by Heather Plett | Aug 6, 2009 | Uncategorized
It’s official – the new site is up and running! I am SO excited!
Please, please go on over and visit (and bookmark it for future visits!) and be sure to leave a friendly comment. This site is like a new baby for me, and you KNOW that if you’d visit me after having a baby you’d pat it on the head and say what a pretty baby it is whether or not you meant it. (There’s an art giveaway, so if you comment, you could win!)
Remember that insecure mom-energy that comes when you’re really excited but freaked out about having to bring home a brand new baby and you really don’t know if you’ll remember to feed it at the right time, or know when to change its diaper, and you’re pretty sure you’ll end up dropping it on its head one day? Yeah, that’s a bit how I feel today.
I’m thrilled and I really feel like this is what I’ve been preparing for all these years, but at the same time I worry whether I’ll have the time or skills to really do this dream justice. In the end, though, I’m willing to give it my best shot, and the rest is up to the giver of all good dreams.
Remember my commitment to fearlessness? Well, I feel like I’ve just jumped out of that plane again!
by Heather Plett | Aug 4, 2009 | fearless
It’s official… I’m launching my new site on Thursday! (Keeping my fingers crossed that there are no snags, now that I’ve said it out loud.)
I am so excited! (And a little bit nervous.) This feels like the coming together of so many dreams, so much of my own giftedness, and so many of the ideas, values, and bits of wisdom I’ve picked up over the years.
It’s been an incredible couple of weeks preparing for this. My creative juices have been working overtime in my lovely little studio. (Sometimes even late at night when I’ve woken up with a great idea.) I’ve spent every morning here and it’s been so much fun, that I haven’t minded sacrificing my normal sleeping-in routine of holidays. I’ve connected with some amazing people, I’ve gotten several beautiful pieces of art to surround me with inspiration, and I have felt so loved and encouraged every step of the way. It’s gone so well, in fact, that those little internal gremlins that like to cast shadows on hope have been warning me that I should be prepared for “the other shoe to fall”. Perhaps failure really IS lurking just around the corner, but for now I’m going to believe that only success lies ahead for this little labour of love.
In celebration of the big launch, I’ve decided to throw a party, despite the fact that my house is in a sad state of disrepair and messiness. I’m just going to believe that anyone who believes in my little dream enough to come celebrate with me won’t be looking into the corners for dust mites or cobwebs (or broken toys, or last week’s laundry, or the camping equipment that hasn’t been put away yet, or… the list goes on and on).
If you happen to live close enough to my house (in Winnipeg, Manitoba) and want to come to the party, I’d be delighted to have you here. Leave a comment with your contact info and I’ll send you an invitation. (Sorry guys, this one’s for women only.)
One last thing… I just feel like I should say a great big THANK YOU to you my faithful blog readers. You have all been such a source of encouragement and support to me that you’ve helped me believe that I really can do this.
Who knew – when I started this fearless journey at the beginning of the year – that I would end up here? Be careful what you wish for!
by Heather Plett | Aug 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
My friend Yvonne, a gifted textile artist, handed me the piece of art you see below and said “I made this for your studio”. I think my jaw dropped open. It is so beautiful and SO perfect! And it just makes me feel so loved and encouraged! (Just like all the other pieces I’ve received.)
As I sat there staring it, I thought “it looks like my dreams taking flight”. A moment later, Yvonne said “it’s called ‘dreams taking flight’ and I thought it was perfect for what you’re working on.” Oh yes, it’s perfect! The photo doesn’t really do it justice. Yvonne hand-died all of the colourful bits of fabric. She truly is amazing and should be doing this for a living, don’t you think?
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Remember the generous stranger who poured coffee on my Wreck this Journal, at the encouragement of my friend Jo-Anne? Well… this is a delightful story… she left a comment on my blog! Turns out she’s a friend of my cousin Bev who’s been following me on Twitter and came across the video. She says she loved being part of it! (I’m so glad she’s not annoyed with me for posting the video of her online!) Now I want to meet her again to thank her – I had a feeling when she joined the fun that she was a kindred spirit.
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My decoupaged desk looks lovely! I’m quite fond of it and I’ve started to cast my eye on other flat surfaces in the house that might be decoupage-worthy. Marcel asked me to paint a dresser for him this week, and he gave me that suspicious look when I said “don’t you think plain white is a little boring?”
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Things are going remarkably well for my new website. If all goes as planned, I think I’ll be ready to launch it on Thursday. I’ve always had it in my mind that I’d launch by September, but since I’m ahead of schedule, I thought it would be fun to launch it while I’m still on vacation.
I’m so excited about the launch that I’m contemplating throwing a big party for all of the locally-based friends, family, and blog-readers that might be interested on Thursday night. The only problem is that I’ve concentrated so much of my energy on the creative stuff, that I’m not sure I can get my house looking presentable enough for a party. Stay tuned if you live close by – I’ll keep you posted.
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When I emerged from my studio one morning last night, I found the girls and Marcel all outside tearing the badly neglected, rotting deck apart. There’s something about seeing my girls with work gloves on, with hammers and power tools in hand, that just makes me smile.
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And speaking of my girls, they all have some colourful, funky new footwear for back to school.
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And I leave you with this picture, taken this morning on a lovely photo walk by the river.
(There really is no way to properly line photos up with words on blogger!)
by Heather Plett | Jul 31, 2009 | Uncategorized
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OulJbOiRpk&hl=en&fs=1&]
by Heather Plett | Jul 30, 2009 | Uncategorized
This is my fourth morning wrapped in the loving arms of my creative sanctuary. Aaaaahhhhh! This is so much fun, I’m dreaming of quitting my job and figuring out how to make a living doing what I love right here in this studio. This morning I wrote a “how I can quit my job and still have food on the table” list, and I’m pretty sure I can do this within the next year.
Part of the fun in my studio yesterday morning involved the final “chapter” of the Wreck this Journal saga – a saga that has been very closely aligned with the creating of my studio, and the dreaming and building of my new website (it’s happening people!). For this particular wrecking, I decided to explore the intersection between creativity and destruction, while I figured out a way to commemorate and immortalize the Journal as a symbol (and as a companion) of my creative journey.
Check out what I created with my wreckage! And if you stick around right to the bitter end, you’ll catch a glimpse of the “history of the artist as a young woman”. I’m won’t tell you everything, but it involves something about paper dolls and horses…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEakm5UBieg&hl=en&fs=1&]
Here are some links to some earlier wreckage…
The beginning (including the pictures of hiding a page in the wall)
Wrecking with the kids (includes bicycles, swings, and a Slurpee machine)
Wrecking with a friend (and a generous stranger)
Wrecking graveside (visiting my son’s burial place)
