Monday, September 19, 2011

the tree of life

come away with me...

be still, and delight in beauty...



























my my grandpa passed away today. it was sort of sudden, and a shock, but really his health has been failing slowly as he's gotten older. i'm having a hard time processing it, with the suddenness of it, and how far away my dad's whole side of the family lives... joey got to meet him last year around this time, and that was our last trip up to northern california. i'm thankful that he (just in the last decade or so) chose to trust Christ.  never too late until it is. 

trying to process all this has reminded me of an amazing movie i saw recently that i've been wanting to recommend: The Tree of Life. it's an anomaly of a movie to me. super artistic, abstract, and spiritual, but has big (BIG) name actors in it, like Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and my current favorite actress, Jessica Chastain. as a friend described it, this movie is deeply Christian, as long as your idea of a "christian movie" doesn't stop at "fireproof". it's basically about grieving, learning to process with God all of life, seeing the bigger picture. as i said, it's really abstract, with lengthy sequences of creation imagery, and lots of whispers. dialogue between a woman and her God, a man and his brother. if you get annoyed by lack of plot, or feeling lost as to what exactly is going on in a linear way, be forewarned: this movie does not fit into any neat and tidy categories. but is a.mazing.
all these shots are from a day i spent alone (rapture!) at descanso gardens. a time to rest, be alone with my God, enjoy his created glorious beauty. he met me there and i danced with him. more glory in just these flowers and trees and SPACE than a soul can take in (in a day or ever!)... hope you can get a little taste of it here... and then go. - drive to pasadena (la canada flintridge, really), and take a breather for yourself. $8 for a day is so worth it...







"my spot"

Saturday, September 17, 2011

handmade gifts

 the three little headbands i made for my sister for her birthday (i took pictures of me wearing them for the sole purpose of submitting as a possibility of something i could make for the upcoming Light of Christmas boutique... but someone else is already making flower hair accessories. so i'm gonna have to be more creative ;) i realized that i love making things for people as gifts! but not really just "crafty" things, where i can like, find a pattern and copy step-by-step instructions... i like to take things my own direction so that they end up not just being a labor of love & time, but truly an expression of me! so, as i have a couple of different "projects" in the works, i'm having a hard time figuring out ways to really involve others like i would love to... cause they're not me... but whatever "we" make will be an expression of us (and me)... sounds like a control issue ;) 
first of all is the ever-present "project" of the uptown aesthetics team... i have a bunch of ideas swirling around in my head (this being one of those sleepless nights), but i'm not sure how to implement them while still maintaining my (& my family's) sanity... i have GOT to learn to delegate, let go! ;) 
the second thing that i currently have on my plate is that i'm in charge of the gift bags & nametags for our november women's retreat... and i have a hard time not choosing to make something handmade to go in every single of the 120 bags... pretty sure that, not only will the nametags & bags be embellished, but there'll be something designed my yours truly in there... but again, how not to let that completely overwhelm my life involves a team working together... which means i need to come up with something easily reproducible (a "craft" project of my own design, i suppose?)... and a team ;)
and there are more... and i can't wait ;) to see what pours out of my heart in the form of creativity to serve others. so my heart's desire and a passion that is always resting in my soul, waiting for expression! wanna join me? ;)

"happy pretty!" as joey says, in his attempt to say "happy birthday, kristi" ;)

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

couple of things to share

it was a good day for an estate sale... found some sweet vintage stuff, and some actual useful things that i'd had on my mental list of things to buy - but in way cooler form! like these awesome ramekin things (at least i assume that's what they are lol - couldn't resist the set for $4.50!) , and the turquoise vase :)





something i made this summer that somehow never ended up on here, so i needed to share it with you now... this piece i made for jason for father's day! i took a shot of jason and joey and used that for the imagery, and a poem i wrote about fatherhood. turned out fun, and he loves it, and it's hanging above his computer :) note: the last 2 pictures are more true to color - it's not as vibrant as it looks in this first one.



can you read that? if not, i can post the text...

oh, and i love my family....

some news (not pregnant)...!

omg!! 
i am a semifinalist in the Cloth Paper Scissors Artisan Search 2012! 
(my all-time favorite art magazine)

 i entered this last year in three of the five categories, fully expecting to be chosen... and was a little crushed when i wasn't. i didn't make a lot of art for a while after that, and didn't blog for over 5 months! blogged about it a bit here. i guess i need to learn how to deal with disappointment a little better... ;) but anyways, THIS year, i knew not to get my hopes up - a lot of great artists enter, and a lot of them have been creating much longer than me... but i'm in!! i entered 3 categories again this year: mixed media jewelry, art journal and bookmaking, and collage and assemblage. 

they posted the 5 semifinalists in each of the 5 categories today, and i'm in TWO!! WHAT?! so cool. 
you've already seen the art journal pages, since i posted them here earlier this year (the last two with the model girls, and the "known" one were my entry :) i'll keep you posted - i have to send all my six pieces (the other 3 are my flower jewelry - i need to do a quick photo shoot with them to post on my other blog before i send them off to massachusetts!) in by the first week of october!  exciting times! :)