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Jul 6

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7/6 Creativity Challenge and New Prompt

Some wonderful Fourth of July entries!  I think the one that will all take our breath away is the beautiful poem and accompanying photo from our lovely Miranda Helin Hersey, below.

Independence Day

On Friday morning, July the third
Liam nursed for the last time.
I did not know in the moment,
and so I did not say goodbye
to my little nursling
and the many years of my life
— six? —
that I have spent nursing my five children.
I did not imprint the memory, did not
photograph the image behind my eyes
the feel of him in my arms, the scent of his
warm hair against my arm and the pillow,
the pale blue sheets.
It was just another morning.

But that was three days ago.
I was ready, I thought.
And he was ready, for the most part.
But now that it has ended
(he isn’t asking, and
doesn’t seem to mind)
I find myself awash in grief
as if I have lost something,
or someone.

A part of my life has ended
as it should, naturally —
there is no more giving of new life,
sustaining that life, inside and out.
My body is mine now, forever.
No more sharing.

This strange milestone hits me
hard, and I reach for Liam,
burying my nose in his soft hair,
trying to remember.

miranda babyboy

From Cathy Coley: Baby C spent the morning of July 4th out harvesting beans and tomatoes.

Chloe '09 4th of July 004

From me (Kelly) : More in the mood for small-town goodness than big city traffic, we went to Fernandina Beach for the July 4th festivities…..parade, band and chorale, and fireworks. I had all intentions of capturing some great photos until I reached to capture a shot of the funky painted van outside the Green Turtle only to realize my camera card was still stuck in my computer at home.  Sigh…  I actually took this festive picture on another recent patriotic day: Memorial Day.  She’s a grand old flag.

kelly-glory

This week’s prompt: “ethereal”
Use the prompt however you like – literally, or a tangential theme. All media are welcome. Please e-mail your entries to creativereality@live.com by midnight eastern time on Sunday, July 12, 2009. Writers should include their submission directly in the body text of their e-mail. Visual artists and photographers should attach an image of their work as a jpeg. Enter as often as you like; multiple submissions for a single prompt are welcome. There is no limit to how many times you can win the weekly challenge, either. (You do not have to be a contributor to this blog in order to enter. All are invited to participate.) All submissions are acknowledged when received; if you do not receive e-mail confirmation of receipt within 48 hours, please post a comment here. Remember, the point is to stimulate your output, not to create a masterpiece. Keep the bar low and see what happens. Dusting off work you created previously is OK too. For more info, read the original contest blog post.

Jul 6

4 Comments

Brittany: Early Work

The other day I was going through some old boxes, when I found these:

britttany

I have no idea how old I was when I made these, but it was probably during elementary school. I would guess second or third grade. During that time, my great-grandmother babysat me in the afternoons after school. She spent her afternoons sewing, and often I joined her. I always loved dollmaking, and Mama (pronounced mamaw) gave me full reign over her fabric scraps, yarns, buttons, etc.

Sometimes, I would make the doll pattern, cut out the fabric, and sew the doll together myself. Other times, she helped. I’m sure she embroidered the face on the pink doll, and probably helped me make her long-lost clothes as well. I’m pretty certain I made the sock Pickaninny on my own, probably inspired by the episodes of Our Gang I watched with my grandmother. I made dozens and dozens of dolls with my great-grandmother.  I can still hear her voice in my head right now. “Honey, you just use whatever… You do whatever you want.”

It was around this time that I started writing, too. I’ve enjoyed books my entire life, and in second grade it dawned on me that I could write books for myself. I remember cutting out pictures from a magazine, pasting them to construction paper, and then writing a simple story (having to do with Mary’s little lamb) to fit the pictures. In third grade, a reporter from the Asheville Citizen Times came to speak to my class about being a journalist and writing for a living. I thought to myself, “You can get paid for this stuff???” and remember knowing, with complete certainty, that writing was what I’d been born to do.

When I was eight or nine, it seemed like the grown-up thing to do to know my own mind. But now that I’m an adult, I marvel at my elementary-aged self, and my ability to zero in so early on two of the three creative pursuits that would bring me most joy.  (At eighteen, I discovered embroidery.)

I look at my boys in wonder as their interests begin to unravel. John is extremely tactile and loves to manipulate small objects. Sam loves nature–waterfalls, rain, trees, animals, insects. He loves trains. He loves music and dancing. He has plenty of time to discover his passion in life, but I try to encourage him whenever he finds a new love. I know how important a little encouragement was to me and how it has sustained me all my life. I hope I can do the same for my children.

