Tag Archives: books

At the potter’s house.

Posted on
17

I intended to spend the afternoon with fingers on keyboard, but she said that a group of women were having a creative weekend retreat and they were all headed to her house after lunch.

The potter’s house.

The potter, who spends time teaching me how to collage and make books and journals and breathe like an artist. Who let’s me take home a 30-something-year-old National Geographic if I want to cut it into artful pieces.

The potter. She calls me “kid.” I like that.

Maybe it’s because she also teaches me how to “play” as an artist —to explore different avenues of creativity. And now I’m exploring and I’m trying not to burst with excitement when we “play.” She doesn’t know it, but I’m wide open right now.

Or maybe she does know it. She asked me to bring what I’ve been working on, because she needed some inspiration. How did she know I was working on something? So I grabbed my art journal on the way out that morning, and I tried to act like it was no big deal when I sat down at her art table in her sunny art room and she said “ok, what’d ya bring?” and I pulled out my art journal and started flipping through the pages and telling her how I did all of it.

And then we made books. (I know, right? How cool is that?!)

And then she asked what I was doing for the afternoon. And that’s when she invited me to spend the afternoon with the big girls on the retreat.

The writing could wait. I’d already decided to receive every creative opportunity she handed me.

I returned to her house around 2pm. Introductions, hand shakes, hugs. The ladies were gluing pages to their 2012 journals, prepping them for words and photographs and memories and introspections. The room was quiet, but the energy was grand.

I took my seat at the table. And she said “OH! You have to show them your art journal!”

Inhale.

Did she know this meant bearing my soul to these women? These creative divas from all over the state who just gathered together here to reflect for the weekend? Um. Show them my art journal? Show them?

I acted like this was no big deal. I reached down in my bag and carefully pulled out my “Making Space” journal. What was I going to say?

“Well, they call this an ‘altered book’ — it’s just a book about interior decor that I found at a local thrift store.”

I open the book: “I taped each seam and coated each page with gesso, but you can still see the words and images. It’s so much better than staring at a blank page. It gives me something to start with.”

Ok, time to turn the page to what I’ve actually created.

That’s when I start flipping fast.

“I use a two-fold for each day. Art image on the right page, and words and thoughts from the day on the left page. They always match up somehow.”

And flip. Flip. Flip.

And they oooh.

And the potter says “Don’t you just love that?! It’s just loose! It’s so loose!!” And she smiles and shakes her arms and shoulders like she’s a rag-doll and I feel like I’ve accomplished something even though I’m not really sure what “loose” means because I could dissect and explain the intention of every smudge and splatter and upside down word that I placed on that page.

And I smile back and slide the book back down in my bag and take a deep breath.

The kid, playing Show And Tell for the grownups.

Or, the artist showing other artists the secret world of her own inspiration and creation.

“She’s going to beat you senseless.”

Posted on
5

It’s date night, and in a surprising twist, Drew and I are both reading. The timer set for 15 minute increments. And when the Model-T’s “Oogaa Oogaaahhhh!!” blows on his iTouch, I laugh, demand that he change the alarm-tone, get over it, and begin a few minutes of sharing what we’ve read so far.

This whole Reading-During-Date-Night-Thing is a bit out of our normal routine, but it’s working for two reasons: 1) we are fostering communication and curiosity and compassion for one another using “Hey, tell me about what you’re reading” as the backdrop, and 2) I just dove into Mandy Steward’s latest book.

So when the Oogaaa sounds, I get to hear about Dragons and Fortune-Tellers (or something like that), and then I tell him about “Tomorrow’s Dreams Today.” And my reports to Drew go a little like this:

p. 8: I won’t spoil the story, but you need to know that when I read through this page, I got uncharacteristically teary. Then the second time I read it I couldn’t help but laugh. So Drew and I laughed. Then flowed the honesty about how it rubbed up against a recent dream-dying day I’d experienced. Beautifully, the Author-Mandy won’t let me sit in my dead dream. She says I have to figure it out. Flesh it out. Live it out. Drew said he liked “this girl” and how she thinks.

p. 14: After marking this page up and down with my own scribbles and underlines, I review things with Drew. We’ve reached her thesis concept, her aim to show us how she lives out her artist-dream in her present day realities. It shakes me. And he wants to know “what is this book about? Is it a memoir? Is it a story? What is it?” I used words like Artist and Faith and Journey and Parenthood and Responsibilities and Creativity but they didn’t feel complete. So I flipped ahead for future pages that would show where she was taking me (don’t tell Mandy). And I read some of the section titles and quotes and questions… And I felt words like Right Now and Plan and Challenge and No Excuses rise up. Oh boy. And that’s when Drew, with an ironic thrill in his voice, said she’s gonna beat me senseless. And yes I did that throw-my-head-back laughing, and resolved to tell you about the first 15 pages of what is becoming my new favorite book.

So I type all that out and then that dang Ooogaahhh starts up again and I read this post to him. And then hear more about the Dragons.

Enough typing. I need to get back to the dream-reading and question-answering and plan-making. And for my people, the artist/creative/dreamer types? Y’all might wanna do your dream a favor and read this book. And please do tell me what you think of p. 8, mkay?

Grab it here.

Healing your marriage when trust is broken.

Posted on
2

“Healing Your Marriage when Trust is Broken: Finding Forgiveness and Restoration”

Quite a book title, eh?

You should get to know the author, Cindy Beall.

The story that Cindy shares has proven to me that trust after infidelity is possible. She shows how much time and work it takes, but in the open the pages of her open book, she holds her life before readers in the hopes that theirs will turn out whole and well and peaceful.

Throughout her story, Cindy weaves scripture, reflection questions, and snapshots of other couples’ experiences as well. As an added bonus, she sprinkled in a bit of her own humor and wit:

  • “I turned 40 years old in 2010. Just seeing that fact in writing kind of makes my back hurt.”

Lines like that one show that Cindy’s heart and soul are restored along with her marriage. She regained her love for life and laughter, and she regained her love for her husband. Thankfully, she feels passionate about bringing this restoration to marriages when trust is broken.

And she’s painfully honest about the process:

  • “It was very confusing to love and hate my husband at the same time.”
  • “…a mental battle is going on inside me as I strive to trust my husband more every day. I engage in this battle on a regular basis, and it can be exhausting.”

This book is a powerful tool to be placed in the hands of those who are fighting to keep their marriage together. It’s also a compassionate example for those who are wondering if trust is possible anymore.

Order the book here.

Find Cindy’s Blog here.