Final Call for Springfest 2011

The Southern Pines Business Assocation has issued a final call for Springfest 2011 on April 30th. If you'd like to participate... food vendors, non-profits, member businesses and artists may obtain an application by emailing spbainfo@southernpines.biz or by calling (910) 315-6508.

Hope to see you there!

The Best of Intentions...and an Update Concerning Ken's Recovery

As I read my last post, I had a little chuckle at my good intentions to post more frequently. Life happens, and between the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, it seems to be happening at record speed in our family.

My dear husband, Ken, recently had a heart attack. He's only 38 years old, and it came as quite a shock to all of us. He'd attended multiple fires that afternoon, and he was relaxing at home afterward. He and Alan had just finished watching a movie, and thankfully, he suspected exactly what was happening to him at the time. They immediately set out for our local fire station, about two blocks from our house, because Ken knew that help would be on hand there. Alan dialed 911 along the way, and Ken received immediate medical attention upon arrival.

Within a half hour or so of the onset of pain, Ken was in heart cath surgery, and a stent was being placed. Several days in the ICU were followed by a few in a regular room, and he's "resting" comfortably at home now. (I say "resting" because his definition of the word and mine often differ, and we've had to call the doctor to clarify the same. :-) )

Testing during this time confirmed that only a single artery was blocked, and the doctor not-so-fondly referred to this condition as a "widow-maker" because of its role of providing blood supply to the largest muscle in the heart. After early testing, the doctor was optimistic as to the extent of the damage to Ken's heart, and he credits this optimism to the speed with which he received treatment. We should have a more specific prognosis after Ken's follow-up appointment in mid-March, and we're hopeful that we'll continue to receive good news.

This entire experience has been a blessing in our lives, and it served as a wake-up call to us and to many of those we love. We're grateful for the immediate response of our 911 Personnel, Firefighters, Paramedics, other Public Safety Personnel, and their Families. We're grateful that Ken landed in the capable hands of the most amazing doctor in our county's heart center, which was just opened in February. And we're grateful for the friends, family, nurses, volunteers, and clergy who continue to surround us with their love, prayers, and concern.

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, messages, and acts of kindness during this time. Thank you for loving us and for holding us close in your hearts. We're humbled, and "thank you" doesn't nearly begin to cover all that we'd like to say. Today I'm hoping to make progress on proper responses to each of you, and I appreciate your patience with my delayed responses.

Where does the time go?!?!?

Where does the time go?!?!?! Periodically I ask myself this question, and I'm never seem to be pleased with my answers. This is one of those times. :-)

Soooo... instead of over analyzing this perplexing question...or trying to give you the play-by-play on all that's been happening in my world... I'm going to try to begin again right here, right now.

Thank you for bearing with me during my quiet time, and I'm really looking forward to catching up with all that I've missed in your world too!

My Weekend's Festivities

I'm looking forward to a weekend full of fun with our final First Friday Opening of the year at Artist Alley tomorrow, and Saturday and Sunday at The Holiday Market at Fearrington Village.

Hope to see you here...there...or at some point in between! :-)

Serendipity, Gratitude, and Memories of Ocracoke

Life since our vacation last month has been a whirlwind of activity, with oodles of good things happening. There's been school for Alan, numerous work obligations for Ken, shows and openings for me, and love and support through all of it from Mom. With all of this, and a hundred other curve balls that life seems to throw our way, we quickly slipped from "vacation-mode" back into "real life".

This week, a special message from Cynthia Deis at Ornamentea changed that for me. Ornamentea is my all-time-time-favorite-brick-and-mortar-bead-and-more-store, located in Downtown Raleigh, NC. Cynthia owns Ornamentea. She taught the first ever art marketing class that I took, and she's had a big impact on my professional development. (Ornamentea's class offerings still tempt me on a regular basis. If you're in the area, I highly recommend them!)

Anyway... while we were on Ocracoke, we stayed in our favorite little cottage, Windmill Point. Windmill Point seems to be in chronic need of a little love and attention, so when we stay there, we always leave the place a little better than we found it. This year that meant gifts of a new iced tea pitcher, a funky little pottery turtle and mushroom made by North Carolina Potter - Hank Allred, a few additions to the found object sculpture that seems to be growing organically from the deck, and a dozen or so of my magnets on the refrigerator for the visitors who followed us.

Imagine my surprise this week when, less than a month after we returned, Cynthia contacted me with a photo of my magnets on the refrigerator at Windmill Point! She and her family are enjoying a bit of Ocracoke Magic right there, right now, in our little cottage.

Serendipitous things like this tend to happen on Ocracoke, and it's part of the magic that we find there. Cynthia's note took us back to our happy place again, and I thought I'd share a walk down Memory Lane with you one more time too.

Today, I'm grateful. Grateful for my family and friends and the memories that we've made together...for the creativity that surrounds me...for Ocracoke and all that it means to me... and to Cynthia for reminding me to pause amidst the chaos to remember all of this. :-)

Form Folding... Before and After

This week during my class time with Erica Stankwytch Bailey, we worked on form folding. This technique provides metalsmiths with a way to move and mold metal into a fluid and dynamic form. The first photo below is where I began. Flat pieces of raw copper, with a basic fold or two in them.

The photos that follow are the results of my creative play. The first piece is flat and industrial, and I love the rawness and strength that it conveys. The other photos are my early attempts at leaves. I'm pleased with the work itself, and the colors are amazing in person!

Even if I'd tried, I don't think that I could have achieved a more

lip-like form on this final piece.

Move over Mick Jagger! Your lips have nothing on this one! :-)

Erica is a wonderful teacher. I've learned so much from her, and she's also formalized some techniques that were self-taught for me until I began studying with her. If you're in the Raleigh area, Erica will have an exhibit at Pullen Art Center throughout the month of October. Her featured pieces were inspired by her retreat to The Grand Canyon. Her work is incredible, and you can read and see more about it here.

Two If By Sea

I'm not sure who had more fun with this experience....Ken and Alan in their Kayak, or "Granny" and I watching their adventure unfold from the deck of Windmill Point!

The boys visited the pirate museum earlier in the day, so with visions of Blackbeard dancing in their heads, they made their way through Silver Lake bound for Teach's Hole and Springer's Point. Mom and I spent the afternoon reading, relaxing, and watching the world go by.

Life on Island Time was good for all of us.

One must lose one's life in order to find it.
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh