stillness

Posted by Amy on Apr 23, 2012 in Life | 0 comments

I’ve always made goals of things to accomplish before the end of the day.  Normally, this list of goals most of the time does get complete and are achievable.  Lately, my little list of things to accomplish has been thrown out the door because my time has been filled up with my little boy and dedicated snuggle time.

Days like today when it’s raining, gloomy and chilly outside make snuggle time a must.  I’ve really been enjoying this quiet time that just him and I share and know that it will only be here for a short time in our life.   So my plan has been to cut myself a break and really taking advantage of this time and really enjoying this little one.  From here on out days will pass and he will grow up so quickly that I will not be able to remember these times.  These little moments are too precious to forget and the quietness, solitude and letting yourself go in these moments of stillness is something that I am very thankful to have been blessed with.

All the things that need to get done will eventually find their way to completion but for now I think that I will dream, snuggle and enjoy this time that is now.  I encourage you to slow down, sit in solitude and take in the moment.

Off to a great start!

Posted by Amy on Apr 17, 2012 in Art, Blog, Painting, Show, Stained Glass | 2 comments

This year has kicked off to a great start…  I’ve been really busy with lots of family activities that my work took a little break but I’m excited to report that I’m back in business!

Here’s a run down of the year so far…

Featured in the April 2012 Our State Magazine thanks to Betsy at Colorshow Gallery!

Gave birth to my second child Jasper David Barney born on March 16 at 3:16 p.m. weighing 8 pounds 12 oz.!

Sunday, April 15

Had the pleasure to be a participating vendor at the Richmond Craft Mafia’s Spring Bada-Bing.  Can I say that I love, love, love Richmond!  Super awesome people, food and talent!

Upcoming events include:

Art May-Ham in Asheboro, NC on May 5

Dunwoody Art Fest in Dunwoody, GA on May 12 & 13

the places we will go…

Posted by Amy on Jan 19, 2012 in Art, inspiration, Life | 0 comments

Unpredictable life changing events that take you to places that you never thought you would go, places that fill your soul, change your inner self and create a path for your future.  These are what I hold onto.  Collections of items that can be hoarded away, on display or incorporated into an object that will go to shape another’s life.  These things make me happy.

This past weekend I got the pleasure to soak in the cold January beach. Tons and tons of shells filled the banks and I felt like a kid in a candy shop collecting all of the treasures that surfaced to the shore.  I have so many plans for these little ones and to find them, think about their colors and be inspired to make pieces of art from these found objects is such a blessing.

Walking on a deserted beach is one of the best feelings in the world.  It’s just you and the sounds of the waves, the smell of the tide and the landscape always changes the thoughts I brought to shore.  Worries are lifted and you get to experience a new higher state of mind….a peaceful perspective.  

This beach in particular has been close to me my whole life.  As a child we camped along the banks and one of my first memories is of letting go baby sea turtles to the sea.  Hoping they would make it on their journey and not know at the time the fight they had at such a young age.

I can remember the wilderness before there were nice facilities in which to cross from the sound to the beach.  The hot sand burning your feet and the wild horses greeting you as the boat motored to the shore.

When I dream of heaven this special place is one of the many places that I envision.  So many memories of this part of North Carolina take me back to my childhood.  Growing up spending weekends at the beach with my grandparents, fishing, swimming, cooking what we caught and adventuring the shoreline.  The feeling of diving off the boat into the water and swimming to shore has always been one of my favorite things.  Oh the freedom.  Special moments and special memories.  I hope that my children will get these experiences and that they will stick with them their whole life and then realize how truly blessed they are to have this place.

Small blessings…

Posted by Amy on Jan 11, 2012 in Blog, Life | 0 comments

This morning I started sorting through shelves in the laundry room and came across a box filled with old birthday cards from a couple of years back.  This one in particular from my best friend Cori stood out because I just loved the illustration and the saying on the card.  My goal is to get it framed and place somewhere that I can glance upon it as I’m going through my daily routines.

It is made by Leigh Standley of Curly Girl Designs and I could not help but feel blessed this morning and inspired.  You see, sometimes I forget that we all have the choice to change our life’s direction.  With each new step forward, each new day and each decision we make, we mold and shape our lives.  We each have that special power to make things happen and put our lives on track to where we want to go.  Such great power we have because its our decision of what to make of the day.

