One World-One Heart Blog Tour Begins!

Welcome to my blog!  This is the fifth and final One World - One Heart event sponsored by The Whimsical Bohemian.  Over the days of this event, bloggers can visit hundreds of other blogs and enter free draws at each one.  It's a great opportunity to get to know other bloggers, find inspiration and start new friendships.  Prize draws will take place at the end of the event on February 17th.

I started blogging a year ago and the One World - One Heart event introduced me to many wonderful bloggers who I have continued to follow.  One of the best parts of my day is spent visiting my favourite blogs with my early morning cup of tea in hand.  And I love reading the comments that other bloggers leave for me.

I am a mixed media artist (as in mix of media because I enjoy trying so many different things).  I enjoy sharing my work and my processes, as well as glimpses of my life.  

My draw prize is this packet of handmade paper cards made from plant fibres and recycled paper.  Block prints. Envelopes included.   Winner will be selected by random number generator at 8:00 pm PST on February 17th.  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment with a link so I can notify you if you are my winner.

I hope you'll join us for this fun event. 

Hope is not a Goal

I love making plans and setting goals for myself.  It makes me feel like I'm in control.  The reality is, I change plans and goals as often as I make them but I'm in control of that, too.  I like control.  I'm not particularly good at just letting things happen, although things will happen whether I let them or not.  I can't control everything.

I've been having a difficult time lately coming to grips with some things in my life that are not within my control.  I can change things about myself but I can't change anyone else and I find myself putting too much faith in hope.  Of course one of the problems with hope, is that you have no actual control over what it is you are hoping for.

Occasionally I buy lottery tickets because I hope I will win the jackpot and be instantly wealthy but I have absolutely no control over the outcome.  I can, however, control how much money I will plan to set aside toward my goals.

Another problem with hope is that you can actually start to believe that what you are hoping for is a goal that you have the power to achieve.  How many people buy lottery tickets but don't save any money because in their heart of hearts, they really do believe that someday they will win the big one?  Hope can be deceptive and it can keep you from doing the things that you can control.

I'm not saying that hope doesn't have merit.  Sometimes hope is the spark that lights the fire under your butt to get you out of bed in the morning.  I'm learning the importance, though, of keeping hope in perspective.  If I continue to make my goals and my plans and create the life I want regardless of anything else that may or may not happen, I may even find, someday, that what I have is better than anything I might have hoped for.

Just Passing By

My lake (actually not mine alone as others do live on this lake, too) is often frozen over by this time of the year.   The ice is great for ice fishing, snowshoeing, skiing and sometimes skating.  And we get less fog when the lake is frozen.  But I love days like today when the lake is still open and the sun is shining and I walk out my door to scenes like this.

 No matter what else is going on in my life, in moments like these, I feel tremendous joy and gratitude.

Artist Blog Hop

Click on the Artist Blog Hop icon on the sidebar to find links to over 500 artist's blogs.  I tried posting the link here but the blog icons create a very long post and there was a large gap between the intro and the icons.  It is probably something I'm doing wrong but I don't have the patience to figure it out.

Home and Art

Three days into the new year and the only actual art I have created is the start of a page for the Strathmore On-line Journaling Workshop.  My recycled art starter for this piece is a copy of a self portrait I did for a drawing class several years ago.  I used the back of the mirror which had a magnifying mirror in addition to the other two small mirrors.  Bits of ephemera from around the house completed this stage of the exercise. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what we do next with our piece. 

Even though this is the only art I have started this year, I have been working hard each day toward making creativity a priority in my home. This house was designed and built by my husband to be a piece of art in its own right and to showcase my art. There is still more work to be done but it's time to restore order after several years of construction, get rid of unwanted junk, and get busy creating.  

I am setting up a second studio in my loft to be my art studio and to connect me to the rest of the house.  My downstairs studio will continue to be home to all the very messy processes - soapmaking, candlemaking, stained glass and mosaics, dyeing fabric, and papermaking.

Journaling area in loft studio.  The windows look out on the lake.

2011...a mystery tour

"Life isn't about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself."  George Bernard Shaw