Jul 3

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Kelly: The Purple Cottage

“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we might oft win, by fearing to attempt.”
–William Shakespeare

That quote is included in a gift book sitting on my desk called “The Strangest Secret,” by Earl Nightingale. Nightingale talks about the very same message shared in the book “The Secret,” but here’s the kicker:  Nightingale wrote his message in 1956.  I’ve had the book on my desk since my friend Ken Whitener gave it to me, but I must admit today was the first day I really looked at it. Ken used the book as the background for a leadership program he’s presented for me several times. Nightingale’s basic premise and his “strangest secret”? We become what we think about.

I’ve kept the book on my desk not necessarily for the subject matter but more for a reminder of the person who gave it to me. Ken and I worked together on programs ever since I started with the college, and he became more than just a guest speaker for me; he became a dear friend, a dear friend who passed away suddenly of a heart attack just a few weeks after he gave me the book earlier this year. Ken did live his life becoming what he thought about.  Whether he was presenting one of his leadership programs or his stock and trade comedy hypnotist shows, he exuded confidence and self-fulfillment and always had the same message: “YOU CAN DO IT!”  I can still hear him say it. (I just pulled up his website and saw that it’s still active; it was nice to see his smiling face.)

I can’t say it all started 15 years ago, but maybe it was just further cemented 15 years ago. I started working in Student Life in January of 1994. That fall, my supervisor at the time facilitated a college-wide retreat of our area. B.J. is a creative type herself, so I knew we were off to a good start. As part of the retreat, she gave us all big sheets of paper and put a pile of markers and crayons in the center of the table. Our instructions: draw your dream. She gave no further instruction; it could be a personal dream, a work dream, whatever you wanted to share. It was really done more as a group get-to-know-you activity rather than a departmental goal activity. Took me no time at all to get started because I already knew exactly what I wanted. I drew a funky little purple cottage with the name “The Happy Shack” emblazoned across the front. I remember the exact set up of the room and exactly where I was at the table. I even remember what I was wearing and how I did my hair that day. Fifteen years ago. I was reminded of that through an e-mail conversation I had with Miranda this week about the stressful time I’ve been having at work the past two weeks (she’s damn good at making you focus on your dreams, in case you haven’t already figured that out :-)).

Though many people consider my house to be the proverbial “Happy Shack,” and I guess in some ways it is, it’s not the Happy Shack I envision in my dream. That Happy Shack is a funky little art gallery/studio, filled with my creations and the creations of other creative souls. It’s a place where those creative souls come together and share their creativity, whether it’s teaching skills or swapping stories or just creating art together. Over the years it’s had a bed and breakfast attached to it at times, and my DH particularly likes that part of the dream. And it has lots of furry friends…dogs, cats, maybe even a chirpy little canary named Ladybird Lulu. But whatever manifestation it’s taken, it’s always been purple.

While the family and I were in St. George Island for our vacation, we visited the island art gallery, called the Sea Oats Gallery. Guess what was right next door to the Sea Oats gallery…a little cottage, once called the Book Nook, but now out of business. The sign on the door said, “Out of Business. Retired!” Guess what color that little cottage was. Yep, purple. It was surrounded by a bunch of stray cats, including a black and white one which was particularly friendly. Serendipity? A little reminder of a dream? The little yellow and orange flowers peeking up around the front porch certainly seemed to be saying so.

So what am I to learn from this? It definitely has been an incredibly stressful time at work, and as I’ve shared with you here before, I’ve been looking at different options here and there for quite some time now. Is it time to make a change? Yep, I do agree that it’s definitely time to make a change, yet in the short run I’m hopeful that change involves just a change in position, my first preference being a new position soon to be advertised at the college, still in Student Affairs but a little broader reaching than just Student Life. I’d love the opportunity to give it a shot because I think I’d enjoy the challenge that comes with a newly created position. Keep your fingers crossed for me. But in the long run…I keep going back to that little purple cottage, maybe with a bed and breakfast attached, and a chirpy canary named Ladybird Lulu…being circled by a friendly little black and white cat…who is great pals with a big goofy brown dog. It’s in a quaint little town that people like to visit for the sheer charm of it. It’s near the water, since along with art, water is what feeds my soul. And it’s a happy place, a happy little shack. It’ll happen. Maybe five or ten years down the road, but it’ll happen. Thanks, Ken. I CAN do it. I will become what I think about.

“Live this new way and the floodgates of abundance will open and pour over you more riches than you may have dreamed existed. Money? Yes, lots of it. But what’s more important, you’ll have peace…you’ll be in that wonderful minority who lead calm, cheerful successful lives…you have nothing to lose—but you have a whole life to win.” –Earl Nightingale

Jun 30

13 Comments

Cathy: Ugh – on a stick

I just spent all morning and some of last night working on a post for the blog that when I went to copy and paste from my Word doc, disappeared completely. This is just an example of the weirdness that happens when i am around computers, or pretty much anything that uses an electro-magnetic field. I was able to go back and find an earlier version of the document that contained approximately half of the unduplicatable post which was about the writing process in progress, as it unfolded. So following is what is still available of all the work I put into the piece . Please note that while I am completely and utterly miffed about all the work lost, I am please that I seem to have the basis of a story including background notes on all characters involved for a future short story, that I hope to keep the engine running on this week and finish a draft of. also please note that Laura is already not Laura but Deirdre, called Dee. and the girl’s name is Dahlia.

