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A whole new start … for spring!

by | Mar 17, 2017 | Ideas

Here it is … the Opening page of my whole new website!

Started from scratch. Incredible learning curve … but I feel really good about it. My aim was to create something that had a calm feeling, no drop-down menus, was easy to browse through the whole thing in a sitting … and … had more stories.

I realize there are a lot more stories to tell. Each time I started with one, another story would pop into my head. Snippets of what make up the artistic life that I live. Like a patchwork quilt or a mosaic … bits and pieces that create a whole picture. 

That’s the interesting thing about starting to tell a story, you end up connecting to more stories that you never imagined or remembered. At least I know that’s what happens for me. 

The other great thing about starting something from scratch is that you get to select what you will use. It’s not a matter of just moving things over from the old site to the new one, everything has to be considered. 

This new site is different in so many ways from my previous site. I loved my old one, until I realized that we had outgrown one another. I had changed and no matter what I did with the old one, it would never be able to reflect those changes. I had to start from scratch. 

I’ve actually found the “starting from scratch” mantra to be a very powerful one in the last few months. It allows me to rethink things. I did the same thing when I purchased a new computer in December. Instead of moving things over from the old computer to the new one, I treated the new machine as if it was my very first computer. WOW … does that ever make a difference to everything. I set up better filing systems. I explored the operating system more extensively, and I switched over to some new programs. In fact, I have been on an amazing learning curve for the past few months with software … I think I have learned 6 or 7 new programs. My brain feels bigger!

My personal challenge for the year is to embrace technology. To learn more about the ways that I can use it to connect and create. So far, so good! 

And the journey continues. I hope your journey is equally rich, inviting and fulfilling!

~sarah

Come visit the whole website here: 

sarahclarkdesign.ca

The NEW Mandala Meditation Decks have arrived!!!

by | Jan 24, 2017 | Ideas


Yes, the NEW Mandala Decks are finally here … I am so pleased with them! They are a bit larger than the previous ones and feel nice in your hand. The card stock is heavier too.

I have replaced the original two decks with this one. It has 36 cards and represents the original deck, some of the second deck and a whole bunch of new mandalas.

I took my inspiration from the 30 Days of Calm colouring pack that I designed, so I took some of those and coloured them!

How do I use these cards … well, I randomly choose three cards each morning to set the tone and ground the day. So far, the cards I have chosen or the cards that have chosen me, have been PERFECT.

If you are on Vancouver Island, they are available at Lobelia’s Lair and Departure Bay Aromatherapy, in Nanaimo, and at the Salish Sea Market, in Bowser.

Of course you can also order them from me, right here. And I will send them right to your door!

May there always be something that grounds your day and keeps you happy!

~sarah

 

 

So much is now completed – it feels good!

by | Jan 24, 2017 | Ideas

This past week and a bit has seen a huge burst of finishing pieces that I have been working on for awhile. It feels very freeing to have completed these pieces. It’s opening my up to what’s next. I honestly don’t know what that is, but I did know that I needed to finish what I had started, or decide that it wasn’t worth finishing, and move on.

Sometimes the finishing of a piece takes a long time. I stall in my progress, for many reasons. Sometimes I just don’t have the right information to continue. Sometimes I get sidetracked. Sometimes I have lost the thread of where something was going.

These two pieces, which are 12″ circle panels mounted on a spacer into a 16″ shadow box, are two examples of just not knowing what was next for them. They have been in a drawer for many months. Every once in awhile I would take them out, look them over and see if I could see the next step. For many months I have not been able to. Until this week.

This first one, Layers of Life, never seemed to tell me how to realize its completion. I would look at the base piece and just not see it. Then, in the past few days, I took it out again and I started to put the details in. The colours were all there, but none of the detail. Well, when I started, it just came to life and now I have to say that is one of my favourite pieces!

 

This second piece was a little of the same story. The base was there, but the details eluded me. I finished this one just after the US Election when I was really feeling the need for everyone to come together, hence, its name, We All Come Together.

Then there was the last little box … one of a series that I did … and again, it was the detail that brought it to life. I realize that I am stumped when I have large open areas to deal with, until I see how the detailing of them can work so well!

And this last piece is the heaviest table I’ve ever worked on … I call it “The Iron Leg Table”. Originally designed to be an outdoor table I think, someone replaced the glass top with wood. My perfect “canvas”. It is far more detailed then the photograph shows … metallic paints are so hard to capture without full studio lighting. It is now at the Salish Sea Market in Bowser for sale.

So, it’s been a busy few weeks of tidying up the bits and pieces and I feel really good about it all. Now I listen for the next easy step … hmmm … I wonder what it will be?

May the bits and pieces of your creative life offer you joy, always!

~sarah