This was a great refresher for me and challenge  to myself to embrace each day, seize the moment when it arrives and make a few changes as I go to shape and create the life that I love.

I hope that you are inspired, will take a leap and make a change and wear a super cute pair of shoes while you are workin’ it.

different perspectives

Posted by Amy on Jan 5, 2012 in Art, artists, Blog, Life | 1 comment

One thing that has been on my mind lately is the perspective of others, their struggles and how differently everyone copes with heartache, challenges and balancing life.  Everyone has different views and one can not assume that everyone is on the same path…because we all face our own obstacles.  What happens to us in life defines us, puts us on new paths and changes the way we view the world and others.  Heartache, loss and grief shaped my life last year but through all that I did experience I feel that without the past year my perspective, drive and where I want to be in life would look much different.  I feel very thankful for all that did happen and having those circumstances, people and situations in my life occur turned out to be a blessing and made me a stronger person.

Recently, I watched the documentary Who does she think she is?, and I think this is what has really sparked my wondering of others and their perspectives. If you are local you can go to the library and check it out.  It’s an amazing perspective of women artists and how they balance their personal, family and artistic pursuits.  At times watching this was very hard to get through because I can deeply relate to so many of the issues discussed.  The main focus that really hit home for me was the struggle between balancing family and art and the guilt that some of these women face.  Should we feel guilty because we must make things and get what is dancing around in our heads out?

After watching this documentary I finally felt more empowered to stop feeling guilty about my art.  For me it is just not something that I am willing to put on the back burner anymore.  I feel that God has been blessed me with a talent and to not utilize that to its fullest is not doing what I should. For the past couple of years I let my art fall to the side and it was not the right path for me to lead.  Last year was spent recovering, finding my passion again and discovering my art once more.  This year I can feel that my art will shape where my career in this field will go and be directed for the rest of my life.  I’m ready to get serious, take these wild chances and develop the talent I have been given.  Life is too precious and short to not do what you are meant to be doing.

narrowing down the focus…

Posted by Amy on Jan 3, 2012 in Blog, Life, Painting, Stained Glass | 0 comments

making lists and organizing where 2012 might take my artistic pursuits is a bit overwhelming. As I look, learn and find an abundance of information overload online I can’t but help to think that I’m wasting valuable time browsing and not creating more action in which to make my work. Though with the holidays I did decide to take a break and soak up the time off with my family, relax just a little and let go of the “need to do” next thoughts.

Housework has been dominating my time since we will be expecting a new addition to our family shortly and the need to organize and get everything into place has hit me personally…super hard. I think that I have finally figured out the successful process of how laundry should work on a consistent basis and feel accomplished that something finally clicked for me. We will see how long it takes for that plan of action to fall slowly to the wayside.

There are so many ideas floating around in my head that have been inspired by the online world but taking that leap and actually making what I have gathered and thought to do might be a challenging task. Deciding what medium in which to pursue is also quite daunting at times because I have this urge to paint and stitch and sew things when realistically I should focus on my glasswork. For some reason I think that it might be the weather taking its toll on my creative spirit. Making glass pieces has always been a fun venture during the warmer months… though it might be the call of my glass studio in its brown depressing walls, lack of light and bare bones of an unfinished room is what makes me not want to take the few steps into that part of the house. Sitting on the couch or glancing from the painting studio in a warm and comfortable space surely has something to do with the urge I feel to transition into that of painting and stitching.

Time is another factor for sure in making the creative urges I feel very challenging. As my time between a full-time position, need to spend time with Aubrey and then finding the energy to dedicate time to my work is balanced…it is really no wonder I’ve not gotten anything really accomplished. Somethings will have to change in order take this next step into a new direction. It might just be scheduling my time better and figuring out what is working and not. Jasper is growing rapidly and his constant kicking brings to surface that soon things will be very different in my world.

Weeding out the unnecessary will also be something that I assume will happen naturally with the progression of new developments. I’ve decided to just let it happen and not fight what stays and goes at this point. I’ve tried to control things for too long and I’m going to start this new year off to letting more things slide, realizing that it’s okay to not participate, be present and do everything that is asked of me.