Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Yes, that subject line is very much overdone, but you can't blame me for wanting to channel Bowie at every opportunity available! Anyway, here's what's new:

1. Layout. Things like customizable headers entice me. Plus, I much prefer the lighter colors & still get to keep the same features as the old one, huzzah!


2. For Sale. I hate to sell things (my retail career lasted all of 3, maybe 4, months) & I especially hate to advertise to my friends so I will keep this as brief as possible. You will notice in my sidebar, there is now a "for sale" box. I am getting close to figuring out how I want to sell things. Instead of going through etsy, I will probably sell right here. In fact, I am testing out paypal buttons on two items right now.
   The "for sale" box currently holds a link to "plant collectors in bolivia" on blurb. I have set that up so every time someone buys my book, I earn 5 whole entire American dollars. Every month, I will change the featured item in my side bar.

By the way, while you are looking at my sidebar, do check out those links!

Dealing With Birthday Anxiety

Something not too many people know about me is that I hate my birthday.

When people ask, "When's your birthday?" I tend to mumble, "Oh . . . in May . . .", trailing off to volumes no human ear will ever be able to hear & then immediately changing the subject to something more pleasant. "So puppies, cutest things ever, wouldn't you agree?"

It stresses me out, no kidding. I hate aging (I know!) & I hate how you are left with this expectation of "today must be super awesome & the best day ever of all time that I will ever have because I was born on this day x amount of years ago!".

However, this year, my birthday anxiety has been considerably less so (although still present, I must admit)  & here is why:

1. You must absolutely avoid making comparisons between yourself and your friends, family, classmates, coworkers, celebrities, random people for whom you can only make up stories. Although some of us have had similar upbringings & similar experiences, no one has ever lived the exact same life. We are not on a time line, things happen when they happen. I fully believe that people have a great amount of control over their lives (more than we often think we do!), but there is no way we can see into the future, you have no idea what the universe has in store for you, so let yourself be surprised.


2. Face it. Your birthday will be here every year until you are not so you might as well learn to deal with it. Quit pretending it doesn't exist.


3. Review your accomplishments. Have you forgotten all the wonderful things you've achieved in your lifetime? Or the many experiences you've had? Now is the time to remind yourself that you are in fact, pretty awesome, and that this new year of your life presents an opportunity for even more personal growth.


4. Set your own new year resolution. While we are talking about personal growth, what would you really like to accomplish? I am planning to move to an entirely new city & start graduate school, but your goals don't have to be so drastic. I am also planning on buying a hula hoop, painting more, and getting better at playing the mandolin.


5. Merge! I have been lucky the past few years in that my birthday has coincided with other celebratory occasions. My 21st was exactly the same day as my sister's graduation from college, My 22nd was conveniently the day after my first year anniversary with my then boyfriend, this year one of my closest friends is having her engagement party the day before my birthday, & I am lumping in celebrating my 23rd with celebrating my graduation from college doing something small, a dinner with some friends the week after.
   What I'll probably be doing next year & what you can do this year if no  special occasions match up with your birthday is make up your own holiday to celebrate! Declare the day International Wear Fairy Wings & Blow Bubbles Day or Super Underwear DanceFest! Use your Google & see if anything was invented on your birthday, celebrate that too! Plan a weekend trip & celebrate being on the road!
   
   Not worrying so much about, "this day has to be special because it's my birthday" & choosing to think instead, "this day is going to be fun because I want it to be that way" is the best attitude to have. Combining your birthday with another celebration takes the focus off of you, which I find alleviates the stress immensely.

The Tree who Lived

Details

Finally I have a completed project to share with you! I feel like I have spent more time invested in school work the past three weeks or so than I have in my entire college career! I will be back in crafty action soon though.

This little tree shouldn't even be finished right now, in fact, it probably shouldn't even be intact and here is why:

I am not used to dealing with ceramics. I love my polymer clay which is cheap and can be baked in your regular oven, but I never had much a chance to work with for real hey here is a large chunk of the earth, make something! type of ceramics until I signed up for a class this semester.

