Word of the Week - 129

Word(s) of the Week:  IMPOSSIBLE THINGS

RubberMoon Stamp.

Life against all odds.  Winston Churchill told us, "Never, never, never give up."  In daily matters, matters of heart and mind, expressions of spirit, stubborn refusal to take no for an answer, fingers in our ears singing "la-la-la" as we are scolded, chided and told all the reasons why not.  Ha! we say.  The voice of that flea, that gnat, one of our better angels in disguise, sets up a rumbling soliloquy that only we can hear, either telling us to do it anyway or to wait, wait, wait.  Patience is considered a virtue for a reason.

I suppose "believe" is the operative word here.  We do not dissolve in our baths.  The great winds come yet we are still standing.  Reversals of fortune suggest that we grow more frugal, more cautious, but never hopeless.  Perhaps the opposite.  I have never accepted the notion that we are tested.  Life comes along wearing its ordinary-life resoled shoes and frequently washed, possibly hand-me-down unassuming and faded uniform and delivers messages good, bad and indifferent.  To each of us.  We are free to choose the next step.  Recall all the times goodness of a most unlikely nature sat itself down on your front step, more astonished than even you, beholding its presence.  Messages and their carriers are dispatched, who knows from where, and suddenly what couldn't possible be, is.  Today might be the day to run through the streets, calling "Thank you" to the animate and the inanimate.  Both will understand.

Love to color? Think RubberMoon.

From my first purchased stamp, somewhere back in the 1980s, what I loved best about stamping was coloring in the images.  Fine-point Le Plume pens, mostly Berol Prismacolor Pencils.  When I was given the opportunity to design stamps, my focus was on designs that would be fun to color.

I've seen many mentions of the current enthusiasm for adult coloring books and a friend (thank you, Jean) just sent me a link to the reasons why coloring is good for us.  I've known that for decades.

The artists at RubberMoon have been, and still are, creating stamps to delight all of us coloring types.  I am sharing some of my designs here as illustrations.  The RubberMoon roster is filled with colorable (is this a word?  it needs to be) images.  Best part, RubberMoon is what we call in the stamping business an Angel Company, meaning anything you make using a RubberMoon stamp and not a copy of any sort you may offer for sale with our blessings.  Greeting cards, tags, with vibrantly colored-by-you designs.  Hmmmm.

At the company website, images are best viewed by clicking on Shop By Artist link, this is mine.  Allow yourself time to browse and choose from among hundreds of varied, versatile stamps.   Let every thought narrow down to the point of the pen.  You get the idea.  (Images are greatly enlarged here.  The original sizes leave plenty of room to color.) 

Ink, glorious ink

Pilot Petit1 Mini Fountain Pens - Fine Nib

In my fiction pages this morning, a character discovers her fountain pen is missing, has obviously been taken.  She offers as proof the ink stain on her middle finger, which she describes as unavoidable, one of the joys/pitfalls of writing with actual liquid ink.  In case you don't know about Jet Pens, they are heaven-on-earth for kids like us, the writing and drawing fanatics, nerds, collectors and glorified doodlers.  Not that I necessarily imagine reading a letter written in glowing Apricot Orange would be easy on the eyes, I am still captivated by it with lust in my heart.  I plan to order at least a few of these before the sun sets.  We can let our dancing fingers go wild here.

In the realm of making one's mark, Rubbermoon Stamps is preparing to introduce a new line of stamps and, for the first time, stencils, all of a Mid-Century Modern persuasion.  They are not yet available through the website and will probably first be offered through etsy.  A visit there now will not be time ill spent.

Rubbermoon sample, stamps and stencils by Kristen Powers using new products.

Had I not had a live-in tutor, my son, I might never have learned how to do even the limited things I do with a computer.  Pencils, ink and paper have called to me all my life.  Their voices have not become muted as another form occupies my time.  If anything, as the choices expand, so does the desire for them.  Such simple bliss, going back to drawing with a stick in dirt or wet sand.  None of it will last forever or even come close.  We get to make our marks.  For the moment, it is enough.

Time, patience and serendipity

For some, the juggling act appears so easy while the rest of us stand by,  agog.       M. Kelly stamps for Rubbermoon, Stampington & Co.

Serendipity has been a busy girl.  She appeared yesterday as a blog link titled, "Kim Roasted Vegetables with Yellow Curry Sauce" when I had just thought and mentioned to my son how I would like the recipe for a good vegetable curry.  She revealed another post that told me I am not alone in filling my pockets or piggy bank with tales of finding joy in what we may take for granted.  To read "Applaud the Sunset," posted April 2, visit Molly.  Please browse the sidebar links to discover her unique cards and see if they are carried by a shop near you.  If there are sufficient hours in your day, her blog links also hold aspects of wonder.

For any who find journaling with their own words to be a challenge,  Kelly Kilmer has recent posts about the benefit of using quotes from other sources as a supplement or prompt to reveal your own rare and authentic voice.  She is also offering an on-line journaling workshop, giving us stay-at-home types the opportunity to learn what she teaches around the country.

Regarding the juggling wunderkind shown above, I assumed at some point I would know what I wish to be when I grow up.  And I do know.  However, the list has not grown shorter.  My thoughts radiate like the unicycle's spokes, pointing in five or 15 different directions.  What I can say in my favor is they are all at least slightly related and can be, if I stop dithering, accomplished from right here with basic skills I already possess.  It is just that some of those skills need to be sharpened, refined, expanded, practiced.  That's the telling word, practiced. 

My mental schedule resembles that of the over-scheduled child of over-achieving parents.  Organize, straighten, discard, draw, play with paint, stamp, write fiction, read poetry, color, write non-fiction, correspond, converse, explore, ponder, imagine, sleep.  And drink enough water.  I am not confused; I have what I need (with practice) to do and be what I want.  I just seem to go about it so slowly.  Which drags out into the light the other telling word: patience.  Of all that is asked of me in a day, patience tops the list.  Over many years I've come to trust the process of unfolding that is life and know, absolutely know, that answers I don't have today will either (a) arrive or (b) won't and if they don't it will not matter. 

Taking a prompt from Tolstoy, I remind myself, "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time."  May I have enough of both.

Brighten the corner where you are

Envelope art, Marylinn Kelly.  Rubber stamps, Gretchen Ersham, Marylinn Kelly for Rubbermoon.

For you to ponder, this February 6, 2012:

A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.

Charles Dickens

EVERY day

On Rubbermoon's Facebook page, owner Debra Valoff has been, for the past couple days, showing samples of shipping tag art which feature stamps from the new lines. I wanted to play. It feels as though many of my moving parts are rusty, even with new stamps, new inks, newly-arranged pencils. Whatever we love, we are the better for working at it, even just a bit, every day. Without that, stasis may develop, reduced creative flow, stagnation, rust.

In the journaling community, there is, and has been, a movement advocating journaling every day. On-line groups offer support to one another, provide a venue to share photos of each day's accomplishments. I've visited other sites where bloggers post about taking challenges for things like "30 paintings in 30 days." Year before last I signed up for NaNoWriMo, committing to daily writing for the month of November with a minimum number of words produced by month end. I set myself a daily word count quota as well. No novel resulted from the exercise but a lot of showing up did and the awareness that showing up, sitting down and typing something every day, before doing anything else, produces its own satisfaction.

On the evening of February 7, it will be 18 years since I received the call that catapulted me from rubber stamp amateur to professional. There was no union to join but earning money doing what we love is vastly appealing. Regaining the edge I once had matters, for I intend to keep doing this until I really am too inflexible to manipulate the tools. Plus, as Woody Allen said in another context, it's the most fun I've had without laughing.