by jes moreau-berry

At the begining of this year I decided to do something that I’ve never really done. Write a New Year’s resolution. It really wasn’t about losing weight, being kinder to my husband or saving money. (though maybe it should have been!) What I needed to do was to settle down a bit and try to figure out exactly where I wanted to take the many hours a day I spend on creating jewelry and altered art. Since childhood, I’ve always had the need to create, I believe that it is something that is in our inner souls. It’s like air and water and we need it to survive. I’ve always sold my art as a means for a second income, but I felt that there was always so much more I wanted to accomplish …. but what exactly? For me, once I sat at this desk and wrote out the simple list, I realized that the aspirations were always there, but what I had needed to do was to give myself a little guide to go back to when I began to feel lost. I have happily began to accomplish the small list of artful goals. At the top of my list was to teach, write and be published. Suddenly these scary thoughts have become reality, and I believe it is due in part to my “New Years resolution list”.

I am an outgoing sort of person and thrive on the energy and inspiration I find through many artists I meet online. When I ponder questions and thoughts in my own artful life, I am always curious on what others think about that particular subject. You can call me nosey, but it’s what I do!

Maryann was sweet enough to list out some of her goals for me. One of them that I found interesting, because this was NOT something many had listed, yet it’s something that is important …. “to really understand the legalities of running a business, copyright laws. ( i.e., do my homework)”. This is something that I have now added to my own personal list, and something I know I will struggle with a bit!

Art by Maryann

Dear Lea from Finland writes, “When I think of it more closely I do feel like I’m moving towards my goals as a jewellery artist, but it’s a hellishly slow process. I wish I had more patience, computer skills and time to make my plans and work on them!”

“Yesterday I bumped into this woman I hardly even know but who bought some jewellery from me 6 months ago. She was wearing the very pieces! This was the first time I have seen my jewellery just like that, on the street, worn by someone who is not part of my immediate “entourage”. I must say that felt pretty darn good!”

The computer. Hours wittled away that could be spent in the studio, yet such a powerful marketing tool for most of us! I struggle with this as well, and it’s got me to thinking that maybe I need to add to my list of goals, “schedule specific times for computer work”. I’m not so sure how easy this will be, but I think it’s a must do!

I’m happy to see that Lea has found some fabulous satisfaction in her encounter on the street!

bracelet by Lea

I think it just goes to show that if we work towards our goals, big or small, the outcome will be a happy one. Always easy? Probably not, but surely worth it in the end.

Art by Izabella

So I’ll leave you with this little tidbit from Izabella, “Whenever I am working/creating & I start to feel overwhelmed by it all…I always think of that lovely saying by Lucille Ball, I think who stated it… “the more I do, the more I can do” it is like magic words! ….such a true statement!!”

all images copywritten by kari ramstrom

It seems like using vintage supplies in arts and crafts is definitely in favor right now. I don’t want to say it’s a trend, because I hope that it doesn’t go away anytime soon. I sent a set of questions to a handful of artist blogger friends that I know love to thrift and use unique one-of-a-kind pieces in their art. I was interested in this connection of vintage objects/supplies specifically used in arts and crafts and why.

Colleen of freshvintage said, “in order to set your work apart, I think that you need to add something that you can’t find in the big box craft stores.” One of her reasons for this is to make it uniquely her own. “I don’t want anyone to potentially be able to make the same thing that I make. Using funky and hard-to-find vintage items ensures that my work is unique.” Andrea (velvetstrawberries.typepad.com) echoes this, saying “I like knowing that what I have found had a former life with someone else, and that I’m not likely to see too many people with the same item.” There’s a built in story in a sense when you use vintage items in your art.

There is also the pleasure of re-using something that may have just been thrown away otherwise. Heather says, “often the items you find are one-of-a-kind, which can be used to create a new one-of-a-kind piece.” Lori feels that using items with a history makes her art more interesting. She loves the fact that someone owned the items before her and wonders “who they were and if they loved the item as much as I do.”

Everyone I interviewed mentioned the joy of hunting for vintage items. “It’s entertainment” said Tina, “I love the hunt and anticipation of finding a new treasure” she added. Shae lives in a village by the sea in Australia. She says, “it’s the thrill of finding something wonderful that could be potentially the only one of it’s kind left in the world!” Cassondra loves the hunt of “finding just the right “thing” for just the right project.”

Sheila sums it all up, “ I relish and enjoy the thrill of the hunt, the challenge of finding that something to recreate into a piece of artwork, to tell a story that I’m trying to relay…Art with a history inspires me to see things not as they are, or once were but what they can become with a little creativity and imagination. I now look at things differently and find myself constantly thinking outside the box. It has allowed me to see the beauty in the slightly worn, gently and not so gently used treasures. I am drawn to the well loved items, for they tell a story of someone’s love.”

