Road Trip!

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I've talked about it briefly, but in this post, I wanted to share my upcoming trip with you. On April 16th, I am driving from New Jersey to California, where I will land around May 2 to teach at Artistic Affaire in Manhattan Beach. For the last 15 years, I have been a caregiver for my son, Tucker. Although, we do what we have to out of love, there is no doubt that our lives (my husband and I) have left us with many worries and very little freedom. I'm taking advantage of this opportunity to teach in my home state and turning it into an adventure for myself. It is a chance to rediscover myself and be on my own. I am a very independent person and crave solitude.This is the perfect solution to fulfill this in a creative endeavor. It will be interesting to see just how fast I start to miss "home"!

Along the way, I am staying with art friends. I'm giving myself 2 weeks to dilly dally, drive leisurely and have a flexible schedule to do whatever comes up that I deem "fun and exciting". This is something I am always wanted to do and I am excited to make my way back to my home state.

After I am done teaching, I will then continue my trip by visiting with family (my mom, sister, niece, dad, etc.) and other friends. I have various places in California that I will be hitting (my favorite places such as Monterey,Pacific Grove, San Simeon). I'm looking forward to photographing the otters and elephant seals. I'm just excited to see my home state and I want to hit as many places as possible that I can before heading back home. I'll also deviate over to Nevada to visit my father in Fallon and teach 2 classes in Reno. It's been about 3 years since I have seen either of my parents, so visits are overdue.

I made some jewelry pieces that I am going to be selling online (here) to help raise a little road money (gas and hotels). So I guess you could consider this a little fundraiser. I've always have been very supportive of everyone and I figured, why not try and earn a few dollars to begin my adventure. I will be most grateful for your support and encouragement as I leave on this adventure.

To me, this journey is all about love. And by definition, I am defining "love" very openly. It is love for my children, for my family. It is love for a few special friends that are battling serious illnesses. It is love for my my art friends who constantly show me support and encouragement and teach me to really remember what is important. It is even love for strangers; other women who need my support; even if that support comes in the form of a simple smile.

When talking of this trip to many friends, I've been hearing the same thing over and over. "you are so lucky that you get to do this" or "i too have always wanted to make such a trip". It made me think of something that has always been important to me and that is to realize that even though we are all our own person, we are all the same as well. You = Me. My good friend, Jane, painted a picture of a woman with brown hair and wings tonight and I said, "if you make her hair longer, She is Me". and that brings me to my point. Although we are different people, essentially, we are all the same. we think similarly, we feel similarly, we like the same art, the same books, the same stuff from the flea market, and on and on. it can't be coincidence, that all of us have so much in common. But I also think about other women as well. Women that I don't know. I saw a woman crying at the store recently and I remembered the time, when Tucker's illness was very new and raw and I was shopping for things he needed. I was in a store and I was crying because the pain was unbearable. No one noticed, or no one said anything. But since then I've seen women crying and I've acknowledged them. Because, you see, that stranger crying for whatever reason is no different from me. "She is Me".

It helps me empathize with others to identify my pain with hers. None of us are very different in that fact. We all have pain and we all have our story. It's just a matter of remembering that.

I've created 3 different pieces - all of the hearts to go with the theme of love. There are soldered hearts that are $30. resin hearts that are $30 and my voodoo love hearts that are $40 (limited amount of these). All pendants, handmade by me, come on a ball chain. Please know that I put a lot of LOVE into these. Prices include shipping. This will be first come, first serve. But even if your favorite word might not be available, I'm sure you can find another piece that will suffice just as well :)
keep in mind that you don't have to wear them as pendants. you can hang them in your car, put on key chain or even drape around your studio.

If you see something you like, please email me (keeshagirl4@aol.com) with a description of the piece, "resin heart, "sing", for example, and if it is still available, I will send you a paypal invoice (and please make sure i have your correct paypal address to invoice).

update: if you see a line through a word, then it is sold already.
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Voodoo love hearts $40. choose from the following words:
love, kiss, cherish, amore, hug, xoxo, trust and j'taime.

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Resin hearts $30: choose from the following words:
cherish, love , sugar, kiss, bliss, sing, heart and xoxo

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Soldered hearts $30. Choose from the following words:
brave, laugh, hope, sing, kiss, cherish, smile, joy, fly, and heart

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So as I begin my journey, I will document it for you to enjoy. To participate virtually, because I know, as women, we long to find ourselves again. I am you and you are me. come along for the ride; I know we will have a grand time.