Website Again....

Many Hats....

I used to hear this term all the time before I started Delias Studio.... I didn't think much about it until suddenly I found myself trying to specialize in all aspects of the business. There are some things I will always pay for ( a good accountant) but there are others that will stretch me too thin.

I have been wanting to develop my own website for awhile. I have been using creative pixels to host my site but it limited and it has served it's purpose but I have been anxious to get something a little nicer up. I want to keep it simple and clean but interesting and dynamic. I have spent hours trying to develop some skills in order to do this and have always fallen short but this weekend I did some research and found a program that even I could use. I built this using Freeway... and I think I am quite happy with the results. It's still fairly simple but much nicer than my current site and has a little style and edge to it. This is the homepage and I am going to continue developing the rest of the site but it took me most of day to get this page together.

So what do you think? Should I keep moving forward with this concept or should I save my pennies for a webmaster?

It's all Possible.

Dogwood Festival

I have always had private markers stretched out before me that I felt would check off points of personal success. Things I want but wasn't sure I could achieve. Some of them are short-term goals and some of them long.

In my own mind these things can be a bit intimidating. They are the things that push me to keep moving forward but also bring out the dark secretive thoughts that criticize my work and fear it is not good enough. It's a yen and a yang though for without the fears..... I would not continue to evolve and push myself and through pushing myself I sometimes find I can achieve these goals that seem so difficult when set.

One of my personal goals has been to exhibit at the Atlanta Dogwood Festival. Considered the premiere show in Atlanta it showcases some pretty extraordinary talent and has course some amazing metalsmiths. Every year I apply and each year I have been declined invitation.

Today I was throwing myself a small pity party, as I was not invited to a local show that highlights both local and national metalsmiths. All of the voices in my head came out to join the party when I received the e-mail congratulating me for my acceptance to the Atlanta Dogwood Festival. Instant validation prevailed and I realized that I have come so far and perhaps a small nod of encouragement from myself would not be outlandish.  This is a big step mentally for me and I feel that I am on track and moving in the right direction. Again, I must remember to believe in the possibilities and myself even when they seem distant.


Never give up. Always believe. It is all possible.

Recharged...

Sometimes a few days to step away can make all of the difference. This is the first weekend since I can remember that I did not spend a single second in the studio. I ate well, drank well, and generally spent my time enjoying myself.

I think sometimes life can be taken too seriously and only time away can remind you that this great adventure is first and foremost supposed to be fun.

Don't sweat the small stuff and yes, most of it is small stuff!

Escape.

It's time to rest my mind for a few days and find some inner peace before the rush of the holidays begins. It's been a long year and there has been triumph and loss, love and sadness, new beginnings and chapters ending....

I like to stop when things get to be too much. Just stop. Remember where I am and look back to see where I have been. This helps me to realign myself and choose a new direction and decide where I want to go.

So my husband and our two good friends will be heading off to the mountains for a few days of good food, wine, and fresh crisp air. I can barely wait. I can already feel the release inside.

Standing Up....... Even when it hurts.

What do you do when you believe with every part of yourself that something is wrong? What do you do when you see someone wronged in a way that turns your stomach? Do you stand up or turn and look away? Do you secretly support them or do you support them for all the world to see? Do you risk it all or do you offer only what you are willing to risk? How far do you go in your support? Does it run deep or is it on the surface?

I am saddened to live in a world where I often see people walk away from things they believe are wrong. It's so easy to choose to walk away or to believe that these things are none of our business and yet I can't help but wonder if we all choose to walk away.... do these things become prevalant and tolerated in a society to such a point that they then become permissable? Do we leave the world a better place by denying that which we do not want to deal with?

Currently I am mulling over a situation that has occured that I cannot tolerate, justify or condone. I believe that most things in life are black and white..... that wrong is wrong and right is right. I try to point my inner compass to that which I can stand behind and admit fully and freely to anyone, anywhere. I believe that each step I take in life must be defended and if I do that which I know is right, I can stand proud with my head held high, come what may. And yet...... I find myself torn as to how to feel and what to do about this situation. Does a group's failures become an individual's failures by association? Do these things reflect upon me as an individual. No matter how I try to navigate around this question, I continue to come back to the fact that it does. And though it would be easier to look away or to look at things from such an angle that they can be ignored in my heart I feel that it is not true to who I am.

I want to believe in the things that I represent and the things that represent me. Is it melodramatic? Some would say yes..... Even silly to lose something you hold dear for another you do not know. In the end they say, it will change nothing..... And yet. I know that it will change me. Little by little I will become the girl who walks away. Who justifies my failure to stand up for that which I believe in because it is not my fight.

My best and worst quality..... it is the same. It is a passion that I live with. It divides me some days and it holds me true on others. It gets me into trouble and it helps me break down barriers. And yet, it is the fire which holds me steady and true in the path that I walk. And this no matter how I rearrange it, is true.

So though I may stand alone and though I may change nothing, and though I may lose something I hold dear, I must stand because standing is what I do so that I will never forget how.