sculpey

one of my favorite mediums to create with is sculpey clay. sculpey is actually a particular brand name of polymer clay, but for me it's like calling a tissue a kleenex. give me some sculpey in fashion colors and my 10 digits, and i'll make something that will make me smile. i can't help it - i mean, i'm a tactile person, so smooshing and squishing a wad of clay into something with form makes me oogly-happy. it's even more fulfilling than folding laundry!
not sure when i first discovered sculpey and the joys therein, but over the years i've poured many inspired hours into 'faces of food' magnets, clay-cards, flowers, figures, even wedding cake toppers. featured in the picture is a wedding cake topper i made for my dear, dear friend, wendy. henry and henrietta are two characters that she created and i just captured them in clay for her wedding day. now they're framed on her wall.
fun stuff. get your hands in it and you'll be addicted, too!

sky

big, big, blue sky. my favorite place in all the universe. well, actually it is the universe. no matter the condition of the sky - cirrus, cumulonimbus, altostratus infested; bright and blinding blue; star-spattered darkness - it pulls me in to its eternal self. it's funny how we name the sky as if it were an object. something we could touch if only we could reach that high. but it's the most subjective thing imaginable. actually, it's not a thing or a container or even a place - it just is. it is the definition of expanse and eternity; of possibility and mysticism. even when our view is blocked by the rolling fog or a tall building, it continues on. and on and on.
one of the coolest things to me is that the color of that great expanse is blue. which also happens to be the color of truth. hmmmm...try to connect the dots. or if that's too hard, just lie in the grass and look up at the night sky and connect those dots of fiery balls of gas into something that nourishes you. or amuses you. whatever you need.
shalom.

dance

i've been dancing ever since i was 5 (at least that's my first memory), busting out my hipster moves in the living room to my "Grease" soundtrack vinyl. dude, i thought i was Sandra Dee. but due to dancing being very frowned upon in the church i grew up in, my moves were kept private for most of my life. then in my mid 20's, i realized that to dance was to breathe for me. it's how i experienced god. i started taking classes of every shape and form - modern, ballet, swing, hip-hop, jazz, african, ballroom, contact-improv, freeform. (oh, side note: recently a friend of mine told me about 'Pussycat Dolls dancing' and tempting though it sounds, for now I've opted out of that one.) i even got so obsessed that i created a large dance studio in my house, just to have a space (which i used almost daily). these days, though, my obsession has mellowed into a healthy respect and awe for the art form.
so for me, dance is not just a passion, it's a tool. i've found that it's a form of therapy and a way of healing, like none other. the music, the rhythm, the heavy thumpa-thumpa, but mostly the movement. that connection between your spirit and body that happens in the space of movement is indescribable. and addictive. and beautiful. go ahead - try it. while nobody's looking.

rings

i absolutely love a good piece of jewelry. i mean, not just the precious metals and gems stuff, but the really unique, beautiful stuff that says something or has a story. preferably the stuff that someone made with their hands. it can be as simple as a piece of leather and wire, but love will turn it into art. and i love wearing art.
although i like all jewelry, i think rings take first place. it could be partly due to the fact that i'm a hand-girl (i can understand Joey Tribbiani's excitement over finding his hand twin). i really notice people's hands, so when there's something beautiful decorating them, that's an extra bonus. rings have a lot of obvious significance, such as eternity (the unbroken circle), but for me there's also something a bit magical about a ring. i mean, after all, frodo almost lost himself over one. wedding rings are used as a symbol to bind yourself to another, so i figure i can use one to bind myself to anything i want. my newest ring is a christmas gift from my dad. it's called "endless journey". i think that's a pretty good idea to bind myself to. and it's a right handsome ring, don't you think?

color

today i heard 2 children ask each other "what's your favorite color?" this must be in the top 20 kid-question book somewhere. i'm thinking identification with color must surely come with us through the birth canal. even a small baby will migrate to a certain color and i believe it all has meaning. color is one of the most mysterious, yet scientific miracles on earth. how can a rainbow come from the sun shining through a glass on the window sill? fantastic.

most of my life, i've been pretty consistent in saying that purple is my favorite color. maybe it came from having Donnie and Marie dolls, but i think it's much deeper than that. i recently researched the meaning of colors and purple has a thread of spirituality, wisdom and creativity. hmmm... all of which i have or need more of. it's also the color of the crown chakra, which is the gate for all inspiration. groovy.
i have to include another current favorite, however, after looking at the sky the other day. we say the sky is blue, but i realized that the thing that makes it blue is the infinite expansion of it. so, for me, blue is the color of eternity, infinity and all things omni. it also happens to be the color of truth, which is something i am grasping the heels of these days, for my very survival. and i won't let go. so blue is there to remind me. the blue christmas lights over my head right now are singing their song to me.
the meaning of each color is debated in different circles, but if you look , you'll usually find a common thread among them. most important, though, is what the color means to you personally. how do you feel when you look at it? what are your associations with it? do you prefer it alone or mixed with other hues? where do you notice it? make notes on paper or in your heart, but make sure that you "see" the rainbow around you.

bacon

i can't tell you how many people have asked me if i'm a vegetarian. i must have vegetarian hair or vegetarian attitude or vegetarian something. but if people would step in a bit and feel my energy, they'd know that i can't be a vegetarian, unless there's a bacon exclusion. bacon is my absolute, most favorite food in all the world. those who've known me for many years know that there's no quicker way to my heart than through a pound of crispy bacon. well, i try not to eat a pound in one sitting, but it's possible. the ironic thing, though, is that i passionately dislike bacon's sidekick - mr. egg. ewwww. so, just serve it up in a big pile, maybe with a slice of orange on the side. or if it must be accompanied, something with maple syrup involved would be good, like a big ol' waffle. and if you share in my passion for meat-candy, check out http://www.iheartbacon.com/
tha-a-tha-aa-tha-that's all folks!

diversity

i absolutely love diversity, so i'm thankful that i've landed for a season in one of the most diverse places on the planet. i know, i know, we're supposed to say that we value and respect diversity because it shows our tolerance, but REALLY. i feel the rotation of the earth and a connection to world-ness when the kaleidoscope is turning around me. on the bus, on the street, in the shops, at the park. different colors of skin, different colors of language, different colors of teeth. so many shapes and sizes and expressions. all you mexican tamale vendors, all you pirates with eyepatches, all you gay men with your amazing jeans, all you pierced and dyed guitar toters, all you chinese food/donut shopkeepers, all you pimps with your lewd remarks, all you white, middle class southern gals - yes, all the little children of the world (!) - welcome and thank you for spinning in the color wheel around me. it gives the chaos some order and the order some chaos.