Every second of the search is an encounter with God…When I have been truly searching for my treasure, every day has been luminous because I have known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it.

- The Alchemist

Everything tastes to [her] of God, and God forms himself for the [wo]man out of all things.

- Meister Eckhart

This is Part 2 of a series. You can read Part 1 HERE.

Back in January, I was going through a real searching time, both in my identity and in my faith. In order to get some space for myself to think and breathe and journal, I made plans to stay overnight at a Sisters of Benedict Monastery in our area. I had never done anything like this before, but remembered reading a book in college about monasteries, and since that time had an attraction to such a place as a haven for rest. Known for their generous and simplistic hospitality to guests, Benedictine monasteries often have guest-housing for very little cost. With the help of a friend, I found such a place close by us, and made arrangements to stay. Tony and our kids dropped me off and picked me up, so I didn’t have a car to tempt me to drive away during my 24 hour stay.

I was tempted to do two things that weekend. One, entertain the rebelliousness I was feeling and buy a pack of cigarettes and smoke away the accumulating stress and anger. Two, take a laptop and work on writing a book that was brewing in me. Thankfully, I didn’t end up doing either. What I sensed God saying to me was, you’re just going there to “be.” To sit with yourself. Not to do anything. Just to move slow. Observe. Drink it in. Live. Breathe. Be.

I was blessed with record warm temperatures for January. Not only was it warm, it was sunny and blue skies, and I spent every ounce of daylight outside. When we arrived at the monastery, which was by itself in the country, I was warmly greeted by a woman in a sweatshirt and jeans (not typical nun attire.) I relaxed into the comfortableness of the atmosphere. Her white short hair and slightly bent form made its way across the lawn to welcome me. Her name was Sister Rita Claire. She quickly became my favorite of the women there. I think it had something to do with her whispered giggly confession to me that she would not be able to join me and the other women for prayer that night because she was going horseback riding.

From the moment my family pulled away and Sister Rita Claire completed a short tour of the property, I felt God swooping in to romance me. I still get chills thinking of how loved and alive and tingly I felt at that moment. This was no 5-star resort. It was simple, and yet to me, it was breathtaking. Everything called out to me. Called out to my heart. “Take notice. Someone is trying to communicate with you.” It was no coincidence that Sister Rita Claire left me to explore with these parting words. “Look for God. You’ll find Him. He’s in everything.”

And so began my 24 hours of noticing the details, and the Divine’s presence there in:

In the guest house, there was a small library in the living room. Within minutes of looking my eyes landed on a book by a mystic whose work I had been longing to read. I read passages from this book throughout my stay.

I adored my simple bed with sweet smelling mismatched linens and a lamp above my head for reading. I felt a bit mismatched in my own skin, and so instantly recognized this as a safe place.

This painting of a woman hung on my wall, and her posture reminded me of what I must look like internally. Extremely guarded, but still searching with longing & hope.

In my bedroom I also found a book by my bed with this inscription:

Wasn’t this why I was here? To remind my heart of beauty, to make my peace with mystery?

And my bathroom walls held this prayer as a gentle reminder that God has other names then the familiar name of “God” and He can be found in more places then the tiresome places I’ve been told I must look for Him.

There was so much artwork at the monastery. What a welcoming surprise that was for me.

It was good for me to see maternal images, as I was really struggling to see God as someone who could appreciate the feminine qualities in me and even nurture them into a healthy expression. Someone who could appreciate my need to connect to life emotionally, passionately and with a capacity for great beauty.

This was by far my favorite piece of artwork. A softer side of Jesus. A side that might actually have the capacity to hold me despite all the guilt religion has strapped to my body, like a self-detonating bomb. I was overcome with emotion when I came upon this piece. I want to know love like that from you God. I want you to delight in me, even as I wander in lostness sometimes. Somehow I was able to see this piece apart from the icky, ooey, gooey marketed Christianity I had come to loathe. I’m so thankful for the artist that broke down a few walls for me, by carving out such a loving facial expression.

Outside was gorgeous. When I first arrived I spent time walking through a meditation labyrinth. It was a great way to help me slow down my pace. I couldn’t believe how hard it was for me to slow down. The speed we travel at day-to-day is truly numbing. I felt like weaving the labyrinth helped me detox and enjoy my stay more.

There were words to remind me to encourage my artist’s heart AND convince me it was okay to be in a place in my life with more questions than answers.

Meals were simple. I ate supper with the Sisters, but made breakfast and lunch for myself with food they provided. I am unsure what made the meals so enchanting. My only explanation was that my pace was unhurried and my senses were acutely alive. I have never delighted in a hard boiled egg and cup of tea like I did that morning. I felt like royalty. Like too much good had been bestowed upon me. I tried to explain this to Sister Rita Claire at one point, and even she seemed a bit surprised by my fervor, though she welcomed it. I realize in typing this there is more to yet unravel here for me.

I spent a lot of time laying in the dry, brittle grass and writing about my own dry, brittle feelings. God met me in the fields on those pages. And by met me, I mean, I felt no need to edit my words. I found freedom and even support in being authentic.

While I was waiting for Tony to pick me up I flipped through a book about an artist. I loved reading the stories about him and found his sketches to be whimsical. Not only was the Divine in this gift, but also months later, when I would find another gift in the mail. My mom, knowing nothing about my trip or my discovery of this artist, would send a used book in the mail with some of this artist’s illustrations. God’s reminder to me of my peaceful retreat where I was met and loved in my mess.

Manna today or I starve.

And I only notice because I’m looking for this

When I fully enter time’s swift current, enter into the current moment with the weight of all my attention, I slow the torrent with the weight of me all here.

Full attention fills the empty ache.

I am a hunter of beauty and I move slow and I keep the eyes wide, every fiber of every muscle sensing all wonder and this is the thrill of the hunt and I could be an expert on the life full, the beauty meat that lurks in every moment. I hunger to taste life. God.

- Quotes taken from Ann Voskamps’ One Thousand Gifts

Last month Tony and I spent a night away together in a Bed and Breakfast. We actually didn’t even leave our town.

The morning we were to leave the Bed and Breakfast I spent a few minutes sitting on the porch outside the door of our Magnolia Suite journaling my way through a conversation with God. Sometimes I like to write out dialogue with the Divine. I wrote a full page, but the part that sticks out distinctly to me is the final lines.

“Why is Your voice strong now?” I asked the Divine.

The answer: “You are taking care of your soul. No one makes time for soul. Beauty matters. Art is nourishment. Creation is breath. Noticing details speaks my gifts to you.”

I am thankful for my iPhone camera because I realize what I often am doing with it is capturing my gratitude, much like Ann does with words in One Thousand Gifts. These two days with Tony were no exception. It was as if the goodness of God could not be contained. At every turn there was more offered up to me, simply because I showed up. Was my heart being wooed more than usual, or did I just have the eyes to see what normally stays invisible to the hurried or the bored or the restless?

I want to share with you my gifts. I am amazed by how deeply personal some of them are, speaking directly to my Messy Canvas artist’s heart:

Delicious food and the splendidness of color, texture and presentation:

Luxurious yet simple details that I often don’t make time for:

This surprise was hidden around a corner in the art museum. I never would have found it except I had to go to the bathroom. I love this movie, and seeing the movie poster was like a gentle reminder that God knows what speaks to my heart and puts it in my path.

Words. Everywhere there were words that spoke to me. In conversation with Tony, in my journal and in other places too. Words are a most intimate treasure for me.

Reminders to makes wishes. That hearts that imagine are hearts still alive.

A used bookstore where treasures always abound for me

Patterns

A box of random old photographs that remind me of stories untold and mysteries that haunt

Paint palettes spread out in surprising ways, like in the spines of book titles I used to read as a child.

Gentle feminine hints that I am not just a nurturer, I am also being nurtured.

The sunlit magnolia leaves of nature greeting me in the morning, through veiled curtains. Magnolia leaves that I had not noticed in the dark. They surprised me.

Art in a messy sort of style.

A film that I’ve already told you spoke to my heart about obsessions.

A drink that brought warm reminders of summer afternoons as a child, spent sipping Mello Yello at the city pool.

The layer of fog that hovered over Oklahoma City at night, and the chance to visit the memorial and whisper all of my heart’s “why’s?” out over still waters.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does  not change like shifting shadows.

-James 1:17

Continue to Part Two

I watched this documentary, God Grew Tired of Us, on Netflix Streaming. It’s about The Lost Boys of Sudan who escaped a civil war. The story follows a few boys closely who eventually made rough transitions to the United States. I was amazed how I was able to see our country through their eyes. The boys’ childlike nature was compelling.

I read Anne Lamott’s book Operating Instructions and loved it. She is a single mom, and this book is a diary of her son’s first year of life and her first year of parenting. I am touched by how willing she was to accept help from others. I decided she is a perfect author to read for my word MESSY this year. I would love to read through the rest of her non-fiction this summer.

So many of my friends got to work on an Easter set for Church Online. I wish I could have been there for the filming of it. I haven’t seen the whole thing yet, but I find the promo video to be inspiring. Excited that they’ve worked in poetry as a part of the experience.

Taking a short get-away with Tony this weekend. We are going to a bed and breakfast, something we’ve wanted to do for awhile. Going to see the documentary Bill Cunningham New York. My favorite quote from the trailer:

“Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.”

I recently came across this page of Pema Chodron Quotes. So many good ones. A fiercely wise woman.

Loving getting to know myself through self-portraits. I think it’s an artistic portal to learning to love myself and usher in grace. Self-portraits are sometimes assumed to be a vain endeavor that should be avoided, but I think more of us avoid it because we aren’t comfortable with seeing ourselves up close. If we would give ourselves the opportunity to, we might find there is something there worthy of love.

Okay, your turn. Tell us, what’s been inspiring you?

A great yard sale find for Zoe, even if they are a bit big.

Still rockin’ the cloth diapers.

Making baby food.

Love her willingness to jump in and help feed him.

Zoe drew on a letter that was delivered to us by mistake, so I just added to her drawing to leave the postman a message.

After nap cuddles. (Yes, Luther is chewing on my phone. Yes I realize baby drool can ruin phones. Yes, I am hoping Tony will get me an iPhone. LOL.)

Thanks to @mrsbear for the great idea. This was a custom project I sewed for her. She’s giving it to a family that has a little boy and they just had a baby boy. So cute.

Here’s what we’ve been playing with…

Dress-Up Series prints are up in the shop.

These little plushie guys are in the works.

I’ve had a sudden burst of creative energy since returning home from my sister’s wedding. Instead of having a problem deciding what to create, I have spent my time starting multiple projects and bouncing from one thing to the next as the mood hits. I’ve literally been riding on an artist high. It feels delightful. I want to say I have an idea of where this creative energy is stemming from, but I’m timid to label it, for fear it will dissipate. Instead, I’m just savoring it.

I’ve been stitching on something that I can’t share just yet because it’s a gift for someone. Soon though!

I’ve been practicing more with my external flash by taking photos in the evening in my zero-natural light bathroom.

And then practicing editing them in Photoshop. I can get lost for hours editing photos.

I’ve been enjoying listening to Salvation Club and Joel Limpic and Coldplay.

I’ve been printing out photos and messing with my inspiration board.

I’ve been working on wearing all the clothes in my closet. Having fun mixing and matching new outfits and wearing skirts without needing to have a particular place I’m going. Dressing fun just feels good. Reminds me of an old post I wrote about high heels.

I’ve been creating stationary sets with my kids’ drawings, starting with Nehemiah’s monsters. I flip through old notebooks he has drawn in and then re-draw his drawings and color them. Then I make them into stickers to use with the unique stationary papers I created. Lots of fun, and lots more to explore in this area. I am trying to single-handedly bring back the beauty of a handwritten note. And I love having another way to use my kids’ drawings besides just custom dolls.

I’ve been soaking up some sun as I can and loving family walks after supper.

I’ve been creating mini-journals. Pictures of these will have to wait for a later date too, as I want to blog about them on the Scrap Girls’ blog first.

I’ve been thinking a lot about RESTing in God and what my IMPERFECT life would look like if I didn’t care what you thought of me. Out of this is going to stem the next Angry Homemade Noodles study, I just know it. More on that very soon.

I’ve been creating some dream lists. I love dream lists.

I’ve been letting a lot of stuff go around the house, in an effort to be less hurried. Allowing myself time to do some of the “get to” stuff instead of just the “have to” stuff and shaking off the guilt that wants to weigh me down. Be gone guilt, I’m FREE.

I’ve been laughing – with my kids, with my husband, at myself, at my life. There really is so much to laugh about.

Remember this post? Well we followed through and spent a week doing a color study. It wasn’t everything I dreamed it would be (I tend to overplan and overdo things in my head.) But it was a lot of fun, and something I think they will remember.

We have a digital camera (the first one we ever bought) that our kids are allowed to use. It’s basically their camera. I set it out in our living room and told them they were to take pictures of red things on red day, orange things on orange day and so on. At the time they weren’t that into it, but when I put all the photos together in Photoshop, they enjoyed seeing the end result of their own “life rainbow.”

Some fun things we did in our color study:

• Picked a new color for each day.
• Mixed primary colors of paint to show how red and yellow make orange, blue and yellow make green and red and blue make purple.
• Drew rainbows.
• Took pictures of different colored things in our life.
• Dressed in clothes to match what color day it was.
• Took a bathtub with food coloring in it.
• Put red and green glitter sprinkles on our breakfast toast for red and green day.
• Added food coloring to milk for colored drinks.
• Made smoothies with blueberries.
• Read stories like Curious George and the Man with the YELLOW hat, Little RED Riding Hood, etc.
• Played color matching/color recognition games.
• Talked about how God colored our world, and how creative He is.

*On a side note, I’ve decided to add another category to my blog titled “Life is School.” This will be an easy way to follow the homeschool stuff we’re doing. I learned this phrase “Life is School” from Erin and Robin and it just resonates with me.