What’s in a name

When I write fiction, most of the fun I have is in naming characters. Many times, the story unfolds from the name. Enough time has passed, while I wait for readers to get back to me with their critical thoughts of my children’s novel manuscript, I feel names and characters growing in the back of my mind and wanting to push through to the front and onto paper. I also have a big baby names book which I use in referencing names to be sure I have the right character in the name’s origins and meanings as I want to convey in the character. Names are funny things though, and while a name has a particular etymological meaning, it also has a cultural and personal meaning. An Elizabeth is a ‘gift from God” a Betty, nickname derived from Elizabeth, however is a friendly outgoing older woman, grandma or not. Elizabeth is old fashioned, Libby is sweet, or a can of vegetables. Beth is straightforward or a KISS ballad, Liz is forthcoming, Eliza, artistic, Lizzie might be spastic, or at least energetic and makes me think of the old band, Thin Lizzy. Elizabeth can be dignified or snotty or shy, depending upon associations the public has or personally people I’ve known. Growing up when I did, there were many, and typically they weren’t all alike. But Elizabeth is a special kind of name, so prevalent and so many derivations and nicknames that it becomes very individual depending upon the person bearing it.. So, to start this blog, Elizabeth may not be the best example.

Let’s start from another angle. I have my big fat baby name book out. I have an idea: a boy, a girl, a young woman, an old man and a room. The room is in the grandfather’s house and contains a tatty old sofa, dim amber light emanates from a dark lampshade. There’s a dark window, so it’s night. Otherwise, I have to come up with names to fill in who they are, why they are sitting there and what is the crux of the situation, the story comes from there. but first I need names.

Let’s start with the boy. I flip open my big fat book to the back half, where the boys’ names are, and land in E. I don’t feel Edward, first E name that pops to mind when I notice I’m in E. I look down, peruse a little, nothing makes me pause until I hit Etienne. French name for Stephen which means ‘crowned’. This to me gives a sense of privilege, and maybe a bit of a delicate nature for being privileged, sheltered, and he’s probably blond. Well that doesn’t really fit with the tatty old sofa of the grandfather. What’s the least Etienne name I can think of off the top of my head? Walter comes to mind. Look it up: two origins: from German it means ‘army ruler, general’; from English it means ‘woodsman’ – both very strong meanings a general, a man wielding an axe, but Walter has a cultural connotation probably largely from the Walter Mitty character from James Thurber’s story of the imaginative but put-upon unsuccessful guy. Walter has a bit of a comical appeal, but a bit of sadness attached to it. Maybe the kid is named after his grandfather, as it’s a traditional, older name. You don’t hear Walter in kids much these days when so many Aidens, Michaels, Ethans abound. Although Michael is a perennial much like Elizabeth. But I’m getting offtrack.

So the boy’s name is Walter, and now apparently, so is the grandfather, but we’ll call him Walt, he’s a good old guy, probably fought in World War II or Korea. If that’s the case, then I don’t think our young Walter is very young, as more likely his grandfather would have fought in Vietnam, but then, I’m back to Walter is an older name than that generation, so Walter is a later in life grandson to Walt, born to a youngest child of his, later in her life. Aha. Now we have the youngish woman, Walt’s daughter, or daughter-in-law. HHmmm. Ok not there yet. Sorry about al the background, but this is really how I go about knowing what’s happening with this particularly set of characters. Okay, I’m starting to see, a single scene situation developing here, not really a novel, probably a short story, could be a play. Leaning toward short story. Are they gathered in grief? Okay, back to the names, that’ll give me a little more to go on. So the woman, well she’s a bit younger than I am, and maybe Walter is about my son K’s age, or a little younger. Okay he’s 12. Closer to my son S’s age. That seems to fit. So if she’s a little younger than me, but her father, okay, it’s developing, that she is Walt’s daughter, not daughter-in-law, then she wouldn’t likely be one of the overly popular names of my generation like mine, Cathy/Kathy, Debbie, Suzy, Laurie, there was a fixation on cutifying names when I was coming up, but wait, I think she could be a Laura. OK, consult book:

and after posting it then going through a final read through, i realized i had a lot of other editing in there than what you see above. like connotations of Eliza Doolittle from My fair Lady, some grammar corrections, better clarifications…

Jun 29

2 Comments

6/29 Weekly Creativity Challenge and New Prompt

Two steamed-up entries for your palate this week.  Miranda enjoyed a great night of cooking while Kelly salvaged a photographic moment.  Welcome back to the challenge, Miranda!  We’ve missed you!

