all stirred up

I stirred up my life a little and now I find myself riding a wave of joy, delight and inspiration. I poked at the embers and now the flames are jumping up lively and strong. I recently gave my notice at the tea shop; I'll be done after Thanksgiving and I couldn't feel better about it. It's hard to express how I evolved there but I'll just say I feel more like myself than ever before. Many of the people who were there with me have become great friends or my chosen family. Miro was exactly where I needed to be for the past four years with exactly the right people, and now I feel I'm moving on at exactly the right time. I can tell because it's propagated this wave of said joy, delight and inspiration.

-- an unrelated photo of my desk after i reorganized it this summer --

The inspiration seems to be bubbling up and leaping out of me in all directions. I get caught singing nonsensically to myself/my cat, I miss drumming terribly, and I want to dance again. A few pals have recently complimented my writing, something I've always equally enjoyed and struggled with. The encouragement has given me new energy for words and has reminded me that writing is in fact a very important part of my process, one I shouldn't neglect. I find myself playing with words in my sketchbook in a lyrical sort of way as well as recording significant if not oddly isolated memories from my youth there. This new excitement in writing has also brought zines back to the forefront of my mind. I always suspected they might be an excellent vessel for my art and I'm beginning to believe it even more. Speaking of zines! Short Run, a small press fest, is happening tomorrow at the Vera Project; over 70 exhibitors will be there with their comics, art books, and zines. I can't wait to check it out and hopefully participate in the future!

I've been listening to a lot of Bikini Kill lately and during a discussion with a friend about what it takes to change the world I brought up Kathleen Hanna and how inspiring she is. Her bold, irreverent and unabashed expression of rage, trauma and sexuality is liberating. I wasn't lucky enough to have her blow my mind during adolescence (I probably couldn't have handled it anyway thanks to some deep denial) but I know she and Bikini Kill freed a lot of young people from such struggles and in doing so changed the world for those people. My friend and I came to the conclusion that becoming someone who changes the world is a journey of millions of small acts rather than a few large ones. It requires only that you be fully dedicated to your own truth and work to live it everyday. I guess I've been re-inspired to change the world by living my truths. That's a pretty big deal.

The subject of living one's truths brings to mind the moments when those truths are met with less than wholehearted support. As a creative thinker I find myself believing in, coming up with and expressing unconventional ideas. There are many words that can sit in place of unconventional here: radical, imaginative, revolutionary, brilliant, crack-pot, hair-brained, far-out, wild or outlandish all apply at some point or another. Not that I'm any kind of genius (not even close!), it's just that I can entertain, enjoy and learn from far-out ideas without being threatened by them or wholly losing my grasp of logic and reality. Still, I know what it's like to have my thoughts and ideas make someone uncomfortable; it's not terribly unusual for me to experience dismissal or criticism for expressing something challenging or weird.

The thing is, we'd never evolve or make progress without outlandish creative ideas. I would much rather be someone who works to direct the energy of their wild ideas into something productive and practical than try to breath a skoosh of life into a dead wet noodle of an idea. One of my instructors at AIS said something during critique that was the most valuable thing I ever heard come out of her mouth. I don't remember it verbatim, but she said to always work with the ideas that have the most possibility even if they seem impractical at first since it's easier to reign in a good idea than improve a bad one. Oh! I think her words were "you can't put frosting on shit." (Sigrid Cannon, ladies and gentlemen!) Anyway, my point is all ideas must at least be entertained, otherwise we condition ourselves out of creative thinking and spontaneous expression.

I'm just so enthusiastic right now, it's getting all over the place. Thanks for sticking with the stream-of-consciousness / loosely-related-themes in today's post. To finish up I'd like to express my extreme gratitude for all the beautiful, talented, loving people I find myself surrounded by. (That's YOU!) Also, lets all live our truths and change the world! :D

pinning

Not too long ago I started using Pinterest to collect images and inspiration I find during my daily regiment of internet-time-wasting. I'm quite pleased with it so far. I keep my usage pretty basic by just saving all my "pins" on one board instead of sorting them into multiple categories, I don't pin enough to require much strict organization. Plus, I like seeing these images that speak to me so loud and clear all together - it's easier to get a sense of how they relate to one another and to me. It's sort of like getting a glimpse into the mush that is my brain during a particularly creative or day-dreamy moment. Here's a peak at my pin-board:

