I read something today that said how important it is to celebrate the successes in your life, and not only celebrate them but choose to keep those moments fresh in your memory, giving them the most airtime whenever you are thinking about your past.

While I do appreciate where I am a LOT, {I do}  I am still somewhat notorious for reaching the place I wanted to be, giving it a quick nod and turning immediately in the direction of where I’m wanting to go. Which would be fine if I didn’t lament that I wasn’t there yet, again. {not today! Today I celebrate}

I couldn’t let July slip by without acknowledging that somewhere around the middle of this month was this blog’s 4 year anniversary.

For someone who really isn’t much of a journaler, gets easily bored by too much of the same routine, and is {was} mostly private and shy, that’s a pretty big accomplishment. Not to mention all the daily paintings I’ve created and shared here too.

4 years. wow.  I don’t know if I honestly thought I’d keep a blog that long, and now I can’t imagine my life and business without one.

I chose the selfie photo above, the one of Outi and I on Abbot Kinney in Venice that I took for one of my very first podcasts, because it reminds me of the beginning.

I used to even make mini Imovies for my podcasts guerilla style, and I mean true guerilla style ~ just look at my point and shoot Canon digital elph I was using ~ it only captured 1 minute of movie at a time ;) But I loved it, because I was making something with what I had. It was all new, I wasn’t making any money yet, I had no expectations, nothing and no one to compare my work too, and I was creating just for me.

Honestly somewhere along the way I lost some of that, that feeling of pure creative expression. Once I realized people were actually listening to me, buying my art, reading what I wrote ~ Once I could keep up with all those other artists and bloggers who started at the same time as me, seeing how they were expanding and succeeding, and letting my own sense of success be influenced by whether I was keeping up with everyone else ~ I began to think about how everything I did would be received, and I began to lose a little of me. Mind you, this doesn’t happen all the time but it happens enough. Enough for me to know that I want it back.

That’s what I want for the next 4 years of this blog.

 I also want to say that ~

Knowing that you might enjoy my newest creation, some snippet of my life, my often, very long thoughts on things, a random podcast or video with more of my thoughts on things…and getting your insightful thoughts back ~ continues to inspire me to blog.

Thank you for being here.

happy weekend xoxo

with my family from Germany over the last few days. It has been ten years since they were here. I have had the chance to see them in Germany since then, but even that was 6 years ago. Way too long...and missing them already.

We spent time visiting Venice, Hollywood, and the Griffith Observatory. 

And, I will be going back to Griffith Park Observatory, on a day minus the crowds, because it is just beautiful up there. I would love to go at night and see the city lights, one of the most gorgeous ways to view L.A. {On a side note, have any of you ever flown into L.A. at night? When you are making the final approach into the airport, it looks like you are flying into a sea of gold.}

Sunday dinner in the garden, soccer playing, drawing, sculpting, lots of visiting and reminiscing, hide and seek, time spent among way too many crowds, watching Star Wars, playing the Star Wars Lightsaber game on the Iphone, staying up too late, waving goodbye until their car drove out of sight, craning our necks from the third floor at Hollywood and Highland to see if we could see the stars exit their Limos at my friend’s Cats and Dogs premier,  and a highlight: we re-created the 'Kaffee und Kuchen' tradition, just like in Germany. Feeling re-connected to who you are and where you came from = priceless.

Visits like these, I’m reminded that my family is simply too far away.

3 x 3 in.

It’s always fun when one creative medium inspires another. This "hunny bunny" was inspired by this "hunny bunny"

{original is sold}

Around this same time last year, Sean and I did some serious clutter clearing, re-organizing and a whole lot of simplifying. I have to say in hindsight, all the work we did definitely helped clear the space for our trip to Paris. I don’t really think we could have been quite so spontaneous in undertaking a trip like that, if we hadn’t done all that preparation months earlier. 

This time, this year, I’m working on the digital side of things. Let’s call it clutter clearing for your computer.  And let’s also say it’s not my favorite.

I don’t think anyone quite anticipated, that along with all the amazing enhancements the digital age has brought us, spending time organizing all these amazing enhancements is consuming a lot of time. Honestly some days I wonder? How are we doing it all, emailing, texting, tweeting, blogging, facebooking, flickering, videoing, photographing ~ lots and lots of photographing, and now not only with a camera but with an Iphone too?

