One of my Favorite Quotes

May's topic for the Blog-o-Sphere Think Tank Group....
What is your favorite quote?

"Maybe our favourite quotations say more about us
than about the stories and people we're quoting."
~ John Green
A few weeks ago I came across this quote in short blog post named Wisdom by Alison "TeenAngster" ..... it rang so true to me.
While most memorable quotes have a universal appeal,
we tend to find them just when we need them.
That day I decided to participate in this months
Blog-o-Sphere Think Tank,
so that I could share one of my favorite quotes by Anais Nin
and why I connect to it.

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
~Anais Nin

Nature has so many lessons to teach me when I pay attention......
Flowers are one of the natural wonders of the world I learn from and love to investigate & reflect upon.
When I read this quote by Anais Nin the first time, it made me think
that the blossoming of a flower is akin to becoming the best version of myself that I could possibly be.
Blossoming is a natural process, each petal revealing a part of my self.
While complex and layered, I would like to allow my blossoming to just happen freely.
No longer do I want to hold tight to old ways of being that keep me stuck. I do not want to be bound by the idea that I "should be" a certain way instead of revealing who I really am inside.
I want to continue to take the risk of blossoming.....a life long unfolding of all of my petals, that reveals my beauty.



When I add flowers to my jewelry designs, I often have this idea in mind and use flowers as a representation
of constant growth (or blossoming as a person).


:: Follow the links of my fellow Blog-o-Sphere Think Tankers
to enjoy inspiring Quotes & discussion.
:: May's participants in the Blog-o-sphere Think Tank ::

Andes Cruz: http://www.andescruz.wordpress.com/
Brad Severtson: http://hammeringoutaliving.blogspot.com/
Kathleen Krucoff: http://mysticalmythicalmetalwork.wordpress.com/
Wendy Kelly: http://www.wendykianakelly.com/
Mary Spencer: http://www.wattoonline.com/news
Stephanie Clark: http://thethinkingsofacoldweathergirl.blogspot.com/
Barbara Donovan: http://barbaradonovan.blogspot.com/
Beth Cyr: http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/
Thomasin Durgin: http://metalriot.blogspot.com/
Shaun Young: http://shaunyoung.ca/
Kathryn Cole: http://www.kathryncolejewelry.blogspot.com/
Natsuko Hanks: http://jewelrybynatsuko.blogspot.com/


more flower photos from my neighborhood....

Coming out of my Winter Hibernation (finally)...

I have joined the Blog-o-sphere Think Tank !!
A wonderful group of artists who are blogging each month on a specific topic. The leader of the pack is Andes Cruz: www.andescruz.wordpress.com This month's topic is "best childhood/ younger years memory".
I have been thinking and thinking all month
about growing up in Miami in the 70s,
my best friends, my neighborhood...
The ONE best memory is so difficult to come up with.
I have an overall feeling that keeps popping up, it is the feeling of freedom,
just being a kid.
I grew up in South Miami, Florida, part of a family of four. My childhood home was on a beautiful lake.
As a kid I was always outside.
Swimming, riding my bike, making hiding places under trees & lighting mini bon fires at the canal's edge.
I would pack my suit case and climb one of the trees in my yard and just hang out for the day.
Just the feeling of being outside in the sunshine, playing all day is my best childhood memory.

Here is the view from my childhood backyard in Florida....



Now I live in Philadelphia. When I was walking in the Wissahickon Valley Park this week with my dog I felt that feeling again.....the one of being free, in nature. That is when it occurred to me that I try to recreate that feeling
I had as a kid.
As a grown up, I get outside and walk.
I let all of my worries go and just enjoy being.

Photos of the Woods ::




:: Creatives writing this month ::

Andes Cruz: http://www.andescruz.wordpress.com
Kathleen Krucoff http://mysticalmythicalmetalwork.wordpress.com/
Wendy Kelly: http://www.wendykianakelly.com/
Stephanie Nocito Clark http://thethinkingsofacoldweathergirl.blogspot.com/
Brad Severtson: http://hammeringoutaliving.blogspot.com/
Andrea Bell: http://feathersfreesiasandfishingtackle.blogspot.com/
Natsuko Hanks: http://jewelrybynatsuko.blogspot.com/
Shaun Young: http://shaunyoung.ca/
Pal Gooz: http://pmgart.blogspot.com/
Beth Cyr: http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/

April in Paris

I am in the process of taking a leap of faith....working on living the life I envision for myself.
I am participating in an e~course given by Marisa (from Creative Thursday) and her beau Sean. They are teaching the course from Paris, where they are actualizing their dream of living in Paris for a month.

