life.


I'm at one of those crucial crossroads right now... and I have been for quite some time now.


When I first got sick, the question was whether I should have surgery or not. I weighed the options, and had the surgery. While it didn't give me any relief from the pain, it gave me something that I didn't have before-- an answer.


When I realized that teaching was out of the question for me, I had to figure out what to do with my life. That took quite a long time, but I eventually realized that I actually could "make it" as an artist. A life-changing decision, most definitely-- and while I question my choice all the time, I absolutely love what I am doing.

See? This might not be the best photo of me, but there's no doubt about it that I am happy to be making jewelry. Notice the earrings hidden by my hair, the bracelet designed by me, and the necklace designed by Hubby. I look like I'm ready to take on anything. Look out world, here I come~!

Yesterday, at the doctor's office, I talked to a new doctor. A specialist in his field, quite literally world-renowned. I now have some major choices to make about my treatment~ the decisions I make will affect my entire life's course, so I will have to think long and hard about my course of action.

Today, my decision was to buy a new earring stand for my jewelry display. I needed something that was more fun, and more functional, than the one that I was previously using. 

Apparently, in my universe, earrings grow on trees from the roots of bracelets... I'm practically a psycho-analysts' dream come true!

I love the tree, but am not so fond of the butterfly on top. I will probably be replacing it with something else, at some point in time.


Tomorrow's biggest decision will hopefully be nothing more than what to eat for lunch, or what components to put together for a necklace that I'm designing. The truly tough decisions will be on my mind for some time to come, because they are not the kind of choices that one makes in an instant. It's not every day that we are faced with the "big ones"-- and thank goodness for that.


See you all tomorrow, for the letter E, and don't forget to sign up for my giveaway, a few posts back. Don't forget that it is the love and support from my family and friends that has made me as strong as I am today-- and I consider all of you my friends <3

A to Z, 2012-- B is For...

BLUE!

But first, a quick welcome to any new visitors I might have from the A to Z challenge-- and a reminder to all visitors, old and new, to sign up for my very first giveaway! Now that I've taken care of that bit of business...

Those who know me should not surprised that for me, as an artist, B stands for blue. Not just any blue-- Royal Blue.

I could have used the photos from MY wedding, since our color was Royal blue, but this was just way easier~!

Aw, hell, I might as well share one photo from my wedding! Pay no attention to the oversized bridal train, gorgeous as it may be. Look instead to the color worn by my bridesmaids-- yes, that blue-ish blur next to the beautiful big white thing.

This color of blue is near and dear to my heart for reasons I could never put into words. I even have several clothing items in Royal Blue~ a jacket, a skirt, a pair of shoes, a pair of earrings, a turtleneck, short sleeved tee-shirt...

I have NO IDEA what I'm running towards in this photo of myself from last year, but I think it has something to do with a fight between some cousins. I am the oldest, after all! All I know is that I'm NOT running from the all-in-black monster behind me. That's just one of the other "little" cousins, sillies, blacked out because he's still a "kid." Don't remind me that he's taller than I am...

Oh yes. And a royal blue sun dress. Only to be worn with the silliest of faces, of course.

A dear friend of mine told me that my strongest chakra is the throat. To those of you as ignorant as I was,  this means that my strengths lie in communication with others and expression of ideas, both expressive and receptive. It relates to creativity and the act of creating, and listening on all levels: to my own intuition, to those around me, and to the universe that surrounds me. Metaphorically speaking I wear many "hats", and as I write all of this, I realized that every one of them somehow relates to these ideas~ Artist... Musician... Fashion Designer... Teacher... Counselor... Blogger/Writer... Event Planner... the list goes on, but you get the idea.

And wouldn't you know it, the color of that chakra is blue.

Now I KNOW that someone out there is wondering what in tarnation this all has to do with my art.

The answer is unbelievably simple: I have an addiction to creating all things that are blue.

I absolutely ADORE my bead supplier (Suma in New York City) for having such a gorgeous wall. And for letting me take a photo of it, no less~!

Since I'm so drawn to blue shades, I always work extra hard to NOT create things in the color-- or better put, I experiment with other colors much more, because I don't want to have a jewelry line with no other color options. Sometimes it works and I end up with a nice variety of color options; other times, I go too far in the opposite direction and create NOTHING that is blue. But I always try to find that balance, despite my love affair with my absolute favorite color.

Do any of you have a color that "speaks" to you?

A to Z, 2012-- A is for...

Art.

But before I get too far "into" that, don't forget to sign up for my special giveaway... if you sign up for it, please remember to do so on the ORIGINAL blog post, linked above or found a few posts below. And let me also give a warm welcome to any A to Z challenge participants who may be visiting!

Now, back to the scheduled program. It took me a long time to consider myself an artist, and realize that I truly am one.