Here’s the girly-girl version of the Lil’ Bug bib. The purple material for the bug belly came from a women’s blouse. I have dreams of also using this fabric to make a bunny. I don’t know why a bunny. Maybe because it’s spring? We’ll see.

Anyway, we not only got to take a family a meal and this bib, we also were invited into their home to share the meal and to share some family time. Let’s just say there was lots of dress-up and lots of dancing and lots of girly giggles. Nehemiah toughed it out as the only male kid. The new little baby girl is precious, and I can’t get over how monstrous Luther looks next to their 3-week-old. They really don’t stay babies for long, do they?

Took advantage of my kids playing outside today (They played for three hours, with only chalk and the outdoors and a little bit of prompting from me to entertain them. So proud of them. Lots of tracking down and digging up buried pirate treasure and hiding from the bad guys.) Anyway, I cut up felt to make a reusable bunting type decoration for Steward parties. You know, birthday parties, Thank You Jesus parties, and any other reason we can come up with to throw a party. We really need to have more of those around here, and decorations can only help encourage that, right? Here’s my inspiration. Shalae’s always an inspiration.

Here’s a few other things that are inspiring me right now:

• Polyvore

• This Crafty Chica Book – I don’t care much for the projects in this book, but this lady gave me the permission I needed to just start sewing, even though I’m clueless and even though I don’t like using patterns.

• The Creative Family (I got it out from the library a second time. I’m not sure why I haven’t just bought this book yet.)

• Angry Homemade Noodles – Our Monday nite chats always get me inspired to be a better mom & wife. What an amazing group of women.

• Elsie and Rachel’s Class – Arguably the best crafty money I’ve ever spent is on the two on-line classes of Elsie’s I’ve taken. Seriously. You can’t sign up for this class currently, as it’s already going on, but I HIGHLY recommend taking any future ones offered.

• The very idea that I’m filling my days doing art because I’m starting to see how everything in life is an art. Makes me so excited.

I’m sure there is more, but I hear a baby crying.

*EDITED TO ADD MORE INSPIRATION:

• This amazing collection by Trish at Scrap Girls.
• JJ Heller – Thanks for sharing her tunes Abbi.

What’s inspiring you right now?

It started with a book suggestion from Karen.

I read the book, skimming some parts and really soaking up and resonating with others. It was one of those books I have to let sit and simmer for awhile. The kind that take some time to process and takes even longer to implement into my life.

Since then I have read this post by Jeremy Larson. This quote struck me the most:

The feeling of wanting to create something so big, that your imagination scarcely has enough space to hold it. These are the ideas to frighten and excite me the most…I felt that it may take me the next 17 years to create it; not knowing if there will ever even be an audience. I don’t know if I even care at this point.

And just tonite I read this post by Keri Smith. This quote struck me the most:

Lately I feel like withdrawing a bit as I have become tired with the “look at me” feel of the internet. How can one share their work with the world and at the same time not feel the need to promote it and in turn receive praise and admiration?

Reading these blog posts tossed me back to re-read and re-wrestle with the quotes I had written down while reading “The Gift.”

Let me share with you some of my favorites:

Create things which you will not “publish,” things which you will not show people. Write secretly so you can be free to say whatever you want. It means abandoning your careerism, giving up as hopeless, abandoning the possiblity of really expressing yourself to the nations of the world and just settling in to the muck {READ – IMPERFECTion} of your own mind – a resolution to just do it for yourself, just writing what yourself is saying.

So long as the gift is not withheld, the creative spirit will remain a stranger to the economics of scarcity. It is the talent which is not in use that is lost or atrophies and to bestow one of our creations is the surest way to invoke the next. Giving the first creation away makes the second one possible.

We are sojourners with our gifts, not their owners. Even our creations do not belong to us.

Spiritually you can’t be much more poorer than (when you’re) gifted. You KNOW it doesn’t come from yourself.

The gift turned inward, unable to be given becomes a heavy burden, even sometimes a kind of prison. It is as though the flow of life were backed up. - May Sarton

What are we to do as artists, as creative people who come from a creative God?

Our dilemma as I see it, and quite frankly I think it’s a human dilemma because I believe all have the capacity to be artistic in some form:

We want to make something big, bigger than ourselves even.

We want to create, but are paralyzed by others’ feedback or lack-there-of, paralyzed by our fear that the creative well will dry up, paralyzed by wondering if our creations will have economic value and return on the investment.

And yet, if we don’t use the gifts we’ve been given we dry up, we wither up, we give up.

When creating, what is the balance between pride and humility? Between giving and getting? Between empowering others and enslaving them?

I love this quote from “The Gift”:

The artist who hopes to market work that is the realization of his gifts cannon begin in the market. He must create for himself that gift-sphere in which the work is made and only when he knows the work to be the faithful realization of his gift should he turn to see if it has currency in that other economy.

