Category Archives: intentions

Life Is Short

Posted on by under intentions

I was reminded this week how short and unexpected life can be. One of my friends died on Monday. She was only 60 years old, very active and was in good health as far as anyone knew. It was a real shock to all of us. It made me realize how important it is to not take anything for granted. Then on the forum recently, one of our members started a thread about how she didn’t have enough time to do any needle felting due to obligations and life in general. This got me thinking about how important it is to follow your passion. Each of us has certain talents and passions and I think it’s important to create from that unique perspective. Only you can create your own particular vision and if you don’t do that, then it will be lost to the world.

Kantha Revolution - Many Circles

 

Last year, I issued a challenge to create something every day and even if you only had 5 minutes during the day, to use that 5 minutes to follow your passion. It doesn’t really matter what that passion is or if you’re even that good at what you’re creating. It’s important to spend that few moments doing what you most like to do. All of us have obligations and many times life gets in the way but I’m sure if you turned off the TV, the computer and all the other electronic gadgets in your life, you would find that you have more time than you think. I was following this practice last year, but somehow, I have gotten back into bad habits and I haven’t been as successful with creating every day this year. I don’t know about you, but when I’m not in the studio for a while, I get grumpy and discouraged. For those of you with a family and children, many times you feel overwhelmed and unable to take any time for yourself. Which do you think is better for your children, a grumpy, stressed out parent? Or one who is taking time to fulfill their dreams and passions?

Hand and Machine Stitch SamplesSo I am writing this post to rededicate myself to following my dreams, spending less time with electronics, more time with family and friends and creating art every day even if only for five minutes.  I am grateful for all that I have in my life. Even when I am really busy I need to remember that life is unpredictable and that every day is a blessing. Today, I am going to celebrate the 4th of July at the lake with my family and friends. We will be remembering our friend, celebrating her life and the good times that we all enjoyed. I hope that you are well and that you make the time to follow your passions. Thanks for stopping by!

 

Focus in 2012

Posted on by under intentions, word for the year

Last year, instead of making goals, I chose a word for the year. I saw this first on Christine Kane’s blog and she explains about choosing a word in her post Resolution Revolution.  I like that the word you choose is related to everything in your life as it is about “being” instead of “doing”. Keeping one word in the forefront of your thoughts is much easier than trying to remember a list of resolutions. Last year, my word was “choose”. I did get a lot done last year in relation to my fiber arts, I was happy with the choices I made and I want to keep moving forward in that same vein. While I was looking at the list of possible words that I might choose for 2012 on Christine’s blog, I came across several that spoke to me. I wrote those words down and my list included clarity, focus, mastery and discipline.  After I looked at these words for a few minutes, it seemed to me that all four of the words fit under the word focus. Focus has several meanings including the center of interest, to adapt to the prevailing light and become able to see clearly, to concentrate or to think about closely. So for the coming year, I will be thinking about focus and how that relates to fiber art.

 I also have a list of intentions that I want to accomplish during the year. I’m not sure how I’ll get them all done but I’m sure if I focus…

  • Continue the Level II Hand and Machine Stitch course
  • Promote my book when it comes out in August
  • Begin teaching felting classes at a local yarn store
  • Investigate future teaching possibilities (felting/fiber art) at the local community college
  • Mentor artists through the Montana Arts Council program at the store about the business of art
  • Participate fully in our new virtual studio The Felting and Fiber Studio
  • Continue exploring the combination of hand and machine stitching with felting
  • Begin making video fiber art tutorials (which I’m sure will involve more than I think it will)
  • Learn more about Photoshop and use it more frequently
  • Continue to explore surface design including more eco-printing with leaves with my local group
  • Begin researching and planning for The Yurt Project

Now if you were paying attention, you might be saying “What yurt project?” I have really wanted to make a yurt  in the traditional way with a felt covering for a long time. It will be a ton of work and I’m sure I won’t get it all done this year. But I’m going to start working on it this year. I have already gotten some books from the library and my hubby is going to help with the frame construction. I may see if I can involve some school groups or civic organizations and teach more people about felting. The idea is still brewing but I’m excited about moving forward with the idea.

What are your plans for 2012? I’d love to hear about them.