Evolve to Joy

Still

2011-04-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

Still

What I want in my life is to be willing to be dazzled.

To cast aside the weight of the facts,

and even to float a little above this difficult world.

I want to believe that the imperfections are nothing,

that the light is everything.

I want to believe I am looking into the white fire of a great mystery.

And I do.

- Mary Oliver

The pretty blue pot next to my living room window caught my eye the other day. I am smiling as I write this post because so far like clockwork my little fairy friends come and greet me every April with their pretty checked skirts. And I didn't even ask them to to! They remind me that everything is in perfect rhythm. That without being told what to do, they just know when it is time to grow. I've been learning to cultivate this kind of knowing in my own life lately. To relate to my body and own spirit with the same kind of spontaneity and knowing. I am moving deeper into trusting that my mind is here to serve this universal intelligence, not the other way around. I have spent so much of my life moving myself from here to there with my Will. And now I am learning to embrace another way. The more I still myself and drop down into the part of me that just "knows" how to become, the more interesting things get.

As I learn to get out of my own way, I grow deeper in love with being alive, beauty and all the possibilities that this amazing life experience has to offer.

Maybe someday I will get to have a fairy skirt like my checker lilly friends too! J

Another Art Yarn is Born

2011-02-19T09:23:00.000-08:00

I had a play date with my Majacraft Aura yesterday and this is what we came up with.....

I call it Celebration Yarn! Sure felt like a party when I was making it!

~ ♥

What do you think this handspun want to be next?

Puppy Bling and Art Yarn Challenges!

2011-02-07T11:17:00.000-08:00

I not a big football fan ~ but I was a very good sport yesterday while my boys watched the game. In the meantime I decided to entertain myself and decorate my puppy with some handspun bling!

Check her out! See how she is smiling ;)

Recently I was requested to create some Art Yarn from a very wonderful etsy customer of mine. The challenge was... "I would like the final product to look kind of like someone reached into a wild garden and picked up a handful of flowers and leaves and dirt and grass and birds and bugs and made a crazy skein of yarn out of it!"

I had so much fun playing with her idea and this is what I came up with...

I call it 700 Flowers!

And since it is Graditude Monday ~ I would like to say, I am so grateful to get to play with the qualities of playfulness and whimsy! To get to flirt with joy and the often unexpected delights that are born out of "just playing" and watching where that brings me.

I bet my puppy could teach me tons about this ;)

Happy Monday!

All Tucked In

2010-12-22T09:42:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy last two months... wonderful busy, but not so great for my blogging aspirations. So, as I get ready for Christmas and listen my favorite seasonal songs, I thought I would take a moment to check in.

I did manage to get my garden tucked in for the year. I hope my dahlia friends overwinter well. And believe or not it will be time to plant sweet peas again in another couple of months!

Yesterday was the shortest day of the year. Now the days will start to grow again, bit by bit. I love the yin and the yang of nature. How in the coldest months the days start to grow and visa versa. We have a long way to go, before the flowers will show is their happy faces.... and in the meantime we can tend the light within.

And now a quote from one of my favorite children's book called Frederick by Leo Lionni.....

"Close your eyes", said Frederick,

as he climbed on a big stone.

"Now I send you the rays of the sun.

Do you feel how their golden glow...."

And as Fredrick spoke of the sun

the four little mice began to feel warmer.

Was it Frederick's voice?

Was it magic?

Simple Pleasures!

2010-10-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

I never knew it was possible to love "knobs" the way I looooooove these knobs.... what a sweet luxury to have these sweeties on the drawers of my dye cabinets. They feel so deliciously smooth and cool in my hand and the colors are so bubbly and yummy, they remind me of candy. Every time I open my drawer! ;)

I am really excited to share with you all that I am beginning my second round of Fiber Club.

The title is Auspicious Autumn. I am grounding myself and getting ready for a holiday season full of joy, love and delight! Thought I would set my intention with the title of this club!

Wishing you a colorful weekend!

~♥

Gratitude and Levity Wednesday!

