With a Gypsy Heart....

These earrings I am currently making are going hand in hand with

my current writing and latest poem so I am calling these my

Gypsy Heart line of jewelry! Enjoy the poem!

With a gypsy heart,

she was a strong but quiet rebel

living only internal dreams

in her corporate cardboard world.

With a gypsy heart,

she was enslaved in a cubicle

with the hold button on her dreams

and her passions in a file folder.

With a gypsy heart,

she began to dance with dreams

of new possibilities and knock on

the doors of bold adventure.

With a gypsy heart,

time began to ripen her confidence

until "invisible" was no longer an option.

The rebel was ready to blossom.

With a gypsy heart

she set sail on a new course

to navigate life with her soul by

listening to her wisdom and to her lust.

With a gypsy heart

she blazed amazing flaming trails

with the moon over her head

and the twinkle of stars in her eyes.

With a gypsy heart

she knew she would never be the same

or bring this romantic life to a halt

for where destiny called, she would go.

With A Gypsy Heart ~ Copyright 2010 Donniece Smith

Mover and Shaker Muse - Esmeralda

My Creativity Muse is evolving so I wanted to share her latest additions. A bird in her halo symbolizes the more flighty aspects of creativity. Many creative folks find that "in the air" is their natural habitat. But I am a down-to-earth practical gal for the most part. So this soaring sparrow is a reminder to me that it's OK to be flighty in the air-- especially now that I am no longer in a corporate job. Also added are her wings of keys to unlock creative blocks. Plus a heart as the source of it all. Oh and did I mention my "mover and shaker muse" is named Esmeralda, meaning Emerald. So her power pack is located on her back between her wings as a wire wrapped emerald. Ah yes, and only later did I learn that emerald is the gemstone for creativity and abundance!

** Oh and notice that the ridges of the keys are up on one side and are facing down on the other. This is a reminder that left and right brains opperate differently.

Click photos to Enlarge

This is a project for my Artella Creativity Coaching Certification

More info on that to come!

All But Six Years Old

Two inches of tatted lace I made while at my Tatting Group

Saturday afternoon. It is very difficult to tat and talk!

Saturday afternoon I was able to spend some time with a group of ladies who get together at Hobby Lobby's classroom to tat. Tatting is a form of lacemaking that is created with a shuttle. While we were there, a cute little girl bounded in the room with great curiosity to see what we were doing. She proceeded to tell us many things before her Dad had time to find her. I was inspired by her spunk and wanted to recapture that youthful zeal and uninhibited energy. I tried to bottle that innocent optimism in this poem.

All But Six Years Old

With more power
than any television celebrity,
she boldly entered our meeting room
~ all with great confidence.
For she happily skipped
into the hearts of five unknown women
~ all but six years old.

With more power
than any campaigning politician,
she boldly spoke of her abilities
~ all with great authority.
For she proudly exclaimed that
she too could sew a butterfly with a needle
~ all but six years old.

With more power
than any corporate executive,
she boldly took leadership in her new role
~ all with great pride.
For she was soon-to-be a big sis
to a new little brother.
~ all but six years old.

With more power
than any metropolitan city council,
she boldly explained her big plans
~ all with great vision.
For she intended to teach her
new little brother how to sew too
~ all but six years old.

With more power
than any religious evangelist,
she boldly claimed her unlimited resources
~ all with great faith.
For she said her dad would soon be
buying her lots of new things.
~all but six years old.

Copyright 2010 Donniece Smith

My Mover and Shaker Creativity Muse

Click photo to enlarge

I had a fun assignment for an online class I am taking on creativity

The task was to create a representation of your muse.

Here is what I wrote for to include with the assignment:

The inspiration for personifying my Creativity Muse did not come to me right away. I did immediately begin to think of different materials and doll making techniques that I could use. But something told me to stop and wait. Finally one day into week 3 of the program, the idea struck me. I could see in my mind a magazine article I had seen before with figurines made from salt shakers. And as luck would have it I had saved some old salt shakers from my grandparents things and had them in the garage.

The ideas began to flow. I thought it would be fun to put beads in the bottle and even write my intentions and questions on slips of paper and slip them in the bottle ~ adding more as I progressed through the program and beyond. Most exciting was when my Muse said to me, "I'm your "mover and shaker" muse! I laughed out loud.

As I made her, I loved that the head dress includes stars. The stars remind me to reach for the stars. The wire spirals remind me that inspiration comes when I put out my antennae and seek it from all around me. Inside the bottle are crystal beads to remind me of clarity, pearls for wisdom and a small jingle bell for playfulness. My "mover and shaker muse" reminds me that I am to sprinkle the star dust of inspiration upon everyone I serve and on everything that I create.

Her head is made from a miniature wooden spool. I wrapped beige thread on the spool and embroidered her face and features. I added a few seed beads for the eyes and lips. This also correlates to the fact that most of the art I am creating right now involves sewing and making art quilts. Did I really think of these things as I was making her? No, I just made her and then she "told" me what it all meant! And so here she is making her debut appearance!

5 x 7 Art Scholarship Benefit 2010

close up detail of stitchery

The Texas Tech University annual 5 x 7 show will be April 24th.

All contributed art is 5 x 7 inches and priced the same amount.

For more information on the event's details, contact the Texas Tech Art Dept. All donations go towards art scholarships.

All that Jazz

This is a detail of my Jazz themed quilt on display at the Texas Tech Museum thru March 21st with other artists from the Caprock Art Quilters. We were invited to have Jazz themed small quilts on display to compliment the current traveling Jazz art quilt exhibit. Be sure to see ours along the hallway between the gift shop and the planetarium. The main exhibit is wonderful! Be sure to see both!

Creative Spaces

I don't know why but I am creatively inspired by having all these little whimsical and colorful things around me. The middle photo is a space in the corner of my laundry room! I am somewhat neatly cluttered.