art-aholic

ever since we paid our first rent check on the studio, i've been obsessed with making art. the problem is...we don't have that much time to ACTUALLY DO IT.  last saturday was like heaven (well, besides the fact that the pollen count was about 17 million and my nose was dripping the entire time)...i laid out a huge canvas on the ground, covered it with about a dozen pieces i've been working on and played all afternoon. here we are in our new playground, in all its messy glory:

his

hers

and a few works in progress for ya...

we're back to the studio on saturday for renovation day #1 (well, technically #2....david and george ripped down the bulletin boards on tuesday!) hopefully by next week we'll actually have WALLS!

discovery #32

blanco, texas

we whet our appetites in the home base of wimberley, with the craziest shopping experience i have ever had. david and i were so disappointed that most of the antique shops were closed on sunday, but one of the owners had her own unique way to deal with this dilemma.  although she wasn't on-site and the shop was officially closed, she had a huge selection of "outdoor items" (mostly furniture and metalwork) that sits in the "front yard" of her store. and if you look very closely at the store hours, you will also find a line that reads self-service: please leave your money in the lock box below and enjoy!  we totally left cash in the box and walked off with the most perfect metal butterfly for our new gallery.

but i am missing the entire point of this discovery: BLANCO.  in our search for an (open) antique store, we stumbled upon the most.darling.town.ever. rather than ramble on about all my finds...i'll give you the visual tour:

what i have discovered over the last year is a deep love for vintage items...both for use in my artwork and also as a medium for story. i am always thirsting for more information about a piece i've found--or taken great pleasure in creating a story for myself. the best part of exploring this whole new world:  the other morning david woke up and asked me "wanna go antiquing today?"  marriage is so awesome.

elizabeth arden has nothin' on this:

i hope you've enjoyed my week of wimberley-love!  i have so many great photos from the weekend...hopefully i'll get them into a flickr album soon!

oh, i shouldn't...

(but i did) both on friday AND saturday!

cotton candy

i call these simpson's clouds...

chevy-love

when i was looking up the chevrolet 3100 truck i found this....

i was an advertising major in my undergrad years, so i'm a sucker for vintage ads!

room with a view

this is the view from the balcony at our friends' hill country home.

hot coffee + good book + lazy sunday = heaven.

sculpture garden

one of my favorite secrets in downtown wimberley...

heaven

after last weekend's getaway, i've got a best shot monday, tuesday, wednesday.....  

enjoy my photo-filled week...

west and weelaxation

i'm pretty sure my body is trying to tell me to SLOW THE HELL DOWN. it started on wednesday night and by yesterday at work i felt like it was crashing...i was weak all over and a bit shaky in my legs.  i could barely type (which i'm noticing is still happening now, but i'm blaming that on the fact that it's 6am), and basically the only thing i could do when i left my office at 1:00 was lay on the couch--okay it's actually an air mattress that we're using as a couch since ours is at the art gallery--and watch 3 movies back-to-back.

today, i'm dragging my ass to work because i love my co-worker too much to leave her alone on a friday with no social workers.  but the only thing that got me out of bed this morning was knowing that in less than 12 hours, david and i would be on the open road, wind whipping through our hair, heading toward wimberley.  ahhhh, just writing it makes me smile.

if anyone lives in texas and has spent even a short time in this magical place, you will know what i'm talking about.  and i would sit here all morning describing the heaven that is the hill-country, but then i'd be late for work.  i promise to recount the weekend--with loads of photos, no doubt--when we return.  now, if i can only make it until 5:00....

lunchtime

mmmmmm.

discovery #31

i am right where i want to be.

i have definitely taken the scenic route to get here, but i can honestly say that at 32...i have arrived. and i never would have believed at 22--and especially at 27--that it was possible. lately i've taken to thinking of my life as a puzzle...i kept collecting all the border pieces, the easy ones, that really don't show you the image, but give structure to the whole thing. it's only been in the last few years that i've found the middle ones--and actually figured out how they fit together. and those last couple pieces just seem obvious once you've got the rest complete--a no brainer--yet literally impossible before that point in time.

