Kathleen Botsford

Everything is Simple....

 

Everything

I want to make poems that say right out, plainly,
what I mean, that don't go looking for the
laces of elaboration, puffed sleeves. I want to
keep close and use often words like
heavy, heart, joy, soon, and to cherish
the question mark and her bold sister

the dash. I want to write with quiet hands. I
want to write while crossing the fields that are
fresh with daises and everlasting and the
ordinary grass. I want to make poems while thinking of
the bread of heaven and the
cup of astonishment; let them be

songs in which nothing is neglected,
not a hope, not a promise. I want to make poems
that look into the earth and the heavens
and see the unseeable. I want them to honor
both the heart of faith, and the light of the world;
the gladness that says, without any words, everything.

~ Mary Oliver ~

New Year New Condo

Summer has come and gone.

I have been busy designing and decorating our new condo.

The last four years we have rented a condo

near the Notre Dame campus

to enjoy our family and friends

and our beloved college football team.

We finally decided to buy.

These are photos of one of the collages

I have been working on to adorn the walls.

 Victoria is back at school and snugly enschonced into her

sophomore year.

Even she thinks time is flying

much too swiftly.

Our Alexandra has flown the cozy

suburbs to experience the excitement

of city life in Chicago

as she starts a new and challenging

consulting career in the city

and a new apartment in Old Town.

Stevie will enjoy a final year working

with his father and

and cheering on his team mates

before his life takes an

adventurous and exciting turn.

*details to follow at a later date.

In the meantime,

being present in the moment

is as always,

my secular and spiritual challenge.

Wishing you and yours

a fabulous new school year

filled with appropriate challenge

and sweet success.

GO IRISH!

p.s. I think I may have to rename this post due to

all of the "challenges" I noted upon re-reading!

How about "New Year New Challenge"?

 

 

 

 

Paper and Glue

It has been a busy summer so far.  Lots of parties and company

and building a condo two and half hours away

have taken a big chunk out of

the lazy, hazy days of our summer.

While I love the commotion of family and friends

and wouldn't trade one second of our get-togethers,

I tend to get a little fussy when I don't have

my quiet time to putter in my studio

or sit under a tree in the back yard

with a big fat book.

So instead of taking the time

to open up messy paints and inks and such,

I have found my meditative and creative sojourn

with some scraps of paper and a glue stick.

Soft classical music and the sound

of scissors clipping away.

Just the thing to

quiet my head

and soothe my fraying nerves

with as little mess as necessary.

 

 

Decorating Dilemmas

Victoria has been teasing me lately

about my obsession with chandeliers

and sconces and lanterns and so on and so on.

We recently bought a new condo in South Bend

and I have been busy picking out lighting

and colors and furniture and hardware.

My husband picked out all of the appliances

in one outing to the appliance store.

He makes it all look so easy as I research

and compare and fret over each and every design element.

Still searching for dining room chairs and bedding

but I am "mostly" done.

Our village's premier home furnishing store

has decided to call it quits after 52 years of service.

It was sad for them but very timely and lucky

for us as I picked up some fabulous pieces

at wonderful savings.  Yay!

I have also been putting some of

my photos from Italy

into books.

As you can see, lighting was on my mind

during that trip too!

Schools Out for Summer

The end of Victoria's freshman year in college

came upon us in the blink of an eye.

Even the kids were melancholy.

Glad to be done with studying and finals

but sad to see the year end.

 

Sometimes I need to be quiet.

To go inside,

to empty my head and become clear.

I get a little out of sorts when

the schedules get too full. 

As this summer starts to heat up

both literally and figuratively with

almost every weekend filled until August,

I found time this past week

to do the small  things

that get lost in the hustle and bustle

of everyday life.

I took the time to actually smell the flowers

as I cut them and scattered them thru

the house.

I sat on the deck in the morning with a cup of cappuccino

instead of jumping on the treadmill

or running off to the gym.

I struggled with my conscious,

feeling guilty and lazy

but I moved through it and enjoyed

each and every precious morning,

softly and quietly

beginning my day.

