Kathleen Botsford

Eyes Wide Shut

Shoot!  I think it's time for a trip to the doctor and real glasses.  These cheaters aren't cutting it anymore.  So far I haven't really had much cause to feel like I'm aging.  I don't have any aches and pains unless my trainer pushes me extra hard.  But I think a pair of glasses may shed a little extra light on the advancing years.  With glasses I'm sure my wrinkles will suddenly multiply and the gray hairs in my head too.  I kind of like the way everything is a little "softer" now.  My friends all look great and unless I use a magnifying mirror, I look pretty good myself!  And if we feel like we look good we will project that image out into the world and feel better about ourselves.  It's all about our perception of ourself isn't it?

I shut my eyes in order to see

Paul Gauguin

Wise Owl

 
One of my intentions for the New Year was to start using some of my original ephemera and stop saving it for God knows what.  In this collage I'm half way there.  I used an old piece of paper from a French diary but the Owl wasn't so easy.  I have collected some very old original prints of birds, mostly owls, and I cannot seem to make myself use them in my art.  Even though this piece would feel entirely different with the original owl, I made a copy and used that.  It makes me feel safe and secure knowing the original is still unharmed in my files.   At least the "illusion" of safe and secure.  I think this whole exercise says much about what I am trying to process in my life in general.   "Letting Go" in a big way.  Ways I am not comfortable with.  Ways I have no control over.  At least I still have control over the little owl ~ or does he have control over me?  Hmmmm.

Human beings aren't made solely

to go in search of wisdom,

but also to plough the land, wait for rain,

plant the wheat, harvest the grain, make the bread.

Paulo Coelho, "Eleven Minutes"

A New Day's Gift

It's a dreary, cold and rainy day in Chicago-land.  Yesterday was bright and sunny, as was my journal page.  Its as if I have my own personal spiritual guru, softly whispering into my ear;  "be patient, everything has its own season".  Everything.  One day my house is full of grown children, laughing and bantering and the next day it is quiet and empty.  Staying "in the moment" is always my practice.  Not wishing for quiet when chaos rules and soaking up every last morsel of solitude when it is graciously presented to me.   Each day is new and different.  Each day a gift to unwrap and cherish.

Everything we need to learn

is always there before us;

we just have to look around us with respect

and attention in order to discover where

God is leading us and

which step we should take next.

Paulo Coelho, The Zahir

Italian Magic

More dreams of Italy with hidden gratitude statements creating an energetic and "magnetic" foundation.  If I have time to day dream, I might as well use all of that power in the direction of experiences I would like to manifest.  It sure can't hurt and it's fun!

Vision Boards Come to Life

Many years ago I made vision boards.  It was well before I had ever heard or read about them but something inspired me to glue the images that spoke to me onto poster boards.  I then placed these "collages" in the appropriate part of my home using traditional Feng Shui principles.  One day many years after these treasure maps collected dust under sofas and behind bookcases, I pulled them out to have a look.  I was astonished to find images I had long forgotten had made their appearance in my life in astonishing ways.

I found images of the super model Cindy Crawford taken by the fabulous and highly acclaimed fashion photograper, Victor Skrebneski.  I think I may have used those images because I liked the "look" of the fashion or the life style it portrayed.  But how amazed was I when I realized I had been part of a Chicago fashion show that featured Cindy Crawford.   AND Victor Skrebneski was the director of said fashion show.  AND he took the most fabulous photos of my jewelry pieces and projected them onto a screen as large as the entire stage for all of the fashion industry of Chicago to drool over!

So, I was thinking yesterday as I was thumbing through some of my visual journals......I have lots of images and stories about my desire to spend lots of time in Italy when my nest "empties".   Hmmmm.  I may be writing my blog with an Italian accent sooner than I think!  AND I can use this time to learn the language!  I have found my new project!  Now where did I put my Rosetta Stone Italian course????

Spontaneous Expression

 
Just a little fun page in my journal to start the day.  A few papers lying around, the glob of paint on the top of the bottle and voila'!  Once again I am amazed at how completely relaxing and centering "playing" in a spontaneous, child-like way can be.  My monkey-mind goes blank as my fingers fly with paint and paste, cutting, arranging, coloring;  no destination in sight.  (No inner critic allowed either!)

One could not express in words

what one feels with one's eyes and one's hand.

Alberto Giacometti

Welcome All Things

Sigh.  I am feeling unappreciated and attacked this morning.  I can feel the defensiveness rising to the surface and then I take a deep breath and step back.  Way back.  If I feel the need to defend myself, that means that some of the "accusations"coming my way, whether imagined or not, have found a grain of truth in my psyche.  Instead of resisting these uncomfortable emotions, perhaps I can welcome them as a harbinger of truth, welcome or not, pointing to unfinished business within myself. 

The Master doesn't seek fulfillment.

Not seeking, not expecting,

she is present, and can welcome all things.

Tao Te Ching, Stephen Mitchell

Time for Balance

With two bathrooms under construction, a party that started last Saturday at noon until Sunday at 3:00 with 14 spending the night and the final weekend of Victoria's high school musical, it definitely is "time for balance".  So, I took the day off.  No working out, no errands, no laundry.  Dinner reservations before the performance tonight and a nice, quiet day tomorrow before the closing performance on Sunday.  Sometimes you have to carve out the "balance" between drills and hammers and frenetic schedules.   Sometimes a few short hours to myself is all I need to keep me going.

Let Us Pray

I have been helping out at school all day.  Tori is the lead in her high school musical and they needed parents behind the scenes today.  Everything was fine until I opened my big mouth and stuck my bigger foot right in.  Jeez.  Will I ever learn???  So anyway, this collage seemed apropos.....Lord we beseech Thee, let Thy Holy Spirit put a sock in my mouth.  Let us pray.  Amen!

Who really cares what college graduates the most football players anyway????

Red Feasting Wine

I love wine labels.  I love the wine too but lots of time it's the label that grabs my attention.   My studio is full of wine bottles whose labels I cannot bear to throw away.  I have been trying to get these labels off the bottles in one piece for some time.  Somtimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  I don't have the courage to try to separate my favorite labels from their homes.  I don't want to ruin them and as long as they are still on the bottle, the possibility of saving them is still intact. 

This label came off easily and then became the focal point of this collage.  Wouldn't it be fun to design collages for wine bottles?  I can think of all sorts of "careers" for my next chapter in life.  Too bad there isn't much of a market for them!