Precious
Lovebirds from Christine Mason Miller on Vimeo.
I am enjoying the kind of day I have been longing for for a while now ~ a wide open day with no plans, guests, or requirements. This meant I finally got to sit down and put together two new videos, both created with footage taken by my grandpa. This video is from film shot in the early 1940s, including my grandparent’s wedding day ~ June 6, 1942. All I want to do is watch it over and over and over again, and am still in awe of the fact that I have these precious few moments of my grandparents when they were just falling in love and beginning their lives together.
Ours is a video culture now, where anything and everything is recorded and documented in digital formats. Sixty years from now, I can’t imagine anyone unearthing videos of their grandparents and feeling the same sense of wonder I felt when I first watched everything I had transferred from 8mm film and a VHS tape. I did not know what I was going to be seeing, and even though the total time of this footage amounts to just over an hour, I might as well have been given a trunk full of gold. In fact, if someone were to offer such a treasure in exchange for this just-over-an-hour collection of film, I would offer my kindest “No thank you,” and watch this video yet again.
Precious…precious…more precious than I can express.
{Music is Half Life by Imogen Heap}
Probably Only Captivating to Me
Probably Only Captivating to Me from Christine Mason Miller on Vimeo.
I have already shared quite a few images from my recent Photo Slides to digital Files Conversion Project, but it took me a while to figure out how to convert the video files to a format I could edit. The videos I have of my grandparents are kind of like a drug ~ I can't stop watching them, can't stop bursting into tears at unexpected moments, can't stop the feeling of unbelievable desperation, wishing so badly I could step into these scenes and watch my grandparents when they were young.
Life moves so quickly, doesn't it?
{Music is Far Far by Yael Naim}
100 Books Project :: Cincinnati Update
[Book #54, left in Cincinnati, Ohio by Book Fairy Julie Keefe.]
I have a lovely follow-up to this gem of a story, which is an email I received earlier this month from the woman who found the book:
"Hi Christine ~
I am the lucky recipient of book 54. My husband and I and our 25 year old son were attending a five and a half day silent retreat at the Milford Spiritual Center in Milford, Ohio, and it was an extraordinary spiritual experience. I felt like the happiest woman in the world to be able to share it with both my husband and son.
One beautiful afternoon I decided to walk the Labyrinth with no particular question in mind – just a heart brimming with gratitude. A few minutes into the experience I spied the package in the center and could see that it said: "This is a gift for you." I thought that I would have to deal with that issue when I arrived in the center as I tried to stay present to my meditation. When I arrived in the center, it was difficult for me to accept that this could "really" be for me. I picked it up and proceeded to think of many reasons why I should not take it. I left the center and left the book behind.
Then, of course, I began to doubt my leaving it and experienced much ambivalence about my decision. Finally, I just hopped back into the center, unwrapped the package and began to look at the book. I decided that it was, indeed, for me.
Thank you so much for your book and for your friend who put it in a spot that allowed me to be the lucky recipient. I have enjoyed the art work, your writing, and the adventure of finding it and the fun of sharing the story and book with my friends.
Namaste,
Theresa "
Theresa also shared her dedication to the Dhamma Moli Project in Nepal. Please visit their website and learn more about this important project.
Plant Dreams
| PLANT YOUR DREAMS and the MIRACLES WILL GROW | |
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{Author & Illustrator} Everything starts as a dream. The goal could be a new home, a wonderful relationship, an exotic vacation, or fulfilling work, but in every case the dream comes first. In Plant Your Dreams and the Miracles Will Grow, inspirational words are paired with whimsical illustrations to create a unique gift book about making dreams come true. From the book: “Only when we dare to spread our wings…do we begin to truly live.” |
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Five Things
1. I have five new originals for sale over at Etsy ~ lots of gold and turquoise in this series.
2. Get your Spoonful today!
3. And print your own fabric over at Spoonflower.
4. Are Binishells the wave of the future?
5. My mission this fall ~ see the LA Derby Dolls in action.
100 Books Project :: Amsterdam
[Book #70, left in Amsterdam by Book Fairy Annemique.]