csca_class

Cambridge on a Sunday Evening

Tonight I cooked with a group of strangers.
At first we were stiff and unknowing, with each other and with the kitchen.
Then we settled at our cutting boards.
We peeled and chopped and diced.
We sauteed, roasted, and boiled.
We blended.
We dipped hot pans in ice baths.
Fresh lasagna noodles in fat yellowy ribbons through the pasta maker.
Oh, my new knife skills!
I love the apron, a fresh kitchen towel folded at my waist.
How have I cooked for so long without the proper uniform?
The mise en place enchants me;
the ramekins filled with color and order and potential.
There is, I see, a calm rhythm in food preparation done right,
not my usual frenetic scramble.
We plated and admired.
We ate and talked and became old friends.
And I walked away from the whole mess, not a dish to consider!
Ah, culinary luxury.
Tomorrow I will order an apron and claim my own kitchen anew.
Although next time, I won’t escape the dishes.

From me (Kelly): On our recent St. George Island vacation, we found a little path that led to a secluded bayside beach right at the end of our cross street.  When we first went out there, I noticed it was the ideal spot to catch a spectacular photo of the sun setting over the bridge from the mainland, so I planned to come back out there that evening to catch the sunset.  First night…cloudy and hazy from the heat.  Second night…hazy from the heat.  Third night…hazy from the heat.  But while I was waiting for a break in the haze, I looked down and saw how the setting sun was shining light on the gem of the area…the lowly oyster.  Ninety percent of the oysters consumed in the state of Florida, many of them steamed, come from the bay I was facing.  I’d say they deserve a photo op!

Florida Gems Apalachee Jewel 2-FLK

This week’s prompt: “The Fourth of July”
Use the prompt however you like – literally, or a tangential theme. All media are welcome. Please e-mail your entries to creativereality@live.com by midnight eastern time on Sunday, July 5, 2009. Writers should include their submission directly in the body text of their e-mail. Visual artists and photographers should attach an image of their work as a jpeg. Enter as often as you like; multiple submissions for a single prompt are welcome. There is no limit to how many times you can win the weekly challenge, either. (You do not have to be a contributor to this blog in order to enter. All are invited to participate.) All submissions are acknowledged when received; if you do not receive e-mail confirmation of receipt within 48 hours, please post a comment here. Remember, the point is to stimulate your output, not to create a masterpiece. Keep the bar low and see what happens. Dusting off work you created previously is OK too. For more info, read the original contest blog post.

Jun 25

2 Comments

Kelly: The Lottery of Life…

stgeorge girlsCross posted from my personal blog…

Today was “one of those days”, as the saying goes. I’ve most certainly had better. Just dealing with some unpleasant issues on the job…changes and challenges involved with our institutional shift.  Before I headed home, I summed up my day by changing my Facebook status to “Kelly has yet to win the lottery…”  My friend Wyanne must have been online right at that moment because she immediately commented, “You already won the lottery of life…”  Thank you, my dear friend. I needed that little reminder.

When I got home, Wyanne’s wonderful Universe backed up her comment.  The minute I walked in the door, Livvie was sitting on the couch and said, “Mama, where’s your new charm?” This morning I pulled my new anniversary charm out of its pretty little heart-shaped box and showed it to her before I placed the charm and my bracelet in my purse to get it soldered today.  It was that very box she was holding, and she asked me if she could have it.  “Look inside!” she said, “Sarah gave me a present!”  Inside were a few coins and a heart-shaped bead, so I told her how nice that was of Sarah and that, yes, certainly she could have the box.  She gave me a big Livvie hug like only little Livvie can do.

Then Sarah whispered at me from the stairs and asked me to come up stairs.  She grabbed my hand and walked me into the guest room (where we keep all the wrapping supplies) and, still whispering, said, “Shhh….I’m wrapping more presents for Livvie.”  On the floor were the shoe boxes from their new shoes Granddad bought them this weekend.  Inside one shoe box were a Barbie and a few pieces of paper she had colored; inside the other were a sweater and her ladybug backpack.  Yet still whispering, she asked me to help her wrap them. “But I need some tape and some scissors. Can you find me some?” I told her I’d run downstairs and get her some and she said, “Okay, but come right back and don’t tell Livvie.”  When I came back up with the tape and scissors, she started trying to wrap the boxes, then looked to me for help when she struggled.  “Mama, I want to put one of those sparkly bows on each one, but I can’t open the box [they are stored in]. Can you help me?”  I helped her open the box and she picked out two bows, one sparkly red and one sparkly green, and taped them to the presents.