2010-07-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

First of all I want to express my gratitude and admiration to all who post to their blogs with consistency and predictability. You hold the "bar" high for me! I admire your dedication aaspire to have the same continuity. I thank you for your inspirations!

So here I go...since I missed my this week's and last week's Monday/Tuesday post on graditude.... I will make up for it now....

1. I am grateful for....

My amazing, incredible customers and for their support and enthusiasm in what I do! I am so grateful for their confidence and faith in my ability and for how they continue to encourage me to grow and become as an artist and as a successful small business owner. It's really hard for me to find words to express how much you all mean to me! Thank you so much!!! ♥

2. I am grateful that my muse and I are getting along well these days!!!

3. I am Grateful for the brilliance of Ikea! And for the opportunity to get more organized...

4. I am so grateful that my Sweet Peas are still going strong and blessing me with their magical aroma!

And now for Levity....

My Dahlias are finally arriving~ my favorite flower! She symbolizes elegance and dignity. How wonderful is that! Check out Miss PomPom here ~ she just arrived yesterday and I can't stop patting her head!

(doesn't she have delicious form!)

Oh yes.... and then there is the Hula Hoop~ which I can proudly say ~ I'm not too shabby at. Hooping is defiantly an awesome way to jiggle me out of being too serious.

Feel the awesome power of reckless whimsy here! I just discovered Hula Hoops are good for keeping boys happy and entertained for a spell ;)

Happy Day to You!

~Be back soon ♥

Gatitude Monday

2010-07-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

So 2 out of 3 is a huge improvement for me with regards to blogging! I am so glad I came up with my new plan. And the truth is it's been fun, in the context of my themes, to think about what I want to share with you all!

Friday was a little bit too full to blog because I was getting ready for my dear friends to arrive. They came up from Sacramento Valley for a visit and to explore the amazing Yamhill Countryside. This weekend was the Oregon Lavender Festival. Talk about gratitude.... I could barely believe my eyes! It was a multi- sensational experience. Just standing in the presence of so much beauty was astounding. The intensity of purples against the farmland background and bright blue sky. The colors everywhere were so stark and sharp. The lavender fields were happily humming with industrious honey bees and every so often the breeze would blow and lavender imbued air would brush over our skin and fill our lungs up with its fragrant magic. Truly I felt I was in a story book and I was ready to stay forever.

Before we went I thought going from farm to farm would be much the same.....silly me! Each farm became a new adventure with different discoveries. They all had their unique stories and there was an contagious passion shared so many to become spontaneous Lavender Farmers. I've got it all worked out......

Lavender Fields here.... Hops for my husband there, my Dahlias and sweet peas will go there and oh yes!!! must have a flock of Merino sheep!

It was a day of so many blessings, Ecstatic Beauty and Treasured Friends.

And for this I am grateful

♥

Escape from the heat!

2010-07-08T19:55:00.001-07:00

To be perfectly honest.... summer heat is really not my "thing". Give me a dramatic thunderstorm or rain for days and I am elated. Suffice it to say heat makes me a little, teensy, whiney , bit........ G*r*o*u*c*h*y (thank goodness I don't live anywhere hotter!) ( okay...I know I am a light weight!)........ So in search of Levity and relief from the heat, I did what any mother who wanted to to run for the hills would do....

I went to to the drug store. And this is what I found....

A Plastic pool,

3 awesome pelting balls

Bubble wands

and an electric Badminton Kit.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to homemade ice cream with local Raspberries and heath bar crunch! Yum!!! Maybe that will improve my demeanor ♥

G is for Garden

2010-04-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

Last week we hauled over 4 yards of gorgeous, hot steamy soil to create a berm in our back yard and to rejuvenate our existing garden. I had a crisis of conscience when I encountered these amazing flowers at our local garden shop. Well....... truthfully I fell in love with them so deeply I decided I would go with the "better to beg for forgiveness, than to ask for permission" approach. I'm sticking by this explanation and thought you might enjoy seeing your fiber dollars in action! :)

I call it the circle of Joy! And I can't thank you all enough for enabling my flower obsession.

