Creating causes and conditions

Spring is springing!

I'd like to say that there is a lightness in my step, but that is not really true.  Some business troubles, some emotional issues, some health concerns, the fighting in the Middle East, the tragedies in Japan...

Causes and conditions.  I wonder if it is correct to think of them as opportunities.  In these times, it is very difficult.  I am not sure.  I am just barely scratching the surface of the Lam Rim in my classes and in my life.  Much of it remains a profound mystery to me.

But recently, as I sat in class on the pillow on the floor, the copied text laid out in front of me, and listening to my... (teacher?  is that what I call him?  We have no formal relationship, he is just there when I show up!)

... listening to my teacher...  He was talking about causes and conditions, we are reading Lama Tsongkhapa's commentary and it is so analytical and straightforward - for this reason I enjoy it immensely!  The clarity!  I hadn't really understood that there is a point to being a Buddhist - this is going to sound silly and naive, but it's true.  I had thought it was a viewpoint, but there wasn't necessarily a direction.

But there IS a direction.  There is a GOAL.  There is a TASK at hand.  It is very, very clear.  There is something to DO.

Or, as I like to think, something to DEW...

See, this is where the name "beeanddew" came from.  One day, 3 or so years ago, I was feeling overwhelmed (as I frequently am) and I needed to calm down.  I set the mission for myself, that all I needed was to be and do.  Nothing else was required.  I am enough, as is.  Being springtime, like this time of year, and gazing out the window at the joyous greenery, the buzzing of the insects and the song of the birds, that transformed into "beeanddew".

In any case, I have been searching for a clearer direction for my artistic life, and I was sitting on the pillow, lounging really, my head in my hands, looking up at Don over his little table with the yellow flower prettily sitting there.  We had been talking about causes and conditions as described by Lama Tsongkhapa - Don makes this material so accessible! - and then somehow, someone asked about the Buddha.  I think the question was if one who reaches Buddhahood (Buddhaness? hahaha) is subject to causes and conditions.

I don't remember the answer.  Because listening to Don give the answer, I heard the phrase "creating causes and conditions".  There came an image in my mind to go with this phrase, and Don's words, something about the Buddha is in that place where positive causes and conditions can be constantly generated.  Something like that.

To be honest, I'm not sure this is right, in terms of the Dharma and Tibetan belief system.  But what came to me out of it was an idea of what my artistic life could be like, could accomplish.

I have been working with the ideas of seeds for a long time now.  I am currently working, in class, on a prayer wheel, similar to the Tibetan prayer wheel, but with an emphasis for sowing the seeds of creativity.  Each time the copper wheel is spun, thoughts of support and positive energy towards creativity - my own and everybody's - are released into the air to float around the world.

Committing to that idea, having my artwork pursue these principles, those of working towards creating the causes and conditions for creativity itself, and the Dharma in general - that's the direction that came to me.  Applying myself to furthering the causes and conditions necessary for positivity and creativity through my artwork. Each piece a spinning prayer offered to the world.

That's what I'm going to dew.


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Olive Oyl Zapatos de Terciopelos

This is Olive:

She is feral.  You will never see her.  She only likes me.

Today I was sitting in the chair in one room, and I heard her start crying in the other room, as she sometimes does.  All I had to do was lean forward, look out the doorway and say her name.  She looked over, brightened like the sun as if she hadn't seen me in weeks, and tail up dashed over to jump into my lap.

Oh, that look she gave me.  She is my Valentine.

Google Art Project

I noticed in the NY Times a critique about the Google Art Project. When I go on vacation, I try to plan my adventures around what painter I am interested in or what museum have I not been to, or not been to recently. (Philadelphia and Duchamp is next!)

I am enraptured now with this painting of Joseph Roulin by Van Gogh. The project allows me to do digitally what I long to do in person with a great painting, which is to get up very close, poke around a little with my eyes (and yes, I do long to touch it with my fingers! but I won't!)  to see the artist's hand and mind at work.  Look at Joseph's eyes - the remarkable shapes of the lids, that pinky-orange outline.  Compare the bluegreen of the irises to the deep blue in his beard and mustache.  How is it that the background looks so natural, unfractured?  Is that the canvas I see on the cheekbones?  I could spend hours looking for where the paint is transparent and where it is impasto...  Oh, and the greens, the greens.  What genius.

