Weekend Regroup

Dear Ones~
This past week brought many new insights on my path to inner wisdom. As I am learning to watch for the signs and sounds of 'Godwinks', the messages seem to be appearing all around me. Validations for my art in the form of new commission requests, guidance for the direction a new idea should take, as well as notes of  'Thanks' for something I said or did have been coming to me on an almost daily basis. I find it miraculous.

I subscribe to the daily messages from 'The Universe' in my email box. Reading the message each morning really helps me focus my attention on the positive side of life and that in turn seems to be bringing blessings my way and leading me on the path toward the fulfillment of my wildest dreams.

'Transformation' (c) 2010, Kasia
All Rights Reserved

Take for instance, the dream of one day having my work published in a national magazine. When I first whispered this wish in 1995, it was just that, a wish. Then somewhere along my journey, I learned to stop 'wishing' and start 'asking' for my dreams to come true. When you 'ASK', the Universe puts energy in motion, things start to happen without your knowing, and then one day a friend writes:

 "I was just sitting and reading my newly arrived copy of American Quilter's magazine when on page 52 I noticed something---hey, that looks like something done by someone I know.  I continued looking and then under that picture of a 36" square quilt I saw the name Kasia.  Did you win a first place award for Milwaukee Art Quilts--------called Connecting the Threads?  Right name, right look--and I am so proud to know you."

You can only guess at my surprise and amazement! This answer to my prayers is a 'baby step' along the path of my dreams. I am learning that the bigger I can DREAM, the grander are the miracles that keep coming my way. I am living proof that it works! And if it can work for me, it most certainly will work for you too. So I ask you, "What is your wildest dream?" Care to share?

Until next time ~ Live Your Light!
Kasia

Simple Pleasures

Dear Ones ~
I was reading a blog this morning that got me to thinking about the simple pleasures of life. The many little things that we do throughout the day that bring us JOY without our consciously thinking about it. So I've decided to start a list of mine:

* Being greeted by the birds singing when I get the morning paper.
* The ability to operate this pc and reach out to friends and family on the internet.
* As a grandmother, watching the children playing in the yard - so carefree and happy.
* The sparkle in the children's eyes when they realize that "Kasia's here!!!".
* Visiting my Studio in the wee hours when the world is asleep.
* Working with colorful fabrics, textures, and threads to create the 'Colorful Art that Lifts the Spirit.'
* The steady companionship of my husband of 40 years. He is my rock.
* Picking up the phone and talking with my daughter whenever the mood hits me.
* Being greeted, cheerfully, by my son's wife when I drop by unexpectedly. (Her face lights up and I know that I am welcomed and not an intrusion.)
* Looking at photos of 'Dear Ones' who are no longer walking this planet.
* The ability to SEE the world as I wish it to be.
* The TASTE of a bit of the bubbly with a good dinner that I didn't have to cook myself.
* HEARING our piano being played by my guy. His music warms my heart and I appreciate it.
* TOUCHING the soft skin of our babies.
* Watching with PRIDE, our adult children and their spouses interacting.
* The ability to watch the changing moon and the stars from our deck each night.
* Bubbles in a bathtub.
* Warm, compfy bed to rest in at night.

I guess that I'm on a roll now - - - what are some of your simple pleasures?? Want to share?

Until next time ~
Live your Light!

Opening Night - Envision Gallery at Flourish Studios, Chicago

Dear Ones-
Opening Night was a dream come true!! The gallery was ALIVE with the energy of the 'LoveLights' that were being shown.

As I stood back to look at the space, I was filled with pride in the accomplishment of my wildest dreams come true. A solo show of the work of my hands. I learned that night that the 'baby steps' really do add up and the body of work comes together almost without realizing what is happening.

The evening was magical with the entertaining performance of the Imagination Theater group.

I was very blessed to have family and dear friends brave the stormy weather to be present for me at this important event. Some drove for nearly three hours to attend the gala that was an 'out of body' experience that I will not soon forget. THRILLING!

 

Cathy Hennessy Price, a Family Therapist at Flourish Studios, planted the seed last fall for this exhibit to take place and was very instrumental in making the necessary introductions with exhibit curator Meredith. With a grateful heart for the opportunity and vote of confidence, I created this 'Price Family LoveLight' for Cathy and Mark.

The exhibit will hang until July 17th. It is my hope that if you are able to experience it for yourself, you will please sign the guest book near the entrance of the gallery. Your comments mean so much.

Until next time ~

Live your Light!

Zippidy doo daa, Zippidy yaay

My oh my, what a wonderful day!!                                       

Dear One,
Thank you for your patience with me and this blogging exercise. I am so relieved to be back online and all systems up and running again. It's been torture not being able to keep up. I still have some software to upload and a huge learning curve, but I am confident that I will be able to cope in time.

I have picked up two new frames from The Artist's Reward and will shortly be framing the last of the new pieces for the Flourish Studio Exhibit. I will be delivering the art pieces on Tues. and am more than excited about this adventure. I feel nothing but JOY these days at the prospect of being able to share my LoveLights in a venue that will appreciate their focus. The opening is next week. Pinch me, am I dreaming?

I'm off to the Studio ~ Until next time ~ Live your Light!
Kasia

Family Vacation

Dear Ones ~

The days (weeks) flew by since my last post.  The bonspiel at Alpine Curling Club with Jerry and Chris was a lot of fun.  We played our best and had some really great games, but in the end we came home without any trophies.  Sorry about that Skip, maybe next time.  One of the best features of bonspieling is the socializing with the friends that we have made through the years.  Chatting with my friend Darcie, who I only see once a year at this event, was a highlight.  The week after our curling weekend was spent in a frenzy of  last minute details in preparation for our family vacation.

