madradiant's october 30 days of creating

[jane]

hi everyone

i didnt do too well in september - but hope to try again now for October - perhaps i will make thirty days over two months!

I think i was trying to be too ambitious in my expectations when in fact each day i DO do something... i just dont recognise it as such.....

i WILL do better this month.... 8) xx

[Francesca]

I find quite enticing your idea of a bead shop... please describe what it would look like!
I think visualization is a great creative tool and a bead shop, it should be a feast for the eyes and the imagination:-)

[jane]

well - i started off this post about an hour ago and somewhere along the line it got lost... it was quite good the first time... now i have lost energy!

I was in Italy, Florence, in 2007 and again in 2008 and i loved it... it was a place of romance, of lovers, of beauty, of history, of warmth, of creativity... and how could i not be moved..... i love Florence, I love Italy. They have everything that is great about the senses.. they have wine, music, food, love, gardens, history, sunshine, excitable and glorious people... how could you not fall in love with the place,

so - it was here in florence that i met Lily... owner of the bead store "beaded lily" Lily is american and has moved to Florence to open a bead store - and her husband, the lovely Tim MAKES beads... I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! bliss

So - here in lily's store... i found the perfect place, the bead store i wanted to own.. Lily runs classes from within the store - it is a calm beautiful place. Music playing, colours all around, GLORIOUS beads, wonderful findings, incredible ideas and creativity... its perhaps the place one wants to die in..... haha ...

My daughter and i spent a wonderful afternoon doing a course on bead threading etc and spending WAY too much money on beads....

i still have them in my collection up in my room.... but i dont want to use them... they are just so lovely... i cant do justice to them....

so francesca..that is my ideal... i wont do it... but i can dream.... if you are in Florence... go there.... a warm welcome awaits....x

[Beaded Lily]

Hi Jane, Lily here. Thank you so much for your kind words. The greatest honor for any artist is to know that she has inspired creativity in someone else. Your words have warmed my heart. Thanks for that.

Two things I'd like to say: First off, please use the beads you purchased from us. Of course you can do them justice! Why not create a beautiful bracelet or necklace that reminds you of your beloved Florence every time you wear it?

The second thing is...open that bead shop! I have had a bead shop for twenty years on two different continents. When times where lean, I lived in my shop! I went into labor with my daughter Leah in my shop...Heck, since I'm being candid, I might as well mention that Leah was actually conceived in my shop, as I was living in the backroom at the time. I was 27 I've never regretted my choice of careers for one minute.

There are ways to start small. I remember there was a woman in Seattle who built a small cottage in her backyard and would open it to beaders a couple of times a week so they could come and rummage through her stash. She also held classes. This same woman went on to publish several books on beading and to be quite well known in American beading circles. I, too, started quite small, got larger, sold, downsized, moved to another country, and here I am today. I now keep my business to a size where my husband and I can run it ourselves and I have never been happier.

Start small, yes, but start. The two most important things for personal fullfillment are to love where you live and to love what you do. Once an individual achieves these objectives, the rest of their life will fall into place with much more ease. I can't stress how important it is to take steps towards realizing your creative intentions and to live you dreams. In the end, most people don't regret what they did, they regret what they didn't do.

Best of luck in all your creative endevors, Jane!

[jane]

oh hi lily !! How lovely that you are here.... you are such a talented lady and your talents should be shown here....

thank you also for the encouragement both to use the beads -n which i just may do later this weekend and if so i will post the photos here... but also re the "love where you live and love what you do" encouragement. We talk about that a lot here in this community an you are right - it is key to everything.

I have been thinking for a while of making small steps towards doing more of the things i love.... so i may just do it! What inspired me so much about your shop was how pretty and creative and inviting it is.. but i could do that in a room in my house ... its only me living here now! You have such special things in your shop that I have never seen anywhere else - as you know i rave about the silver findings... so... with the winter ahead of me... i may just get on and start planning....

take care of yourself - and of course love to you and tim xxx

[jane]

Day 22

went to my gospel singing choir this evening. we had a different teacher tonight who was lovely. We had such fun. I went there with a heavy heart and a sneezy cold but after an hour and a half of uplifting music and song - i felt wonderfully relaxed and calm... so that was my real creativity tonight.

But i did a little bit of writing, and fiddled about on my tumblr... so not a bad day really..... 8)

[DJ]

A little bit of writing...?
Sounds intriguing, my CTP friend.
Care to share more?


*CTP = 'cross the pond! :-)

[jane]

ok - well you may not like this.... but here goes..... this was written the night before my brothers operation. I could not sleep and I had noone to turn to...and i was rather stressed! so i turned into myself.... no apologies... i am an artist you know....8) Oh and i have more..... but not for today....


Is this the night.. . .

Is this the night I will not sleep
Is this the night I forget
Is this the night I knew would come
Is this the night I wept

Is this the night I will regret
Is this the night it ends
Is this the night when all is clear
Is this the night to let go

Is this the night we loved
Is this the night of why?
Is this the night he comforts me
Is this the night I die

Is this the night we could have had
Is this the night we dreamed
Is this the night we thought we had
Is this the night it seemed

Is this the night of ecstasy
Is this the night we touched
Is this the night he said he’d stay
Is this the night he died

Is this the night when summer left
Is this the night so cold
Is this the night of winters
Is this the night he told

Is this the night of fragile dreams
Is this the night of peace
Is this the night he said we’d have
Is this the night release

Is this the night I howled for love
Is this the night I dreaded
Is this the night I care no more
Is this the night I needed

Is this the night I start again
Is this the night I stop
Is this the night of laughter
Is this the night of tears i drop

Is this the night of blankets
Is this the night of hugs
Is this the night he left me
Is this the night of drugs

Is this the night before the dawn
Is this the night of embers
Is this the night of fireglow
Is this the night i remember

Is this the night I wanted
Is this the night I deserved
Is this the night i..
Is this …?

15th October 2009
the night before Big Bro’s operation - yep.. i was a little stressed!

what do you think.... bit of an outpouring i know... but sometimes good, sometimes needed, sometimes... it moves you on.......... x

[DJ]

Jane...this is wonderful...must read it again...
so much imagery and emotion there...
and I can identify with so much of the questioning...
the uncertainty...
and so many aspects of life in one writing...

Please share more when you're ready

[Joanna]

jane,
I can hear a piece of music, a song in here. Would love to steal/borrow your words. Like this a lot. Thanks for sharing.

[jane]

hi joanna... borrow whatever you like. am touched that you like it. x

[Joanna]

You sing gospel- ever thought about putting this to music?

[jane]

hi again - no i wouldnt do that.. for me its very personal so i dont think i would want to sing about it! But its an interesting concept! x