Creatively Organized Spaces
As our nation celebrates independence, take a moment to Celebrate YOUR Independence! It’s a bee-autiful thing! Toast to it, light off rockets and celebrate with gratitude!
Happy 4th of July, happy Independence Day America! Here’s to next year bringing us more celebrations of Freedom and Equality!
I’ll be spending a lot of my Saturday’s this summer in my new shared temporary studio, The Vat Shack. This project brings together 6 Indigo & textile artists for a summer of all things blue!
This project has been made possible by Charleston non profit, Enough Pie in partnership with Clemson’s architecture students (and others) who built this amazing temporary traveling “studio” for this specific purpose. The Den Mama’s and Enough Pie had regular meetings with the students and professors to share in the process of designing this space specifically for our needs. It was so fun to see it go from concept to reality, they did an amazing job and gave us just about everything on our “wish list”!
The Vat Shack set up
The Vat Shack storage
After the “shack” was delivered we came together to set up 3 types of Natural indigo vats, a Ferrous (Iron) vat, Fermentation vat and Hydrosulphate Vat. These three types of vats were selected to illustrate the evolution of this artform and craft throughout history (fermentation being the oldest type, Hydros the most “modern”). I was really in my element getting to set up the supplies and organize all the tools, shelving, space layout etc.
Den Mama’s setting up Indigo vats
Last Saturday this project was launched into the community with a public event Awakening:Indigo IV. All the Den Mama’s were there to share Indigo dyeing with the community. All afternoon we gave demonstrations of dyeing with indigo, shibori techniques and people added to the Community Rag Quilt (a Gullah Tradition being revived by the Gullah Lady).
Heather K Powers with Wire Hanger Mandala
Art installations (I created another one of my wire hanger mandala’s above) were onsite along with performances by story tellers (like my friend Sharon Cooper Murray-below) and a screening of the indigo documentary Blue Alchemy by Mary Lance who was in attendance and helped to create a lasting blue memories in Charleston!
Charleston community tries their had at Shibori
Mary Lance creates something blue to remember Charleston
Den mama’s will be spending time in the shack teaching workshops, camps and leading community dye days (first and third Saturday’s each month into October). This project is such an exciting way to bring together all different kinds of people in the Charleston community to learn about the art, craft, science and history of Indigo in the Lowcountry and around the world. I’m very proud to be a part of this and I hope to see you out there this summer!
All together in Blue! (L—>R Rachel Parris, Cathryn Zommer, Mary Lance, Arianne King Comer, Heather K Powers, Leigh Magar, Cara Earnst, Sharon Cooper Murrah and Kristy Bishop)
How often are you asked to Give? Of your time, your expertise, advice, wisdom or money? When I left my corporate career and started my work as an organizer I discovered the gift of giving to others through the services that I offered. With each project I work on I am rewarded abundantly by seeing the joy that is created by sharing my gifts!
My grandparents greatly influenced me in their gifts of service and taught me the value of giving back to others. I give back to my community with regularity and frequency and have established what I think will be a lifelong dedication to giving back to my community. Yesterday here in the Lowcountry there was a huge “campaign” that many local non-profit organizations participated in to ask their supporters to give generously and have their funds matched.
Several weeks ago I decided, in the spirit of Lowcountry Giving day, to select one non-profit organization to give a gift of my services to. After speaking with individuals at several worthy non-profit’s I selected the one that I felt was not only appreciative but also really needed my services and was willing to work with me over the coming months to implement some (hopefully) positive changes!
The Preservation Society of Charleston is dedicated to recognizing, protecting and advocating for the Lowcountry’s historic places. I am excited to begin work with them this month and over the next several. It will be an opportunity for me to share my gift and to learn about the gift that they give back to our community.
I’d love to hear about how you give back to your community. Do you share your gifts and passions with groups and individuals that you feel personally connected with?
I wanted to share just a bit more inspiration from my March trip to NYC…I spent at least two hours in one of my favorite places, ABC Carpet & Home. This store almost feels like a museum to me, with two buildings (near Union Square) and 5 floors of home furnishings, accessories and more to explore. When I went they had a whole theme of “In Pursuit of Magic“, from their displays to product selection, to the message on their bags…it did feel pretty magical.
What I loved most…the color combinations! I have been really anti neon (having lived it the first go round in the 80’s!) but no more! I saw such amazing unexpected color combinations using neon’s, pastels and earth tones. I couldn’t help but fall a little in love with Neon all over again!
I always went to ABC when I was a textile designer because I knew they would be leading trends and showcasing textiles and carpets of exquisite design and quality. I still love to go for that very reason, to be inspired in what I might design or create. Just take a look through this slide show of some of the beautiful textiles include handmade lace, net-like structures, traditional woven overshot, totally modern digital prints and woven structures that enhance color through the use of texture.
Finally I want to share some of the products I found for organizing and keeping your home beautiful. There was such a wonderful collection of kitchen and household items including wire baskets (both vintage and new), hand crochet baskets, hand thrown/built pottery, glassware in a rainbow of colors and the combinations of textures, colors and patterns invites us to play with combining our old and new together in a fresh way. Throw out the rule book and use what you love, in any combination!
I’ve been thinking a lot about the word authentic lately. It seems to have become a trendy business marketing term which makes me want to shun the use in that context. On the one hand I love the idea that we might be entering a period in business and society that accepts more diversity and wants people to truly be uniquely themselves…on the other hand I look at some of the businesses, coaches and organizations who throw this term around and I just want to roll my eyes because all I really see them doing is the same thing as the next guy/gal in their category of business. Am I being a total skeptic?
We have one definition that says to be authentic you are in some way imitating “the original”-but who is that in the context of your authenticity?
What does authenticity mean in terms of business, in terms of spiritual practice, in terms of self?
Can we use authenticity to check in with ourselves and not as a basis for comparing ourselves to “others” in our personal, spiritual or business practices?
I’ve been thinking a lot about this as I’ve been facilitating a weekly gathering with artists reading Walking in This World by Julia Cameron. So many triggers have been discussed, jealousy, comparison, guilt, fears etc…None of them directly (so far) identify with or dive into the topic of authenticity but it’s been a buzz word flying around my head that I’ve been swatting away at until I read my friend Carrie’s latest post on this topic (here).
Carrie brings up the issue of being “triggered” by other peoples version of authenticity and that made me realize I am kind of missing the whole point of being authentic! Being authentic means you can accept when others ideas, visions, words and ideals don’t align with your own. You get triggered when something they say brings up a little resistance in you, perhaps a subject or topic that you need to do some personal deep investigation of. I have long been guilty of identifying myself in comparison to others. For some years now I have worked to undo this tangled web. I find this spider a mighty quick weaver, often before I realize it she has re-spun the web and I am caught up once again!
We do not become authentic by imitating others. We do not become authentic by imitating others best qualities! None of us can authentically imitate anyone else. When we can reflect who we know our best selves to be, then we become the authentic version of ourselves. (Click to Tweet!)
Maybe it’s just a word I am hung up on (are you?) and that’s okay because it’s really made me examine my reaction to how it’s used. Our awareness of exactly what triggers our reactions is the real gift. Someone else’s authentic isn’t your authentic! (Click to Tweet) Worry about your own authenticity but please, don’t go throwing this word around lightly! One of the fundamental principals of my organizing business is to help people find successful results on their own terms, not by trying to recreate what “organized” looks like for someone else. In every aspect of our lives we can look for authenticity and try to better understand what we can do to break the comparison/imitation habits that are instilled in many of us from an early age.
