oh hello.... 2013

um hello. sorry for the radio silence. you know - grading, the holidays, and organizing all the responses to my call for crochet help !

dear internet - you never cease to amaze me ! 

doilies will be made in france, australia, denmark, down the street, all over the states.... i am so incredibly grateful. and relieved. i'll still have hundreds to tackle, but the whole project seems much more feasible than i thought a couple weeks ago.

and so here we are. another year. whizzed by. i love what my friend shari does every year. she recounts the months with a memorable image and something that stood out that month. jan-june , july-december.

i can't seem to keep months straight these days [did i ever?]. but i do know that i love a daily ritual. i'm still keeping up with the daily drawing - and i'll do a catch up post on those soon. i'm going to try and get to week 52.

but a drawing doesn't do what a photo does. after the amazing uta lecture i wanted to start keeping a visual diary again. like i did when guesting on habit blog. i love the little snippet of writing that accompanies the images there.

sometimes i tell my students that i spend all day looking for that one moment of beauty or interest. i just keep looking around until i find it - where ever it may lie. it's true. there's a small pitter patter from one glimpse up - the way the light is hitting a building. the way the leaves have fallen on the grass. the way a chair is sitting in a room.

and so i started #lookupanddown on instagram - i find a moment looking up and looking down every day. and then i write a small snippet [sometimes cryptic, sometimes not] about my day. i also started a blog on tumblr - look up and down

it's open to submissions. so if you feel like playing along. please do. click on submissions at the top of the page and then upload your photos and text [and say who it's from].

i know that these last few days of 2012 are the calm before the storm. 2013 is going to hit with a force. i have my studio work cut out for me [you've heard about the doilies. just extrapolate - if the show is about 1000 - what else could i be up to? a lot of whatever it is]. i have an online course to finalize with my dear friend katrina. i'm building a doll house for the little... i owe her a quilt too.

there are other big big things brewing. things for which i'm incredibly grateful, but i'd be lying if i didn't admit i was a bit daunted too. life is full. in that bursting - the facade of organization is being pulled by the seams - holy cow will this all get done kind of way.

so 2013. i am ready. my arms, heart, brains, gut and lungs are open. i will breathe. i will stretch. i will be inspired. i will attempt to do good. make good. love my friends and family good. i will eat well [thanks to my amazing cooking husband]. i will look up and down. i will notice. i will keep asking for help. i will try not to let small things get to me or wear me down [and i acknowledge in advance this is harder than it seems]. i will take notes, plan, plot, scheme, organize and WORK. yes. there is a lot of work in my future. and i wouldn't have it any other way.

happy new year my friends. i hope 2013 holds truth, promise, beauty, warmth and something that your heart desires.

p/s my last make believe collection post of 2012 - tiffany chung - is on poppytalk