When I started my career it happened to be when the digital age took off. It was the beginning of emails and Photoshop files and lots and lots of Ram for your computer. Working as a multi-media graphic designer and art director during this time was the very beginning of learning how to organize a digital life, that since then ~ well as I’m sure you can guess has almost taken over my physical life. Ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration ~ but in all honesty it is what I’m hoping to prevent. I know everything is just files in a computer, but still ~ It has the same affect. When it’s disorganized, my mind feels cluttered and my work gets distracted, not to mention the fact that tasks take way longer because I’m looking for that file. At this point, it doesn’t matter whether it’s in a paper manila folder in my wooden file box or a blue one on my desktop, it helps when I can find what I’m looking for fast. 

And I know I’ve mentioned this before, an organized life is an underrated one. It amazes me every time, I make getting my life in order a priority ~ I just feel so much better when I’m organized. 

I do have to say, I’m usually pretty good at keeping up with it all, and I do mostly have everything in the right folder. Some days I even enjoy organizing, but it’s the excess of photography files, emails, and photoshop files that I save, that I have the most trouble with ~It’s the whole letting go of the file and wondering if I will need it later, just like dealing with physical clutter. As an artist, it’s especially challenging because most of my files are also digital archives of my work. How do I draw {no pun intended} the line at what to save and what to keep of what I’ve created? It’s a lot easier to hold on to more because it’s digital, and then I also do have an external hard drive...

Since digital organizing is not a topic of most conversations, which I don’t understand seeing as how it’s so crazy fun {not so much} I thought I’d ask you, what tips you have in keeping yourself digitally organized? Especially my photographer friends, how do you do it? I know sometimes I’m sorting through 100 photos to get 2 or 3 of one product. Probably just me obsessing over the perfect shot, but then again it’s common knowledge that you usually have to shoot a lot to get that one "shot". In fact I was scolded by my photography teacher in college, because I did not shoot enough rolls of film. Fine, I blame her ~ it’s all her fault.

To kick this off,  in no particular order, here are some of my processes on digital organizing. I won’t call them tips because as I research this topic further, I might be making things more complicated than they ultimately should be. But I’ll share them with you in case any of these processes might be of help to you?

• I CAPITALIZE all the titles to my file folders, and keep the file names titled in lowercase letters. Something about this really helps my eyes discern the difference between the two

• I can’t be too clear in my labeling each file in some kind of consecutive order with numbers like "photo1.jpg". 

• I also find describing photo files instead of leaving them titled by the camera helps me find what I’m looking for faster rather than opening them all up on Preview each time. 

• I do always keep an original high res photo file of any image that I edit and size down. This has helped me when a publication, etc. has needed the high res version later. I don’t however shoot in a super high res mode so my original files aren’t crazy big

• I’m thinking the more digital files I collect, the more specific the file folders the better. Even if the folder contains just a few files int it, it’s seems a lot easier to find exactly what I’m looking for when I put it in a folder with a few files vs. piling everything into one broad folder like "Pictures"

• Being slightly ruthless with my digital photos is a must...or soon I will have more than one external hard drive

• Most important as an artist. I always keep an Original scan file of every painting and I title it "title of the painting O.jpg" I keep all the paintings of each calendar year together in one folder. Within that folder  I keep the original scans in their own folder separate from all the edits, like re-sizing etc. of those same painting images. I back up my original scan file often.

• Speaking of backing up...Backing up your files regularly is very IMPORTANT. Now  some computers, and/or programs have made it easier by automating that process for you. As of now I still back up manually, meaning I drag/copy my files to an external hard drive

• I don’t know if naming files with "space between the words.jpg" or "nospaces.jpg" is easier? I seem to switch between the two. Of course I do my best to keep both the folder and file names short

• If it helps you to have your folders be pretty? I just learned this yesterday! On a Mac you can highlight the file folder, type "command I" or go to your Finder- under File-  'get info'. You will see a window pop up with all the details of that file folder. Open an image you would like to use instead of the blue file folder, like I just used one of my painting images ~select your image, copy it, click on the image of the blue file folder at the top of the 'info' window and paste. Voila, you’ve got a pretty new image for your folder.