Van Gogh's work is full, very full and rich.  I have a watercolor sitting on my easel right now, based on a pinecone, and it is looking a little forlorn.  It needs more, I need to fill it up!

Thanks for this, google :)

New Year, New Beginnings

The school year has begun, and I am building a version of a Tibetan prayer wheel for the class project. I am reinterpreting the idea of a prayer wheel, using western influences. I have settled on the form - I have not yet settled on the content. I was thinking of incorporating some Interfaith references, but then my teacher suggested I continue working on my seed theme from last semester. I haven't decided yet.

My friend Carlos brought his iPad to class to show us - very snazzy! - and told me that my rowboat had been featured on the college website. You can see it here. The prototype is now on sale at etsy.com

And... I had a fantastic time at the 3rd New Mexico State Backgammon Championship. I have become a little bit obsessed with the game, and to have the privilege of sitting at the boards of some very nice people, and some master players, was very fun! I think I'll try to enter and play a tournament soon.

Plus, now there are all these ideas for backgammon jewelry floating around in my head.





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Jack's Rowboat

I listed the prototype of the rowboat for sale at etsy.com today.  I stated in the description that I had a number of associations with it, and that I would write them here:

• As I wrote in the description, the morning at 3am I woke up and had this powerful vision in my head.  A little rowboat, heading out into the ocean.  It was too far out to sea for him to hear me calling to him from the shore.  I started making the rowboat the next day.

• A separate association, there is a lovely old song, maybe Irish?, called "The Water is Wide" - here is a lovely version by James Taylor.  Part of the lyrics say,

"Build me a boat, 

that can carry two, 

and both shall row, 

my love and I..." 

• Around the time of Hurricane Katrina, there was a... what would one call it?  A story?  A fable? I'm not sure.  But it goes like this (this is how I remember it, it may be different in its original form):

A storm is coming.  A man's neighbor knocks at his door, "I have a car, let's go."  The man refuses - "No worries, God will take care of me."  The neighbor leaves without him.

The storm arrives, and the city is flooded.  Rescue workers come in a small boat, knock at the door, "We have a boat, let's go."  The man refuses - "No worries, God will take care of me."  The boat leaves without him.

The flooding worsens, and the man climbs to his roof to escape the waters.  A helicopter arrives, and the rescue workers shout down, "Grab the rope, let's go."  The man refuses - "No worries, God will take care of me."  The helicopter leaves without him.

The man drowns.  He stands before God.  "God, please, I was counting on you to take care of me."

God replies, "I sent you a car, a boat, a helicopter - what more did you want?"

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A Ramble from White to Whitney

So, just when I write a post about fashion and white coming back as a trend, I see this column by Linda Yablonsky in the NY Times entitled "Damn White".  This actually covers a topic I was thinking about at the time I was writing about fashion.

My art studio setup is atrocious.  I have far too much clutter, and not enough room to function efficiently. Most artists have too much stuff.  The real problem is the size of the room.  It is the spare bedroom, and it is small.  In order to switch from wax carving to metal finishing, for example, I have to put an entire set of tools away and pull another set of tools out.  Sterling silver charms and wax carving do not mix - one is supposed to keep the work areas clean.  It is very difficult to do in a small space.

I was at... class?  practice?  at the Tibetan meditation center last night, which is located at the Second Street Studios here in Santa Fe.  My mind wandered - it counts as meditation if I see my mind wandering, right? I hope so - towards two topics while I was in their space.  The first was the color of their walls.  They moved in recently, perhaps a year ago, and the main space has altars and this wonderful Tibetan artwork, and the background color is a delicious saffron yellow.  We were talking about dependent arising, and the teacher was using a flower on his desk as an example.  A lovely little daisy, and it too was the same sort of saffron yellow, slightly paler, maybe less orange.  I wondered in my mental wanderings if that yellow had any sort of symbolic significance, as it seemed to be present in the paintings and fabrics also.

Back to white... I also remembered that white has a spiritual significance, because that space is chilly.  I have taken to wearing a scarf - but I almost, accidentally, pulled out a white scarf to wear last night.  Then I remembered, a white scarf may not be appropriate, since this is a token?  talisman?  gift? that the Dalai Lama hands out.