She wanted to put the presents in a gift bag so we walked over to the closet to pick one out.  Now, this closet is the very closet in which I stored Bunny C.  I’ve told you about Bunny and Sister Bunny, so Bunny C is the third backup I found and stored away, only to be found by Sarah when I wasn’t looking.  She named this one Fluffy because, being brand new, obviously she was rather fluffy!  And at the moment, Fluffy was not in her special place in the special closet.

“Sarah, did you take Fluffy out again?”  I previously told her that Fluffy really wanted to live there until she really, really needed her, like when, *gasp*, Bunny and Sister Bunny both got lost or got so threadbare she couldn’t carry them around anymore.  “Yes, Mama,” still whispering.  “Well, do you know where she is?”  “Um, no, Mama, I really can’t remember right now [trying to distract me]…I think Livvie would like this bag,” she said as she picked out a big blue one with snowflakes. Then she put the presents in the bag and took them down to Livvie, who happily opened them up and, snuggling up to her sister, asked Sarah if she wanted to watch Hannah Montana with her.

Thank you, Lord, for bringing me another one of life’s little moments to keep me on the right path and remind me that I have, in fact, won the lottery of life.

Jun 24

6 Comments

Spotlight on Sarah Madsen

4087_90117mSarah Madsen, Facebook friend of Creative Construction, is a busy mother of four living in Nevada. Sarah is a prolific artist attracted to a range of different media. She finds much satisfaction in drawing from — literally — her vantage point as a mother. From Sarah’s profile on her blog, Arty Moments:

“This [blog] is a insight to a chaotic (ME) artist. I say chaotic because in a sense I seem to go in a million different artistic directions and I’m sure I’m chasing art not as constructively as I should be…However 🙂 This might (I say might because I know deep down, it’s indicative to my nature too!) be my reasons why this occurs… I’m a Mum to 4 busy and happy critters, 4, 6, 8, 10 years old. So with that, comes the balancing act between motherhood and creativity (and of course the odd freelance work). I’ve been drawing painting since I could hold a pencil and I remember drawing, many a night when supposedly asleep in bed. At the blank pages of old books (remember they always had a few blank pages in the beginning?) My get away moments are to draw from life and usually end up in a coffee shop/bars. So one day I would love to be a traveling artist…sketching people in various parts of the world. For now I mix up my love of jewellery and painting. Want to make tiaras, fine precious enamelled pendants, brooches, etc.”

4087_252732mThat chatty blurb gives us the behind-the-scenes look; here’s Sarah’s more formal introduction:

English artist Sarah Elizabeth Madsen attended Central Saint Martins School of Art & Design in London, England. There she gained a BA Hons degree in jewelery design.This interest in 3-D design was quite a different direction from her first love of fine art. The desire to follow figurative art has been constant theme throughout her life as an artist. In 1992 the young artist received a travel bursary from the Royal Society of British Sculptors on a medal design. She has also exhibited at various locations such as the Mall Galleries in London, Silvermine Art Center in Connecticut, and also at Steven Whyte Figurative Sculpture Studio in Carmel, California.

Sarah notes:

4087_121719m“I tend to work quickly with concentration to put the essence onto paper. Portrait drawing from life for me is an absolute challenge. The amount of expressions, gestures, moods, habits, and interaction that people show is incredibly complex. The studies of babies  and children are from constant observation of my own children. This definitely creates its own demands as children rarely remain still. Fortunately this pushes me to just grasp quickly the essentials and not to overdo a drawing. The interest in fine handmade jewelery/medal and enameling stems again from my love of observation (though currently somewhat on hold at present time). So one day hope to produce tiaras, fine gem rings, and necklaces though these would be more towards art/sculpture pieces than mainstream jewelery. The direction I take is organic and figurative in nature. Always to create a ‘living feeling.’ Whether it is a gold-forged wire curling around the nape of the neck, through to a few chosen marks onto canvas or paper.”

Sarah, you’re an inspiration! You can see more of Sarah’s fine art at her art site.

Jun 22

1 Comment

6/22 Weekly Creativity Challenge and New Prompt

Just my own (Kelly Warren) entry this week for our “summer vacation” prompt. Everyone else must be off enjoying their own summer vacation!  Here’s a quick little ditty I wrote to accompany a photo I took on our vacation last week to St. George Island. 