i've likened my life to many things over the years: a journey (so cliché), whirlwind, rollercoaster, highway (okay, that was tom cochrane). but the puzzle is the only one that seems accurate right now. i've always said this about my career path: that i needed all those crazy jobs to learn and build upon the skills of each. and i believe the same is true regarding my growth as a person. i have found myself in this place as a result of many decisions--both good and really poor, in equal measure. i never knew if the next piece would fit when i picked it up...i just worked really hard to make it fit. often it didn't, no matter how hard i tried, and i had to put it back in the pile for later. some fit perfectly on the first try...i just instinctively knew where they went.

and as i grow tired of this analogy, i will be bold enough to say that i have finally clicked the last piece in place. when david and i decided to make mariposa studio a reality, i felt that creative piece of my life finally materialize. i can now see how it all connects: my job as a social worker, my marriage, my love of nature, my dreams for the future...

this is the place i've been searching for: the easy calm of the studio, the support of my loved ones, the flexibility of my career, the promise of a more creative lifestyle. i realize that in time this will change...there will likely be a new puzzle to complete. but for now, i will delight in the sense of accomplishment and enjoy the view from this magical place.

best shot monday x2

photo by me

photo by my sister casey (that's me in the sweatpants!)

overwhelmed...

i am working on my story for the last creative writing class next week and i'm freaking out. it seems every time i pick it up i'm up against some type of deadline and just trying to "get it done." i know this is why i didn't submit it to that contest a month or so ago and i know this is why i really don't want to turn it in for class. but the professor asked that i submit it again (this was what i used for my very first story) for everyone to review.

the problem is:  i switched the entire tense from the first submission (originally it was in past tense, but the input i got from the class review was to change it to present)...and after i did that, my professor told me it really should be in a "reminiscent point of view." now i'm just overwhelmed.  i got a lot of really great feedback from the group i sent it out to after those changes, but i haven't had the time to actually make them. i had all good intentions to do that this morning, but it's just too much.

first, i had to actually buy microsoft office this morning b/c my trial had expired. plus, i don't even know where the cable for my printer went during the move. and it took at least 20 minutes to locate all of my writing stuff amongst the boxes and now i don't even want to use it. really i just don't know where to start.  do i bother with making the changes while it's still in present tense?  do i need to go back to the original version, add in all the "new" details, and THEN make changes with my friends' feedback?

i knew that being a writer was going to be difficult. i knew that i wouldn't be able to make all the changes in one sitting. but i at least thought i would be able to get started. the venting is helping...i'm starting to feel a bit more calm. i am starting to visualize the shape i want the story to take. i am now thinking that i have to meet my friend for lunch in one hour. maybe i'll just get in the shower instead.

discovery #30

that simplifying isn't as easy as it looks

we just downsized from a 3-bedroom house with a garage to a 2-bdrm apartment. a while back i posted this, in anticipation of the move. i was convinced that this was our chance to "simplify," to purge all of the crap that accumulates when you have the space to store it. and i was partially right...we did throw out (or rather, give away) quite a bit of stuff. but then there was the 94% of our belongings that traveled across town--and was dragged up two flights of stairs--and you see in our 2nd bedroom above.

i've tried this before when my life seems to be overwhelming me with the continuous to do lists. when the calendar is full and my free time has become non-existent. but what i've found is that i thrive on the chaos--i secretly love the overcrowded schedule of events, feel anxious when there's nothing "to do." what i've found is that the key is actually being present during all of these activities. the ability to be truly in the moment and not planning how to accomplish the next seven things on the list.

often the reason i'm feeling out of balance is that i'm not actively engaged in all the tasks, as opposed to the sheer quantity. and i'm beginning to realize the same is true for all my stuff. if each of these items holds a special meaning or purpose in my life, then who cares that it overflows the closets? if i can't bear to part with the tsing tao beer mug from my trip to hong kong, or the painting i dragged all the way back from the waterfall in ocho rios, jamaica, then it must mean they're worth keeping.

and as i mentioned in this post, i am a collector. and what it really comes down to are the memories that these artifacts reflect. we fill our homes--and our hearts--with a lifetime of stuff, which in turn reflects who we are and what we value. as i dug a little deeper into this concept i found this...check it out, it's a really interesting area of research on the subject. and take a peek at the rooms in which you live. why do we keep the things we do and what do these items say about us and our personalities?

if the photo above reflects anything...i'm pretty sure it proves that i'm just not meant to be simple.