Shoo Fly

I know it's been a bit since my last post.  When starting this blog, I made a commitment to myself to post at least once a week.  I felt this was important in order to keep my blog fresh and build an audience.  But I found myself stuck on what to write about recently.  I had quite a few ideas and a few false starts, but none of them felt "right."  So I sat back and waited, knowing that Divine Intervention would set in when the time was right.  Too New Age-y??  Sorry :(

Any-hoo, here I am, and I'm inspired!  I've been working on lots of cuts, both as stock for upcoming shows and commissions that have come my way.  I must say I've been quite blessed in the amount of commissioned work that continually comes my way, especially when you consider I only went public a little over six months ago! 

Along with my cuttings, I've been doing a lot of spiritual work on myself.  Yes, getting New Age-y again!  Deal with it!

I journal on a regular basis, but I've since been inspired to write myself a manifesto.  It's different from my general journaling in that I start each piece by addressing:  "This is what I know..."  I know I'm not alone when I say that there seems to be so much confusion in Self.  We all struggle with it at one time or another.  So I figured the works I record in my manifesto would help ground me and keep me on track during those times when I lose sight of the horizon in my life journey.  Some thoughts I had recently on Beauty have really been inspiring me in a profound way so I decided that needed to be the direction of today's post.

I'm committed to Beauty -- to seeing beauty in myself, in my life, in those I surround myself with, and in the natural world. 
I'm committed to sharing in that Beauty -- by sharing myself with the world, by my actions, my choices, and my treatment of Self and others. 
I will create Beauty -- by bearing witness to it, by exposing it to others, and by creating my art. 
I express the Beauty of my Soul through my creativity and I perpetuate Beauty through how I choose to live my life.

I was recently asked to create a piece for a charity event that was auctioning off homemade quilts.  The money raised is being used to help rebuild homes for those affected by Hurricane Sandy.  I was honored to be asked to create a piece for this worthwhile endeavor.  In making this cutting, I feel I was fully embracing that which I wrote of above. 

Here is a picture of the finished product, framed and ready to go.  The pattern is called 8-Pointed Star & Shoo Fly.  This popular quilt pattern is seen a lot here in Berks County, where I live.  I may not have the mad sewing skillz needed to make quilts...but I am pretty handy with a scissors, if I do say so myself!  ;)