Sand dollar hunts and golf cart rides,
Lighthouse climbs and chasing tides,
Living in the moment to savor the feeling,
Of oyster shucking and boiled shrimp peeling,
Forgetting the hassles, the chores and the bills
To cherish a vacation and the cheap little thrills 
Only found in the summer with sand between your toes
And ice cream on your nose and salt air in your clothes.
Who knows the joys you’ll find when you just let go and soar?   

 bubbly toes

This week’s prompt: “Steaming”
Use the prompt however you like – literally, or a tangential theme. All media are welcome. Please e-mail your entries to creativereality@live.com by midnight eastern time on Sunday, June 28, 2009. Writers should include their submission directly in the body text of their e-mail. Visual artists and photographers should attach an image of their work as a jpeg. Enter as often as you like; multiple submissions for a single prompt are welcome. There is no limit to how many times you can win the weekly challenge, either. (You do not have to be a contributor to this blog in order to enter. All are invited to participate.) All submissions are acknowledged when received; if you do not receive e-mail confirmation of receipt within 48 hours, please post a comment here. Remember, the point is to stimulate your output, not to create a masterpiece. Keep the bar low and see what happens. Dusting off work you created previously is OK too. For more info, read the original contest blog post.

Jun 22

3 Comments

Dee Thompson’s new book!

Dee Thompson, who posted at this blog last year, published her nonfiction book this month. What follows is Dee’s press release. You can read more at Dee’s blog, or order her book on amazon. Congratulations, Dee!

Adopting Alesia:
My Crusade for My Russian Daughter
Release Date: June 1, 2009
Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing
$15.00

I never dreamed I would find my child on the other side of the world.

A few years ago, I was single and childless, and 40 years old. I had spent 20 years searching for Mr. Right and he was nowhere to be found.

Longing for a change of pace and some adventure, I went to Russia to sing Handel’s Messiah, in a remote town on the edge of Siberia. There I met a little girl in an orphanage and I knew she was my daughter. I had seen her in a dream the night before. I had never even considered adopting an older Russian child, but from the moment I first saw her, I knew in my heart that Alesia was my daughter, and no matter what it took, I was going to bring her home.

When I returned to the US, my adoption dream hit brick wall after brick wall. My company laid me off. I had to break up with a boyfriend who didn’t want children. I found out the orphanage director didn’t like Americans and wouldn’t even talk to the adoption agency. Alesia wasn’t even available to adopt. The agency told me over and over to choose a different child. I didn’t have the money I needed to complete the adoption. I started another romance that failed. At times I thought I was going crazy.

Many people told me I was crazy to adopt. The child I had thought was about 8, because she was so emaciated, turned out to be 11. I persevered. When I finally got her home, she was 13 years old.

Through it all, I read everything I could about adoption, learned to speak Russian, cried a lot, and wrote in my journal. I later spent many late nights turning that journal into a book.

Adopting Alesia is a book about a dream, a miracle, and two people who were meant to be a family, despite everything. Adopting Alesia is not merely an adoption story. It’s a story for anyone who has ever had to learn to be brave, fought to follow a dream, or found faith in the darkest of times. It’s a story of a little girl who didn’t even know the word “adoption.” It’s a story about love.

Dee Thompson is an Atlanta writer. Her first book was Jack’s New Family, a children’s book. She holds an MA in creative writing from the University of Tennesee, and writes articles, screenplays, and a popular blog, The Crab Chronicles. She can be contacted at thompsondee@bellsouth.net.

Jun 19

5 Comments

Breakfast with Thea

I know you’ve all been having hunger pains, what with so many weeks elapsing since our last Breakfast installment — so you’re sure to enjoy meeting Thea Izzi, jewelry designer, blogger, and single mother. Thea is a dear old friend of mine from high school, and she recently moved from San Fransisco back to the Boston area. She sent me her interview responses more than two months ago and I’ve been totally delinquent in posting. (Thea is too modest to note in her interview that she earned her BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design and won a Fulbright to study jewelry making in Italy, so I’ll do that for her.) Enjoy!

tniCC: Please give us an intro to who you are, what you do, and your family headcount.
TI: My name is Thea Izzi and I’m a jewelry designer, artist, and metalsmith. I am a single mother of one beautiful 2.5-year-old boy named Edan. We just moved to the Boston area from the SF Bay Area a few weeks ago!

CC: Tell us about your jewelry design and how your work has evolved. Any other creative pursuits?
TI: It’s always difficult to answer this question because I feel so often that my work and ideas come out of nowhere. My inspiration comes from basic geometric shapes in nature and architecture and repeated patterns. It’s what feels good to me. My process is about playing and discovering new ways of engineering or putting together interesting parts in a simple yet aesthetically pleasing way. What is produced tends to mirror a much deeper connection to rhythm, balance, and feminine energy. Usually it is someone else who is drawn to the force of energy around a certain design and points it out before I notice it as more than just a really nice thing to wear. Even though I would like to explore making work that is deliberate in expressing my deeper connection to and interest in what I would describe as the divine feminine archetype, my work of late has been jewelry that’s purely for fun and fashion and affordability. That has been both from necessity and desire to work with new materials (rubber). The outcome is a body of work that could be described as “urban tribal,” which I guess, does, in its own way reflect a modern feminine (and masculine) archetype idea.

