the space in the clouds

I have always loved how the rays of the sun can be seen dancing among the spaces in the clouds.

 It's sometimes hard to remember that space is such an important thing. 

 The rays would be invisible if there were no space in the clouds. 

 Space 

This physical space is just a signpost pointing to the realization that space needs to be made not only in my physical world but more imperatively in my mind. 

 Minds like to hang on to many images, thoughts, clutter of the past and future. 

It's time to make space. 

This space, this openness leads to stillness.

 In this stillness I can FEEL the life around me.

 I can FEEL with my heart. 

There aren't any problems.

 Only moments constantly renewing, never past, never future. 

Life as it is happening.

In the space I've made Love, Compassion, and Joy move through it and it can be shared. 

With you.

with love xo

Business Card Update....Update....

So, I feel a little silly, as thought my previous post was in haste and I wasn't patient enough.... I would like to say THANKS to Google for giving me access to my thewildcucumber@gmail.com address back!! yay!!

For all of your custom hand sewn, knitted, painted, photograph needs you can reach me at:

thewildcucumber@gmail.com

OR

iamthewildcucumber@gmail.com

Hope to hear from you soon!!

xo

This wasn't at all confusing was it?? (hee hee)

Business Card Update

So, remember those lovely business cards I designed about a month ago.....well.... I finally got them! And they look great except for one thing.....GOOGLE deactivated the email address printed on the back! I have no idea why either....500 business cards.... so with D's help it is now iamthewildcucumber@gmail.com! Google was trying to foil my plan but I shall persevere! maybe ill make a little tiny stamp that says iam and stamp them all! Not ideal but I am not about to be ripped off by vista print again....lol so if you want to contact me about my crafty handmades remember.... iamthewildcucumber@gmail.com <3 <3

just adds a touch-o-human ;)

Creativity comes from NO-MIND and thru the hands

We have taken a cute little doggy named Bella Sue out on some walks in the afternoon.  As we walk on the sunny side of the street the grass shadows on the edge of the sidewalk always catch my eye... Especially in the late day orange-gold sunshine that leaves shadows so blue...So through my eyes and into my hand comes this simple image. Too bad cameras are a little incapable at capturing images as I see them...

My hands have transformed the octopus's environment. So quiet, serene and deep. I've enjoyed gazing upon it. I find the colors very beautiful. It's so beautiful that I'm feeling a touch apprehensive about painting the octopus itself, but I think its time for it to transform as well!

Wonder what this could be...?? Leave a comment with your guess!

 mmmm You may have noticed by now I see the world in colors! These ones look juicy and delicious I kinda want to lick them!!

Much love!! xoxoX

the soft light emanating from my window

We hung a sheet up in our window.  It lets such a lovely light into the room, I find myself staring at it. The soft glow puts everything in a beautiful dream like light. I've found myself staring quite a bit lately, at lights, out the window at my painting, my mind usually a buzz with thoughts. I just can't let the thoughts be, they've been a little overwhelming lately I've watched them flipping around like a T.V. racing thru channels, click click click click. I don't like how that makes me feel. It seems a familiar feeling though too, ripping at my projected sense of self. My mind is very self destructive. Everything outwardly is just as it should be, but the mind, takes and judges every little thing. Judges things I did (or didn't) things Dorian did (or didn't), things anything or anyone did or didn't do and tells me I don't measure up. I should go, I'm just in the way. I reacted in the wrong way. Not good enough.

But all of those things in my head are just that: in my head, situations invented by my mind to prevent me from living in the now, seeing the beauty in each moment, enjoying each button I press on the keyboard. They distract my attention or intention away from what is currently happening. My intuition has been clouded and masked by these streaming thoughts, but I can feel it in my heart just below the surface. Ready to re-emerge softly and kindly parting the thoughts, acknowledging them as what they are...imaginary. As my intuition grows in light an intensity, I am ready to break that conceptual sense of self and just live. I want to strengthen my intuition I want to be life.

Meet 'Bulby'. He's from my Senior show in College.
I love knobs :) This one's a two-hander!