Me as a senior in high school, putting together my "senior project"-- a 3-D rendering of the high school musical. In this photo I was working on the curtains, made from fabric left over from my costume. I'm smiling in this photo because a friend was taking the picture, but this was probably my least favorite project, when it was done~

I've been creating since as far back as I can remember. I learned how to knit (the first time, at least) when I was three. I started out making jewelry and doll-pins, and selling them along the beach with a friend, when I was around 11 years old. I took art lessons around that time, and refined my painting and drawing and sculpting techniques. In high school I took several art classes, and learned how to screen print. College taught me to design techniques for 2-D work, and introduced me to the psychology behind designs.

But I never considered myself an artist.

The art of a former student. Coincidentally, this photograph also reflects exactly how I used to view my work~!

See, my problem is that one of my grandmothers is an artist. She paints watercolors-- the kind of watercolors that are hung in galleries and governor's mansions. Whenever people complimented me on a project, I always thanked them, but made sure to tell them that I was no artist.

No more.

Now, when people ask what I do or what I am, I tell them proudly that I'm an artist. I tell them that my most recent work is wearable art-- because whenever I make jewelry, that is what my ultimate goal.

I'm not saying that I think of myself as the world's best artist. I'm not saying there's nothing else for me to learn-- far from it-- and I still have doubts.

I found this through Facebook, courtesy of a friend <3

Even now, I still have moments when I wonder if this is what I'm truly meant to be doing, if this is the kind of thing that I SHOULD be doing, if this is the kind of thing that I'm good at. I question myself every day.

But now, at least I know, thanks to friends and family (and my own soul-searching) that I deserve the title.

To those of you reading my blog, who might be questioning your OWN status as an artist, I highly recommend that you read this article. It expresses my feelings, exactly, about what it means to be one.

Do my perspectives on being an artist resonate with any of you? I know I'm not the only one who struggles with this title... do any of you have experiences to share?

Tune in tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel, for more alphabetical excitement!

Day Twenty-Four, It Never Rains But it Pour(s)

So much has been going on with me lately, not the least of which has been my health. Endometriosis is always a yo-yo... sometimes it's up, sometimes it's down. I've spent over a week now with elevated pain levels, and there's nothing to be done about it. I'm still making my earrings every day, and I'm still putting together posts every day, but it's hard for them to actually get put *up* every day.

Thankfully, I have an amazing family and supportive friends, who understand what is going on and have been giving me some LOVELY recommendations for things to watch while I'm bed-ridden! I just finished watching every single episode of "Bones" available on Netflix, and am working my way through the first season of Downton Abbey. Next up, I'm going to finish "United States of Tara"~ is there anything else out there that you think I absolutely have to see?

Anyway, onto the earrings.

A friend suggested that I name them after her-- "Yosie's Choice"-- because they're her kind of style~!

Sterling Silver spacers surround and separate two delicate pink beads-- one perfectly round freshwater pearl, and one cool and smooth rose quartz.

Still experimenting with different photo surfaces...

I don't know what I'd do without this teacup!

I have some exciting news to post, both on here and the business blog. Stay tuned!

Day Twenty-Three, A Shopping Spree!!

And by "shopping spree," I mean that we got some new stones-- some stones I've been looking at for quite some time with wistful longing!

I was feeling quite down-in-the-dumps about a few things today, all of them related to one thing~ my health. Things are getting more complicated with my Endometriosis; my "bad days" now outnumber the "good" ones, and I'm spending an increasing amount of time bedridden and nauseous from the pain. Which means I'm missing out on life's events, both big and small.

Hubby knew I was upset about this, and came home with a FABULOUS "care package" for me. Most of it was consumed with great deliciousness; the beads (which are beautiful but not quite edible) will be posted up on the business blog as soon as I'm done over here.

In any case, onto the earrings!

I think this officially counts as a "streak" of pearly posts...

These lovely pearls were designed to match the necklace that was posted on Valentine's Day:

Honestly, while this photo isn't horrible, I'm glad to see that I've improved my photography techniques quite a bit!

The set is made from freshwater pearls; shades of green and gold meet an irregular white oval at the focal point of the necklace. For the earrings, I chose to use only the "accent" pearls, as you can see below:

I'm experimenting with a different background for the earrings-- this one shows up fairly true to color~!

I love these earrings, and I love the set they belong to. However, tomorrow I am going to try my absolute hardest NOT to make another pearl earring set. As much as I love working with pearls, I think three days in a row is quite enough of that, thankyouverymuch.

Until tomorrow, faithful readers~!

Day Twelve- I Truly Delve!

So, first things first~ the earrings of the day!

Today's pair is a special request from a friend of mine. These are brass wires, wrapped in a spiral, and ending in an onyx teardrop. I plaon recreating these in sterling silver quite soon~ and while I know that you all think the model is OH SO ATTRACTIVE, this photo doesn't show the detail as well as I'd like... so more photographs will be attached tomorrow.

And now for something completely different.

I wanted to thank all my friends and family, and those who have visited me here, for being so supportive. Since posting about my health a couple weeks ago, I have received so much love from so many people, both on here and in real life. It means the world to me, and keeps me smiling when things get hard. Since then, as always, I have had good days and bad days... and the thing that keeps me going when things get tough is the idea that I will always have people in my life who support what I do.

When Hubby and I were watching Star Trek: Voyager on Netflix, and reliving our youth, the Vulcan character (Tuvok) said something that truly resonated within me. I was surprised to enjoy a quote from this particular character, since I am pretty much the anti-Vulcan for the most part.

"Do not mistake composure for ease." 

My life has challenges, but I always try to hold myself together as well as I can. I always try to keep my head up, and keep going. Many people say that they would never have known that I was unwell, had I not told them. I don't like to complain, and I don't enjoy showing my weaknesses to people. Some seem to think that because I don't show these feelings, that I'm perfectly fine.

Even when I'm at my worst-- no, ESPECIALLY when I'm feeling my worst-- I always try to make things seem much better than they truly are.

This does not mean that I feel any less unwell... just that I try to hold myself together as best I can. And the two things that truly help me to do that, are the important people in my life, and my art. Those two things help me keep my composure through the worst of times.

What inspires *you* to keep going, when all you want to do is stop? <3

My Pain, My Creativity, My Life

So, faithful readers, I apologize for not putting up a post in so long. This is, quite literally, the first day in over a week and a half that I have not felt completely unwell. I'm not saying that I feel FABULOUS today, but at least I'm not on death's door...


Last week, Lori (a fellow jewelry blogger, whom I follow for her beautiful work and lovely personality) wrote up a lengthy post that I truly connect with with my entire heart and soul... it is titled "Pain Versus Creativity."

See? Even the Dread Pirate Roberts understands... you should all know the caption that is associated with this photo~

The truth is, my health is frequently an issue that, until this point, I have frequently swept under the metaphorical mat. I tried not to talk about it because the more one talks about things, the more "real" they become... and this is a reality that I wanted about as much as one wants dental surgery! I have told some number of family members and friends about the details of my health, but this is the first time that I have spoken out to the community at large.

Now, I don't intend to throw a pity-party-- no one likes those-- but when I read Lori's post, I found myself crying from the emotion of someone writing down EXACTLY how I feel about things. The idea that someone else out there understands how I feel, and put in a public forum, gave me the courage to write about my situation.

I have what is known as an Adhesive Disorder, caused by Endometriosis. The situation that I am in is quite complicated, so for now I will hold off on the exact details of what is going on with my body. I'm not ashamed to tell my story, but it's so complicated that it will take much more than a single blog post. For today, though, I will tell you all what this means for me, and how it affects my life.

I am in chronic pain. Many people use the word, but few mean it quite the way that I do. I am in pain, quite literally, every second of every day-- from the moment I open my eyes in the morning, until I go to sleep at night. Pain that wakes me up in the night, from a sound sleep. Pain so severe I cry from it. Pain so excruciating that recovery from surgery is less painful than what I deal with on a day-to-day basis. Pain so unbearable that a bikini wax seems like a gentle tap by comparison. Pain so debilitating that it's hard to move around without limping severely.

Pain that will potentially stay with me for the rest of my life.

Pain that caused me to completely abandon a career path-- teaching-- that I absolutely loved.

A painting by a former student. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the one in the middle is me... and yes, I still have all the artwork from my years in the classroom. I wouldn't give up that "porfolio" for anything!

The reason that Lori's post resonated so strongly within me, is because of the words she used. "Invisible pain made me feel like an invisible person -- hiding out in a dark room, being deprived of all the things I love to do." Never were truer words spoken.

My health touches my entire life... career, friendships, finances, social outings, even my passions. There are days that I need to tell friends that I don't feel well enough to see them. There are days when I don't leave my bed at all, and I can't even knit because of the pain. Days when I can't go down to my studio and paint, or make a necklace, because it requires too much movement. In many ways I have become an "invisible" woman, especially on those days when no one sees me.

Now, I know that I am a very lucky lady. I am blessed to have an opportunity to stay home and create beautiful things. I have been gifted with an artists' soul, and the ability to create works of art. I can do anything that I set my mind to do, and I have a (hopefully long) lifetime ahead of me to do just that. I am not happy about my situation-- I don't know that I ever will-- but I am gradually coming to terms with what I have to deal with. I continue to move forward, because there is no going back to how things were before.

In closing today, I am again borrowing Lori's words, from her post regarding pain. She told her readers, "Don't be afraid to share your story.  Don't be afraid to hide your story.  Either way, the point is to make your soul more peaceful in whatever way you feel comfortable, and to be gentle with yourself." I will add to these words of wisdom, something that Lori mentioned, but in my own words. Something I tell people when they are in need.

No one is ever truly alone. Seek out people who truly care; help carry their burdens in life, and they will help you carry theirs. To all you out there, who are dealing with your own troubles and pains... you are not alone. <3