Seeing vs. Looking

Looking is what we do all the time. It’s how we negotiate our world. But seeing … that’s something special.

Sitting out on my back porch recently, I suddenly saw these incredible shadows made by the hydrangeas and porch railings. I saw a parrot, a rabbit, maybe a dragon, an acorn. Because instead of just looking with my eyes, I saw with my mind, my wider perception.

Not long ago, I’d taken a photo of my kitchen counter, because I became aware of the color of the shadow on the Thermos and the mug – so blue!

I love this photo of the hydrangeas because the shadows are so very soft and blue-grey, but also because it seemed to me that the leaf was in love with the hydrangea flower. Yes, my imagination, but when we really look at things, we see more deeply.

If we stop, we might see patterns all about us, lines and shapes that we casually pass by every day, until one day, we really see them.

I guess what I’m saying here is that our world is so much richer than we know or acknowledge. And all it takes to open that richness is to be in the present moment and see what’s around us.

Christmas in July

Trying something new with my Etsy shop – a Christmas in July sale to reach some French Bulldog lovers with my Christmas/holiday cards, and possibly some “everyday” ones as well.

I have some wonderful ideas for a whole new avenue for my art, maybe requiring a second shop due to shipping/mailing challenges. I’m envisioning prints! How about prints! But before anyone in business gets too crazy about expanding, they need to have a good/better understanding of how to attract customers.

And that’s what I’m doing now … research. How to more effectively use social media, Pinterest, Etsy itself, and Google. It seems so simple, but every avenue of promotion is a field of knowledge in itself.

So if you would like to contribute to my research (of course, I’m smiling!), please stop by my Christmas in July sale on Etsy, on the dates above, and take advantage of a 35% off storewide discount! Or send a friend. Or two. I am appreciative of all support!

Perseverance

That’s what it takes. Once you have done the groundwork, the research, the introspection, etc., etc., then the real work begins. You have thought about this idea, this dream, this possibility, at great length, done the endless worrying and questioning if it would be worth it, and decided `yes.’

Now the real work begins.

It’s time to put the pedal to the metal, shoulder to the grindstone, and all that. In other words, let’s get going and be ready for whatever may pop up in the road ahead while you work to fulfill a dream.

If you’ve been there, you know the journey. I’ve been on this road, and am starting out at a newer and higher point. The view is great, and I’m doing it. I shall persevere.

For you (and me, too!), I have pulled together a bunch of quotes on the subject for Instagram (@jeannebalsam), but two of my favorites are here. You are the person you’ve been waiting for. Let’s forge on together.

Go Back to Go Through

Lately, I find myself drifting back through time. It seems necessary to my creativity for me to go back before I can go through.

I am searching – I want to use my writing and art to reach out in a different way than I have in the past. How will I do that?

Conversations about art, music, and writing with people in my life now get me reflecting. And remembering … recently, I felt a song trickling through my mind. It was a Peter, Paul and Mary song, but I could only grasp a phrase. A search brought it back to me – Bob Dylan’s Dream. And with it, a flood of memories.

One memory was of my junior and senior years in college when four friends and I would hang out in the evening in Susie’s apartment and play music and sing together. They all played guitar, and we all could sing and knew a wide range of folk songs. Just sitting and singing and playing by candlelight into the wee hours of the morning were such incredible times. I don’t yet know how that memory will play a part in my going forward, just that it will.

Bob Dylan’s Dream, written by Bob Dylan, sung by Peter, Paul and Mary, 1967

I recently went to see a fabulous show of Japanese printmaking from the 1950’s to the present. I looked so, so closely at those stunning prints, noticing just how they were made, recalling the necessary techniques. I studied printmaking for two semesters – woodcutting, etching, and lithography. And these masterful Japanese prints brought that back, too.

“Red Wall”-1992. Zinc etching and woodblock print on paper by Hodaka Yoshida

I am being readied. I am preparing for some leap forward that I cannot yet see, but these memories are stirring the things I need to know, so long put aside while I did other things with my life. Sometimes it seems like I’m dreaming or wasting time, but I know I’m not.

I’m taking a deep breath and – not always so easy – trusting in the process.

My New Website – Tada!

To be truthful, this is long overdue; however, I am just so happy and so grateful that it is here and up now.

With the new site, I can better share with you the work that I do, and even how some of it may help you! I’m thinking of graphic design, self-publishing, or art projects.

It’s all so shiny and new!! Please take a look and thank you for checking out my new website.