Just Be Who You Are

Original mixed-media art. Self-guided by Suzi Blu’s Petite Dolls workshop.

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind. ~ Dr. Suess

I’ve been a huge fan of Dr. Suess since I was a kid…and it has continued all through my life. One time when I was in college working on a term paper, I secretly snuck into the children’s books and snatched a copy of Green Eggs and Ham…I hid it in my research book so while others thought I was reading the ploy behind WW2, I was actually getting my kicks out of Sam I Am trying to convince a stranger to eat green eggs and ham. Yes, I did that. So you can imagine my delight when my husband bought this same book for my daughter this week. She comes bounding in the house bouncing the bright orange book up and down pleading for me to read it to her. I was in the middle of packing my stash of fabric when she asked. Do I continue to finish what I was doing or have a timeout with Dr. Suess? It was an obvious choice: Green Eggs and Ham. Honestly, I don’t know who was more excited. And as I read through the story, the simple charm of it all brought back a wave of comfort, and I finished it with a smile on my face.

I love Dr. Suess. I’m fascinated by the way his mind works and his imaginative perception of reality. How anybody could think up the quirkiness he has is beyond me. To me, Dr. Suess is the king of doing his own thing, an original, and in the process he changed an entire generation’s ideology of children’s literature. *Over 200 million copies of his books found their way into homes and hearts around the world. But his journey wasn’t an easy one and required persistence. Did you know that one of the first children’s books he tried to publish, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times before it became published by Vanguard Press? He probably was told in the beginning that his stories were too quirky, too farfetched, unrealistic. Exactly. This is why they carry such an appeal. No more Dick and Jane does this, Dick and Jane did that (and I have no problem with this cute series). But he created these outlandish stories of made up characters intertwined with the philosophy to THINK on your own. Do you own thing. Don’t be afraid to be creative. Pursue your dreams. Oh the places you’ll go! Just BE WHO YOU ARE. Cause being who you are is exactly who you were meant to be.

 

*Resource: http://www.catinthehat.org/history.htm

Ladybug, ladybug…fly away home

This morning when I woke up, I discovered a ladybug perched on a foam flower magnet on my fridge. I have no idea how it got there, but I was certain that it was looking for something yummy to eat. I held out a strawberry for it to climb onto so I could put it outside, but it was terrified of the perspective of leaving its foam flower. So, I flicked it into a plastic cup (along with the strawberry) and took it outside where it could fly off on its own. I’d like to imagine that the ladybug flew off to some quaint little house where it is the pet to some mystical fairy…telling the fairy all about its mighty adventures in the house of fake flowers and forever grateful to the human that saved it.

Picture borrowed from Greenspirit Arts

Maybe it’s a folk fairy that lives there. Like the one I recently painted.

Folk Fairy I painted from Suzi Blu’s FAIRIES workshop

I decided to use pink…and yes, I know that’s a lot of pink. So before you think someone puked pepto bismol all over a canvas, keep in mind it’s for my daughter and she loves pink. And since this is for her new room in our new house, I figured I’d go for what she would like. And I’ll admit it…I love it, too! Yes, I’m a fan of pink…the color…and I’m not ashamed to admit it! I know some ladies who have little girls who refuse to be a pink fan because of the whole cliché of girls and pink. To each their own. My opinion? THEY ARE GIRLS. If they like pink, then they like pink…sobeit. Pink is a happy color, and I’m all for happiness!!

After all, some of the BEST quotes come from “pink” movies/shows:

“Sherlock” A Study in Pink:

“Try not to start a war before I get home – you know what it does to traffic.”

“Anderson, don’t talk…you lower the IQ of the entire street.”

 

Pink Panther (Inspector Clouseau):

[having stepped on and broken the violin] “Oh well, if you’ve seen one Stradivarius, you’ve seen them all.”

 

Pretty in Pink quote from Duckie:

“It’s called a sense of humor – you should get one – they’re nice.”

Perfection Sucks

Why do people try so hard to be perfect at something? “I’m a perfectionist” Have you ever heard yourself say this? …heck, I used to say it myself. Then I stopped. Because aiming for perfection only sets you up to unlimited failure. Why try to be perfect? As if perfection is an attainable goal. Perfection is over rated. Instead tell yourself, “I’m not perfect and I love myself anyway.” Embrace it, expect it, and you will make your life so much easier. Periodically I say stupid stuff, sometimes I make ugly art, most times my thoughts are completely unorganized, and a lot of times I am moody. I’m a moody artist. I’m okay with that – because I am human. One of the best lessons I have learned in recent months is letting go of this idea of perfection.

JUST LET IT GO.

Just be who I am without worrying about if I’m going to say something stupid or make something ugly. In 24 hours most people won’t remember anyway. Release the pressure you put on yourself in order to grow and become someone you never thought you could be. Let go of self expectation. Thrive in the process of imperfection and you will liberate yourself. Liberation = Freedom.

Perfection is constricting.

BE FREE.

At the moment I feel like I’m in a total brain funk. Blame it on the heat of the Mohave desert…which has been in the 100s, OR the fact that I haven’t really accepted that we are moving in a month and I have done absolutely nothing. Whatever the reason, I’m embracing the brain funk. I’m running around in circles trying to figure out what I should do first, and in the end I find myself in my studio painting. Because I firmly believe that painting fairies will make them come to life and organize everything for me.

I BELIEVE IT.

What can I say? I’m not perfect.

So instead of going through closets and purging clothing I haven’t worn in 3 years, I made some ATCs this week:

The Three Princesses

The 3 princesses – Faith, Adelie, and Mariana. My daughter named them…not for sure where she came up with these names (well, except for Faith…that’s her name), but they seemed to fit.

And these were WAY more important then packing. I swear.

*ATC designs are original works of art. Interested in learning this style? Check out Petite Dolls  at Les Petite by Suzi Blu.