EarthtonesPinCC: Making a living from fulltime creativity obviously adds a huge amount of pressure to your creative life. Do you love what you do, even though it’s your “job”?
TI: That’s a great question to ask me right at this moment because I have now been studio-less for two weeks and my business is essentially shut down until I find a place to set up again. I am at once relieved to not be under so much pressure but also missing my time at the bench, which I have not had for a few months because of all that it took to move.

So the short answer is YES, I love what I do and having a job based in creativity is essential to my well-being but the stress of running a business has stunted my creative growth and motivation. I am now searching for a better way to make a living as I restructure my life; work and home. It may mean working for someone else for awhile or getting a job at a company as a designer but that will likely be temporary because what I do is who I am…an artist and my purpose in this life is clearly to create and express through artistic mediums.

Singing and dancing feed my need for self-expression as well as making jewelry. They are the other great talents I was born with.

CC: What prompted you to start a blog? What keeps you going?
TI: My blog is a new addition to my web 2.0 networking efforts! I resisted for a long while as journal writing in general has always been an uphill challenge for me—but I have found blog writing surprisingly rewarding and easy. The most difficult part is making time to do it. My motivation is definitely rooted in “business marketing and branding” but my approach has been to be real and honest about who I am and what is happening in my life. This helps ME to be clear about my goals and identity. It also draws in would-be customers because they have a “story” about me, the artist. That is SO important in marketing handmade art.

Thea@bench2CC: You’re in the process of moving right now, but tell us about your studio in SF. What will you be looking for in your new creative space?
TI: As I write this I am in the process of searching for a studio space. While without one I am deeply appreciating the one that I had and realize how much it feeds my identity. No surprisingly because it represents MY space. No part of my living space now or in CA belongs anymore to just me. It is all shared with my sweet 2.5-year-old roommate!

What I am looking for as I search is as much space and light as possible. I like an uncluttered environment as well. I would like to be in a building with other working artists as this is something I was missing in my last situation. I like working alone but that can easily turn in to isolation if there are no opportunities for socializing. I think having other artists around would especially good for me being a “newbie” in town.

CC: Now that you’re shifting your work life, will you still maintain a schedule for your creative work?
TI: In short, yes. I did not plan it as scheduled creative time but I took advantage of the spring season of classes starting at RISD and signed up for Adobe Illustrator to improve my computer-aided jewelry design skills. Now I HAVE to schedule time for the homework which I am finding to be very satisfying creative work. It also seems that the prospect of making income from creating my own jewelry is still BETTER than that of getting a “job” so as soon as I find the studio…creative work begins again. Will I be able to schedule it? Maybe not but the Universe’s plan for me clearly includes being creative no matter what else I try to plan.

Rubber O- RingsCC: How has motherhood changed you creatively?
TI: Hmm. Not sure, at first thought. I think more about what I could design or create for children. My son particularly likes my new rubber jewelry with magnetic clasps. He has showed me how well the entire collection looks attached to the refrigerator. I guess I think creatively in terms of what is FUN.

CC: From my own experience, being a single parent can sometimes magnify the challenges of being a creative mother. What are your challenges in being a single mother as well as an artist? What are the advantages?
TI: Challenges: Sigh. The selfish part of that answer is that I have almost no time left for myself right now. That’s why this has taken so long to get to you, M! It’s been stuck at the bottom of the priority list. I pulled it up this morning out of sheer frustration that NOTHING on the to-do list today looked any fun at all.

One HUGE and direct example of my daily challenges right now is that I am, as a single mother with no child support, eligible for financial assistance from the fed/state government for child care, health care, and more but as a self-employed person I must prove my income (or lack thereof) and work schedule in several different formats which is exhausting and time consuming. I then have to reprove it 2-4 times a year depending on the program. Some of the vital documents I need are in a box on a truck due to arrive in weeks. Sigh again.

CIMG5815Advantages: Let me get back to you in a few years on that. Hopefully my son will learn that it is possible to be successful doing something he loves. Hopefully he will see me being HAPPY doing something I love. I think he gets that dancing pretty much makes me ecstatic and that I love to sing and that I make some cool stuff you can wrap around your wrist or put over your head but I don’t know yet how he integrates that information.

CC: Where do you find inspiration?
TI: Architecture, patterns, flowers, electronic music, and mostly by playing and experimenting with existing “parts” on my bench.

CC: The West Coast seems to place a lot of emphasis on the mind-body connection. What are your own feelings about how physicality influences creativity?
TI: I 100% agree with the mind-body connection theory. I am most alive, free, and pregnant with ideas and the most aware of my intuition when I am regularly dancing and moving my body.

CC: What are your top 5 favorite blogs?
TI: Oy. I really just started the public blog thing. I don’t know too many but so far I enjoy reading Lydia Kirtchthurn’s blog Lydia Oh Lydia.