• Keeping up with answering emails every day or two seems to be better than once a week, although sometimes once a week is how it goes. In my ideal world, I read and respond to an email once, at the same time ~ rather than opening it, reading it and coming back to it which is when I open it, and read it again and then respond to it, or sometimes I come back to it again, and by this time I’ve read it 3 times. This read and respond to it tactic only seems to work when I really set aside time each day dedicated exclusively to checking and responding to emails ~ which, let’s be honest, the Iphone has blown this practice because I do a whole lot more checking throughout the day than responding...I do also keep files in my email program where I can sort emails, but then I do have to remember to go through those files and see what’s in there that I saved for later. Let’s just say that for me, the process of emailing is still a work in progress.

• Downloading, organizing and deleting my photos from the camera all in one sitting is also ideal, rather than downloading, grabbing what you need, editing it and leaving the rest in a folder and/or your camera to be organized *LATER*

• All of this does take practice. Especially if you are in business for yourself. I find that you have to learn how you are going to work the most efficiently. You have to figure out what techniques work best for you to stay organized and a lot of that is figured out over a period of time, and also through some trial and error.

• Breaking up the process of organizing with fun activities is also good.

• Keeping up with all of this as it’s happening is way better than putting it off until later, when you spend several days if not weeks all at once, getting everything organized~ and now you, I mean ME, are behind in everything else you put off to get it all organized ~ *whew*

• Of course you know what I realize as I write this post? A big part of supporting the whole "organizing as you go" is managing your time. If you manage your time, you won’t be in a rush {as often}. Of course, life is full of surprises. Then again a good time manager knows how to leave room for the unexpected. And being organized supports the unpredictable, un-expected and spontaneous moments in life to flow a lot easier. So it’s all one big vicious cycle. Gotta start somewhere.

• Oh, and on the days when living life is more of a priority than organizing, I do keep a 'Pending' folder on my desktop and everything that needs to be handled 'later' goes right in there.  On a side note for my fellow Mac users, I heard that it slows your computer way down to have too many files floating around on your desktop. So using your desktop as your pending folder, not such a good idea.

Ok then, now that  I’ve sufficiently put off more organizing by writing this post, you know where I’ve been. I will say that the hardest part of this process is always 'starting', but then the momentum kicks in and you can’t stop, so back to organizing it is.

Check back, because I might add more tips as I think of them. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this, because I know it will inspire me to keep going on this project...help.

*Edit* 2 seconds after I hit publish. Whoops ~ didn’t mean for this post to be quite SO long. No wonder I’m not getting any organizing done ;)

4 x 4 in.

I think summer has finally arrived in Los Angeles, and having a sunroom {with no insulation in the roof} for a studio is not conducive to painting on hot, hot days. So! I took my paints outside in the garden. The temperature was perfect and two new paintings made an appearance. This is the first and I love it. I think making the bear’s skirt was definitely a highlight. I almost needed tweezers to keep all the tiny papers in place. That and Mod Podge. That stuff does work wonders. Can’t believe I waited so long to use it. Now, I also kind of want to sew a skirt like that for myself?

happy weekend to you!

{click here to buy original}

A new podcast for you ~ continuing the discussion from last week. 

Click above to listen. This episode runs approximately 9 minutes.

click here to download MP3
Download Instructions
Mac Users option click and Windows users right click on link above to download the file.

In honor of Bastille Day yesterday, a little Parisian imagery for you.

happy creative thursday

Introducing the "Creative Collection"

Whitney and I are so excited to share our first jewelry collaboration with you today! 

"You are always coming up with something new?!" I hear this often, especially from my mom ;)

First and foremost, coming up with new ideas is a necessity of  life as an entrepreneur. Second, I absolutely love this part of being an entrepreneur. In fact I live for it, can’t help it. There’s a saying in business that some people like to plant the seeds and others like to mow and maintain the grass. The seed planter, that would be me. Although I have to say, I’ve done a pretty good job of mowing and maintaining Creative Thursday’s grass, keeping the garden 'together', over the last six years. A self-employed business owner, shop of one, does have to do both ~ and you get used to doing it all. 