Wont it be amazing when I plant Zinnias, Dahlias and Black Eyed Susan's all around! I can't wait to give you an update and share this with you too!

Here is a perfect winter into spring quotation...by Hafiz, that always reminds me of the first part of early spring gardening.

"Awake, my dear,

Be kind to your sleeping Heart.

Take it out into the vast field of light.

And let it breathe!"

Golden Moments

2010-03-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

We snuck away to the beach this past Sunday and Monday. Oh my goodness! What an amazing pause.
There have been many moments in my life I knew were magical - especially with hindsight. It is so vital to my Heart to recognize these Golden Moments. Golden Moments are not made. They can not be forced. They are like the silence between the noise. The way to capture them is to stand still and absorb whatever magic I am witnessing or experiencing with the awareness of the fact I am standing in the middle of a precious, fleeting moment. When I can do this, I transform the moment into the substance of expansive joy! It's like spinning straw to gold.

The biggest gift and often times the biggest challenge for me is to recognize them not from hindsight but in the moment they are happening! When I can do this I can actually feel the joy of the moment swirling and breathing around me. It is a moment that stops time. It can be euphoric, giddy and so trasient. Like chasing a rainbow that brings color to my heart.

Here are a few of pictures of our Golden Moments this weekend....

tucked deep inside my heart.

Pleasant surprises

2010-02-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

When I first stared dying roving, I discovered fast, I was on a steep learning curve - especially with regards to Kettle dyeing. For me I liken it to standing on a balance board!....
#1. Start with a color in mind - okay, just for fun, hot fuchsia ( AKA- standing on the board).
#2. Apply imagined color (little lean to the right)
#3. Opps! way too much pink in the dye pot! Quick... (lean to the left for a hard correction!) Throw in some blue...
#4. How about a little green and a dash of brown. ( My legs are getting wobbly... wiggle, wiggle , balance, balance!) And TAH DAH! I get this....

Phew! What a work out! Not a total disaster but, not quite what I had envisioned. For me... Control over the process has been a gradual and hard earned achievement. And a blast to attain! :)

For the time being, I named my friend "My Many Colored Days" after the Dr.Seuss book and stashed her! Until recently when...

Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to go ahead a see what this roving would look like spun up.
And I got a lesson in pleasant surprises!

She is not anything like what I had intended... but thank goodness that 'intentional" part of me isn't always "driving the bus". I would miss out on a lot of adventures a long the way and getting a chance to discover that when it comes to creativity - It's in the process of wobbling that I come into balance.

Stayed tuned!!! I am working on my first Art Yarn ever! (It's a present for a very dear friend.... shhhhhh don't tell :)

Sale at Spinning Awesome Good!

2010-02-08T21:43:00.000-08:00

First things first…. I just wanted to announce that I will be having a Valentine's Sale in my etsy shop.

♥♥♥Until Sunday the 14th I am offering a special ♥♥♥

Buy 3 roving flowers and your 3rd one is ½ off. Details are listed in my shop announcement.  I will be listing new items everyday, so keep checking in!

I officially had my first few sales this weekend. I feel so honored and excited people willing to give me a roving try! It’s always a bit of a risk when one is trying an “unknown entity”. Thank you much!

One of them is going to fly to Australia and the other to my old hometown in Davis, Ca. Two completely different places (especially from eachother)! I must say, one of my very favorite things about being an artist and an etsian … is the thought that things I’ve created are getting sprinkled all over the globe. These things I’ve created will get to go to places I can only imagine. When I am creating a set of buttons or a new color combination for roving, I like to wonder about the people who I am making this creations for and the love and creativity that these things will encounter beyond me. I am the starting point for these objects, and the people who chose “a something” from my shop will blend their energy with “it” and give it a life of its own – long beyond me and in far away places and in between! This is why it is so important to me to do the very job I can and to keep improving my abilities and technique. I handle all my materials with curiosity, love and utmost care ~ just like you do! ♥

Thought you might like to see the Butterfly that inspired my Marigolds roving (pictured above). I did apply a little poetic license and added some purple – that’s not to say hebomia l. detani. didn't get it perfectly!

