My Little Orange Kitchen

Casing The Joint

Hello Kitchenettes! I'm sorry to have been gone so long. Casing the joint is one of my favorite terms and I'm immature enough to get a kick out of the double meaning with my condom cases (I'm not proud of this, but I am giggly!). I do think it's appropriate to use it here considering that right now, around this joint, it's all about condom cases. I consider condom cases my least artsy, but most fun project. I don't collage much on the tops, so it's just a question of assembly and this means that I can whip them out fairly quickly.  Every artists/crafter needs at least one quick, easy and fun project.

This batch is headed to The Flying Pig Gallery in Algoma along with tons of collaged wallet gorgeousness on the 15th of April. I'm stocking them for the summer and truly excited about the work I'm doing.

I'm still doing the Heather's 30 Day Vegan plan. I've been doing well with a few "My body is screaming for animal protein" slips. Three to be exact. Fish once, cheese once and ground beef once. However, these slips are minor and overall I feel so much better. I plan to continue after the 30 days, but allow for some meat or cheese when I feel weak or out of balance.

I have some link love to share with you!

A new on-line magazine-foresty, fashion-ey and fairytale-ish: Motif Magazine

A blog that makes me happy: Jen Lee

A book that get me where my little inner girl lives:  Here

A song-love: Kiss of Life

My three favorite poets are ee cummings, Pablo Neruda and Hafiz:

Here is one of Pablo's, I love it because as I recently tried to explain to one of my dearest friends who has had her heart broken over and over and over, all it takes is just one person to see what others don't and it changes everything. You never think of heartbreak again and you don't curse him because he took so long to arrive on the scene and if it isn't a him (or a her), but instead a you...as in you become the one who you fills your own heart with bells and a hymn, well then all the better.  Hey J., this is for you:

La Reina (The Queen)

I have named you queen.
There are taller than you, taller.
There are purer than you, purer.
There are lovelier than you, lovelier.
But you are the queen.

When you go through the streets
No one recognizes you.
No one sees your crystal crown, no one looks
At the carpet of red gold
That you tread as you pass,
The nonexistent carpet.

And when you appear
All the rivers sound
In my body, bells
Shake the sky,
And a hymn fills the world.

Only you and I,
Only you and I, my love,
Listen to me.

One Week

I've been doing the 30 Day Vegan e-course for one week. I feel well and have only had a few cravings. Odd that none have been for meat.  The changes I've noticed have been more inside than outside, though I know that my body is letting go of lots. 

I'm realizing even more how much I'm an all or nothing person. This applies to things as simple as library books. I stay away from the library for weeks and then I'm compelled to go in and leave with more books in my arms than I could possibly read by the time they're due to be returned. I'm this way with work as well. I go into the studio and putter around doing this and that until suddenly I'm hit with the drive and I begin working on panels for hours and hours.

I have new patience and anyone who knows me will testify that never before has patience been a virtue I could lay claim to.  I realized in the library the other day that I could wait. I could read the books I had and then come back for more. They'd all be waiting for me later.  This applies to other things as well...cookies, shoes, natural creams and lotions...things I tend to avoid for awhile until suddenly...I'm all in.

When it comes to my work I've tried to accommodate my manic artist tendencies; accepting long periods of stillness and suddenly a paper scrap frenzy all around me. This week I saw more clearly how it doesn't work for me. It's not good for all of the art/writing and personal goals I have.   This includes several projects I've not only begun, but finished and have not had a chance to share.  I know (and have always known) that I have to create some structure in my working life, but then it seems life gets in the way of my time charts and lists, but more importantly, my motivation.  I often feel fragile in this way. I can be working steadily and then an interruption, a phone call, a disagreement, the lyrics of a song come along and that's it...I've lost my focus and unlike many of my friends, I can't seem to get it back right away. It's hard for me and I mean really hard. In fact, my inability to move through shifts in mood gracefully is a big obstacle to my productivity.  I know I need to look at this because when I worked for other people, this wasn't an issue. The show went on.

In the past (and if you've been reading this blog for years, you know this is true), I've stated my intentions and tried to seek balance, but always with a plan. I realized this week, that I don't have a plan and I'm OK with that. I can be patient until a new way develops naturally and that it's OK to make small changes.

For example, for the next four weeks I am up against a wall with a deadline, so there is no plan, I just have to do it. However, when this is over, I hope to develop some new routines and I realize that these routines do not have to involve rigid scheduling. 

I feel same way about small things around the house. In the past, if the laundry piled up I'd feel that it wasn't even worth doing if it couldn't be done all at once and Mark is the same way. It's a trait we share and I can't speak for him, but I'd say isn't good. We have whole days dedicated to cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, errands etc and this week I realized that I'm happier doing a little here and there.  So maybe I'll let Mark do the big cleaning once a week and I'll be in charge of maintaining, I'm not sure.

I think this new-found patience with myself and how I operate and the changes I can make is a good thing. 

I do know that I created some nice panels for wallets this week and these are two that I love especially so.

 

Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters

Yesterday I went to the library not having a list or a specific idea of what I wanted. I just knew I needed to be there. I felt a sharp pull to walk towards an aisle in the back and when I saw where I was I couldn't help but laugh.

I found myself standing in front of one of the largest collections of fairy tale volumes I've ever found in a small town library.  Impressive.  I smiled because I know one of my strong woman mother guides was giving me an order.

