Dreaming Our Dreams Into Reality - Part 1

In a world where we are bombarded by technology and a need to do more, go faster, and have instantaneous results, how do we go about accomplishing our dreams?  Have our overstimulated brains and minds become so reliant on TV, the internet, and smart phones to tell us how to think that we have forgotten how to use our own imagination?  Or do we use these tools to help us expand our creativity?  I ask these questions and attempt to answer them just as much for myself as I do for you.

Imagination seems like a great place to start.  As William Arthur Ward said, "If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it."  Is it that simple?   

To put it another way, the Wright Brothers have been credited with saying, "If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance."

Wright Brothers Memorial, North Carolina

If so then maybe the starting place is every morning just before we get out of bed or every night before we doze into a blissful semi-comatose state, we take a few minutes to create our next painting.  We feel the textures.  We smell the paint itself.  We visualize the picture we are painting in our head.  We see the end result (in this case the painting itself hanging in a gallery or a museum).  

If our longtime dream has been to be a dancer, we would use all of our senses to hear and feel the music, our body flowing with it, the roar of the audience, and the freedom of pirouetting around the stage.  

Maybe it's more simple than that.  Maybe our only goal is to be a better parent or teacher or co-worker or neighbor so we imagine how our day will go.  We see how we are interacting with others in a positive way.  We see ourselves as light and happy.  The sky is NOT the limit.  

Take it as far as you would like and then take it a step further.  

Instead of dreading waking up tomorrow for fear that "Lucy" will dump yet another of your favorite perfumes down the toilet for the fifth time this week, see her perfect angelic face 

holding the perfume over the toilet but deciding to make another choice this day and she hands it to you smiling.  You dab a little on her wrists, paint each other's nails, and create a spa day.  You both have such fun that you plan a girl's day once a month, maybe sooner!  Voila!  "Lucy" is happier and so are you!

School is out of control.  You fear that every child walking upon the earth with a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD has landed in your classroom, and every night you worry yourself to sleep wondering who will do what this time.  After all this has been the scenario day after day since school started.  Why would it be any different now?  

Change it up!  Worrying is enforcing what you don't want.  Spend that time thinking about what your students and you would be like in a perfect world.  Be silly if you want but do it in a way that will be conducive to all.   

Are you getting the picture?  Imagination and creativity does not have to be used only for the great and wonderful achievements that have been on our to do list practically since grade school but also for the every day, mostly appearing mundane activities.  We don't have to be a re-run in our own lives.  We can create the lives we choose every day, brand new.  Hooray for us!

Please don't think because I'm writing about this that I have it all together.  I am a work in progress, learning just like you, and some days are better than others but, in the end, I only have myself to thank for the good, the bad, and the outright ugly.  This is not to say I am an island unless I choose to be, but that I am creating it as we all are, which is marvelous!  If I am creating it, it means I also have the power to change it or re-create it. Fun times!  We get to choose a new day EVERY day!  

  

Genie in a Bottle - One Wish

Hey!  What happened to three wishes?  I think that genie better go back and re-read all the fairy tales; they clearly say "three wishes."  Must be inflation.

A wish is probably an accurate description of someone attempting to manifest a dream without the appropriate knowledge, wisdom, and action(s) to make it happen, only one wish leads to another and another.  What do you have to show for it?  Frankly, not much.

For myself, I'm a little afraid to wish.  What if I wish for the wrong thing? Better yet, what if I wish for something and it comes true?  You ever hear that saying, "Careful what you wish for"?

What if it turns out that that amazing job with flexible hours I wished for comes with a price tag of a dictator for a boss and he rules with a steel club over the head?  Or what if you wish for Prince Charming and instead you get a frog whose name was Prince Charming?  Ladies, kiss him all you want, he's still gonna be a frog.

Not my image and don't know who to give credit to but too adorable to pass up.

(Disclaimer:  This is NOT true in my case, although I've kissed enough of them in the past and they may just be saying the same thing about me!  I have been most fortunate to have had the Universe conspire to give me a real, true man, (meaning a lot of self-work first!) and, yes, I am thankful because if I had stuck to my "limited wish" I may have been up to my knees in a mucky swamp, surrounded by crocodiles, right about now...hopefully, they would have already eaten but then there are no guarantees, are there?)