A quick hi!

2010-01-29T14:27:00.000-08:00

Just checking in....

Wanted to say Hi and and thank you for stopping by. I'm up to my elbows playing with fiber and colors! I'm excited to share that I will soon be posting new fiber for your spinning delight over the next week. Things like Superwash Merino, Falkland, BFL, and Merino/Silk blend, Corridale and Rambouillet Merino. I can't wait to meet the personalities of all these new fibers! and to have lots of great choices for you all!

Here's the latest butterfly on my color radar... she's from Papua New Guinea.

Butterflies & Roving Inspiration

2010-01-26T22:25:00.000-08:00

The butterfly symbolizes freedom, fun and joyous times. What better inspiration could there be for roving!

Speaking of symbols…. I’m adding some hearts to my etsy heartstone shop. Maybe you might find something nice for Valentine’s Day…or a special wish for yourself!

Cheers!

Home is Where the Dog is!

2009-06-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

I thought today it would be fun to introduce you to my friend whose button namesake is Twlya.

First of all, you should know these are my Twlya Buttons....

Light, airy, sweet and joyful! That what I think about when I see these buttons. My Twyla design is one of my most popular buttons..... which is absolutely appropriate because Twyla is one of my most special friends.

Here she is....see the resemblance?!

Twyla is my Angel Heart. She is my girl. Because I have three gorgeous boys and a wonderful husband it was my intention to level the testosterone field by adopting a female companion. Little did I know she would have more energy than all of my boys put together and she is four! Twyla is my Joy! My Whimsy Girl and the kindest, sweetest dog I have ever known. She is very sharp (I think it is the poodle in her) and very people oriented. She also loves to police our three cats and lets them know who is top dog and... she is extremely food motivated (A girl after my own heart J). She especially likes tomatoes when I am making salad.

She always hangs out in my studio with me when I am making clay creations. She is actually sitting next to me as I type. So you can know that all of her light, sweet, joyful energy is surrounding me whenever I am creating your buttons.

If Twyla had a bumper sticker it would say "Life is Fluffy!"

She also wanted me to include a picture of one of her personal favorites....

The Extra Large Twyla Button with Blue Violet Stain and Clear Glaze.

I hope you have a Fluffy Day!

I’ve been so busy… I forgot to blog!

2009-06-07T23:57:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe I haven’t posted in over a month!

Where have the days gone? Has time blasted away for you too?

It’s been so much fun watching my garden wake up this Spring. Don’t you just love that quote by Emerson, “The earth laughs in flowers!”

I only planted this garden a year ago so I am still learning the rhythms of my plants. Even though I just have a few raised boxes in a sunny corner of my yard…I like to think of myself as a Flower Farmer! I get so excited when last years flowers decide to return for another year. (I even moved some tried and true dahlia, scabiosa and other flower friends with me when we relocated to the NW) It’s been such a joy and relief to see them happily acclimating to their new home.) Watching these plants reemerge is like reuniting with a wonderful friend I haven’t seen in a long while. I feel so lucky to live in a climate that makes so many cottage flowers happy.

Check out this delphinium! It came back with a vengeance. Did you know the symbolic meaning of the delphinium is “well being”. It is also the symbol for swiftness and lightness. I love the symbolic meaning of flowers and plants. Metaphors abound in the garden.

Hope and renewal take so many awesome forms in the garden. When I am in my garden, the continual evidence of life’s resiliency, generosity, and responsiveness blows me away. The more I am open to these observations, the more I can use these examples as testimonies and inspirations for my own transformation. As I care for my garden, it nourishes me. It’s a wonderful exchange. As time goes on I watch my friends multiply and fill in all the garden spots, I experience my own wholeness. Joy, peace and hope find me in the Garden. And I find myself.

Today as I was taking stock and visiting my flower friends, I found a message that the garden urged me to share with you. It goes like this......

Wishing you a wonderful day.

A Day (well okay three weeks) in the Life of an Indie Button Creator!