So imagine this scenario. Someone else approaches you with a brand new idea! one that they are super excited about, that incorporates what you both love. That is what this jewelry line is about, two independent artists joining our talents to create something special, that is also handmade.

Collaborations with fellow artists have been on the horizon for a little while now. And aside from the opportunity to teach at Squam with Christine, which was also a brand new venture for me, this is the first time I am combining efforts with someone to create a product. Fiercely independent, somewhat of an "I like to be in control" kind of a business owner, it’s been scary for me to join forces with someone. But I have to say Whitney has made it feel incredibly easy. And I want to thank her for that. 

I knew in an instant when she introduced herself and her work to me via an email, that this was the right fit. If you’ve taken the e-course with me before then you might remember how I talk about knowing when it’s time to move forward; when you feel that sure and that excited. There’s this way that you know, and while it still holds some fear of the unknown, there’s a certainty you can’t shake. So here I am, exploring a brand new territory as a business owner and an artist.

I will say that this is a tiny glimpse of what it will be like to let Creative Thursday expand, to let others help me and to let our combined efforts inspire us forward. I think it’s going to be fun to see where this new step will lead... 

It’s a little like  "Lila and Lola", which happens to be one of my all time favorite necklaces by the way. Something about that blue with a tiny spot of red and white looks so pretty on. {And guess what? Whitney has created an option where you can buy two, practically for the price of one! and give one to your friend, sister, mom, daughter, aunt, niece}

With all of that said, I hope you will love these as much I do.  Ever since Whitney sent me the first batch to photograph, I have not been able to take them off. Everyday I wear a different necklace, sometimes even more than one. As an artist, there’s nothing quite like being able to wear something I created, to take a little piece of my art with me wherever I go. 

Since Whitney makes each one of these by hand, we are starting with a limited edition of each of the six designs. Did I mention one of them can even be monogrammed?  You can get them over at my Etsy shop, as well as Whitney’s online shop, Bel-Kai Designs. Which speaking of, if you love these, then you’re also going to love Whitney’s other creations. You might just need to wear more than one, like I do.

So, a couple of weeks ago, I’m watching the final basketball championship game,  LA Lakers versus the Boston Celtics. 

You might assume I was rooting for the Lakers, seeing as how I live in Los Angeles, but as it turns out I was rooting for the Celtics. Why? Not necessarily because I’m a Celtics fan, but because I love to cheer for the underdog.

And this got me thinking. Really, it’s that simple sometimes. If you didn’t know watching a sporting event can often an inspire an epiphany. 

This is what I realized, when I watched the Lakers win. I always identify with the underdog, not the winner.

Now of course, underdogs can be winners. I think it’s fair to say that we all love watching an underdog who rises to the top and WINS! Yes? But the on the flip side do we like the winners, the one’s who win almost all of the time, the one’s who expect to win, the one’s we expect to win? The Lakers are a good example of this.

Since I’ve lived in L.A. going on 10 years now, I think the Lakers have one maybe 4 or 5 of the last championship games. Please don’t quote me on my sports statistics. And yes, Sean has fully informed me that the Lakers Team does indeed have enough money to recruit some of the best, if not the best players in the League. But, you see this still makes the Lakers winners. The fact that they have that much financial backing to get those players, makes them a winner.

In fact Los Angeles, the city of angels, and what I also like to call the city of dreamers is a city that boasts winners. No, not everybody wins here. But a lot of people play to win here and those that win, often win BIG. 

This isn’t a post where I’m going to go into the dynamics of how people win or if they win fairly or not, or what winning means to each individual. It’s true that people can be winners in their lives using different tactics. However, what I’ve noticed is that people who win have this in common: they assume the role of the winner.

There was moment in the final minutes of the championship game where the Lakers shifted. You could see it. Even Sean said, "The Lakers are ready to win it", which he was not pleased about because let’s just politely say that he has 'issues' with that team. In fact, I think he’s not alone in his 'issues' because when they did win, while accepting the championship trophy, even the owner of the team said something to the affect of "Nobody wants to see us win, and this gives us even more motivation to win."