I'm a fairytale girl from way back. I even contemplated taking a couple of years off to do research for a book on how fairy tale symbolism applies to our lives today, but the wallets called louder and so that's path I took.  However, every now and then I get a pang in my heart for more stories. The interesting thing is until that moment in the library, I hadn't even recognized what I'd been feeling lately...the need to go to a place where I understand things.  I get fairy tales. I get the symbolism and I get the language. I see the surface story, but also the hidden meaning equally.

I remember explaining a Japanese fairy tale to my teacher Mrs. Gardner. I loved her and thought I was being very polite to not criticize as she interpreted the story she'd just read aloud to the class. I waited until after school and as the classroom was emptying I asked her if "maybe she really meant to say..." about the Asian princess. When I was done, she put her hand on my shoulder and smiled and said, "I'm not sure this third grade teacher was prepared for you Laura. I can see you'll keep me on my toes." I knew she meant it in a good way unlike how she meant it when I wouldn't stop chattering with my neighbor during class and she yelled something horrible at me about no one being interested in what I had to say!   

Anyway, yesterday I began looking through the volumes and Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters popped out at me.

Kathleen Ragan was inspired to begin the book when she was looking for stories with strong female characters to read to her daughter and was dismayed to come up short. As much as I love Grimm fairy tales, they are sanitized and often the female characters are dependant on others for rescue. I understand why a mother might seek out stories that depicts the girls or women as witty, clever and smart and not always rescued by men.

I love the line on the back of the book, "...she has scoured the world in search of extraordinary tales about heroines who are bright, adventurous, delightful and talented."  Honestly, these are four of my favorite words! If I had to make a wishlist of qualities to embody, these would be the ones! I strive to be my own heroine and while I often come up short, I will say that my sense of the story of my life has gotten me through some very difficult times.

One of my favorite fairy tales is Selkie related...Sealskin/Soulskin. I love the symbolism about how sometimes you must sacrifice things dear to you in order to be your truest self. 

Do you have any favorite fairy tales?

Soldering 101

I was lucky enough to take Kim's Soldering 101 class last Saturday and it was a blast. I suggest any class she offers and it just so happens she's teaching at The West Coast Retreat in Petaluma and at the Cloth Paper Scissors retreat in Chicago this summer. She's been published in Stampington magazines too many times to list, but let's just say I can see why. She's a fun teacher. She also has a local retreat in the works and teachers whose work you may have admired in blogs or magazines will be coming in for it...more on that soon. 

You can see my efforts above. I'm practicing with cheap solder so the pendants look a little dirty, but who cares? I also made a mini plaque to hang on a tiny patch of wall we have next to a closet. I have to say....I'm pretty impressed with myself. I plan to keep practicing even edges, trying to make them smooth and flat and then I'll graduate to a better grade of solder.

I found the doll pic in the latest Paper Source catelog. It's one of the few paper catalogs I won't give up because of all the beauty contained in the pages. Plus they offer handmade and recycled papers too.

I love this bag, but since I'm not in the market for a new grocery bag (aghahaha!), I decided to enjoy the colors in a pendant.

Well, it's day two of Heather's 30 Day Vegan e-course and I'm doing great. Today's bonus recipe was vegan chocolate cake. I decided (before taking the class) that I might not do much baking since I tend to overeat the goods, but that cake...that cake...well, if you see some pics on the blog tomorrow you know that I made it and that's that. 

In the meantime Mark and I split this vegan salad today (even the rye bread is vegan) and neither one of us was complaining.

I appreciate your comments on the Post-it window! Thank you!

A Desk With A View

When I moved into the studio at the end of the summer I was all gung-ho about getting it painted and in order. Well, we all know that didn't happen. The need to work has stood in the way of creating a great place to work. Though, now (as my friend Christine said would happen) I'm so relieved I didn't go with my original plan to do a retro black, white and pewter office theme. Now that I've been in the space for awhile I've decided to go another direction totally. Hopefully I'll get to it this summer, but in the meantime I'm glad to at least have a work table set up and a few pretty spaces. 

The picture on top is the view from the inside of my Post-It note window display...simple and pretty. The one below is how it looks at night from the outside.

And for all that my studio is or isn't yet, I am glad to have the goddesses clustered together on one of the smaller windows. My studio gets so much light it's crazy. In the summer I'm going to need to block some of it so I don't roast! Already I can work in there without turning on the heat.

My space may not be "Flickr-group" ready or soon to grace the pages of Where Women Create, but it's doing the job for now.

I just got a two week extension on a wallet order and am so relieved. I've been focused, but days like today remind me that I'm not a machine.

I'm excited to share that on March 7th I will be participating in Heather's e-course.

I like the fact that it is simply 30 days and not meant to be a lifelong program unless of course, that's what you want. I have until April 15th to finish my order and I suspect I'll need every minute of it. It's important for me to handle crunch time in a balanced way and not use peanut M & M's and coffee to get me to the finish.

I think the timing of this course couldn't be better. 

Blog-land is exploding with so much richness lately...I scarcely know where to begin, but here is my attempt at a good start:

Just Travelin' Through

and

Even though I'm not really a California girl, Mt. Shasta is one of my favorite places on earth, however, if get a chance to visit Big Sur, I'm sure I'd fall in love.