When you’re questioning the value of your creations first, you’ve gotten it all backwards. First we create, we create, we create. Perhaps we will never make it past that part. For others, sadly enough, they will never even make it to that part. But it is, if we are to be honest, where God would have us to begin. First He created. We are made in His image. It is in us, this desire to create. It’s a gift, from Him, to be used, to be good stewards of, to certainly not waste, pawn or gamble.

Sometimes all we need is the freedom to realize it doesn’t matter the value society will give our creation or the time it will take us to create it, what matters is that we are doing it. Living it. Using the gift.

We may be surprised where it will take us. We may be surprised at its endless flow. We may even be surprised at who needs it. But none of these things can be figured out first. They are by-products of the actual creating itself.

How are you using your gift?

All this sewing going on, and I realized a family member I was completely leaving out. TONY!

So I took my inspiration from a class I took from Elsie before Christmas, and I made a drink sleeve for his starbucks treats.

I won’t be making these to sell, as I’d rather not have Apple sue my butt-off. However, it was fun and simple to make, so I’d encourage you to make your own custom one, replacing the Apple Logo with anything you like. I know I’m going to be wanting to make more.

Just get a Starbucks cup sleeve and open it to lay flat and trace for your pattern. Cut your felt out. Wrap it around your cup and pin at appropriate size. Then sew on a thin strip for your clasp with a cut for a button hole in the end. Measure where your button needs to be sewn and stitch it on. Stitch around edges (a blanket stitch would look cool too!) and add embellishments as desired. I chose the Apple because it’s rare my husband isn’t sipping on his Starbucks Coffee without his computer around.

Tony’s next request? A laptop sleeve. Why does that sound incredibly difficult and intimidating? Especially because I would want it to be lined, and I’ve never lined anything. Hmmm.

Our friends invited us over early in the week to make playdough. It has been a hit all week. We’ve had the cookie cutters and rolling pins and toothpicks out creating all sorts of fun stuff in our “kid kitchen.” I’m amazed at their creativity, no matter the medium.

Speaking of creativity, our Charis filled a plastic grocery bag with a blanket today and tied the top. Then she climbed up onto the highest part of the swingset and yelled to Zoe, “Tell Mom I’m leaving but I’ll be back. I’m going to fly with the birds. The wind will take me.” Only in Oklahoma do we have wind that will carry little 4 year olds away for a short time and carry them back safely to their mommy’s via parachute. Or only in Charis’ creative little head.

Meet Annie. He’s a boy with a girl’s name. He now belongs to Nehemiah, who not only named him, but drew him. I am amazed by this boy, and when I saw this picture of his, I knew this would be his next custom doll. Fantabulous. Nehemiah was lifting up Annie’s legs wiping his bum today, changing his diaper and even feeding him while I fed Luther. “He’s my bird baby, Mommy.” You might imagine how his love for this doll melts my heart.

First doll I’ve made with stuffed legs. I love these little skinny legs.

Pay no attention to the dent under his right wing. I may or may not have mastered the hidden stitch yet. HA!

I didn’t cut out a pattern this time. I just drew with chalk on the felt. Eyeballed it. It worked out well, considering I didn’t have the patience for a pattern and precision. Who has time for all that?

My favorite part so far about these dolls? Finishing them at nite after the kids are in bed and leaving them in the same special place in our living room. I hope it’s magical to them to wake up and check the special spot to see if any little stuffed person from their imagination has come off the paper and come to life.

We spent some time this week counting. We made sets of stuff for the numbers 1-10. Yes, Zoe is in her bathing suit. Some battles are not worth fighting.

After a little bit of practice, Zoe did manage to write all of her numbers correctly this week and was amazed when I told her she could now write any number in the whole world. Even thirty-seven fifty-hundred, she asked? Yep. Even that one babe.

This was the number 8 pile. Red ball added at last minute when we realized we only had 7 piggy banks and not 8. Oops.

I think this was pile 10, but it’s hard to make out the number through all the fur and hair.

Nehemiah was working on creating a tower of blocks for number 7.

I think their favorite part was that they got to get out a bunch of stuff and I promised to help them put it away.

These two have been buds lately, which is wonderful considering I remember a time I wondered if they’d ever even speak to each other. Ever since we had a tornado scare here (our first of many I’m told) Nehemiah has been clingy, and he sleeps with Charis at nite now. They call it having a slumber party. Charis has been surprisingly mothering towards him during bedtime…in a good way. Reading him books. Tucking him in. Loving, caring, affectionate, protective. You know, the kind of mom I always am.

I don’t know what she was playing with him, but he kept smiling, so I just left them be.