Haha, this made me laugh - I went searching for a picture of the Dalai Lama with a white scarf, and the first one I see is with Arnold Schwarznegger.  I wonder if there is a certain white for scarves the Dalai Lama prefers?

My mind also wanders to using that space as a studio.  From what I have heard, quite a few artists and creative types live and work in the Second Street complex.  It would make a wonderful studio, the windows and the rooms are large.  There is lots of space for cabinets and tables and work areas.  I imagined a wax carving station over there, and a polishing station over there, and rows and rows of cabinets to hide away the clutter.  Or, at least to put the clutter away once in a while, I always seem to be working in clutter.  And multiple simultaneous projects.  There's a painting leaning up waiting to dry in one spot, piles of inspiration from magazines in another, the silver charm carving of the moment on the jewelers bench....

This column in the New York Times talks about what color white to view art in.  It is also important to know what color white to create in.  One of my first art teachers, Brett Barker, advised me to use a grayish white when I moved into this house.  I look at it now, it is fairly neutral, but perhaps a bit yellow more than grey.  I can't even remember if I painted it, or if it was this color.  It hasn't distracted me or thrown off my color sense, though.

The column "Damn White" agrees - gray would be better.  Some white is so blinding, and the light streaming in the studio, especially when combined with a snowfall, makes this room a little too bright sometimes.  The Denver Art Museum has some of their art hanging in rooms that are painted in the rich jewel tones that I love.  Ooooh, they have a bamboo exhibit - I might have to try to get to Denver.

That article covers an art exhibit I would like to see.  That looks very interesting.  I just finished a "treasury" at etsy.com about tiny things, and here is a selection of tiny things at the Whitney.  Be sure to look at the Whitney site to get a sense of the size of Charles LeDray's work.

Well, this post is quite the ramble - I hope you enjoy it!

Fashion

It is awards season again. As much as I no longer pay attention to the movies and television shows that seem to come and go like gossamer clouds, I do enjoy looking at the fashion of the red carpet the day after. I was delighted to see that this year, jewel tones are back! My favorite!

I had read in Vogue that bright colors against whites are the trends for the season. As a jewelry designer, this pleases me a lot. I always imagine my pieces against a white shirt. Katherine Hepburn's style is a favorite of mine - a crisp white collar, long flowy pants.

And I like to imagine my jewelry as the pop of color or organic shape to complete the outfit. But then, who needs jewelry when you have a face like that?





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011111

I saw the date yesterday, and thought it might be auspicious, so set to work - finally! - opening my shop on etsy....

Etsy beeanddew

The photography, as I have expressed before, was a painful process.  But the sun was shining brightly, and once I came up with a "scenario", a style, it went very well.  I am pleased with the results.  What I did was open up a book - in this case, Julia Cameron's The Vein of Gold - and stood it up, holding the pages open with rubber bands, and then used a knitting needle across the top to hang my work from.  So, the book pages are the backdrop.  I had a bit of trouble with some of my pieces, the camera would focus on the words behind the piece instead of the piece itself, but overall, it was very successful.  I am quite pleased with myself, and looking forward to the adventure.

I really like having the book as a background.  When I started thinking about opening a crafts business, I thought about doing bookmarks exclusively.  I love books, and my mother was a librarian.  I may still do bookmarks, even though books themselves are becoming obsolete.  I think we will always have books.  In any case, as something to set my photographs apart and distinguish my style, and as I am starting to think about branding, it is nice to have books included.

I do not yet have any of my silver work up for sale.  I took a small break over the holidays, and now as I approach my work I have found myself very attracted to the colors and varieties of beads.  Also, I made a few gifts from beads for Christmas, which were very successful.  But I am heading back to seeds soon, and beads will be incorporated in that.  I am also thinking a lot about future projects, and how to make components that can be used with beads.

Oh!  Over the holidays I received two requests for commissions!  A pendant to commemorate an engagement (there are some lovely romantic fellows out there, ladies!) and a cross for a friend for her teenage son.  It's very exciting.  I am wrestling as well, in part based on one of the commissions, about which class I should take this semester.