From Annemique, July 7, 2010:
"The day before you sent your 'reminder' I had already determined that today was going to be the day I would leave behind 'Ordinary Sparkling Moments'.
Considering that the part of Amsterdam where I live is packed with tourists, day and night, I decided to find a quiet place for your wonderful book.
I took my bicycle and rode to Huis te Vraag, an old graveyard which is not in use anymore. It is an oasis of peace and tranquility where people go to stroll, sit, ponder and reminisce."
Thank you Annemique!
Paint a Yellow Elephant
During those inevitable periods of time when the demons are howling (or even whispering, which is even more annoying), trying to convince you that your work is no good, your talent is gone and your creative well has run dry, I suggest the following tried-and-true techniques:
* Avoid going to your creative space. Whether it is a separate studio, a table or just a wee corner of your house, by all means ~ stay away. Check your email 500 times, write inane blog entries, surf the web, organize your paper clips.
* Should you be bold enough to show up anyway, your job is simple: Stand in front of your easel, canvas, blank piece of paper or other project-in-the-works, and stare at it. Every once in a while it is OK to look up at the sky in exasperation ~ go ahead and throw in a heavy sigh for good measure ~ but the main point of this exercise is just to stand. And stare.
* Update all of your iPhone apps, and then…
* Spend the majority of whatever precious remaining time you have at your creative space taking a nap.
* For the artists: Add a new layer of paint to a panel for no particular reason. Do this to every unfinished piece you have.
* Go ahead and finish that bag of tortilla chips. You know you want to.
* Sweep the floor.
* Take your friend's suggestion, and paint a yellow elephant.
Repeat as necessary.
And that's ~ one to grow on.
100 Books Project :: Alabama!
[Book #68, left in Montgomery, Alabama by Book Fairy Jamie Ewald.]
Book #68 was taken care of by Book Fairy Jamie Ewald and her trusted assistant Andrew. Read her lovely story right here!
Thank you Jamie and Andrew!
52 Figments
52 weeks, 52 questions, 52 opportunities to think outside the box and ponder outlandish dreams. Every week in 2006 a new question was posted on the 52 Figments website. Participants created their answer on a postcard, sent it in, and images from all over the world can now be enjoyed at the 52 Figments Gallery.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
First off ~ I cannot take credit for tracking down the photo above. The uber-fabulous Charlotte Tarantola sent it to me, and we're now trying to figure out how we could re-create something similar in my backyard. I mean really ~ a dinner party in a pool? That's just too groovy for words.
While I ponder the odds of finding a baby pool big enough to hold a table and four chairs, I am in the midst of a period of overwhelm with regard to all the projects I'm trying to manage right now. It must be said that there is no one to blame for this overwhelm except for yours truly, as it has always been my habit to take on more than I ought to. The scary part is that as I try to figure out how to stay on top of everything, other ideas continue to lure me in new directions. That is my brain ~ it is like the red-lit ticker above Times Square, with visions, ideas and brainstorms constantly streaming through my consciousness. On any given day, I have moments where I think about how fun and magnificent a new idea might be, but have to immediately let it go, knowing there are simply not enough hours in the day to do it all.
I know this feeling of overwhelm will subside. This is a pattern in my life that has been in place ever since I can remember. In many of my old journals, I bemoan the fact that I can't seem to find "balance", critical of my tendency to dive into things without always thinking them through. But then I decided to take a different approach, which is to accept that this is the way I am and that I will always have a certain level of intensity and activity in my life. This has its merits and its frustrations, and I will likely continue trying to tweak certain habits here and there, but the beauty in acceptance is that I avoid the emotional extremes of these experiences.
In other words, the period of overwhelm I'm experiencing right now isn't paralyzing me or freaking me out. I know it won't last, and the fact that I am having to manage so many meaningful projects is the most loveliest of "problems". This is part of the process of embarking on any new adventure, and I'll take a few episodes of overwhelm over playing it safe any day.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~Mark Twain
