Choi to the World

motivation as inspiration?

I hadn't made a big deal about the art show because quite frankly I had no guarantee that my work would make the cut. This is the first showing of any type that I have participated in since 2001. Let's just say my confidence level wasn't there. I am confident in my work just wasn't all that confident on how it would be received by a primarily 2-dimensional show. There was this little clause at the bottom of the application, a  there is no guarantee that your work will make it into the show kind of phrase. So I wasn't sure if I should even invite anyone or promote it.

A few days before the show I appeared at the store and was informed that my lamp indeed was shining in all its glory.

The reception and the number of people attending were impressive. My little lamp was as bright as its compact fluorescent could be.

Now you would think that something like this would jump start my creative ideas into creative action. I am working but not as much as I should. I can't seem to move towards action. I can't seem to make the work come out. All I need to so is sit in my creative space and it will flow -- it always does. One distraction or another always takes precedence. I need to schedule but I am not really a scheduled person.

My ideas are there they are crowding my thoughts and dreams. They are there when I go to sleep, they are there when I wake up. I've always been told I need to narrow my ideas, specialize, concentrate.

Why? Why do I listen? Why don't I just create what my brain wants me to do? I don't just have creative thoughts about cards or lamps. I have ideas for pillows, screens, dolls, sculpture, paintings, pots, jewelry. Why can't I do them all? I can.  I can have a little cottage industry that is the product of my creative corner of my brain that is my niche. It goes together to me -- a little art collaborative in my think-tank noggin.

Somehow I just need to bring it out, bring it on, just bring it! I am overwhelmed by my thoughts and ideas I don't know where to start.  For now I will close and start by walking into my studio and finish a lamp, who's parts are waiting ... a lamp who can't be a lamp without me.

dancer and dessert

Anna Pavlova was considered the greatest ballerina of her time. She was born in 1881. She brought ballet to the world in the 1920's as she toured the world.  In 1926 she toured New Zealand and in 1929 she returned to that corner of the globe when she toured Australia. With her grace and elegance I am sure she inspired many a dancer and became the picture synonymous with the image of dancer conjured in the minds of thousands of people.

Around the same time a dessert started appearing in both New Zealand and Australia -- it was called a pavlova. I first had a pavlova in Stratford, Canada at the Olde English Parlour in Stratford, Canada. Never before had I experienced such a thing and wondered how I had gone so long without experiencing this dessert that seemed next to godliness.

The fact that I had it at all was an amazing twist of fate ** this is romantic so I am adding it in here. ** Everything was going right for Steve and me. We had been dating pretty seriously for about 6 months. We had decided to go on a trip for a few days, it would be our first together. We weren't sure where but we had a couple places in mind and we planned to make a few phone calls and then just go. This was the week of August 10, 2003. On Thursday the 14th, the HUGE NORTHEAST BLACKOUT -- some 50 million people in the US and Canada without power! For some reason after a day or two power started being restored we thought we'd try to go somewhere anyway. We randomly called a hotel in Stratford to see if they had power up there, they did so that is the direction we started driving. Everything fell into place magically. We were able to get a B&B because of a cancellation, front row theatre tickets because of cancellations. Normally these are things booked months in advance and without the help of the blackout it never would have been possible. Speaking of inspiration. There was an older couple staying at our B&B who had been coming to Stratford for 20 years or so, never missing a year. You could see after all the years they so enjoyed each other, enjoyed traveling and  their time together. At the conclusion of our stay, Steve was so inspired he by them and our good fortune and absolute best time together he asked me to marry him! (He wasn't prepared for this but he had planned to ask in a month or two.) The best proposal because he was so moved by the situation, he wasn't nervous, there was no plan, he just looked at me deeply and asked!

So every year we go back to Stratford and we always stop in for a pavlova, too.

Yesterday, I was leafing through my favorite cookbook, Extending the Table and all along the recipe was there. I was thinking about Stratford, the time was right. So I did it, I made my first pavlova. One look and you'll see how it got its name. Beautiful. Light. Romantic. Magical. Delicious. Inspirational!

It is a meringue piled on a piece of moistened brown paper to bake.

You make a depression in the center and bake it until slightly browned. Looks like a tutu, huh?

Fill it with whipped cream and fresh fruit ...

and enjoy!

What inspires me

I suppose it goes without saying that inspiration fuels my creative endeavors. But what is inspiration and what does the inspiring. Sometimes I am not all that sure. I am very atune to the world around me, my feelings, and my opinions but sometimes I wonder, "where did that idea come from?" How does driving in the car inspire a lamp? There are tangible things that inspire me to do lots of things. You know they show someone enjoying an ice cream on TV and I am off to the freezer, scoop in hand. So I plan on exploring this question.

My first installment: something tangible: a cold front is blowing rolling grey clouds over my little patch of the planet. Those clouds are crashing into each other creating one of my favorite audible natural events. I love storms. I love the the greyness, the rain, the lightning, the wind in the trees, the thunder, of course, the sun afterwards and that rain smell. I'd love to put it all in a little jar and take it out whenever I wanted. (I found this cool picture on some kind of a forum but couldn't figure out who to attribute it too. Fantastic isn't it?)

My String Theory

Actually it is not my theory, it is that of My String Theory etsy shop owner. She has a shop on etsy where she sells some super cute crocheted items. She's a violin teacher by day and a crocheter by night -- she really loves strings!
She recently posted a feature and interview about my shop and my work at her blog. This is something I have been meaning to do on my blog. Maybe this will be the impetus to get me going! Check out My String Theory the blog, the pictures of my work look great. She did a nice job. Check it out!

lamp news

Well, after dropping my lamps off last week around 5pm on a Saturday afternoon my Mezzanine lamp sold before closing at 7pm. Awe-some! Keara set the lamp in the window, someone walked by and came inside to buy it, just like that! By the next day my Golden Bamboo lamp was in the window, check out the picture. I must admit it is so cool to have my work in a retail shop.

As soon as I got back home it was back to work. I had just a couple days to put together a submission for a local invitational art show at the High Falls Fine Art Gallery. I was thrilled to be included but got word just before working to get stock for Oak and the deadline for submissions was two days after I got home. I worked until 4:30am trying to get that baby together for this, my first first show since college. Be sure to check it out at my Etsy shop this one, called Awakening, is a real beauty. They are all beauties to me but this one involved a lot more work -- lots and lots of cutting (my fingers are still sore), paper dyeing, and layers of paper. The show opens May 18 and runs through July 6. (Steven was a huge help getting this little lighted masterpiece finished, I can't wait to be able to hire him!)

It is so exciting to have my work displayed among the amazing talent found in this area. I can't wait to see it all lit up in this beautiful space overlooking the falls on the Genesee River.

My work will be appearing in more venues soon, stay tuned.