Am I a crocodile or an alligator?  

Of course, that is not to say I've given up on that wish, it just needed a little revising and maybe a little more time.  ....or I conceded because the Universe just may know a little more of the big picture than I do.

Now how does this relate to you or I?  We all have dreams.  Some of us have buried those dreams under life taking priority or trying to survive through one more day but what kind of life is that?  It's a TRAP!  If we constantly give priority to everyone else or press the pause button on our own dreams, we will never realize them.  At the end of our life, we will be scratching our heads, wondering where the time went.  This is not to say we should pack our bags and catch the next jet plane, forgetting all else; only that we may not need to forsake our dreams for life either.  Maybe there is a way to have it all and we've forgotten.

Singing "...I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again..."

As you can see, I've been giving quite a bit of thought to this.  How do we manifest our dreams, i.e. do what we love, and still take responsibility for...let's say...paying our bills, feeding our family, etc?  Our friend, Albert Einstein, says, "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."  I believe we can replace reality with time in our case....both seem to apply.

Assuming there is a gap between manifesting our dreams, which may be the time it takes us to accumulate the ability and learning experiences to achieve them, then what is to be done in the interim with the bill collectors?  There must be a balance somewhere in here that has remained hidden for me up to this point.

So whether your dream is to travel the world making photographs and getting paid for it or win the Olympics or to be the next President it would seem a plan of action needs to be in order, goals set, and a resilient spirit maintained.  Since there is no way, in my limited knowledge and wisdom at this moment, I can condense this into one post and because you are relying on me as one source of information who is working through this as well, we will continue with this tomorrow.  We can take baby steps together!

Coming soon...dreaming our dreams into reality.

"Oh, how do I love, thee, let me count the ways...." - Travel, Nature, and Landscape Photography

Not that I don't love people and portrait photography anymore...I do and I hop on that train every time it arrives, but there is something about being out there in the world, appreciating the sheer beauty, grandeur, and magnificence of it. Don't you think so? There's so much to see and no matter how many times you look at it or how closely you observe it, it will never reveal itself to you in the same way twice. The lighting varies, the time of day, the season...it is always metamorphosing. It doesn't fight it; it just goes with it, a natural flow of constant transformation...some evident, some not so much...sometimes quietly and sometimes with great fanfare. 

And, here I am going to be blatantly, unheard of honest, even for me...you may want to shield your child's eyes for this next line or so.  I know this may come as a complete shocker to you but people can sometimes be a pain in the...well, you know...tush, tuckus, derriere, rear end...I think you get the point (I am not excluding myself either...we all have our moments).  Not all of them and definitely not all of the time but they can be a challenge; they have expectations...lots of expectations.  Please don't get me wrong, I am not bashing people or any venue of photography that includes people in it; I am only sharing a peek at some of the challenges in a, hopefully, humorous way.

Don't believe me?  Spend a day as a wedding photographer.  They want you to make them look like the blushing bride in "Bride Magazine" and, honey, I'm just saying...I could photoshop that extra few pounds off of you but you still want it to look like you, don't ya?  Yes, they want it to look like them AND just like the model in "Bride Magazine."  

Also, I believe it's possible to bi-locate but I haven't actually learned that ability myself quite yet so, no, I didn't get the cake shot and Grandma doing "The Chicken Dance" after a few too many on the bar. Yes, I understand they were both important to you but you hired one photographer, remember?  

Or how about baby/children photography?  Love, love, love kids!  I really do but their parents? Hhhhmmm...not so much.  Okay, I'm being honest.  I love them, too, but more so when they pretend to be invisible and allow me to work my magic; otherwise, there can be a chorus of "Smile.  Oh not like that...that looks so fake.  Give a big smile.." coming out of the peanut gallery while "Little Johnny" goes from smiling to not smiling to smiling, confused at his inability to smile correctly.  

Sometimes parents only want their children to have one setting...happy.  Whatever happened to all the other emotions?  Letting a child have fun and running the whole gamut of emotions can be one way of getting them to loosen up and actually ENJOY the shoot.  

Give an inch and they take a mile!  One outfit change is not equal to change clothes every 10 minutes of an hour long photo shoot.  Little Johnny is trying out for the part of Grumpy in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" and I'm running a close second by now. I may even be rushing for the lead.  