And... I am now studying lam rim, going further into Tibetan Buddhism after taking the meditation class.  I would love to talk more about it, but I have only had one class, and although I am very intrigued, I have to admit that I am puzzled.  I am starting the class in the middle, and the text is very dense.  But the teacher is wonderful, so I am sure I will learn.




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Grab your brooms! Happy New Year 2011!

The past week has been frigid and overcast.  This morning, I awoke early, and was greeted a few minutes later by a beautiful sunrise.  Some rosy pink tinges on a few remaining wispy clouds, surrounded by the brilliant blue New Mexico sky.  Storms and grey all blown off to other lands.

It's garbage day, and while playing backgammon online with a new Italian friend who was already anticipating his New Year's Eve festivities in Naples, I heard the sounds of our morning, the recycling truck pounding away at the glass and plastic bins.  So, I was too late to be a responsible recycler again in 2010, but off I went to put on my boots and take out the trash.

It is still bitterly cold, and the garage door opener cannot manage to haul the door up all the way.  I stood there a few moments, pushing the button, up down up down, and at least I got it far enough that my car could squeeze out.  I looked out onto the bright snow, and became obsessed with the idea of cleaning the garage floor.

First I took the trash out - lucky me, the trash truck had not come!  So, the last of this year's detritus waits for the dump, and I thought about it going to live for years, perhaps thousands of years, with the muck that couldn't be recycled.  I will try to be more thoughtful about that in the days to come.  Then I shuffled over the icy drive of stones back to my house, and I turned the car on, and pulled it out, so I could sweep.

All kinds of dirt on that cement.  Old wrappers, old spiders, old stencils from an art project with my Little, old shreds of whatever.  Bits of broken eco lightbulbs from when the hazardous waste recycling tipped over.  Even fragments from last year - I collect glass Christmas ornaments in the shapes of foods, and while I didn't put up a tree this year, I did last year.  I remembered that the box containing my set of golden walnuts had slipped open, and one had fallen out and shattered.  It was hollow, and it was odd to look at the molded smooth shapes of the shell from the inside with its jagged edges. There were still broken bits of gold walnut amidst the dust and the grime scattered across the floor.

It has been far too long, since I have swept out the old.  Today is a great time to start again.  My toes and my fingers were frozen from the biting of the cold, but I set to work.  There was the broom, propped in the garage corner, part of its bristles missing from when I cut them off to try a casting experiment, which failed.  But the broom has plenty of bristles left, so swish swish swish, all the dirt and past and sharp edged bits are pushed easily into a pile.  The sweeping reminds me of the artist, Daniel Brush, who makes sweeping with a broom a part of his artistic routine.  A trip inside the house for a dustpan and a paperbag, so the glass doesn't cut the garbageman - and I think about the garbageman and how cold his hands must be on a day like today.  My hands warm up from the work, maybe his hands warm up, too.

There is more dirt than I expected, most of it grime, dust, and sand that nature has driven in through cracks in the walls and the door.  In the piles, I find gum wrappers and weird bits of hard plastic of unknown origin and then I find a penny, and then I find a second!  And I welcome them as a harbinger, to becoming one of two this coming year.

Not long ago, I wrote a letter to someone.  In it, I warned to be careful of what is created.  We all create things - we are human, we create things all the time.  The warning was about creating something by omission.  Something new is always coming along, and if we decide to do something, or not to do something, that creates something new whether we intend it to or not.  It is the way of the world - a new year, a new moon, a new obstacle, a new wish, always.  It is life.  But, by deciding not to do something, or even by not deciding, we may unintentionally create something we don't want.

These piles of dirt and dust were something I created.  I didn't put the dust there, but I hadn't shoo'd it out, either.  And that's fine, I am not judging myself, and now they are gone.  As I look forward into this New Year, I want to remember to carry my broom with me, sweep away the old, and create the new, with intention and not by omission.

Let's grab our brooms!  Let's poke around in the dusty corners, get rid of the cobwebs, and create something new for ourselves!  And this time next year, we'll be looking back once again.  Much will be the same, and much will be different and new.  Here's hoping that the same and the new will all be for the good, our best intentions worked on and worked out and realized, and that we enjoyed the journey that we start now - ready or not! - and again! - to create for ourselves.

Happy New Year!