I played in my studio

doing a little of this

and a little bit of that

with no purpose or end in sight.

I took the time to plan some summer outfits

 so I am not in a panic at the last minute

finding things that fit.

And I made some new jewelry pieces

to accessorize said outfits without

the usual frenzied chaos that

accompanies getting dressed for an event

or packing for a weekend away.

The boys were on a business trip to LA

so it was just Victoria and me,

making our own schedule

and honoring our hearts desires;

eating salads every night for dinner.

And of course Rockne.

We let him bark almost as much as he wanted to!

 

 

 

Maybe or Maybe Not

My boys are in LA on business all week.

That means a week of no laundry or dinners

and no interruptions

or the phone

ringing off the hook.

(They work at home)

I promised myself I would clean and organize my

mess of an office/studio.

But every time I start...

some new little artistic tidbit

peeks its head out

wanting to be played with.

I have been making my photos from Italy

into postcards.

It is so much fun embellishing

and collaging

and writing

and sending

to family and friends.

I promise I will

MAYBE

have my office cleaned by Saturday.

If you'd like a postcard,

hand written

and decorated,

leave your address!

Favorite Things

When the kids were small we started a tradition of hand crafting

our gifts for family and friends.

Of course that has changed over the years as the kids grew up and

started driving and shopping on their own.

One of my very favorite things has always remained

the hand making of gifts.

Even as time for art and crafting becomes ever more difficult to find,

I am always on the look-out for ways to continue our tradition.

Jewelry is my constant passion as well as turning my

collages into note cards to be tied up with antique ribbons

and unique packaging.

My newest project is sharing some of my favorite

images of our trip to Italy in the form of

embellished postcards. 

But don't tell anyone.....

it's a surprise!

Sparkling Crystals and Bubble Baths

We have had a couple of busy weeks here.  Spring break and wisdom teeth removals.  Birthdays and St. Patrick day celebrations.  Trips back and forth to South Bend and finalizing new condo plans.  But one of my favorite things was putting this chandelier together with my husband.   

It took us most of one Sunday afternoon but it was well worth it.  Rusted iron and polished crystals to play off of rough-cut stone and polished granite with antiqued gold leafed mirrors.

It's exactly as I pictured it in my mind's eye.

My freshly (almost) re-done bathroom is my absolute favorite room in the house.

Now all I need is the time to take a long, hot bubble bath!

No Judgements Allowed

The fun thing about art journaling

is that there is no pressure at all

to do something

"right" or "good".

The journal is for your eyes only.

Whatever happens to make it onto

your page is exactly what is appropriate

for that day.

Everything is worthwhile

when expressing ourselves creatively.

Everything.

The trick is to enjoy the process

for the sake of the process alone.

No judgements allowed.

 

Time for Play

One of the things that brings me deep satisfaction is spending time in my studio.  Playing with jewelry designs, gluing bits of papers and getting my fingers full of paint are some of the most blissful ways I can spend my time.  It is therapy, meditation and prayer all wrapped into one glorious package just waiting for me to take the time to receive it's myriad of gifts.  

All human beings have an inate urge to create.  Most of us loose our connection to our creativity in our early school years when we were told we were not artistic enough or we didn't draw or paint like the teacher.   As our inner expressions of joy were becoming less spontaneous, we started comparing our forms of creativity with our friends and school mates, judging our own attempts as inferior.  Unless we knew deep in our hearts we  were artists or we were fortunate enough to have supportive teachers and parents, we slowly began closing the door, little by little, on our own personal Wonderland.

I have a tendency to put off the things that are really good for me unless I have the exact amount of time I "think" I need to accomplish my objective.  Like an hour for the treadmill or an afternoon free to putter around with art supplies.  I am trying to retrain myself to use the time available for these activities instead of holding out for perfect circumstances.  A half hour on the treadmill or spent with glue and paint in my journal are much more beneficial than no time at all.  I'm off to play a little before my schedule kicks into high gear!