Happy New Year!
I have been thinking a lot about what I am doing with my work, my life, pondering my existence. I am not trying to be dramatic or am thinking I have a horrible life. More along the lines of, what am I giving back? Is this a thing that happens when your 40+, you completely over analyze your life…. My family is first, of course, I am here to take care of them but there is more…. I want to inspire more than I do now. But inspire what? I don’t know the answer… maybe that is part of the discovery. I am on a search with my work finding my place…I am scared to lose my career by not staying relevant, to not be able to support my family. But there is a time when it is important to push your creativity and your work to a new level. The fear is unhealthy…. Focusing on being scared to make a change makes you unable to move forward. Turning that fear into curiosity is giving me the courage to make changes and take chances. This has sparked these thoughts of what my work is meant to be. Yes, I love it and it fuels my soul but I need more from it. I need it to fuel others.…I want to inspire… even if it is just to look at your day a little different. Maybe its just a photo that inspires a smile…. Or a fabric that inspires the need to create a quilt…. Or a quilt that fills you with the desire to sew…. In all of this I want to spread Love. I want to find Love…. Let go of the Fear. My goal is to let go of my own fears, insecurities and pure bullshit that I have convinced myself is true. My bad habits of self doubt can snowball into my daily tasks. I am ready to change my habits and theories and to grow, embracing it all. Part of this journey in my life is to inspire others. Now I just have to figure out what that looks like…
I am learning to look at myself with a loving eye and should revel in sharing with you my photography that speaks a lot better than I write, if that can be a true statement – images verse writing. I should show you what I see…and in what I see, I find Love… I photograph what I love. And Love is so many things…it’s a feeling, a object, a person, a memory, a smell, a sight, a sound, a taste…. couldn’t we make love anything and everything……and if we did wouldn’t the world revolve around love rather than fear?
So, I share with you my Love… 12 images, one from each month of 2015 that inspire me, that remind me of the love in my life, and how blessed I am.
Experimenting with screen printing onto appliqued circles. I love experimenting and taking chances when I am in the studio. The success and the mistakes are all part of being an artist and I am constantly striving to be a better at what I create.
Morocco filled my head in February as I designed Mystic, my most recent collection of fabric from Robert Kaufman. Filtering through all of the images that I shot in Morocco filled my head with so many ideas that there are more than one Moroccan inspired fabric collection in the works.
Photography....it is such a love of mine...and when it all comes together you click the shutter at just the right time and you capture magic. This photograph of Olivia is magic...she is so full of love and it comes through in this image. I take thousands of photos a year and I strive to capture something special every time.
My sketchbook goes everywhere with me.....along with this little tin of watercolors that I made in Morocco. The tin is the perfect size for travel and filled with huge memories that inspire me every time I pull it out. I think of what I learned about myself on my trip and how I learned from those I traveled with, they started as strangers and left as friends you hold close to your heart.
It may sound odd but I remind myself everyday that I am love...I am open to love and I love fiercely. Try it sometime you'll be amazed at how good it makes you feel!!!
These little kittens that have turned our house upside down.... in the best way ever. They are my constant companions in the studio and the kids best friends... they have even made Ross, the so-so cat person, fall in love with them....They remind me to be in the moment...and they are just so FUZZY!
Mother Nature at her best...nothing but inspirational.
We travel to the Oregon Coast at least twice a year and usually go to the same beach, Manzanita. I am always amazed that I can find something new to see... take photos, sketch and be inspired by. It could be the time of year mixed with where I am in my life... what am I open to seeing.
The spring of 2015 the kids and I planted 300 sunflower seeds.... there were several casualties due to rodents but we got most of them to bloom. Our yard was such a happy place surrounded by sunflowers of all different sizes and colors garden beds filled with veggies and flowers....AHHH summer!
I fell in love with Indigo dying...I mean how couldn't you...The color.... the endless possibilities! Part of the joy of Indigo dying was learning the process with my mom, one of her friends and my daughter Olivia. Three generations of women creating beautiful fabric together.
Block printing has become a huge part of my work. It has been a love of mine since college and I am finding it to be a new inspiration for design.... to see what happens when designs are repeated, mixed together and layered.
This crew is my biggest inspiration and love...their love and patience with me is unwavering. I hate to admit it but I am kind of a moody artist and these four people love me anyway.
I wish you a wonderful 2016 inspired by the unpredictable and familiar, seen in a new light.... inspired by your time with those you love and the quiet space in which you can reflect.....
Be grateful and live your life out of Love!
xoxo
Valori
Love the monthly images! And isn't it odd how easy it is to love others but we are very hard on ourselves. I keep on fighting that battle too but I am trying to see myself as my grandchildren see me. Being Nana is the best mood changer I know! Happy New Year Valori, I have a stack of Jules and Indigo waiting for me.
Posted by: Mary Ann | January 05, 2016 at 12:06 PM