& while I have been working diligently all semester long, I am a slow worker & a bit of a perfectionist so I barely put one project out to be fired a week or so ago.

Of course, this is the time when our kiln overheats, breaking the shelves and damaging several pieces beyond repair. By some chance of luck, the one piece I had in (our dear tree) was for the assignment with a 14" minimum height requirement so this tree baby was on the top shelf & instead of being crushed, was simply fused together with some other pieces & survived!

This piece could never be fired again since it already reached well beyond the highest temperature it should be able to handle, so instead of glazing, I was told to simply use acrylics. This actually made me really happy as it gave me an excuse to gesso spray something else & made it something I could do at home, saving studio time for my other pieces!

Summer Reading Approaches

Free time for reading is coming soon! What are your favorite books? Some of mine are:

"The Magus" by John Fowles

"No One Belongs Here More Than You" by Miranda July

ANYTHING Neil Gaiman (hello, favorite author!)

"Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut

"Let us Compare Mythologies" by Leonard Cohen

"The Dream Songs" by John Berryman

& though I have a huge stack of books waiting for me, I would love to know if you have any recommendations. What are you planning to read this summer? I think I will start with this odd book I found in a thrift store called "Sanctity: or there's no such thing as a naked sailor" by Dennis Selby!

If I May Veer Off Topic . . .

So I had every intention of keeping this related to my projects, but last week I had an experience that was too amazing not to share! I had the privilege of seeing Yann Tiersen live! I wanted to share one of the videos I took during the concert, but youtube gave me a fright by saying I would be infringing copyright so I decided to play it safe even thought people upload videos like that all the time.

Yann Tiersen has made so many small moments of my life so much more beautiful because of his music. When I was a few years younger and gas was less pricey, I used to love driving around the foothills (not much going on in the central valley, let me tell you!) looking for places to explore. Listening to Yann Tiersen while doing this made every sweep of the road seem so cinematic & so special.

I was listening to Yann Tiersen as I drove away from a young man's apartment & realized I had fallen in love for the first time. So yes, very special, I was so so so excited about actually seeing him play right in front of my very own nose!

It's so interesting how people who you will probably never meet can make such an impact in your life simply because they make music.

(my friend Becca snapped this on her phone! that's me nearly dying of awesome!)

What is the best show you've ever been to? Which one were most excited for?

Etsy?

Due to the magic of the internet, I have had a few inquiries of "hey, are you selling this?". To which I've basically just replied no as I just had never thought of selling anything. & because saying, "not at this time" sounds a lot more intelligent than "guhhh whaaat???"

But the reality is, in a few weeks, I will be joining the ranks of the educated & unemployed. I also don't do much with the things I make, the purpose is to create not to have, so they basically end up sitting around with no one looking at them. So I have been giving thought to setting up a shop on Etsy, but I have so many questions!

Would anybody actually buy anything?

Would people not buying anything make me feel bad?

Will anything I make end up on the giggle inducing regretsy.com?

Would I begin to base what I make on what will sell? (I certainly hope not!)

How much should I sell things for?

Will shipping things off prove to be more trouble than it's worth?

Many questions. But maybe it is worth giving a go! Definitely something to think about at least.

Preview of Book 2

During the past winter break, I compiled a bunch of things I had written over a three year period, self published through blurb.com, and ended up with "plant collectors in bolivia".

The response from my friends has been so insanely wonderful! I wasn't really expecting too many people to take an interest, but I have plenty of people asking for a copy. From those who do have one, they've been telling me what their favorite parts were which really makes me just want to fall over dead from happiness, it's such a beautiful feeling!

I've been doing a much better job of keeping track of my writings & have been working on making a second book since pretty much the moment I finished my first, starting a book on Blurb's BookSmart software, sticking in placeholder images, etc.  I plan on continuing this for much of the year, editing during my next winter break (my life is timed by an academic calendar), & having something new for you to read in 2011.