Several years ago, Ron and I decided that instead of a party to celebrate our 40th Anniversary, we would like to make a family memory by taking a vacation together.  At the time we first made this pledge, we did not have any grandchildren and were thinking of a European vacation with our adult children and their spouses.  As the years went by, our little ones arrived to fill out the family tree and changed our travel plans.  Now we were considering traveling with a 5, 3, and 2 year old and a 7 month old!  What could we possibly do that would accommodate everyone?  After a month of research, we decided on a Western Caribbean Cruise aboard the Disney Magic!  We made the grand announcement of this plan at Christmas.  That gave everyone several weeks of happy anticipation.

 

Even though our anniversary is actually in August, the winter snows of Wisconsin made the thought of sunshine and beaches even more appealing in the month of February.  So it was decided that we set sail on Feb. 6th from Port Canaveral.  We then visited Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Castaway Cay with a couple of days at Sea thrown in for relaxation.  

The kids were enthralled with the Disney characters, the stage shows, and especially the Mickey Mouse Pool.  We agreed prior to leaving home that we wouldn't try to stay together every minute.  Each family could do their own thing,  but we were to meet at dinner to share our events of the day.  As it turned out, we usually found each other around the pool deck and spent a good deal of time together taking turns watching the children and running for snacks.  We shared a lot of laughs and made some memories for which we will have stories to last my lifetime.  It was GRAND!  The whole week exceeded my wildest expectations.

The children were very well behaved.  We are proud  not only of them, but of their parents as well.  The youngest, Gavin, was especially easy going and adapted to sleeping in his stroller in the middle of all the noise.  Precious!                                                   

One night, in the dining room, we were surprised with a cake to celebrate our special occasion.  Served shortly after we had finished our dessert, we took it back to our stateroom and ate it for breakfast the next day.  Mmmmm - - - yunmmy!

 We did incur a bit of an adventure on our return home.  I'll save those details for another post after I have an opportunity to upload more of my photos.  (Sometimes one look is worth a thousand words.)  Let me just say that DREAMS really DO come true if your heart is in your dream!  And for that fact, I am eternally grateful~

Until next time,

Love & Light ~

Kasia

Kevin's Star

The family gathered.  The gifts were exchanged.   Now that we have had our Annual Family Christmas Celebration, I can reveal the LoveLight that was consuming my time and energy for the past few weeks. 'Kevin's Star' LoveLight was created as my gift to my youngest sibling which was well received with rave reviews.

Inspiration actually can take months for me to incubate.  I get an idea, sleep on it, roll it over in my mind, add a few details, roll it over again and probably sleep on it several more times before it finally comes together in a matter of hours or days.  When I think about this, it is very much like incubating a baby.  There is the moment when you realize that a new creature is waiting to be born.  Then comes the planning and preparation and waiting, . . . the dreaming of how it will look and thinking of names before the perfect moment of birth has arrived.  Then there is no stopping the "idea" from presenting itself in the physical form.
 
Music appreciation is a thread that plays throughout our family.  My grandparents were all musically talented.  Dad played the violin and piano following in his folks footsteps and the genes were passed down to my baby brother who plays keyboards in a local band to his heart's delight.   It was only natural that a musical theme would become the inspiration for his LoveLight.   Since I view him as a rising star, the focal point of this piece is an eight pointed star with rays of light pouring out.  In personalizing my mandala designs, I often stitch an outline of a hand print or hide a name in the painted design which is true of this LoveLight.  Brittany is Kevin's daughter and the light in her dad's eye, so it was an easy design detail to include her name along with a tracing of his hand print into this mandala design.  Both the name and the hand tracing are invisible at a distance, causing the viewer to move in for a closer look. 

One morning, while still incubating this design, I awoke with this poem sounding in my mind.  I was compelled to write it down on the pad of paper that I keep on the nightstand.  Convinced that it was divinely inspired, a copy of it was affixed  to the back of the framed piece.  It reads:

                      "Kevin, my brother, is a shining star                       

With his love of music, he'll go far.

He lifts the Spirits of those he sees

when he touches the piano keys.

His love for Brittany everyone knows,

She's in his heart wherever he goes.

You are the inspiration of this LoveLight.

May it fill you with Joy

and your future by bright.

Merry Christmas 2009

Love, Kasia"

Sacred Space

To find the creative mode, I need to surround myself with special music that quiets the ego, photos of family and dear ones (my angels), books that inspire, and knickknack treasures that center me.  The colorful ART collection that hangs in view and the new pieces waiting for attention on the design wall all help me to cross the threshold into the state of creativity where time does not exist.  I simply love my sacred studio space.

I didn't always have such a beautiful spot to play in, but it was always a dream and a wish.  Through the years, the workspace evolved from a corner in the basement, to a counter top in the laundry room.  When our daughter went off to college, the corner in her bedroom became my "sewing niche" on the main floor of the house. That arrangement worked fine until, like most hobbyists, my collections of fabrics and supplies expanded to overflowing the room.  There was a file-box here and a cutting table there with a pile of reference books thrown in the middle.  It was difficult to stay organized.  Gratefully, about that time we decided to relocate our home. My dream studio became a reality in a beautiful room of my own with a view of nature and furniture to house all of the fabrics, supplies, and notions.  It is an answer to a prayer, my little piece of heaven and the place where I find my bliss.