The Woman I Want To Be…

Ever since I first saw this piece of fabric art collage by Laurie Ceesay at The Old Church Gallery, I have been drawn to it.  Laurie’s artwork is fantastic and I love her vibrant use of color.  She has recently started her own blog called Artsy Chick Quilts….check it out!

Laurie is an artist from Menominee, Michigan (where I live)  but she has submitted pieces nationally and gained recognition for her work.  One of her pieces was published in Quilting Arts Magazine in the April/May 2009 issue as a winner of their Rock On! Reader Challenge.  Her quilt featured Tina Turner and it really impressed the judges…and me!

Laurie began doing her art quilts several years ago after growing bored doing traditional quilting.  She likes to feature women in her work, specializing in faces.  This fits right in with Laurie’s other passion – she is a hairdresser and loves hairstyles, makeup and fashion!

The woman Laurie depicts in this piece is no doormat – she’s vibrant and she’s fantastic.  She is who I want to be!

“Fresh Picked Flowers” is coming home with me.  I just know we’ll be very happy together!

Life on the Hamster Wheel…

 

Tonight my good friend Renee came over for hours of (nearly) uninterrupted gab time.  She is a fabulous woman who sponsors children all over the world through Compassion International and has actually visited many of them in places such as Uganda, Rwanda, Thailand, the Domican Republic, and is always planning her next trip.  She is so focused on the needs of these people, and she was wondering how so many people could be so oblivious to the needs of people in these countries just because they did not see it.

Granted, my life is pretty tame compared to hers, and I certainly know that there are many who just don’t waste time thinking about it if it doesn’t directly affect them.  My example, however, was that for me at this time in my life, I am on a hamster wheel, constantly spinning, spinning, and even though I know there are things outside that wheel, I don’t feel able to take my eyes off of straight ahead for fear I’ll trip up and things will come to a grinding halt.  While keeping the wheel spinning is important, it is also important for me and for my children that I look beyond my narrow scope of things on occasion.

Renee was showing me the website for Another Hope orphanage in Uganda.  Ruth, the founder and director of Another Hope, is coming to visit in September to try to bring attention to her mission.  Her children make and sell jewelry, bags and hats from old magazines and recycled paper and sell them to make money for necessities.  This touched my heart, and I saw a way that I could possibly help.  I intend to reach beyond my hamster wheel and purchase beads from Ruth that I can make into some of my designs.  In addition to helping when I purchase their beads, I can also donate the proceeds from my sales to help the orphanage. 

While I can’t always take my eyes off of my wheel, I can let my heart hear what others are saying, and I can try to make a difference.

The Old Church Gallery…

Once in awhile I get to have the pleasure of working at the Old Church Gallery in Cedar River, Michigan.  I love this gallery!  Last weekend was one of those rare occasions and I had an awesome, inspiring day there. The ladies who own it – Carlyn Lynch and Cindy Schmidt – are two of the sweetest ladies ever. 

These two women converted an old, unused church into an art gallery in a somewhat remote location and have turned it into a must-stop place on Hwy. M-35 between Escanaba and Menominee, Michigan.  It is primarily filled with art from local and regional artists.  There are so many talented artists represented here!

When I first met the ladies of the Old Church Gallery, I was newly divorced and lacking self-confidence.  My friend Karen encouraged (nagged) me into approaching them with my jewelry designs. I was so nervous!  But the ladies were fabulous and we have had a wonderful working relationship ever since.  Karen and I have done an artist-in-residence day,and this fall we are teaching classes.  It has been such a great relationship for me, and I know Karen feels the same.

During my hours there, my brain flooded with ideas!  I kept jotting things down in my notebook, barely able to keep up!  Creativity spurs creativity in me, and this place is SO inspiring!

If you’re ever in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, make it a point to stop in to see the ladies and their wonderful gallery.  You won’t be sorry!

The Security Myth…

No one needs to tell us these are tough times.  The economy is in a deep slump.  I have the distinction of graduating from college (at 46) during this fabulous economic time.  Jobs are nearly impossible to come by, especially in my small town.  I have promised my daughter to do everything in my power to stay here until she graduates in 2011.  That’s proving difficult.

I’ve been praying a lot lately for God’s provision.  I keep asking for a job.  Instead, good things keep happening with my jewelry business.  I have picked up a new gallery, and things seem to be going well there.  I was contacted by an old friend who wants to shop my animal lovers line around in his far-away state.  Things are good, which has me wondering…is this what God wants me to do?

I have a problem in the area of security. I was married for 17 years and was very secure in the fact I was going to grow old with this person.  So much for security.  I have listened and watched as the economy has shrunk retirement accounts down to nothing.  What is security, exactly?

I have been wanting a steady, secure job.  No surprises, no upheavals, no uncertainty.  But is there such a thing?  Day after day people are getting downsized, laid off and let go.  So why do I still think a full-time job is secure? 

I need to have more confidence in myself than I do in some unknown employer.  I need to trust my abilities to make a living for myself and my children.  Maybe God is telling me to trust myself and to use this opportunity to take my jewelry business to the next level.   A sure thing?  No, but then again, is there such a thing?

If this is what God has in store for me, I need to trust His leading and trust myself.

My Van – the myth and the legend

My van is a 1995 Dodge Astro van.  It turned over 200,000 miles recently, and I live in dread of anything happening to it.  It is big, brown and boxy…but it’s paid for!

I need this van to go a lot further.  I break out in a sweat at the thought that it will die one day.  I have nurtured and sweet-talked this van continuously for years now.  There’s even a shiny spot on the (otherwise dusty) dashboard where I have worn it smooth from rubbing it in appreciation!

The mileage sucks, it’s true, but you can’t beat having no payments and having cheap insurance!  My van can haul anyone or anything.  It runs.  It starts even in our brutal Michigan winters.  It doesn’t even have a cushy garage to rest itself – it has to brave the elements.

I don’t know if it’s scriptural or not to pray for a motor vehicle, but I do for this one.  I think God understands.