Speaking of Luther, he has actually taken a nap in his crib a couple times now. (That blanket was handmade by family special for Luther. Deep sigh.)

And even though I know we’re not supposed to lay a baby on his tummy to sleep, he seems to be loving it. Anyone know until what age that rule is in affect? See his little bald spot on the back of his head where he’s rubbed the hair away? All my kids have had that. It’s a good place for kisses. (That baby quilt was mine as a baby. It brings me great joy. Thanks Mom.)

Hope you all have a great weekend. We’re looking forward to hanging out as a family and having no agenda.

This post is solely inspired by something Tony wrote.

I possess this same “need to make” that he writes about.

The artsy world I live in online delivers buckets of inspiration my way to the point where it paralyzes me. Have you ever felt that way?

I am finding to be a “maker” you really have to limit the amount of inspiration you let in. Otherwise there is much excitement, much energy and nothing to show for it. AND, you start to think you’re making has to be something perfect, because you see a bunch of “perfect making” posted on other peoples’ blogs. Rarely do you see the time and effort and the mistakes that went into their making.

So when we actually sit down to do our making we have overload and perfection working against us. And in my case, fatigue is working against me too, since my chance to make is often once our kids are in bed.

My daughter drew on her ballerina leotard and a dining room chair recently. As I was asking Tony’s advice on dealing with this, he said, “It’s okay to give her limitations in her creativity.” (In this case, limiting her drawing to paper.) “It doesn’t mean you’re stifling her creativity. Often times creativity blossoms when it’s given restrictions.” Maybe he didn’t use the word “blossoms” but you get the picture.

So how does this relate to “the need to make?”

I think it’s better to place limitations on the gathering of ideas, in order to spur on the actual doing.

Some ways to limit yourself as an artist so you can fulfill your “need to make”:

• Limit the inspiration you let in. Read one book and then apply what you’ve learned before you read another. Follow only the best of the best inspirational blogs,Flickrs, twitters, etc. and limit your time reading them. Cut up one magazine and don’t buy another until you’ve done something with that inspiration.

• Limit the window of time you will use to “make.” This feels horribly stifling at first, but as a homeschooling mom, I can’t avoid it. If I’m going to do my mom role well, my “making” role will need to be put off for a certain window of time. (This does note mean you can’t be creative in all roles of your life, but I’m referring here to completing actual pieces of art.) I can make when my kids are resting or sleeping. Small window. Sometimes I’m too tired to do anything at those times. So it goes some days. BUT, when I know my time is limited, I’m more apt to make that time count for something and actually get something done

• Give yourself incentives. If I can do X amount of making then I can have Y reward. Example: If I can make enough dolls until I find a solid three designs (and get good at that dang hidden stitch) then I can buy some nice wool felt to start experimenting with. Or, if I can write one inspiring blog post a day for a week, then I can read some of the blogs that inspire me and fill me back up creatively

• Limit the amount of time you spend responding to others, so that you can continue making, which is what the world really wants from artists anyway. Read this post for more insight.

• Let go of the fact that you can’t keep up on every artsy conversation in all the circles you are in online. Being an artist is not JUST about who you know and keeping up on what they’re saying. You’ve gotta be making something too. If you’re just yacking or even just listening to others yack, you’re not making.

• Stop being in such a hurry. Art takes time: for ideas to percolate, for dreams to be dreamed, for visions to come together into actionable items and then time for the actual labor of the art itself. We gather so much inspiration it doesn’t even have a chance to soak in. We don’t even read most blog posts that we go to for inspiration. Are you reading this now? Skimming? Yeah, I thought so. We just soak up as much eye candy as fast as we can. The internet, like it or not, makes us in a hurry.

• Limit your expression. Careful how many mediums you try to take on at once. If your wanting to try them all at once, chances are none of them will really manifest. Pick something and stick with it until you feel confident in it. You’ll get a charge from actually finishing something and you’ll have developed skills as an artist. Creativity will then be able to breed creativity in other areas of your life

• Always know where you are in the cycle of a project. Are you in the inspiration gathering cycle, then that’s okay to be online, in a magazine or in a book, or in conversation. Are you in the gathering phase? Then you should be gathering supplies and designating times in your life to start your project. Are you in the making phase? Then make. Just make.

I’m putting a lot of this stuff in place in my life right now. Very slowly, I’m laying down some ground rules so I can actually function as an artist. I would love to hear more advice on this topic:

How do you deal with your “need to make?”

I didn’t plan on taking his photos today, but these things sometimes just happen. He was practically naked because his clothes had gotten spit up on them, the weather outside was very warm and overcast today, which makes for good lighting, and most importantly, he was in a good mood. So photo shoot time it was.

One tip that I didn’t share in my other post, is that if you are shooting with natural light, try and keep your back to the light source. Otherwise you’re subject might look like a dark silhouette.