That’s when I thought, wow! a winning team that people are tired of seeing win. I mean really, look at our culture. You see it in the celebrity world all the time. We build people up and then when they’re at the top, {maybe they’ve 'won' a little too much for our liking?} we can’t wait to see them fall, and we start tearing them down. Maybe this is just human nature? If so, I’m sort of over it.

My theory on this behavior is that most of us don’t identify with winning. Oh maybe every once in a while, or just once we expect to win, but I’d say that most of us don’t approach our life every day expecting to get what we want, succeed, or win, in whatever way we define it ~even if it’s just finding a good parking space.

Winning all the time seems like something that only certain, 'special' people get to experience.

Here’s where I fit it on all of this. I love the underdog, always have, always will.  And that is exactly how I’ve lived my life. I work really, really hard, struggle for a long time and then finally when I’ve exhausted all options, I WIN! Then I do it all over again. Now, let me explain this further. When I look at the overall picture of my life I am a winner. My life is just too good for me not to feel like a winner. But that’s just it. A} I’ve won with an underdog’s attitude and B} My perspective has not been focused on how I’ve already won, but instead on where I haven’t yet won. And that’s where the struggle begins. It’s all in my perspective. It’s like I need the uphill battle to motivate me, to add excitement to my life. And this relates specifically to what feels most important to me at any given moment. One day it might be my career. Well, often it’s my career. Another day it might be a personal challenge I’ve been facing. In either of those scenarios, I feel like the underdog, hoping to win, but not expecting to win.

I mean let’s face it, when I played on my high school tennis team,  I was the girl that played the longest tennis matches ever. It was like my momentum didn’t kick in until I was facing a potential loss mid-way through the match. Very often I did win those matches. While they were fun, and exciting, they were also exhausting. 

The other truth of the matter is that, and I’m not proud of this,  I’ve never been a fan of people who win all the time. I get bored with the usual winners.  Now after my epiphany, I realize that someone who wins all the time challenges my own desire to be a winner. It’s a similar effect to the 'so jealous' post that I wrote before our trip to Paris. If they didn’t win so much I’d feel better about not winning as often as I’d like to. When they win, I realize it’s possible, and instead of using what’s possible as motivation I compare myself to them and feel like I’m coming up short. But, if I’m really honest with myself, I’ve also held myself back. I’ve been afraid to win too much, for the fear that people might, not like me, get jealous, and secretly hope that I won’t win next time. It’s a little like those times when you might feel hesitant to share the all the good things happening in your life because the person next to you is having a bad day. I’m afraid that I might lose friends along the way. Kind of ick right? I wish it wasn’t true, but it’s happened. While I like to think of myself as the kind of person that does celebrate people’s wins, it’s taken practice. Along the way I know I’ve put people down, and alienated myself from them because of their successes. Sorry people, I’ve done that too. Not anymore.

Long story short, as I watched the close of that game, confetti pouring down on the Lakers and the fans in their home city. I wondered what it would be like if I started identifying with the winners? What if I just expected to win more often in my life?  What if I celebrated other winner’s victories with as much excitement as my own? What if I stopped making the goals I have for myself such a struggle? And what if I expected all that I want in my life to happen?

It might feel like a really nice way to live my life.  And I might just feel like a winner every day.

You know how much I love my Iphone? 

Then you know that its comfort and style is of utmost importance ;) . I actually made this  little sleeve around Christmas time, when I bought my Iphone last year. I didn’t realize that it needed a protective case right away, and when I say right away, I mean if you set it down on a surface it will scratch. Leave it to Apple to create everyday products that are so delicate...yes, I know it just gives more companies a reason to merchandise and in this case it gave me a reason to sew. 

In twitter speak #ilovetosew

I make a pretty mean pesto.

And I would like to have taken a prettier, more in focus, shot of it for you ~ but featured above is all I could get before I devoured it.

It’s quite possible I haven’t yet tweeted enough about this concoction that is, well, to put it mildly my version of 'crack'. Oh, and it is that good. 

