dp design

I miss the slow Sundays when we would connect. When we would talk about struggles, joys, and nostalgia. Sometimes through laughter and sometimes through tears, the world would get set right again over coffee with my friend.

Thanksgiving this year was a wonderful collection of friends around my dining table to enjoy food and conversation and then led into games; my idea of a perfect day. I missed my kids being here but was fortunate that I was able to have my brother here. After dissecting time, we determined that it has been 20 years since we have shared a Thanksgiving together! We went around the room and stated at least one thing we grateful for this year. I realized I have so many!

I try to live inside a space of gratitude in my life. Far from perfect, the everyday can creep it’s way into my mind and kick the legs out from under my chair at any given moment and leave me in a funk of drama. I try to spend as little time as possible in that place. For the last two years, I have practiced (I use this word because I will never have it mastered) trying to switch complaint for gratitude. Each time I find myself in complaint, I try to remember what I am grateful for in the situation. It is so hard to stay in drama if you are always looking for the good stuff.

Right at this moment I am thankful for the sun… I have determined that I can withstand almost any cold as long as there is sun, it warms my outlook.

Sometimes finding the love in winter comes from staying inside and taking care of yourself. I needed a mellow weekend inside and that is exactly what I did.

Technically winter is not supposed to be here yet but a crazy spell of cold weather and snow has not really left and I have a sneaking suspicion the cold will remain till spring. So to embrace all things cold, I have been signing up for all sorts of winter activities. One thing I will allow for myself in this process will be the ability to stay indoors and nurture myself when I need to.

Jeeze, blog much? I would have to say no. However, I am attempting a winter project this year to document the beauty in winter. I know there is much beauty in winter but I am hoping that if I spend my time looking for it that I can shift my attitude about winter. I am going back to shooting medium format film for most of this project. I am giving myself some allowances for when the camera may not be available. I plan to include winter activities that bring me joy, surrounding myself with others who love this season, and more than likely, trips to warmth so that I can recharge. Still trying to see if that last part is cheating. I am tossing around the idea of a show next year after I finish the project.

I am choosing today to start the project because today is the first snow we have received. Mother Nature chose to flip the switch on full blast. 8 inches of snow, a whole layer of crazy ice and plummeting temperatures, made this start to winter feel instantaneous. Very hard to believe I was camping two days ago.

Taking my sweet ass time updating my blog…but today was a good good day. Brunch with friends, gifted a beautiful piece of art work, was cooked an incredible dinner of lamb chops and insane desert by Chef Serina, life is good. And best of all it got up to 34 degrees, it was like a fricken heat wave around here, no coats or anything!!

Awww, you were so beautiful birdie…

For most of my adult years I wanted to own or run a gallery. There is something to be said about the power of manifestation and just the sheer idea of perseverance, more on that in a minute. What I have come to realize is that so many of us give up on our dreams or ideas before we see them through to full fruition. A friend and I discussed the concept of perseverance the other day. He just started school again, to change his career direction to what he was always meant to be: an artist. He has been in school before and has had other careers, but has always been an artist. Not just any kind of artist, but a damn good one. I feel like a little kid playing with crayons next to this guy!

    Man Made                                 15×40                  oil on canvas                     by Scott Roper

Scott painted this piece years ago, before he went to art school! And the picture does not do it justice, you miss all the detail. I once photographed his portfolio and recall when I reached down to move his art to eliminate a shadow and had a stupid  moment of realizing it was a flat drawing, and the shadow I was trying to get rid of was one he drew. I cannot even imagine how he is now topping his already crazy talent.

But I digress…

I came very close to giving up on my dreams and going back into the miserable retail career I once had. Why? Because retail for me paid well, did not require any formal education and was safe. Instead, I spent 6 years living in my friend’s basement, went completely bankrupt and then attended school to switch my career. This was during a time when some of my friends and others my age were discussing financial portfolios, which retirement plan they were investing in, and how much money they had started to put aside for their children’s education. For me however, it sometimes felt like a dark time.

When people talk about what kind of “crazy life choice” or the “should or should not” or the “must” that you have to do in life, ignore them. It is very easy to get caught up in other peoples plans for your life. Disregard other peoples beliefs, dogmas, manifestos, or rules that they believe you should follow. Follow your own path and your own dreams, it is your life. Let go of what others think of you, it is none of your business. Great freedom comes from letting go of the worry of other’s thoughts about you.

It is important to surround yourself with people who believe in you, who encourage you and who also believe in your dreams…and it helps when those people believe in your dreams more than you do, because you will have times when you loose faith in them. It is about perseverance.

Here is a picture of THE Gallery, it is being renamed to CURIO this month. My brother Ken and I worked very hard getting this abandoned/vacant (and not exactly empty!!) space cleaned up  to become a gallery. We opened the gallery on June 21st with a solo show of Ken’s art work (seen below) which has never been publicly shown. Before I moved to Minneapolis, Ken and I spoke often about how we wanted a gallery or a little shop of our artworks. I love that dreams can be created into reality if we persevere.

I was asked to design a menu for a local restaurant here in the twin cities. They wanted a vintagey (Spell check says this is not a word, but it is in my vocabulary!) and playful look to their menu. I love clients like this, they allow me to just go and trust that I can create something with their vision. These were the kind of projects I always vied for in school, fun project!

I am so incredibly grateful that being a designer has treated me so well!!

Wow, does time go by so quickly when you are super busy. This has got to be one of the best summers so far, and it is only getting better!

I finished up a long trip that I mostly spent in New England and Chicago. Mostly the pleasure of gardening and remodeling on Keith’s house in New Hampshire for two weeks. I was able to work remotely for work and get some projects off the ground. Finished up in Chicago attending NEOcon, a trade show for interior design. Had a great time…here are some pics.

Hats, glorious hats! This was a whole lot of fun for me, not so sure Keith had as much fun.