Category Archives: Beauty

First Snow

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I woke up this morning to a world covered in white.

Our first snowfall of the season.

I bundled myself up and entered this hushed world , gently, softly, and went for a walk, my shoes crunching, crunching.

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Everything was glazed in light.  I felt renewed.

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…trees glitter like castles of ribbons, the broad fields

smolder with light, a passing

creekbed lies heaped with shining hills;

and though the questions

that have assailed us all day

remain — not a single

answer has been found —

walking out now

into the silence and the light

under the trees,

and through the fields,

feels like one.

-Mary Oliver

Thanksgiving

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The other day I was sitting on the couch writing in my journal. As I glanced up, I noticed that the room had filled with light as the sun came out from behind a cloud. This hibiscus bloom had just fully opened that morning and it glowed as the light from outside came in and illuminated it from behind. I was so taken with the moment that I held my breath and just gazed at this magnificent flower. Then, of course, I ran and grabbed my camera.

I am thankful for amazing moments like these.

I am thankful for my wonderful family and friends.

I am thankful for being able to get up every morning, take a deep breath and then journey out to experience this beautiful world.

I am thankful for the ability to see and love colors, patterns, textures and shapes and express my authentic self through them.

I am thankful for everything warm these days – a steaming mug of tea, a roaring fire, a cozy scarf, a fleece blanket.

I am thankful for being closer to nature in my new home – the majestic trees, the birds and wood critters, our gardens sleeping now under big piles of leaves, the sunrises and sunsets, the clouds writing their messages in the everchanging sky.

I am thankful for all of the friends I’ve made here and the opportunity that we have to connect and share our stories and passions.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Gabriella

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When I hold Ella and talk to her, I feel like she knows so much more than I do. She holds so much wisdom inside of her and you can catch glimpses of it on her face if you look closely. Now some might think that’s crazy because she’s 2 days old and I’m 50 years old. However, to see her listen intently like this, I can feel how close her spirit is to the divine source and to the answers to all of our questions. She is so newly arrived in this world that I can feel how strongly connected she is with everyone and everything in this world and beyond. She just can’t tell us because of the limitations of this brand new tiny body she is in. It is there though and I am listening carefully. What do you have to tell us, precious little Ella?

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Can you tell how much I love her already?

Studio Wednesday

Every Wednesday I work at home in my studio. As I only have one day a week in my studio, one of my goals is to be more disciplined with my time so I can get the most amount of work done in the time I have. The first step towards this goal is to create a task list for myself on what I’d like to accomplish in the studio that day. I’ll make my task list up every Tuesday night. Another step in my goal process is to establish a weekly blog post entitled “Studio Wednesday” where I will share what I’ve been creating in my studio lately. A big thank you to my friend Amy who has been a big inspiration to me in setting this goal for myself.

The photos are of some of the jewelry I created with the faux jade polymer clay I found in my studio when I was cleaning. The pendant above contains the Kanji character for “Beauty”. This was the word I chose for 2008.

Today I worked on my fringy bracelet and completed the first pass. On the second pass, I might add a couple more beads here and there but it will mainly be about reinforcing all of the heavier beads in the bracelet.

I also discovered that the sterling silver wires that I had super glued in the mokume gane polymer clay earring components weren’t staying put. When I opened the loop to add the earwires on some of them, the wire started to move. So, after some internet research to find out what type of glue would work better, I went up to Lowe’s and found an epoxy that works well on plastic which is basically what polymer clay is, namely polyvinyl chloride or PVC. Fine particles of PVC are suspended in a liquid plasticizer to create polymer clay. The epoxy has 2 separate tubes that are set side by side with a plunger that dispenses equal amounts of material for mixing. It is the mixing of these 2 materials that creates the strong bond. You can read more about how it works here. It will be fully cured in 24 hours so, hopefully, this will work to keep the wire in place in the polymer clay.

More Musings on Jersey Shore 2008

I wish I lived near the beach. It’s interesting because years ago I had my natal chart read. I found an astrologer and sent her the date and time of my birth and she in turn sent me a map of the alignments of the planets and stars at the exact moment of my birth. Fascinating. One of the things my chart told me was that I am deficient in Water, of the four elements, Earth, Fire, Water and Air. It advised that I should either live near water or drink a lot of water everyday. Even before this information was shared with me, I have always felt very drawn to the sea. So, someday, I would like to live by the beach so I could walk at the water’s edge every morning as I did when I was on vacation. It is at the top of my list of “well fillers”.

As long as I’ve been visiting the beach, I’ve listened to my Dad’s stories about his passion for fishing. Fishing is one of his well fillers, I think, and it really doesn’t have all that much to do with the fish or actually catching them, if that makes any sense. It is the whole experience of being at the water’s edge or out on the sea in a boat and interacting with it. My Dad’s passion, even though it is much different from my own, has inspired my passions for nature and art and photography.

As we look to our parents and those venerable elders who have influenced our lives, it is there that we can learn more about ourselves. I am grateful for so much my Dad has taught me about life.

I was sad to leave this wonderful place and week of Being but have come home with its wisdom of connecting, with myself, with my family and with Nature.

I am looking forward to my return next year…