Have you ever noticed the 'life' objects have? The way they command space, almost as if they are living. I find this easier to see in art but I can see it in most objects. They have a sense of life, not that they are living though if we get real technical for a moment, they are all made of atoms which are moving molecules! I remember during a critique in a ceramics class I took, having a hard time trying to explain why the object I was looking at was so beautiful. I could just feel it in my chest that it was beautiful. It had a commanding presence, a life to it. It seemed to be breathing in life and holding it in its belly. Full of breath! Breathing in all that life has to offer.

I'm making an agreement right now for every person who appears in my thoughts or I physically see, I want to make a conscious effort to send them peaceful loving thoughts. Everyone deserves love, everyone IS love. (maybe that's why it's so hard to describe, we ARE love)


Well, this one go a touch crazy some may think but thats just the crazy life is :)...

Sending joyful loving thoughts, and bidding peace of mind ;)
xo


"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."
-Buddha

a bit-o-art

We went out on a little adventure recently to visit a farm in which we could purchase some delicious cage free eggs. Winford Pond Farm was the place, and heritage chickens, geese and goats where the game! They were wonderful, fluffy little ochins, and beautiful roosters, and ADORABLE Nigerian Dwarf Goats....of which I did not photograph :( We did however stop on the side of the road and I snapped a few shots of this lovely old building. I seem to be attracted to photographing dilapidated things. They turned out beautifully.

Here we have the little Octopus, it's only in the under-painting stage. It will look completely different as a final product.

Just a couple of creative endeavors of late. Made a few aprons too, which may lead to my next post and a new addiction....

A 'mini' disaster!

Back a night or two I was gazing out the window and noticed the sky looked a touch peeved, and appeared to be spitting in a misty way like when a two year old sticks their tongue out at you and blows sending a shower of saliva your direction.  Was I going to be able to enjoy a thunderstorm??!! That was one thing I occasionally missed about the mid west while living in California, a good old wind whipping, downpour, lightening cracking good time! (tornadoes, however, were not missed) The thought excited me. But, alas,  the sky seemed like something (or someone?) was coercing it to precipitate. Like a mother hovering, "well c'mon now. Don't just stand there, squeeze out a few drops now. There ya go your doing it, oop well now ya gat to give it a bit more now dear. It just doesn't seem like you're trying very hard. Give it another go now."(spoken in a nice midwestern accent don't ya know!) So I lay back down succumb to the fact that no storm was to happen tonight, only saliva (pthhhht!). 

20 minutes later...

The clouds unzipped, and unleashed all they had! A deluge of rain and whipping winds! Weee! (insert wind and rain noises here)..... for about 25 seconds(wah wahhh). Eh I guess I was wrong, apologies for the underestimation, sky. (not about the thunder and lightening though! ha!) 

Now for the disaster...

A couple weeks ago a lovely little portable greenhouse was set up in our backyard, by the two suburban farmers (Dorian and I...ay thank you!) in the hopes that we could start sprouting seeds come January to set out in the garden. We have also been getting a bit antsy so... we decided to experiment with a few cool weather crop seeds and see what would happen. (maybe they would combine in a strange chemical reaction and form a bucket of ooze that we could play with!) So we set up a flat with a few rows of seeds; spinach, cauliflower and broccoli, we then watered and waited.  Until today. I went out this morning because our backyard faces the west (by west I mean south) and the house acts like a giant reflector, not like the foil kind that you use for sunbathing but a less shiny vinyl one, and toasts up our cement patio quite nicely. And I of course was freezing I can't help it, I'm prone to being a peoplecicle! I didn't find much respite there so I wandered over to our dinky little greenhouse (tee hee greenhouses are warm too!) and came upon the scene of the crime!

My 25 seconds of storm satisfaction delivered us splattered barely-sprouted seedlings, (storms are obviously are not pro-life! humpf!) disheveled shelves, and the pottery that once held my succulents lay shattered; succulents de-potted and strewn about the floor! CRAP! Well, in its defense our greenhouse is made of plastic and aluminum and may double as a kite if taken to the beach on a windy day... We had used some metal stakes and a 40 pound bag of lime to try to hold it down, unfortunately they were a bit ill placed... Oops! 

I shoveled the seedlings and soil back into its home and we hopefully (cross your fingers... seriously look at the thing, it totally has kite tendencies!) found a new more storm-worthy home for our little greenhouse.

The Carnage

I had cleaned it up at this point, I can't lie, the pottery was staged. (Thanks D :)) But my poor succulent 'tree' is sadly leaning against the fan.