CC: What is your greatest indulgence?
TI: Hot springs… natural outdoor CALIFORNIA hot springs. I am going to cry now. Well, hand me a fresh warm croissant and I’ll be OK.

CC: What are you reading right now?
TI: Ha ha ha! Read? We are currently reading anything by Eric Carle. I would LIKE TO BE reading Michael Pollan, Eckhart Tolle and more….mostly non-fiction subjects on human potential and our evolution to a new paradigm.

IMG_2615CC: What advice would you offer to other mothers struggling to find the time and means to be more creative?
TI: Don’t give up on being a creative person. Listen to your intuition not what other people have to say about what you “should” be doing now that you are a mother. If nothing else there is always time to DANCE and BREATHE! The rest will follow.

CC: Thank you, Thea! Please give us an update when you find a moment!

Jun 17

2 Comments

Update: Crafty Mamas

Last week I posted that my friend Jane found sewing inspiration in a Mothering Magazine article on creative mothers. Bored with store-bought offerings, Jane and her daughter spent a rainy Sunday sewing this dress together — and Jane’s daughter hasn’t taken it off since.

jane1

jane2

Mommy time AND a new dress? That is one fashion-satisfied little girl, wouldn’t you say?

Jun 16

2 Comments

Brittany: Bringing Plans to Fruition

I’ve made a couple attempts to write a blog on here recently, and they just didn’t pan out. The last few months have been an odd combination of being at a complete creative standstill while still running 90-miles an hour with my hair on fire. I haven’t had time to breathe, much less blog. Luckily, the creative standstill has passed, and like Bethany, I too have been gifted with the idea for my next novel.

I say “gifted,” because I’m not exactly sure where the idea came from. One minute I was sitting in the car, and the next, it was uncoiling itself in my head, much like a spider spinning a web. This circles around to this, this connects to that. It was amazing and exhilarating, and felt a little bit like being touched by the divine.

I’ve been frustrated with my current novel, How Home Improvement Saved My Marriage, because it’s a little absurdist, and doesn’t really fit into any of the various categories of women’s lit.  The agents and publishers who’ve seen it couldn’t relate to it. But then again, I didn’t write it for them. I wrote it for women like me, who live in the suburbs, shop at Walmart, have never seen a pair of Jimmy Choos in person, and would rather wear a scuffed pair of Keds anyway. The book is like my zaniest mom friend. The one you hope and pray gets a sitter on Bunco night because she’ll fill you in on all the neighborhood gossip and then say something incredibly funny that will make you laugh harder than you have for days. It needs to be out there, dancing on a table with a lampshade on its head, and not collecting dust in my file cabinet. So I decided I’d send it out to one last publisher, and if they didn’t accept it, I was just going to publish the book myself.

Since I’d come to a final decision about my book, my creative brain was a blank slate, so to speak. I was thinking about writing a romance novel (again, just to see if I could do it), and was asking myself what situation might make a good story. I was thinking about the kinds of characters that would interest me, and the image of a girl with hair “the color of a wheat penny” popped into my head. She was a healer/midwife in turn-of-the-20th-century Appalachia, who has her whole way of life turned on its head when a brand new graduate of Harvard Medical School decides to open up his practice on her side of Bear Wallow Mountain. I was trying to think about what big event might bring two antagonists together (because I didn’t have a BIG event in my previous novel), and I suddenly remembered family stories about a terrible flood in the region. And so popped up my new idea.

In 1916, Ivy Lyda (name subject to change) lives on Bear Wallow Mountain and tends to the sick there. Her grandmother was Cherokee and taught her all manner of folk remedies. She’s well respected in her neck of the woods until the arrogant (but intoxicatingly handsome) doctor John Emerson arrives  During the summer, a horrible (hundred-year) flood wrecks havoc in the mountains and forces them to work together even as their lives are put in danger.

By a very odd coincidence, shortly before I was struck with inspiration, I took a time-killing Facebook quiz to learn the name of my Guardian Angel. My result: Uriel.

Uriel is considered one of the wisest Archangels because of his intellectual information, practical solutions and creative insight, but he is very subtle. You may not even realize he has answered your prayer until you’ve suddenly come up with a brilliant new idea. Uriel is the tallest and his eyes can see trough the eternity. All this considered, Uriel’s area of expertise is divine magic, problem solving, spiritual understanding, studies, alchemy, weather, earth changes and writing. Considered to be the Archangel who helps with earthquakes, floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, natural disaster and earth changes, call on Uriel to avert such events or to heal and recover in their aftermath.

I hope to get started on the writing soon. I’ve arranged for childcare for the boys Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9-1 until the second week of July. I’m going to take my time outlining and really make the plot as tight as I can first. It will make it that much easier in the fall when I must concentrate my writing into two mornings per week (with invariable interruptions).

It’s exciting to have a plan again.

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