These pics are straight off of my camera. I might play with editing some of them later, but I wanted to show you how good lighting makes for good photos, even without Photoshop tweaks.

And here’s the best part, the insiders look…If I didn’t tell you, would ever know that I shot these photos from a fold out lawn chair on a dirty back porch?

You don’t need expensive equipment to get near studio quality shots. I’m telling you, you can do this!

I do have a nice lens that allows great depth of field. That is what makes parts of the photos in focus and other parts soft and out of focus. This effect is a benefit of my lens and difficult to achieve with a point and shoot. But you can still get dynamic pics with a point and shoot if you let yourself get really close to your subject to snap your pictures.

Notice that in all of my photos, I made sure to only have the black canvas of the chair surrounding Luther. You never see the concrete porch or the trim of the chair. I’m zoomed in so close.

Don’t be afraid to change the angle of your camera either. Turn it all sorts of ways. Look through the viewfinder so you can see what you’re framing up. Essentially, think of it like you’re cropping your photo as your taking it.

Also, always take a lot of pictures! You never know when you’ll catch a smile.

Speaking of photos. I did a photoshoot with this beautiful family before we left California. They were friends of ours and we both moved at the same time – them to Texas and us to Oklahoma.

My family is taking off tonite for a couple days to visit them in Dallas. The adults will be out numbered which should be interesting, but I am so excited to see them! I won’t be blogging for a few days. Have a good weekend!

Sometimes I just have to share a post that’s filled with photos, because capturing life as it is an art form in and of itself. As I seek to live my life as an artist, I’m constantly forcing myself to believe it’s something I already am, not something I’m striving to be. That the artist I am today is enough, even if I am IMPERFECT. It’s a much more satisfying way to live.

Playing with a worm.

Enjoying sweet weather.

Sword fight.

Homemade Forts. The best kind.

Falling asleep with a half-eaten banana that you just HAD to have.

Holding hands.

The dimple gets me every time.

Giggles from girls.

Pony Pies. That’s what we affectionately call them around here.

Yet another new art show. Some of these are as tall as my kids!

New dolls in the works.

More dress-up.

Setting up ALL the animals as a surprise for Daddy.

Baby smiles are more common around here these days. And he finally fits into his cowboy shirt.

What is the natural art that surrounds your life? How would your life look different if you believed you already were the artist you long to be? Go ahead, give yourself permission.

I previously shared with you how I love taking photos without my flash. Sometimes, especially in low-light situations, this can leave photos looking very warm. A sort of reddish-yellow tinge.

Here’s some suggestions on how you can clean those photos up in Photoshop. I don’t claim to be a photo editing genius, by any means. I totally go off of instinct and what my eye likes. And I also go by my monitor, which can be dangerous if you’re trying to print your photos and your monitor isn’t calibrated to the printer.

But being the blogger that I am, nine times out of ten, I’m enjoying my photos on my monitor anyway. So this works for me. And later, I can always tweak adjustments specifically for printing with some trial and error if need be.

*Note – I always edit a duplicate image instead of my original.

My favorite adjustment options to use are Hue/Saturation, Curves, and Color Balance. Every now and then I’ll use Levels as well.

Here’s my photo straight off my camera. I shot this without a flash, looking into my bathroom mirror.

Now if I was just going to go with one of the “Auto” Adjustments in Photoshop, I would end up with a photo looking like this. Not much change, in fact, I think it got a little redder.

So I prefer editing it myself.

There is no real science to this for me. It’s play around until I like what I see.

First I played around with the hue/saturation. Reducing the saturation a bit can take the edge off the harsh redness of a photo. You can also change the hue a bit to take some red out.

My photo after tweaking the hue/saturation.

One of my favorite tricks to increase the contrast in a photo is by using Curves. I usually pull the middle node up some and the left node to the right some. I bet you could get similar results using Levels or Brightness/Contrast, but Curves is my natural “go-to.”

Here’s the photo after my Curves adjustment.

Now to get me and Luther looking a little less pasty-yellow and little more artsy-cool.

I love to use Color Balance because I can take out colors and add to colors based on Shadows, Midtones and Highlights. Color Variations is a nice option too, and probably good for beginners. But I just can never seem to get the exact look I want.

So to get really technical on you, in the Color Balance Dialog Box, I just move stuff around until it makes me happy. Typically, on these sorts of no flash/bad lighting photos, I seem to need to add some cyan and blue to my photos. I almost always end up adding more than I should, but I like a sort of blue cast anyway. And I like living on the edge…well, in Photoshop anyway.

Again you’ve just gotta go with your gut. Live a little. Play around. Make yourself sickly green and then drag the dials back to normal. Decide what suits you. Maybe you like more warm tones than my cool tones. That’s fine. You’re doing this for you afterall, right? Not me.