You can see my full board here, or click the link near the top of the right hand column over there ➹. If you often come across images you're loath to see slip back into the internet abyss, or if you just have a collector's nature I totally recommend it. So far it works perfectly for its intended purpose and doesn't have the weird social-network vortex effect of sites like Twitter and Facebook. Odd that a site for collecting (hoarding?) images is the only one that doesn't make me feel like an addict.

the tao of broken

If you want to become whole,
first let yourself become broken.
If you want to become straight,
first let yourself become twisted.
If you want to become full,
first let yourself become empty.
If you want to become new,
first let yourself become old.
Those whose desires are few get them,
those whose desires are great go astray.

For this reason the Master embraces the Tao,
as an example for the world to follow.
Because she isn't self centered,
people can see the light in her.
Because she does not boast of herself,
she becomes a shining example.

Because she does not glorify herself,
she becomes a person of merit.
Because she wants nothing from the world,
the world can not overcome her.

When the ancient Masters said,
"If you want to become whole,
then first let yourself be broken,"
they weren't using empty words.
All who do this will be made complete.

This chapter of the Tao te Ching came up in my Twitter feed today thanks to Daily Tao Te Ching. It looks like many minds are pondering upon the same questions. Am I broken? Am I whole? Which should I be? Am I both? My good friend Capri also introduced me to the Hindu goddess Akhilandeshvari -- girl's got that shit down!

the original source of this image escapes me

zen on the beach

I don't want to admit it, but it seems true summer days are gonna be rare again this year. On Monday I seized a beautiful opportunity and biked to Golden Gardens after work.

It was a warm sandy glorious sunbathing time. And I had one helluva Zen moment with an oyster shell! Let's do it again summer!

crabsession

I've got a real thing for crabs right now. Is a problem?

I think not.

earthporn

a handful of my faves, found on r/earthporn >>

national geographic society

jesse estes

bret webster

cuba gallery

I kinda wanna spend all the money I just made on Etsy on this:

or this:

from AGC916.

april star*cast

the Three Leaps of the Gazelle! I'll be looking for those, what wonderful imagery. The Lyrid Meteor shower is coming up on the 22nd, which reminds me of this:

(thanks, design squish)

Which can also be seen here:

It's terribly difficult to take a decent picture of one's own back so I feel this shot really doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea. And a cover up no less! Well done Matt Lentz!

it's different everyday

I'm adrift today. No motion, no momentum. At least the sky is pretty.

march star*cast

This month's full moon, the Worm Moon, will be the biggest and brightest of the year thanks to perigee. Hooray! Read more about it here. News of this most wonderful of full moons has me kicking myself even more than before for deciding not to visit SXSW this year. I feel like a first class dummy. :(

Apogee/Perigee image, thanks NASA!

mtns on my mind

This is the view from my apartment window:

I see them everyday, I have for the past two years and they're still a marvel to me. I spend time with them. They change, they hide, they have moods, but they're always there - and always a marvel. No wonder they've been on my mind and in my journal.

my sky tonight

Let me hear the wisdom as the moon speaks to the sea!

hubble star*cast

I was lying in bed sick today, very frustrated about my lack of energy and inability to work on projects when my internet-ing led me to this:



It's a monthly stargazing video podcast from Hubble! February is essentially over but highlights include Jupiter, Betelgeuse, Canis Major and Venus.

Look at these:

Thanks to my friend Renee I have become a great fan of the library, a library lover you might say. HmHmm! The library is so full of treasures!! Borrowing helps satisfy my need for treasures, while keeping my in home collection reasonable. This is my latest find:

It's a book of Native American folk tales with some really, really cool illustrations by Paul Goble. I love the simple lines and natural geometry paired with bold earthy colors and subtle textures. Here's a few more:

Look at those perfect little elk! Thank you Seattle Public Library!

something to soak in...

I usually try to mind my own beeswax when blogging, but this is too beautiful not to post. A short film by Jackie Davis with music by my very most favorite band Purple Rhinestone Eagle.


Who's Calling Water from jackie davis on Vimeo.

SKIES

Occasionally I like to take pictures of the sky outside my window.