It's About Love

A beautiful quote sent to me by my husband....

"Don`t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don`t walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend." -Albert Camus

This speaks profoundly to our marriage and what we desire but it also speaks to our life.

When I think about what I want in life, I really don't desire to lead or to follow anyone - what I truely desire is to walk with people through this journey we call life. To come along side those I love and to be a support, an encourager, a shoulder to cry on, a friend to laugh with, a buddy to drink with, etc....

If I can journey with people in this world, if I can walk among humanity and contribute positively to people's lives, then I will consider my life full and successful. To me it's not about money, fame, career success ... it's about love.

"Blessed"

I found a piece of Beauty this morning in a song I was listening to while sitting at work...

"Blessed" by Brett Dennen

I welcome the sun
The clouds and rain
The wind that sweeps the sky clean and lets the sun shine again
This is the most magnificent life has ever been
Here is heaven and earth and the brilliant sky inbetween

Blessed is this life and I'm going to celebrate being alive.

I dwell in the darkness
I let in the light
I sleep in the afternoon and become the noise in the night
I trespass in temptation suffer in sacrifice
But I awake each day with the new sunrise.

Blessed is this life oh, and I'm gonna celebrate being alive.

Beauty

I have recently begun a study of "Beauty" - it's a word that is used abundantly in our society but I feel like it is used in a very superficial way. We describe people, celebrities, homes, clothes, etc. as beautiful and it's true, these things are often nice to look at. But I would call all of this glamour, not beauty.

Real, true Beauty is deeper than what's on the surface. For example, the Beauty of a person is not external - yes, they may have a pleasing face but what makes that face truely beautiful is the soul underneath it.

Think about a time that you have witnessed true Beauty -- maybe a sunset in Maui, an eagle soaring over the Grand Canyon, a child running into the arms of her Mother, a swan swimming across a glass lake, a rainbow across the sky,...what did you feel in that moment? How did your soul, your core, respond? Did you feel peaceful? Did you feel alive? Did you feel courageous? Inspired? Joyful? Hopeful?

Continue to think about some of the truely beautiful moments in your life as you read the following descriptions of what Beauty is:

Beauty "suspends the desire to be elsewhere." --Ken Weber

Beauty is moving and uplifting.

"Beauty is the experience that gives us a sense of joy and a sense of peace simultaneously."

"Beauty is serene and at the same time exhilarating; it increases ones sense of being alive."

"Beauty gives us a feeling of wonder and a sense of timelessness."

"Beauty is dynamic." -- Rollo May

As I've been reading, writing, reflecting, experiencing Beauty I realize that it's all around us every day, every moment. We just have to be willing to take the time to see it. This is a great quote from John O'Donohue in his book 'Beauty: The Invisible Embrace'... "We can slip into the Beautiful with the same ease as we slip into the seamless embrace of water."

So really, it's up to us. Beauty feeds the soul in a way that nothing else can. When we awaken to the Beauty around us we become aware of a new way to be in the world - we are more joyful, more whole, we find more peace within ourselves and the crazy, busy world we live in.

I will leave you with two final thoughts (not my own, taken from O'Donohue's book)...

"The wonder of the Beautiful is its ability to surprise us. With swift, sheer grace, it is like a divine breath that blows the heart open."

My goal, Erin Drez's goal, is this..."to think, feel and act beautifully in the world; to create and live a life that awakens the Beautiful."


Below are a few Beautiful moments I've caught on camera over the last few weeks...

Nap-Time Project

A little piece I put together during my daughters nap last week.

Christmas Projects

I was very busy through the holidays filling orders for Christmas. Here are some of the items I created...

This was a gift I did for my parents this year - a collage on board with a matte photo of my daughter and I in the middle. I used a crackle glaze for the background and an antique varnish to give it an "old world" feel. They loved it!

Here are some of the many Christmas ornaments I made for people this year...




These are a few of the necklaces/charms I made...





this one was fun - the order was for someone who loved sunflowers and I couldn't find a good picture/image of a sunflower, so I drew my own...



Feel free to contact me anytime if you would like something custom made for you or a friend/family member. Even if you don't know exactly what you want, we can come up with an idea together and get it made. Unique, hand-made items are such a special gift!
erindrez@yahoo.com

Honored, Humbled

Last year I participated in a monthly gathering at a local church where we would read scripture, silently meditate on it and then break into small groups to share what was on our hearts. I loved being with this group and at the end of the year, as a way to say thank you, I made each person a gift.