So here’s my finished photo after the Color Balance Adjustments.

Side-By-Side of Before and After Photos

Anything you love to do in Photoshop every time with your photos? Any other questions you have about my highly technical (or rather not at all technical) photo-editing process?

I love to help people get by with what they already have. I guess I’m thrifty that way.

I remember times when I would see a beautiful photo only to find out the person had an awesome, off-the-charts camera that I could never afford. You may be asking, “Oh, so am I doomed to horrible photography?” Well, yes and no.

Yes, there are probably nicer cameras you could buy with nicer lenses that would take your photography to the instant “next level.” But there are also probably things you could be doing with the camera you have right now to help tremendously.

This is me pre-digital SLR days. And here are some of my tips:

Avoid using the flash whenever possible. If you have the option on your camera to turn off the flash, learn how to do it. This gets difficult indoors and/or at night. But try to stick to this rule as much as possible. The flash just gives an unnatural and forced look to your photos.

The complaints of no-flash pictures taken in poor lighting are: blurry photos, grainy photos. To alleviate these issues as much as possible, I try to turn on lots of lights in the house. This will make your photos look more warm or yellow, but I prefer that to the harsh flash. Plus if you know Photoshop, you can clean them up a bit.

I also try and steady my camera on a table, my knee or a tiny tripod. This helps reduce the camera shake, unless there is lots of movement from your subject (as in flapping baby arms above). And the graininess? Well, I guess I’ve grown to live with it, even love it at times. Life is a little messy anyway, isn’t it. There are some fabulous photographers out there doing some amazing shots that are grainy. It really can be okay.

Get as much natural light as possible. If you can, take your photos outdoors.

At the very least, try and get by a window where indirect light is coming through. Experiment with taking photos throughout your home. Find which rooms have the best light at which times. I’ve been known to move my “subject” into a well-lit area of my home to get a better photo. Even open doors or blinds to let more light in. Lighting is so key to good photos.

Once you’ve got the lighting issue taken care of, the rest is just framing up a good picture. Rule of thumb is to keep your subject in the right third or left third of your photo, as opposed to the middle third.

Get close to your subject.

Get even closer, even if it means cutting off a bit of their head.

Look for unique shots.

Try out unique angles.

These are all free ways to get more out of the camera you already have.

If there is one creative area that I am growing in drastically this year it has to be in the kitchen. I never used to see the kitchen as a creative place to hang out. It was more a forced interaction. I am very thankful that I am coming around to all the artistic goodness it has to offer.

Two cookbooks that I am loving right now are More with Less and The River Cottage Family Cookbook.

The former was given to me as a wedding present from a college professor of mine. My copy was stolen, and I just recently replaced it. It’s a gem of a cookbook, filled with all sorts of facts about food and why simplifying your diet is actually better for your health, your budget and the world.

Some things that have changed in our family’s eating since reading this book:

• More wheat flour, wheat germ and soy flour in baked goods.
• Eating at home more. (When we do eat out, I am much pickier now about the quality of food.)
• Experimenting with different types of beans, figuring out what we like.
• Learning the art of stretching ingredients, such as meat, in order to get more meals out of them.
• Cheaper grocery trips.
• Understanding and implementing other protein sources besides meat.
• Meals from scratch.
• We’re just plain eating healthier overall (pay no attention to the photo below).

The River Cottage Family Cookbook is a wonderful source of cooking inspiration, and as the title implies, is a perfect book for cooking as a family. There are tons of pictures in the book and lots of interesting explanations as to where foods come from. It’s great for homeschooling discussions with my kids, and I see this being a popular book in our home for years to come. I think I first heard about this book from Amanda Soule.

I never thought I would be one of those women who could cuddle in and read a good cookbook (boring, right?), but now I feel creative just flipping through these pages and dreaming up menus for our family.

I also love the creative challenge of trying to fit healthy, budget friendly, and simple all into the same meal.

As a woman who has, for the most part, stayed out of the kitchen for years, I can tell you that a home feels much warmer when there are good things cooking. And I feel more creative, in all areas of my life. Artistic expression has a way of trickling from one place into a lot of places if you just let it. I love that I am literally learning how to cook creatively right along with my kids.

These are my favorites from the night.

Can’t tell you how happy this one makes me. Dance it out.

More on Flickr.

This is the view looking out from the top of the mountain that our neighborhood sits on. On a very clear day, with no clouds, you can see the ocean along the horizon and the sun reflecting off of it.

We drive past this view every time we leave our house, and it takes my breath away each time. Today, finally, I got some photos. I stood on the car and took 5 shots and then merged them together into this panoramic photo, in hopes that it can now take your breath away too.