Posted by Marci Molina on February 18, 2012 under Marci Molina | 
I am training to run the Pocono Mountain
Run for the Red Half Marathon Relay on May 20th!
The funny part is that I have never even ran in a
race before, let alone half marathon! I used to be a solo runner and would get bored running over 4 miles. Then last spring I started running with my boyfriend and adding more miles … I loved it! My
inspiration is my dad. At 78 years old, he runs or walks almost every day. He has many medals and trophies from 5Ks, 10Ks, half and full marathons. He truly loves to run! I’m not in it to win any medals, I just want to
run 13.1 miles. My goal is to cross the finish line (injury-free) alongside my dad, brother, sister, brother-in-law, and boyfriend. It will be a family affair with my mom cheering us on! My dad and brother have run marathons together, and my brother-in-law (with a pacemaker) and sister have run half marathons together. Me??? I have always worked out as though I am training for something – so I might as well give it shot!
Wish us luck!
Posted by Susan Bradford on February 16, 2012 under Susan Bradford |
On Tuesday, I took a class at my favorite bead store and learned one of the many variations of the peyote stitch
. What a wonderful way to spend a day. Figuring out a new technique. Hanging out with friends. Talking. Beading. Talking some more. Surrounded by the colors of all the beads hanging from every wall and in all the small bins surrounding the room.
These hundreds of seed beads may not look like much right now, but they will soon become a bracelet. And if all goes well, it will be adorable!
And aside from all that, when I learn something new, I always learn a bit more about myself as well. This time the mini-lesson came in the form of taking time for breaks and to get up and move and to stretch and to breathe. Now you’d think all that would be second nature, but sometimes with something like needing, I get so intent on doing the project and so determined to finish it before I go home, and so determined to keep up with the other students because I know that I work slowly that I can sit for hours and not pause for anything.
But this time, I knew that I wouldn’t come close to finishing, and I was keeping up, and there was a flow and a rhythm to finishing a section then taking a break and then doing it all again. Learning, remembering, creating, all one.
Posted by Anita Bondi on February 14, 2012 under Anita Bondi |
Last week I attended a workshop at ESU entitled, Designs for Survival. It was taught by Tom Mann, jeweler, sculpture, and creative genius. The workshop was dotted with “makers” from the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, artists working in our area for the last 20 years or more, and many students who probably wondered what all “these old people” were doing there.
There is one thing that the self employed person must always remember: you, the clients, customers, consumers, are the most important part of our creative life. Without you, what we make is just product. With you, what we make is a life line of sorts.
Tom Mann said,”Never forget to say , Thank You.” When I work with my clients I always end the session by thanking them. When I teach I always end my class by thanking each student individually. When I sell
a piece online, I make sure to send a Thank you note. With the world moving so fast because of technology and our ability to “reach out and touch someone” almost every second of the day, I almost can’t keep up with all the Thank you’s that I want to say.
My survival depends on YOU. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
“Without you, the puzzle is incomplete.” Happy Valentine’s Day.
Tags: Anita Bondi, art, creative process, creativity, East Stroudsburg University, jewelry, mixed metal, motivational, relationship, Tom Mann, Wellspring Holistic Center
Posted by Stan Stewart (Sawyer) on February 11, 2012 under Stan Stewart |
The bass player’s fingers are doing
A tiny, delightful dance;
Rollicking and frolicking under
The soloing ivories.
He knows how to find
The rhythm and pitch that
Blend to perfection;
Interweaving interplay.
Far from the dance of two
Left feet: this is the spontaneous
Movement that flows from soul
To soul – his, yours, mine, ours.
Posted by Susan Bradford on February 9, 2012 under Susan Bradford |
I have been thinking and thinking (probably thinking way too much) about what Stillness looks like. Challenging enough to feel into it, even for an instant. But having decided to do a mandala about it, I am determined to figure out what it may look like. So with a tormented muscle in my right knee and the weather once again rainy and gray, I am slowed down enough to concentrate on Stillness. Can I feel into it enough to see it?
Stillness…the Ah of it…the breath of it…being enclosed in the safety of it…the womb…the softness…nothing too bright…nothing too loud. Quiet, stillness, Ah…. A sense of movement, yes! Something so very dynamic about it.
A sketch. A start? A kind of, maybe, beginning of a start?
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