What do you feel makes your art or crafts unique and interesting? Do you create “art with a history” and why? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

by kari ramstrom, artsymama

One night I had a bad dream.I woke up and in the darkness, I felt lost and alone.I looked out to the inky sky loaming with a half crescent moon, feeling separate and solitary, a gaping hole, an aching pain in my heart.

Then I realised:I wasn’t alone.Around the world,there would have to be people,in that very moment, feeling alone, sad, lost, in pain. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so lonely anymore. I had company. I remembered that we are all in this together.

I decided that moment that the next morning,when I woke up,I would do something that would help one person rememberthat they are not alone. Ever. And that they are loved. Always.

This is what spilled out on paper that morning.

“I thought I was the only one with a hole in her heart”,he said.”But then I was walking around and I saw that everyone does and maybe the hole is just the place for love to come in.”

May we all remember…and remind each other…

by goddess leonie

by sarah gilbert

I love labels. I especially love labels when they’re devised by ’savvy’ marketing analysts or pollsters. And the newest target for the corporate marketing dollar? ‘Yoga Moms.’

I love this one particularly, not least because I’m totally a Yoga Mama (I prefer the “mama” moniker to “mom,” as do most Yoga Mamas; you all may want to make a note of this). In fact, I registered the domain “spa mama.com” years ago and still receive email to some variant of “zen@” said dotcom. And yes, I do a lot of yoga. Yoga Mamas are said to be very particular about eating organic and feeding it to their kids; buying natural products; and we’ll pay top dollar for it.

Whoa! Hold on. Maybe I’m not a Yoga Mama after all. Or maybe y’all have it wrong (still taking notes?) In fact, in my market analysis (done among my friends, many of whom I met at prenatal yoga, or at new mama knitting circles, or at the organic foods market, or as kindred spirits on some mama-centric web site), Yoga Mamas aren’t willing to pay top dollar for anything organic or natural; in fact, our choices are much more shrewd than that.

My friends are, in fact, always talking about how they’re on a budget, or they don’t have money for this luxury or that luxury. Most of us don’t spend much on our own clothes, for instance, and we’re savvy resale shoppers — often picking up expensive labels, to be sure, but for a fraction of the retail price. While we’ll occasionally splurge on treats for ourselves (heck, someone’s keeping those manicurists in business, and we love a good glass of Pinot Noir) we’re also fanatic ‘unit price’ comparers and we won’t go back to a place that doesn’t fit in with a raft of values, from “respectful” to “green” to “treats its employees well.” None of us shop at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT). All of us shop at Trader Joe’s.

While we may love the commercials for organic Kellogg Company (NYSE:K)’s organic Rice Krispies, we aren’t spending extra for the brand name. Nope, we figured out long ago that our kids were happy with another organic cereal sold under a generic brand. We sometimes check out the end-cap display of Johnson & Johnson’s line of aromatic bubble baths and shampoos, but we’re certainly not paying $4 a bottle when we get the all-purpose, ultra-gentle Castile soap for $2.49. We clean with vinegar and water, not ultra-expensive “natural” cleaners.

We have a tenuous relationship with The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS). While we do let our children watch the movies, reluctantly, we’re mightily peeved that all our kids’ favorite characters’ moms have been killed off. We skip past the first two scenes of Finding Nemo.

We like to buy things that are made by other moms. That are recycled, or reclaimed, or paid for with fair trade practices. We like to buy local, visit farmer’s markets for our produce, or even own a share in a cooperative farm. We’re thinking about the impacts of everything we do; that means we may not even use disposable diapers, and we certainly don’t need a hugely plastic $99.99 Fisher Price Interactive Play Pyramid to have stimulating play time with our babies.

We’re trying to reduce the use of our car, and many of us have given it up altogether. That means we splurge on Burley trailers and expensive tune-ups for our bikes, and we’re always comparing baby carriers for our trips on mass transit. (The Ergo is currently the winner but some of us prefer our own handmade choices.) We’ve made a pact, no gifts at birthday parties, and we do book exchanges or handmade favors (superhero capes and stuffed swords) or crafts or trips to a climbing gym, instead. We recycle religiously and walk or run whenever possible.

Many of us are working moms, but we all have hobbies; we cook our kids’ baby food, or make our kids’ Halloween costumes, or knit our babies’ first hats. We get angry when you stereotype our children’s choices by gender (boys like play kitchens too, and our girls will always be signed up for sports), and when you overly package things. It makes us crazy when you try to deceive us, by calling something “natural” when it’s really packed with high-fructose corn syrup and artificial coloring, or by selling us an “economy” size whose unit price is higher than the regular size.

We’re loyal, but we’re highly critical; we do read the Wall Street Journal and listen to NPR. We want our children to learn our values but we’ll never force anything on them. We know what you’re trying to do here, with this profile of us and all; so do it with care.