Six Word Memoir

Have you heard about the Six Word Memoirs?  I hadn't either, but apparently Oprah is on to it and as kismet would have it our fearless Beyond Layers class leader, Kim Klassen, happened on to it via Oprah's magazine.  How better to dig deep into ourselves than to tell our story in six words?


There are so many facets to each of us that I could sit and write six word memoirs for some time I think.  However, I'm going to go with the first path my mind took me for this post.  

photo by sister-in-law, Janine Bocciardi, one of my fave people to laugh with!

Just a few more words (lol!)

I remember giggling til I would pee in my pants.

I can still hear that giggle in my head.  

It was a beautiful, wild and carefree sound: pure and free of shame or judgment.  

That giggle stopped in my teenage years.  

I've mourned its loss.

After acceptance and forgiveness, today I laugh with a fresh joy.

Hope is the Dream of a Waking Man

Here's my first week's photo for the 52 week course I'm taking with Kim Klassen called Beyond Layers.  It was a grey rainy day here and I think that must've influenced the shadows of the background.  I couldn't decide which of these I liked better.  The top one I reduced the soft light's opacity by quite a bit.  What do you think?

My Pantone Spring 2012

Love that the colors for Spring 2012 have been announced!  Not because I'm tied to creating in them, but because it means Spring isn't too far away!  So have heart those of you in snow country, it will melt and flowers will bloom.


The fashion and new home decor you'll be seeing in the stores will be drawing from these Pantone colors so if you want to freshen up a neutral outfit you can just add a new piece of jewelry or a pillow or two or a vase in the case of your home to brighten up your space.


Below you'll find pieces in my collection that draw from these new colors.


Tangerine Tango

Poppies and Lavender also brings in the colors of Bellflower and Margarita and there's a tassel on the pendant!

Solar Power

Desert Symbols with some Tangerine Tango!

Sutter Creek - Tiger Eye and peanut Stone

Bellflower

Abby Lonely - includes Cockatoo, too!

Cabaret

Rose Petals - lampwork, kashi pearls

Sodalite Blue

Amitie Pendant with vintage French crystal

Margarita

Wandering Mind - swirling color earrings

Sweet Lilac

Spring has Sprung necklace - Vicki Lee lampwork, Peruvian Opal, Amazonite, Crystals

Cockatoo

Just a Drop pendant - chalcedony and sweet pearls

Bubbly Sea - lampwork and anodized aluminum

Driftwood

Forest Nap necklace

Starfish

Acorn Earrings for evening - lampwork from Lisa Niven Kelly, sterling silver and chocolate pearls

Shopping for One's Sweetheart

Jewelry is always the right gift for the women and girls in your life.  

Spring Thaw (Ocean Jasper, Freshwater Pearls, Swarovski crystals)

My husband used to think it was the gift of last resort, when you couldn't think of anything else to get.  I looked at him dumbfounded when he said that's what guys think!  I set him straight and over time I think he's seen how jewelry has the special gift of holding memories.  It might be a special birthday, the giver or some other special moment in one's life.  Or it might be jewelry that was handed down to you from a special Aunt or through inheritance.

Valentine's Day is less than a month away and an opportunity for sweethearts to create a moment.

Seashell Heart necklace (Ocean Jasper and Freshwater Pearls)

Marie Antoinette (Antique Buttons, Vintage Shell and brass chain)

Balloon Skirt (Swarovski crystal, Furnace Glass)

Glowing Embers Earrings (Raku discs, bone and anodized aluminum)

Summer Roses (Coin Pearls, Mother of Pearl)

Happy Valentine's Day to all the Sweethearts and Best Friends out there!

Beyond Layers to Taking a Leap of Faith

What had me committing to a class that's ongoing for 52 weeks?!  


Was it Kim's intro to her new online course Beyond Layers?  Was it my love of Kim Klassen's photos and blog?  Was it her personal "story of me" that had me thinking of the path I walked to get where I am creatively?  Was it me thinking I needed some structure among all the directions my mind wants to take me this year?  Was it me hoping to continue to improve my photos for my blog and albums?


Well, yes!  It was all those things!  I read Kim Klassen's introduction and found myself intrigued and motivated.  52 weeks is a huge commitment.  Especially for me who has gotten used to jumping here and there with my ideas and perhaps short changing my creativity and my self by not delving deeper and experimenting more.


I don't know if Kim will want to offer the class again, as it's a HUGE commitment for her as well.  But in case she does I'm going to be careful what I share, because if you're wanting to take a similar course it's a journey one should take with a qualified instructor.. and that's not me!  


However, I am guessing, guessing mind you, that you'll see my creative life continue and perhaps even take me in new directions.  New directions?  Maybe, but I don't know.  We'll see.  


My personal life this year is going to be very busy so the idea of having some structure and maybe even focusing more on photography when I can't be in my studio sounds doable.

It is very exciting to see SO many folks signed up for this class from around the world.  I'm imagining we are each a bonfire and if you were to look from space you'd see red spots of human energy creating a beautiful pattern of potential!