happy happy

karla and balloons by allie smith

wishing you warm and wonderful thoughts on new year’s eve. the older you get that faster the months fly by. god, that sounds so cheezy but it is totally true. i’m planning to be back online next week, and hopefully with a big can of writing mojo — you know how you take a few days off from the computer because of a holiday and then you discover lost hours in the day? and then you feel compelled to not use the computer as frequently, because you need to clean out your closets, you start enjoy the art of cooking again and you just got a nikon D90 for christmas that you want to go out and play with when you’re not organizing your house? well maybe that’s just me. but you know what i’m saying.

my only resolution for 2009 is to go with it. how about you?

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merry merry

i’ll be spending time with my family for the next few days, so i’ll take the time now to say thanks for reading, thanks for looking and thanks for listening. i’ve enjoyed hearing from you all year long in my email box and also in the comment boxes. i am grateful to feel connected to so many people from everywhere on the map, quite literally. i’ve had close to a half a million people cruise through this little place here this year. i can hardly believe it!

to the 4 visitors from fiji, i say bula vinaka and welcome!

to the cherished group of you that pop by on a regular basis, i say thank you for your support, humor and encouragement. i hope we all can continue to add a little joy to each others’ daily lives in 2009.

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adam ekberg photography

interesting, mysterious pieces in this photography collection by chicago photographer adam ekberg. adam enjoys the juxtaposition of the banal with the phenomenal. fleeting events are recorded to initiate a setting or an environment, as well as to create implied self portraits (in which he is conspicuously missing). it feels very earnest to me and i appreciate the chronicling of everyday life as he sees it.

see more on adam’s website.

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the art of katrine kalleklev

i am love love LOVING the beautifully expressed moods through the mixed media, collage and digital work of skillful norwegian artist katrine kalleklev.

these pieces feel so lonely to me and there are lovely grey tones which really match the color of the sky every time i look up around here lately. it just fits.

see more charming work on katrine’s website. she has an invite-only blog too.

via beth

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a thankful holiday (and grateful blogger)

Brother Sun by nikaa

Okay, we all know that Thanksgiving is around the corner and we have a lot to be thankful for, right? I personally have tons to be thankful for this year, frankly every year, but especially this year. I have said to a few people just this week that for the last several years I have been in varying states of depression, ranging from mild to debilitating. Unless you read my about page you might not know this. I never talked about it out loud that much, but you probably didn’t have to hear it to know, you could probably tell my the look on my face how bad it was at any given moment. My kind was that terrible feeling of being overwhelmed and filled with anxiety, to the point of being paralyzed to act on anything. It always manifested itself in the worst way right at the beginning of each previous holiday season too, but this year is different. Now, lately and right now as I write this, I feel like I am finally coming into the light after a really long time. Consistently. Everyday. Not just a good day or two here and there and then back into the dumper. Progress. I feel better about myself in new and different ways. And I suspect that, among other things, it is from the creative things that I decided to take up, like pecking around the internet and writing about what I find (writer’s block notwithstanding), and snapping my photos of odd alluring things.

These simple but pleasurable tasks have created some powerful momentum for me, so I am giving thanks to all of you who come to visit me here. You have influenced my progress. You gently push me along my path, you encourage me and make me think, you make me laugh out loud with your comments and emails and have provided me with steam and movement and courage to dig deep and wonder what I might be capable of doing from a creative or artistic point of view. I am encouraged to let my mind go. Since I am a bit of a control freak that last part is the biggest challenge for me but I remain undaunted because deep down inside I know the best creative bits that have not yet showed themselves to me will rise to the surface. In the meantime the interaction I have going with you helps me to get there in not-so-mysterious ways.

I’ve enjoyed myself during my time off. I totally needed it, especially this week, because we are doing a rogue Thanksgiving dinner today instead of Thursday and I am doing the cooking! I come from a long line of rogues and am proud of my heritage. Anyway, I’m still slightly blocked but my outlook is positive and I’ll be back in full force after the holiday with lots of new fresh and inventive things to show you. I will also be covering the One of a Kind Show here in Chicago at the end of next week. I can’t wait! Believe you me there will lots of eye-popping goodness over there: 500 vendors with their high quality handmade goods, and an additional gallery section with larger scale works. I’ll be showing you the best of the best. Till then, I wish a lovely holiday to my friends in the states and a nice rest of the week to my friends across the globe!

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a tiny moment of venting

headache by suzi q

I just want to tell you guys that I am having the worst creative block I have ever had blogwise.  I have been writing practically nonstop since June of 2007 and I think I’ve hit a brick wall. This block is actually affecting another creative project I am doing with someone else too and it is really frustrating.

I hope you will understand and stick around if I take a day off here and there to try and kickstart myself to be motivated again. I think I need a fresh perspective and some time away from the computer to clear whatever is cluttering my mind.

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a little leaf study

Hi there lovely people. I am a little frustrated getting this post out to you right now so late, and apologetic too. My laptop seems to be on its last legs and I just can’t get it to save or publish when I need to get my articles out there! I have given up for tonight, so for now please enjoy the changing of the seasons in these photos while I get it together technology-wise. Hopefully tomorrow I will wake up and my computer will be back to its normal robust self!

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what i’m doing tonight

My excitement is building to go and see the Ray LaMontagne concert!

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