Athena Dreams Design

The Threads that Connect

Interwoven threads. 
Connecting lines.
Strength in a fragile fabric.
Patterns.
Repetition.
A balance of open and closed. 

All of these things (and probably so much more) make up what lace is all about. A fragile, beautiful, fabric that has a tensile strength. I have some lace that my grandmother gave me years and years ago, that someone in the family made many many years before, and also some that she had made. She called it tatting, and the word still makes me smile. And just what does all this talk of lace have to do with anything you might be thinking?

Well, we have quite a few boxes in the garage that remain unpacked almost 9 months after we moved in, and this weekend I spent some time opening a couple of them; under the premise that if we haven't missed or needed anything in those boxes, we should probably toss the stuff or give it away. 

I made it as far as the second box I opened. I found the lace and just below the ziploc bags of lace, I found packages of letters that my grandfather had written to me over the years after I had moved away from New England. The letters spanned the years of my adventuresome 20-something travels and living overseas and my 30 something years of settling in the bay area. He talked about his life in New Hampshire with his dog, and sent me cartoons clipped from The New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal, told stories on my mum and uncle, siblings and cousins, and mused about what was happening in my life, what was happening in the world - politically and otherwise - and commenting on the stories I was sending to him. 

I spent about 3 hours sitting on the cold concrete floor in the garage, reading through letters and running my fingers over the lace. I never opened another box. Old lace and letters. Not something that I might need, and clearly not things that I have missed or thought about over the last 9 months, but isn't that kind of how the threads of a life weave together and complete themselves? We are aware of what is being built and yet living the moments as they come, we miss so much of what is being created until we have that moment to step back and, yes, look back and see all the connections and threads that weave through our lives. All the beauty, the fragility and the strength.  

Visit Flickr artists who created the work above at these links:1. Lace of Dew, 2. Lace and Legs, 3. Lace detail, 4. Lace Fluffy Ruffle Gloves, 5. White Crocheted Lace Choker, 6. lace and tassels, 7. lace leaves, 8. lace snow, 9. Lace Trim, 10.vintage lace, 11. Lace Tree, 12. "Amulet on Lace Doily" Acrylic Painting, 13.flickr.com/photos/98048196@N00/2521316048/, 14. antique white taffeta and lace reconstructed skirt, 15. lace by the yard, 16. Lace & Light

 

A Trio Of Crowns

Where ideas come from is often a mystery. 

And when the mystery arrives wearing a cape, a red velvet burn out scarf, tall black boots with stripey tights, hand knitted opera length gloves in a lovely angora blend and a flowery golden crown, well you really just have to go with it on an adventure, now don't you. 

The month of June seems to have started out defined by crowns: gilted and flowery, and ready to hang. I've always loved a good mystery, one that takes you around bends and through alleys I never could have imagined going through. 

Here's to some mystery and a crown for any occasion... and so much more to come! 

Do You Have a Minute?

Sharkey, a friend who has all the time in the world... he is a cat after all... nap, play, nap, eat, chase leaves, nap...
  

You heard that one yet today? A telemarketer calling on the phone; a friend or co-worker waylaying you in the hallway; spouse, partner or s.o. asking "Do You Have a Minute?" when we all know that it's not going to take a minute. It just never does. 

I will be the first to admit: I like to talk. And anyone who has known me at all well or for a while knows this about me. I think it's less about hearing myself talk (at least I hope so), and more about a conversation that is engaging and leads me to further ideas, new thoughts, and realisations.

I also like to e-mail, and read, and all this talking and typing and surfing is taking up way more than just a minute of my time. I'll look up and realise that half the morning is gone, and I have not gotten near to tackling anything (even the small stuff) on my To-Do list; which means my work day has just gotten pushed to a quitting time of 8pm. I have a strong feeling that I am not the only one, who turns a minute of checking e-mails, having a quick chat on the phone or looking at some favourite blogs, and turns that minute into an hour... maybe even two. Right? Am I right?

So, today, I made myself a weekly schedule. Better than a To-Do list because my to-do list just grows and grows and grows, and tho I know when and how things need to get done, and love that great sense of satisfaction that occurs when crossing something off this list; even with all that, the to-do list just does not give me that sense of movement, that sense of time passing me by, or that sense of all the other things that need to get done in the brief span of a 7 day week. 

So though my calendar is wonderful, this page, this lovely page that I took 32 minutes out of my day to create and print (because the free downloadable ones I found on line just didn't make my heart sing), will live on the wall above my computer desk. It will look down at me while I am chatting, while I am reading and while I am whiling away the hours with you all in the land of the blog, and hopefully will keep me on my path to my all my dreams and goals and desires in life. 

I am hoping this page will keep me a little more on track, so that I really do have a minute and also have time for things like:

• leaving the house to go to a yoga class, 
• taking a walk with a friend, 
• driving to the beach to watch the sun splash down into the pacific,
• having lunch with my husband,
• reading any one of the books that are stacking up under my desk,
• finishing my marketing plan (!), no that one doesn't belong on This list,
• spending sometime just doodling, no agenda, no deadlines
• you get the general idea

And so I share with you the Weekly Scheduling page from Athena Dreams.  Download Athena Dreams Weekly Schedule, print it, and use it yourself, and may all our dreams and endeavors (great and small) get closer to fruition, closer to becoming real and alive in our days.

June 2010 .:. Monthly Goals

Did it seem to anyone else that May went by so fast, and yet May 1st seems so very very long ago? Time is a mysterious thing, I've decided to just let it remain a mystery so I don't get tied up in metaphorical knots about it. And so, how was May for you?

My May Goals were:

1. PAINT: 2 pieces for Squam Art Show, and 1 LARGE piece  DONE!
2. Gallery research, and submission - Still need to paint more 
3. Design 5 new Birthday cards - 3 designed
4. WEBSITE! - 1/2 designed and with the programmer!

Am SO happy that half the website has been done... now to finish that up this month, AND I had a momentous realisation: I need to allot more time to painting so that I have a decent submission to make to a gallery. 

But for June, my focus needs to swing back to work and my design business. Some things are changing in my freelance design world, and so I must change with them, and that means, oh yes, biz plan, you are my new best-est friend:

JUNE Goals

1. Finish Biz Plan (and Yes, Isa, I could use some help!)
2. Work on Marketing Plan
3. Work ALL the stuff you learned in the Bakery Class
4. Set up a weekly Calendar that will hang in front of my face with stuff that WILL get done
5. Take some minutes everyday to reflect on what has been accomplished and what still needs to get done, it helps with the perspective

OK, June, hope there is much sweetness and welcoming of summer, I could sure use some sun and some warmer temps (tho not to warm please) oh and June, could you serve up plenty of strawberry lemonade and some time with a novel on a beach somewhere, thanks you're awesome! OK, all ready to GO!

 IF you are new to The Meetup or would like to play along, here's the scoop:

• Post a list of your business related goals for the current month on the 1st of each month on your blog. {If the 1st falls on a weekend, post on the following Monday.}
• Come back over here and leave a link to your goals blog post in the comments of my current month's goals.
• And then {and this is the most important part, since we are a community} visit all the links in the comments, stop in and say hello, have a conversation, meet and greet and etc.