Mission Accomplished

On May 8th my Blog entry was about doing a commission but not having a clue how it would manifest.

My client wanted something that would remind her of Bali and also incorporate this specific crystal.  I knew from past experience that an idea would come and I had to resist the urge to panic, the 'what if nothing comes' temptation of the worry-mind.

I hung in  the 'Not Knowing' field for quite awhile until the idea revealed itself and my client agreed to it. It involved a trust built on years of watching how this process works for me.  The emptiness is part of my creative process. I wonder, "How does it work for you?"

This pendent is carved mammoth tusk with sterling silver and quartz crystal.

Fail, Fail, Fail

Wow!

I was privileged to attend the TEDxUbud event on May 24th. at the beautiful Five Elements Resort near Ubud. It was a full day of inspiration and motivation to continue living our dreams or  to begin them.

The speakers were hand picked Indonesians and foreigners working here. There were stories of great darkness lit by a spark that went on to bring the dreamer to bright light. There were stories of love and kindness and all were marked by creativity at their cores.

It motivated me to work on a project I have put aside because I didn't know how to do it. Myshkin Ingawale told us to, "Fail, fail, fail, but fail early," and get it over with, then you can use what you've learned to create what you want. If nothing else we will have learned a lot.

I went to my painting studio today and worked on failure.   I hope to post some photos in "What's New" on my web site when I've turned the failure into a product that 'World on a String" will be proud of. 

Here's to Failure! 

NOW

We are dropping like flies in the expat community here in Ubud, We've lost five in the last two months from old age to cancer to sudden unknown death - autopsies are rare here so we'll never know why Michale just keeled over and left us.

Lou Zeldis' memorial at Linda Garland's estate was a wonderful tribute to him complete with Balinese ceremony to send his soul off in speedy and theatrical fashion. I wondered if he knew how loved and admired he was or how much he will be missed.

These deaths reiterate over and over to live dreams NOW or at least take what steps are necessary to set them into motion and to lavish friends with love and appreciation NOW, before it's time for their memorial.

Gestation

Things are brewing on the creative front. I have a commission to do involving a crystal and a carving with little else to go on. I haven't been able to think about this while deadlines were being met but now the way is clear. I find even though I don't know how this will look, it's on my mind purring along in the background. Glimpses appear and I stop whatever I'm doing to sketch the possibilities.

Then there is always the pressure of the mind wanting to raise the red flag of panic, "Are you sure you can do this, Susan?"  Somehow, if this goes as it always has before, the gestation will finish and the idea will appear at just the right moment and the hard work will be done.

I love the creative process and the trust it demands!

An Empty Spot

I finished my book on losing my soul mate to Alzheimer's (see the writing tab on my web site) and sent it off to a publisher who asked to read it. The book was a 'have to', not an option, and it more or less wrote itself.

But after two and a half years of passionately writing, I find an empty space now where the project resided in my heart. It was an act of love to write this and helped me remember who Bob was after being his primary care giver for ten years.

I have a rich full life and plenty to do to keep 'World on a String' in motion so this empty spot took me back. I found myself wandering the house/office wondering what I should be doing when before I would have been eking out any amount of time to write.

I started quizzing others on how they deal with this end of an all consuming project. I see now that I just have to let it spin itself out before the new can take hold. 

When I was in the States earlier this year, I saw an inspiring exhibition in LA at the Annenberg Space for Photography. The show was called Digital Darkroom. If you get a chance to see it, it runs until May 28th., otherwise you can see the images and video at: www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org .

Even watching the video again on my computer at home vs. the big screen in the center left me with the thrill of possibilities. I can see combining the various media I use and then bringing them all together digitally. How can I incorporate that into jewelry? Just being exposed to these creative minds and their created objects sets my heart spinning, while the mind boggles.....

April 14, 2012

I'm finally home and settled in Bali once again and ready to dip into the font of creative juices. After two and a half years writing 'Piece by Piece', the story about losing my soul mate to Alzheimer's, I sent the manuscript off to a publisher who asked to read it. Even though I have plenty on my 'To Do' list, I feel a little lost without the all consuming passion of the book pushing me forward. 

But there is jewelry to design with new beads and ideas garnered in Tucson and inspiration gleaned from exhibitions I was fortunate enough to see. Maybe I just need to sit with the silence and see what develops.....