guest post - kathy van kleeck

passionate exchange

shard trio

This is my first opportunity to post as a guest on a blog and I’ve been wondering what I wanted to write or share … what am I thinking about right now, what’s inspiring me, what’s piqued my curiosity? I was stalled for a fresh idea and then a new and now good friend stopped by this morning. Our conversations usually revolve around creativity and collaboration and always leave me energized and inspired. Throughout our conversation I was scribbling notes and as we were winding down our visit, I had my theme.

goddess bracelet

Accepting, embracing and fully engaging with our genius.

My new friend (a knitware designer/maker) and I share a virtually identical aesthetic – pretty extraordinary when I think about it. The foundation of that aesthetic is best described as “wabi-sabi”, the Japanese philosophy of imperfect beauty. My love of all things wabi-sabi dates back to my days as a potter in the 80’s. It merged into a new medium when I started making and selling jewelry in ‘94.

In the last few months I’ve become aware that for pretty much my whole career as a designer/maker I’ve held a bit back, not shown my real self, always kept something in reserve. Meeting my aesthetic twin is helping me to change that, giving me the courage to finally release the brakes, feet downstream, leap and build my wings on the way down, take off the filters and fully engage in a passionate pursuit of my long buried genius.

vertebrae cairn

What that means for my business - rather than expanding my market and focus, I’m narrowing it. My existing body of work, with an urban organic vibe, thrives in something of a niche market. The new Urban Primitive collection looks to be an even smaller niche … kind of a scary direction. But once I got started, I couldn’t stop. And I gotta say, I am thrilled with my new jewelry … steel and bronze metal clay combined with fossilized shells and bones, accented with rough gemstone nuggets and artisan lampwork beads on hand-cut leather, hand-plied silk or linen cord.

steel and bronze cubes

My worst fear was that no one would get what I’m doing and I’d be stuck with a bunch of work no one wanted. But joy of joys, the work is being well received, opportunities are showing up, I’m making connections with like-minded makers – in person, on Etsy and my blog, the work is getting into Treasuries and I’ve been asked to guest post here … all delightful and all unexpected. I am finding my tribe.

What is finally starting to sink in are these words from Marianne Williamson’s, A Return to Love …

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. 

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. 

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? 

Actually, who are you not to be? … 

Your playing small does not serve the world. 

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking 

so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.”

It is ever so clear … showing my authentic self, shoulders back and chin up, putting forth work that is a clear expression of my soul’s passion, being direct and true and accessible … can only be a good thing.

My new path is all about passionate exchange … be it what I make or what I say or how I interact with the world at large … staying present and authentic about what I do and say and share.

cuneiform shards

I’ll leave you with a recent quote, and my new mantra, from my favorite business goddess, Danielle LaPorte.

“Show up. Shine. Let it go.”

Thanks for reading and sharing my journey.


l I g a – kvk


love, infinite grace, abundance
............................................................................................


you can learn more about kathy here:


kathyvankleeck.com


blog


etsy

fear and resin

mary jane dodd

'play is the beginning of knowledge.'

~ unknown

just like you, i would often cringe at the thought of trying something new... the past two years have brought a change in that thinking though... in the scope of life's experiences, trying something new here pales in comparison to some of the things that we might have to adapt to... 

and so as serious as i am about my work, i try to view my new ventures as play... experimentation... in fact, in the times of greatest chaos in my life, i will often leap towards a new technique or medium to try... it is grounding, makes me feel alive and is confidence building if for only having done something unknown... 

resin is fun! do i groan because i like to be able to use most of the 1/2 ounce? yes... so i try to have lots of things to do with it when i sit down... if i am making paper drops or paddles, i want to have a lot of them - i despise throwing out unused product (that is how i hold myself up)... 

if i do a big batch i also have pieces ready to work with in the future - which is nice... 

this is the perfect medium if you love paper, words, old books... 

a 'dr. seuss' challenge inspired this piece:

a calder challenge pushed me to try tinting it because i wanted to be able to evoke the colors and movement found in his 'blue feather' stabile... 

you can fill pre made bezels or make them yourself... what i absolutely love about this product is how much you can do with it... make it shiny and colorful, use it with patterned papers, try it in molds... 

here are some examples i found on etsy... 

lil smile pendant by jade scott

drops of color earrings by ajc design

in my reading around in the blogosphere, i notice that resin is often mentioned as something that people have purchased but not tried... if this applies to you, i encourage you to give it a go... visit www.iceresin.com to learn about it... go to youtube and look for instructional videos by susan lenart kazmer and her team... it runs about $24 for the kit... 

so go ahead and play! 

and don't forget to enter april's call to create - inspired by your favorite song... 

the concrete jungle of zen

'move and the way will open.'

~ zen proverb

the weather is getting nicer, the kids are getting outside... and that now means trips to the skate park... and when one arrives, they do not want to leave... 

watching the kids, many doing the same moves over and over again, i came to a great appreciation of what was going on here... mind - body balance... overcoming fears and trying new things... pushing themselves forward... 

being... 

the rhythmic sounds of wheels rolling, decks grinding, boards jumping... 

as the hours passed, my mind got to wander... both settled and energized by the young people out there who were making efforts - going home with personal triumphs and lessons learned... i got to coach nick through a new move - understanding the physics of skateboarding, i always lamely think that the kids will just be so interested to know that they are applying science at their play... (they like 'mythbusters', i try)... 

we all have things we are afraid of - things that might be looming... but just remember, it is in the practice of doing that we conquer our fears... i don't tell my kids not to be afraid - that is ludicrous... i suggest that they own it - and overcome it... and then rejoice... 

find something you fear - be it a technique or medium - and go for it... and if it all goes amiss, you learned something from that... if there is a tutorial you might want to see, let us know... in fact, you can do so now... 

skateboards and sweatshirts and pads, metal working tools, your mind, whatever you exercise - here's wishing for you something to look back upon with pride at the end of the day... 


and some days it's ok to be pleased with the fact that you just got through it...