lOve letters

I was thinking about love letters, and all the sweet things we say in writing, that are typed, handwritten, poured out onto keypads, etc. We put all these passions, desires, wishes to be understood, to be gotten, to be loved, in black and white.

I think that we read them in red- with excitement, arousal, a stirring of our senses.
So I made this Treasury- lOve letters. You can see it by clicking here. And PS- if you like it, or any other Treasury on Etsy, you can make it 'hot' by clicking on every pic in it.

I wonder, would it change anything for you if you got a message of love written in red?

Bright SunShiney Day

Bright SunShiney Day is climbing towards hotness in Etsy Treasuryland. I chose artists from all over the globe, and invite you to visit the treasury (only up until Sunday, 10 am, March 29) and then click and see where everyone is from. The Handmade Nation is truly a global community!

I chose the title from I Can See Clearly Now (Written by Johny Nash, sung by Bob Marley,Anne Murray,Jimmy Cliff, many more):

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

I think I can make it now, the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I’ve been prayin?for
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

WANTED: specialists in the impossible

I named my first ever Etsy treasury You KNOW You WANT IT!!! (As Much As I Do!!). I had an unexpected reward for doing this seemingly selfless act of promoting other people's much deserving work. Besides the obvious result- the satisfaction of seeing my patchwork project online- I was so touched by the thank-yous I got from the artists. Some let me know that they had been in a bad place of discouragement, and felt lifted up by my simple act of acknowledgment. I thought about how badly we all need encouragement from time to time, how a few words or gestures can make a difference for someone else, and how easy it is to offer. I also wondered if artists are more prone to the ill effects of discouraging words, and I think this may be true.

Think of the goals that we encourage in children. A child who says "I will be president someday" is praised as if it were practical and a wise choice. Whereas a child who says 'I want to be an artist' is immediately told how impractical and nearly impossible that is. Yet there are hundreds of professional artists in every city right now, and only 44 US presidents in 200 years.

It takes more positive words to counteract all the negative ones we've recieved. I'd like to know your thoughts on this, too.

Here is some manna for any parched creative souls out there:

Art provides a healing force which aids both the maker and the viewer-
Richard Newman

Being an artist means not numbering and counting but ripening like a tree, which doesn't force its sap, and stands confidently in the storms of spring, not afraid that afterward summer may not come.
Rainer Maria Rilke

What we need is more people who specialize in the impossible.
Theodore Roethke

(Please take a moment before Tues to visit and click on the artists in my Treasury. Spread a little of the good stuff today, please!)

Blue Sky

A piece of mine was featured in a treasury on Etsy. It's a beautiful collection, curated by Dawnebyrantartworks, called Earth and Sky. She chose my Blue Sky soup bowl, which has a look and feel of mist in the mountains.

There's something about the morning sky; it stirs a small inner voice that says 'this day is new. Make it into something precious.'

There's something about low hanging mist. Like something lofty and celestial is hanging near.

Whenever I look up at the sky, whether day or night, cloudy or bright, I feel like that Bette Midler song, God Is Watching Us (from a distance).