2009-05-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

This month has been quite dynamic ~ espeically for the past couple weeks while I have been filling two wholesale orders for two amazing LYS here in Portland.

The Knitting Bee and Twisted.

I am so excited and honored to have a presence in these two Beautiful Stores.

And I now I am packaging up flower buttons to contribute to the Showers and Flowers Phat Fibers Sample box for May! And as always I continue to enjoy the sweet interactions I get to have with my wonderful Etsy customers in their pursuit for "just right button".

And now a quick description of what I've been up to!

First I apply the texture before I cut out the button.

This is a multi step process that involves, stamping, drying and then cleaning up the buttons.

Buttons drying here....

Once they are all cleaned up and button holes are ready to go, they are ready for their first firing. After their first firing (the bisque firing) I apply glaze to the buttons. (Sometimes glazing is like painting with invisible ink! You never know how a button will turn out until it has all ready has been fired! Talk about mystery and intrigue:-)

Then I load them into my little kiln to have their second firing.

Your buttons get fired to a temperature of more than 2100 degrees F!....

To become transformed.

This is how I package my buttons for my wonderful retailers.

I call them "Button Adoration". They are my buttons of love!

And this is me saying thank you to ALL!

I must express, part of Evolving to Joy is knowing that I am growing a business that is so rewarding and fun for me and for all the people I get to meet in person and through the internet! I am grateful to all of you for your support and enthusiasm for my buttons.

Wishing you a Joyful Day!

Shelby

Wonder

2009-04-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

According the the Merriam-Webster dictionary the definition for Wonder is

"1. a cause for astonishment

2. the quality of exciting amazed admiration

3. rapt attention or astonishment at something awesomely mysterious or new to one's experience"

And this is exactly what I felt when I saw this beautiful flower pop up in my garden.

It's called a fritllaria meleagris, or Scarlet Bells

I call it a fairy skirt!

The geometric pattern just baffles my mind!

What a flashy show for such a small delicate flower.

My reward for looking close. It speaks to my absolute conviction that ...

"Joy finds wonder everywhere!" ~ anonymous

Let's keep looking together :-)

True Friends

2009-04-01T13:09:00.001-07:00

Now I have a Clean house and a full Heart!

A couple ingredients of Joy I discovered yesterday is flexibility and openness. And most importantly that true friendship is one of the Greatest Joys of all. We relocated about a year and a half ago, so while I have been orienting to my "new" life here in the Beautiful Northwest, I have had a lot of time to think about what true friendship is all about.

Some times it's hard to know how much someone means to you until you have not seen them for awhile. Amazing how restorative it to be with someone you can just relax into being with.

"True friendship is felt, not said" - Mariecris Madayag

So true. I was left last night with the realization that true friends give YOU back to yourself. And the alchemy and synergy really happens when we can do that for each other. This is one of the deepest gifts of all. I am so glad you came to visit Jim. It was a gift to be with you.

photo courtesy of Moncia Hansen

Lots of times when I am working in my studio I am flooded with thoughts of all the people that live in my Heart.

photo courtesy of Monica Hansen

Here is a picture of the Button I attribute to my longest, dearest friend Sheila. Her friendship means the world to me. She is a gift to my Heart and an Angel in my Life. When I thinking about the meaning of true friends last night, I found this quotation that made me think of Sheila.

"A true friend is some one that knows the song of your soul, and sings it back to you when you have forgotten the words" -Anonymous

I am honored to say, we get to do this for each other.

Evidence of Joy

2009-03-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

Hello There!

Welcome to my blog, Evolve to Joy! A place for me to document the evidence of Joy in my Life and to explore the inspirations, insights and illuminations of the creative process. I would love it if you would join in and share your thoughts too. And maybe together we can expand the awareness of Joy and Wonder together!

So here I go! I am taking the plunge.....

I find Joy in my children's joy!!!

photo courtesy of Monica Hansen

I find Joy in the beauty of the world!

And I find joy in creativity....

Buttons for Fiber Artists

Where do you find Joy?

Shelby