Passing the peace.

May the peace of the Lord be with you.  

This is what I worked on today.  I played around, experimented with texture, color and stencil making.  There's some deeper, spiritual meaning to this picture.  Something about art as a path to peace...something about peace as a path to art...something about the process and it's profound impact on both peace and art.  I can't really put it into words, other than the ones you find on this page.  I suppose it's for you to meditate on and make the connection for yourself.  

Curious about the practice of passing the peace?  Check out this awesome article.  Be sure to read to the end for a wonderful poem/prayer.  

Peace

I don't care much for reality...I prefer ART.

Donna Downey has a stamp with that phrase.  I love it, and as soon as I can, I'm going to buy it.

When I was in school--sixth grade, I think--some friends and I had our plan for life figured out.  We were going to move to the Black Forest of Germany and build a mansion.  They were all going to be veterinarians   I was going to be a writer.  And an interior designer.  I was going to have twelve kids and name three of them (the triplets, of course) Izzy, Dizzy, and Ozzy.

Things didn't turn out like we had planned.  That's not a bad thing, though it would have been totally awesome to have a slide that went from the fourth floor down to the basement pool.  

I've never really had a realistic view of the future.  What I wanted to be when I grew up changed from week to week.  I thought I had hit on something with horticulture  but my drama teacher convinced me that I really should be a stage manager.  After a semester I knew that the theatre was not the place for me.  So I registered as an undecided student.  I left college after the next semester, still with no idea of what I wanted to do.  Now, years later, I've figured it out.  

I'm an artist.  

Growing up, I never thought about being an artist.  It was just recently that I realized that I am an artist.  It's still hard for me to refer to myself as one.  I suppose it's insecurity.

However.  I am who I am.  I am who God created me to be. I cannot change that and be happy.  I cannot change that and live His will for my life.  

Focus is my word for 2013.  I'm going to focus on creating art.  And maybe, hopefully art will become my reality.  

Interested in seeing some of my art? Check out my ATC album.

Peace

Sickness and grief.

We missed church today because the little man is sick.  An cold, I'm pretty sure, but his asthma has really been bugging him.  I gave him an albuterol treatment as prescribed by his doctor, but it actually made it worse.  About 10 minutes after the treatment the area around his mouth turned blue and he started shivering. The lips themselves were not blue, and his fingernail were pink, so I decided to wait and see what would happen.  He's sleeping right now, and his respiration rate is slowing down.  I found an online stopwatch that would help tremendously with that, because we don't have any analog clocks in the house.  I'm going to keep an eye on him through the night.  If he doesn't get any better I'm going to call the nurse and see what she says.  

So today has been a pretty lazy day. I mailed out cards Friday for two swaps, and I have two more swaps on the schedule, but I've been pretty unmotivated. The shooting at Sandy Hook has just broken my heart.  My prayers and sympathies are extended to the families who's lives have been touched by this tragedy.  I cannot imagine what you are going through.  May God be with you as you move through the days ahead.

For anyone dealing with the loss of a child, grandchild or sibling, an organization I highly recommend is The Compassionate Friends Network.  There are 640 chapters in the United States.  There's probably one near you.  They also have online resources and a facebook page.  The Compassionate Friends Network has been  invaluable to me as I deal with the loss of my brother.  Grief is hard.  Don't try to face it alone.  

Peace

Shawn

Viva Las Vegas Stamps is an Angel company!

This is happy news!

I found Viva Las Vegas Stamps a few months ago when I went in search of a Mona Lisa stamp for a ATC swap I had joined over at AFA. VLVS has a huge collection of stamps.  Hundreds, if not thousands.  Searching their site I found that they offer several Mona's to choose from AND the Patron stylized bee stamp. I decided to purchase my stamps from them.

Let me say that I am not a stamper.  Well, I wasn't.  I purchased Mona because I needed her specific image,   and, not having a printer I needed a way to quickly reproduce her image.  Otherwise, all the stamps I own have been novelties. Not anything I needed, but little images that I liked.  A soccer ball, a cute strawberry, my name...things like that.  Then I began learning about mixed media collage.  I read articles, watched videos, studied art works and was amazed by what one could do with a stamped image.  So I've been increasing my stamp supply, which led me back to VLVS.

In the works is a series of postcards inspired by my hometown.  It's a tiny place with very little culture.  There's not a lot here for an artist.  I'm hoping I can help with that.  More on that later.  My hometown is a railroad town--built by and for the railroad.  So I went looking for railroad stamps.  VLVS has them!  I also bought a steampunk alphabet and number set because the style fits.

After purchasing my stamps, I wondered, could I use them to produce postcards to sell?  On their blog, I found a link to another blog: Stamp Out Stamp Theft.  This site is awesome because it helps get the word out about stamp theft and tells you how to avoid becoming a thief.  They recommend contacting a company and asking for specifics about their angel policy.  So I sent an email to DeeDee over at VLVS and she said:

"... yes, you can in fact sell items that have been stamped with our images. You cannot stamp, scan it in and print it out.. but as long as you hand stamp each one, feel free to sell them :)"

Now you know. So Yay!  Happy stamping to me, and happy stamping to you!

Peace, 
Shawn

P.S. What is your favorite use for stamps?  Do you have a favorite stamp?

Coming full circle...

Wow!  What a difference a few years makes. In the three years that have passed we fellow travelers have experienced a load of adventure.  A farming venture, the death of a (dearly) loved one, beekeeping, public school, new family members.  I could bore you with the details, but having a three year old boy does not allow me time for lengthy, detailed posts.

We have come full circle.  In the search for who we are, we have returned to our first loves.  Dan is again writing poetry, and I have returned to art.  I can only refer to myself as an artist in hushed tones.  Saying it out loud would invite ridicule.  Posting it on a blog probably makes it more open to ridicule, but it's easier for me to read criticism than to hear the critics voice.

So this blog is changing, as I am changing.  More focus will be placed on art, the process of creating art, the sharing of art, etc.

Thank you for taking an interest in the journey.
Peace.

I got crafty!

I've been in a funk off and on for a while now. Nothing puts me in a better mood than working with my hands. After last nights cloth diaper fail (no fun in the family bed), I decided to try something different. I had been using two flat diapers folded together inside a fleece wrap. After reading a thread on nighttime CDing over at GCM, I decided to try and covert one of my size medium prefolds to a fitted diaper. Using instructions found on the net, I got to work. While I was sewing, Mom showed up with my laundry. In the laundry basket was a treasure--a 100% lambswool turtleneck sweater. I began the felting process in our washing machine, and it finished up in my Mom's dryer. I dug it out of the basket, and an hour later, I had a pair of wool longies, that could quite easily be converted to overalls.

I based my pattern on the one found over at indietutes. I had read over the tute a couple of times, so when I got the sweater in hand I just started winging it. I got the idea to remove the turtle neck portion, and attach it at the waist to create an extended waistband. It's tall enough, that all I have to do is attach straps and I'll have overalls.

I might give these a go tonight, even though they haven't been lanolized. These will go over the new fitted diaper (formerly prefold) and a couple of hemp soakers. Maybe an infant prefold too. We shall see.

And while I'm showing off, here's the dress I made for Fidget last week. I used one of the shirts she got from Nana, and a piece of fabric I bought with the intentions of making a doll dress.

I feel...accomplished.

A brief note on change

No time today for a well thought out blog post. I've got 3 sick little ones, two of whom may be visiting the doctor today.

Last month we switched to cloth diapers during the day. Using the diapers themselves made our life no more challenging. Washing the diapers was another issue. Our house is old, and poorly built. Every winter, when the temp drops to freezing, the trap along our washing machines drain line freezes. This means that we can be without a washing machine for up to a week at a time. Right now I have a load worth of dirty diapers and no way to wash them. I'll probably take them down to mom's house tomorrow and wash them.

In spite of the washing difficulties, we've decided that this month we'll be using cloth diapers all the time. At night, and when we're out and about. I'm also aiming to make a few covers, and maybe some cloth diaper friendly pants for the Little Man. If I use what I have to make what I need, then I can save money and reduce my footprint. Yay!