Well, I ran into one of the ladies a few weeks ago and she wanted to tell me something....this summer she was forced to evacuate her home due to the wildfires. She only had 30 minutes to pack up and get out and therefore, very little time to grab what was meaningful to her that she didn't want to risk loosing. She then told me that one of the first things she grabbed was the necklace I had made for her! She said that necklace meant so much to her that she knew immediately she didn't want to leave it behind.

WOW, I was blown away (to say the least). Shocked, humbled, grateful!

THIS is why I create. I do it for myself, but I also do it for others - to show them how much they mean to me. I love working on a project/gift for someone because while I'm using my heart, mind and hands to make something special for them, it allows me the time and space to focus on that person in my life. To really think about them, who they are, what they like and what they mean to me. It truely is a blessing!

And, I'm not gonna lie, it feels good to know that it is appreciated.

My goal for 2010.....Create! Create! Create!

PS -- her house was fine -- they were evacuated for 2 days but no damage from the fires.

My new daily mantra...

“I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning . . . Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” - Miles Davis

Memories

I can't remember exactly when or where I got this little violin (and I do mean little, see the pen sitting next to it!) - but what I do remember is spending hours looking at it, playing with it, delicately admiring it. My guess is that I was around 10 years old when I got it.

It's stayed at my parents house but they recently sent it to me. The other night I spent at least half an hour enjoying it. The second I open up the case there is this smell that envelops me and takes me back to my childhood. When I see my hands caressing it, I see the hands of a young child exploring, admiring, dreaming.

I played the violin for 9 years growing up. In the beginning, I loved it - but as the years wore on I began to hate it. My interests were in other areas and practicing was the last thing I wanted to do. I therefore quickly dropped to the back of the class in skill level and remained there until I graduated high school. I haven't touched my violin since.

As I think about it, I believe the reason I stuck with it all those years was because I thought it made my parents proud. And because I hadn't stuck with anything I'd tried (piano, ballet, tap, soccer, girl scouts, etc...) I used to feel guilty about this, like I was a failure and couldn't complete what I had started. But what I realize now is that that is what kids do and I am SO thankful for all of those experiences! Everything I ever participated in, no matter how short, I learned something, I built memories and they all molded me into the person I am today --- a woman with a diverse background of experience, a hunger for knowledge, and an interest in a wide variety of things in life.

I am multifaceted, complex, and I like it that way.

Me

Part of being an artist is knowing who you are or, more accurately, exploring who you are. As I've been going about my daily life lately I've been naturally listing things in my head about who I am, what I like, what I think, etc... I thought it might be useful to write some of these things down.

It will also be interesting to see if/how these change over the years.

A Little Bit About Me...

*I will be 30 this year and I find myself looking forward to it. I've spent my 20's trying to discover who I am, I think when I turn 30 I'm going to say "screw it - this is who I am, I'm going for it, deal with it" - haha.

*I can't go to bed without saying goodnight to my sleeping daughter.

*I hate hair when it is not attached to someone's head - loose hair makes me gag.

*I learned last night that cleaning mini-blinds is actually therapeutic.

*I too often let fear stop me from going after what I really want.

*On occasion I still care what people think, but for the most part I've let that go.

*If I could rid the world of spiders, ants and bees I would.

*Working with my hands to create something is like life-giving water to me - without it, I will die of thirst.

*I'm scared to say "I'm an artist" when people ask what I do. I feel like a fraud because I don't sell much art and I haven't been in any shows. But, on a deeper level, I know that art making is about SO MUCH MORE than that!

*I believe everyone has a creative spirit.

*I'm tired of waiting for the "right moment" to do things - I want to live life IN the moment - it's now or never.

*I don't understand why so many children have to suffer through so much at such a young age.

*I can't watch the news anymore because it depresses me, scares me and creates too much anxiety -- they seriously play on people's nerves.

*I never want my daughter to question my lust for life - I want her to witness me growing and pursuing what's important.

*I don't want to push my daughter to be anything - I just want to let her "self" unfold so she can be who she naturally is.

*If I could hire someone to cook & clean my house every day but I'd never see them, I would.

*I might have to stop watching such high-drama tv shows - they seem to create too much drama/anxiety inside me. I think I get too attached to the characters & stories.

*I hate the word "should" -- I don't like feeling like I "should" do things, I want to do them because I want to do them.

*I've been avoiding my studio because I don't know what to do/where to go.

*I love wearing funky socks - it makes me happy.

*I'm forever grateful to my husband for teaching me how to be free!

*I want to make a difference in this world - on the day I die, I want to know that my life meant something and I want to be thankful for that.

Caroline On The Beach

A drawing I did in my sketchbook this weekend from a photo....well, not a real photograph but from a photo on my iphone.

This was a great moment/memory for me - Caroline, my daughter, was experiencing her first walk on the beach and loved it!