The first step in our journey is asking the question of myself......"What is it that I really want to do?"
And how can I find the courage to take action and embrace change.
I have so many small things that I am fearful of.....just keeping up with writing in this blog is a big leap for me.

Here is my list of things I want to do:
~Live smaller.
~Take Yoga classes.
~Sell most of my extra vintage stuff left over from my shop Decades Ago~Go.
~Ride my bike a lot.
~Expand my lines of jewelry so that I can wholesale to galleries (maybe!!).
~Be more organized.
~Travel to Italy with John.
~Eat more vegetables.
~Create more one of a kind jewelry.
~Set more stones.
~Wake up earlier.
~Loose a few pounds (I thought I would add this to the list!!).
~Journal and write morning pages daily.
~Unplug the rabbit ears on the TV.
~Apply to more local craft shows.
~Blog regularly.
~Take more pictures and figure out how to print and organize them.

I am sure more ideas will come to me as the weeks go by.


I have chosen to focus these next few weeks on committing to creating more one~of~a~kind jewelry pieces.
I would like to spend the time to make jewelry with more components, stones, handmade chain & extra detail.
I have the skills to do it but feel like I don't give myself the space and time to create really special pieces.
Is it fear? Why do I feel stuck creatively? I will be exploring my fears and working towards making this exciting change in my life and work.

Marisa and Sean posed the question "Do you feel like most people in your life are doing what it is they really want to be doing?
Are they living their dreams?
I wanted to ask, are you?
Would you like to come along with me to Paris and take a leap into one of your dreams?

I appreciate you reading this and coming along with my on my journey.
~Laura

Seventeen Things to Do to Kickstart Creativity

Inspired by a fellow "Ring a Day" friend and metalsmith, I have decided to make a list of Seventeen things to Kickstart creativity.






1) Write morning pages.
2) Go on an Artist Date with myself....out to a museum, soak up the displays at Anthropologie, enjoy a cappuccino.
3) Walk the dog.
4) Take a drive.
5) Fall asleep with a note book by my bedside.....write what comes up.
6) Look at art books ~ Miro, Calder, Jensen (these are some of my favs).
7) Walk in the woods, walk to the post office, walk, walk ,walk!
8) Avoid the computer as much as possible!
9) Take my camera with my when I go on outings, photograph neat happenings in my surroundings.
10) Take a bath without guilt.
11) Go thrift shopping or flea marketing.
12) Read a good book, fiction, magical realism, historical fiction.
13) Have a bead therapy day...string beads, revel in the colors and gems.
14) Get to the studio and just work on tasks that need to be done, this will usually jumps me into thinking creatively.
15) Look through my collection of found objects, stones and antiques for ideas.
16) Just do it.....the idea is not to think too much and just sit down to create.
17) Join a group of creatives with a challenge....for me it is the Ring a Day 2010 flickr group. RAD is a group of 280 artists from all over the world making a ring a day for 1 year. I am so happy to have joined and it has most definitely Kick~Started my creativity!

I wanted to share this list with you and inspire you to make your own list.
I plan to keep my list in my studio (maybe near the computer too!!) to remind myself of the things I need to do to give myself a little kick in the pants.
I also want to add that taking care of myself, by eating healthfully and exercising, is part of the picture. Two more things I need to remind myself each day.
~Laura

ps... I like to remind myself that I am perfect just as I am. I try not to compare myself to others (which can kill creativity).
Additionally, I would like to learn to meditate.

Two Worlds Collide

I cried myself to sleep on Wednesday night after finishing The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. What a captivating story. Narrated by Death, it is a story of a young girl living in Nazi Germany. One of the themes in the book is the power of words.... How they changed a young girl's life and a nation of people.

When I woke up the next morning I had an order to finish, lots of tiny discs with letters stamped on them. Before shipping them of, I strung them together and noticed how beautiful they were together. It made me think.....how about making a bracelet with powerful positive words and phrases. So many discs that only the one wearing it knows its meaning.
The power of words.....turns into thoughts.....turns into action.