Inspired by Nigella,  how can you not love her cookbooks ~ honestly three of them are my staple, 'go to' cookbooks ~ fresh pesto equals summer to me. And after at least a good 3 - 4 years of trying to perfect it. It goes something like this

Combine:

8 oz. of fresh, and by fresh I mean plucked straight from a basil plant, basil leaves

2 or 3 garlic cloves ~ the more garlic, the more bite

1 tbs or so of pine nuts

2 tbs or so of parmesan cheese

a pinch or so of sea salt

in a food processor

Then:

add 4 - 7 tbs or so of extra virgin olive oil

blend/process again, taste, add more basil leaves and a little parmesan or so to taste and you might have the best pesto ever. 

spread over a fresh baguette, or crackers or bake it in the oven for a crostini effect, or fine, just spoon it straight from the bowl and Enjoy!

I hope everyone here in the states had a happy 4th!!! 

Clearly, I’ve been cooking! visiting with friends, working, then cooking and visiting with friends some more. And did I mention that I even got in some filing? Just how a holiday weekend should be, filing, pesto and all.

Or as we like to call it "an Island in the middle of the Internet"

So what’s this? and why coconuts?! It’s not just that we are two creative people who live in sunny Los Angeles California by the ocean, surrounded by palm trees~ well, maybe it is? or the fact that I was actually born on a Caribbean Island. Did you know that about me? I was born in Freeport, Bahamas.

No really. This is a new online community, not an e-course, that Sean and I are launching this August 1 2010. 

'Creative Coconuts' is inspired by our own desire to come together with other visionaries, and by our e-course students who at the close of each session want the community that we’ve built to continue.

In case you’re wondering how we came up with the name? Well clearly I’m the 'creative' half of the equation and Sean is the 'coconut'. Actually, Sean is equally as creative :) He just always calls his Improv students "coconuts". They love it. A reminder not to take all of this too seriously, it’s endearing, fun and makes everyone laugh {which is definitely Sean} Also when I told Sean that I was going to make a graphic of us using my characters, he said "I’m the bear right?" Yup, he’s the bear and I’m the bunny. He’s taller than me.

The internet is expanding at a rate that is hard to keep up with sometimes. But, we can’t overlook the indispensable value that communities, and friendships built online offer us. I’m predicting that going forward, we will all start breaking off into these kinds of  'islands', to come together with like minded people to find a place online where we, support and inspire one another, and feel like we belong. 

And I also have to be honest and say that I don’t think there aren’t enough male voices out there talking about living this creative life, which is one of the reasons I’m excited that this community offers Sean’s perspective as well as mine. 

Our plan is to try this out for 3 months. If it’s a go, meaning we like doing it and those of you who become members are happy with it too, then we might turn it into an ongoing community that would last all year. We want to build it right, so we are starting small and expanding from there. 

We also want to hear from you. So let us know what you might want in this type of community? What are you needing from the internet that you either see and want more of, or don’t see? What are you wanting to inspire you in your own life? What do you want to talk about?

To begin with we are opening registration today to our former students. If you haven’t taken an e-course with us yet, not to worry! Just email me with "add me to the wait list" in the subject line, or you can also leave a comment below with the same request. To learn more about the community, click here.

A plan we’ve had for a while, a way for me to continue my podcasts, we’re excited to finally get this going and look forward to seeing how it will unfold for all of us.

When I was at Squam a few weeks ago, I met Ysolda. An all around lovely and super creative person, we met at the Squam Art Fair bonding over our love for polar beard, {no not polar beards but polar bears, good lord how do so many type-o’s end up in blog posts even after re-reading them several times?} realizing that my 'Oliver' print that she bought very closely resembled her adorable 'Otto' knit polar bear design. Ysolda also happened to walk away with the last "I am a Thriving Artist Cup".

And then this week she shared it on her blog, which created a small surge of requests for the "I am a Thriving Artist Cup"

This got me thinking, because I’ve been getting a lot of requests for these lately~ and as you probably know by now, there is no guarantee how long I will make any one of my original creations, especially the ceramics ~ I’d love for everyone who has had their heart set on one to get one. So if you’ve been wanting one of these cups, here’s your chance!  I’ve gone ahead and listed two designs available for pre-order for a limited time over in the shop.

And if you’re not yet familiar with Ysolda, especially if you are a knitter?? You’ve got to go check her out, because you’re going to love her.

{photo via Ysolda}