laramie

Most of the creative work that I do, in one form or medium or another, is part of a process of getting through to myself.

I started making the jeweled bookmarks during a period in which I was feeling impoverished: they are clear reminders of the sensory wealth, the beauty and its meaning, that surrounds us all in the physical world. Though I may often retreat into the worlds of books, the bookmarks (with their lush materials, textures and colors) remind me of the beauty, meaning, and even riches, in my own actual life.

The Mudra series originated in a period during which I felt particularly powerless in my life. I'd been suffering severe depression, had trouble working, couldn't find assistance, but started volunteering to help the teacher in an art class for adults with emotional disabilities. (The MHA's 26th Street Project, now defunct). The class encouraged participants to paint in expressive ways that brought emotions into the light. I did some of my own and found images of power and energy that I otherwise didn't recognize in myself.

The Smoke Signals image and the Rapunzel's Darkest Hour piece both bring a compassionate eye to difficult feelings that I might otherwise reject in myself: the wary defensiveness and distrust that can arise in the face of the alien, and the despair that threatens to overwhelm when I experience loss, disappointment or real tragedy in life.

Other images convey messages of hope, or reminders of the anything-is-possible worlds of the dreaming mind that is a part of us all whether or not we remember.

Not everyone needs these messages, or 'gets' them when they're right in front of their eyes, but for the people who can benefit by these reminders of wholeness and hope, I feel a duty to put them out there for as long as I can.

Agh. I finally got a message from Network Solutions, telling me that my faxed documentation of my identity doesn't work for them, because I forgot to write in my name at the top, despite having my signature at the bottom, and a scan of my drivers license and my utility bill.

I wrote them a reply expressing my dissatisfaction with the situation. Then I remembered and wrote them another reply citing the fact that I'd previously sent them a pdf version, via email, of the same documentation that DID include my name at the top and noting that there should be no further delay due to this.

I've had an automated note acknowledging receipt, but no actual reply as yet.

I know I am missing important email messages. I've sent out lots of resumes. And there are probably hundreds of people who would be ordering prints and jeweled bookmarks from my site if only it were up. :) This is very frustrating.