And, no, your newborn isn't going to look like an Anne Geddes angelic repeat.  I mean, hospital photography has grown immensely but it still has its limits...time and hospital beds to name a couple. For one, we are not allowed to hang your child from the cute, little bonnet its auntie made for it, the hospital has its policies...I'm sure you understand.  

I'll do cartwheels if I manage to get the baby's eyes open for even one shot; after all I don't wake up without my coffee and she hasn't even been alive for a few hours, much less had the pleasure of an introduction to caffeine. She's crying?  Oh, no!  Well, she has gotten poked and prodded five times since I've been here.  And, no, we can't ask the nurses to leave us alone.  

When was the last time you fed her?  Last night, you say?  She hasn't done a "boom, boom" in over a day?  You may want to have that checked out.  

Sometimes you get a beautiful moment anyway....

See what I'm saying?  People are wonderful...sometimes just wonderfully unrealistic.  I do have tips and ways around human nature, though, if you are particularly interested in these styles of photography. I will save that for another post.

Okay, I jest, but only slightly.  It would be more appropriate to say, I am exaggerating and using "poetic license" to get the most bang out of your lovely presence and have you leave my blog a little lighter while still presenting a truth, not THE truth but a sliver of truth as I have had the joy of experiencing it.  

Nature is just nature.  It has no expectations of you, doesn't care how you look on any particular day, doesn't judge or care about what mood your experiencing or for how long it takes you to snap out of it...it just is and it allows you to just be also.  

There you go!  I've given you my confession in a nutshell.  I love people but nature loves me for me...faults and all...and will let me experience it in any way I wish within reason.  What's not to love?

Shenandoah Mountains, Skyline Drive, Virginia

Pause! Play! Rewind! Play Again!

There was a temporary pause in posts because I had some family business to attend to but don't dismay I have returned!  I say this teasingly, of course, but sometimes life really is more important than business, especially when it has to do with family and the ones you love and care about.  (They or we will not be in this world for long, and I choose to make the best of that time with them.)  In reaching for my dreams, I will not allow myself to forget about those I care for, yet there is a balance there also and we must all strive to strike that balance as we go out in the world to follow our hearts' desires. This is where I discover myself now, rebalancing and ready to begin again.

In the interim of researching about self-promoting and marketing my Etsy store and my photography, I thought I would share a bit more about little 'ole me and my interest in this area of the creative arts.

When I was a toddler, I was told I had an unusual fascination with cameras and pictures.  Since my great Uncle Frank was an avid photographer, I paid close attention when he would share his equipment and memories with me during our visits together throughout my childhood. His love of animals and photography made him very special in my eyes.

As I got a little older, I began to notice my immediate family photo albums seemed to be lacking as I seemed to be "missing" from most of them, with the exception of a snapshot here and there scattered throughout my formative and school years, but "baby" photos were nearly nonexistent.  I enquired about this and was given many reasons, but I felt very put off by this.  From then on, I made it my personal mission to become the self-designated family photographer, which ironically still left me out of the family albums but I made sure no one else was.

Here's a glimpse of me in my childhood as portrayed by the few moments captured (not taken by me).

I felt a need to document our lives and perhaps, more importantly...our story,  I can't tell you why that was so important to a 5-year-old, but most of my family would tell you, I was far from a "normal" child at any age.  Now that I think of it, it is probably why journaling was also as equally important to me.  Document, document, document...and I did, every dream, every poem, most every event that I considered journal worthy.  If I couldn't take a photo of it, I wrote about it.

Over the years my love of photography and writing built.  It became a dear part of me and evolved as I evolved and still continues to grow with me.  When my boys were born, my photography increased as their every move, smile, tear was of utmost importance and only took a back seat to finances.  Film and the developing of film got a bit expensive so you can only imagine how happy I was to transition to digital.

 (Random shots taken of my boys over the years with non-professional film cameras to pro cameras.)


By the time digital came into play, my children were mostly grown but coming from a big family there was never a shortage of family members or events to photograph and so I stayed busy.

Later in my adult life, I would get a formal education in Photojournalism at The Art Institute of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, but, this, too, would be interrupted by finances and the increasing burden of student financial "aid."  It was here that my photography would take a transition from mostly documenting people and events to include much more and where my love of landscape and travel photography would become more prominent.

More about this later.

Etsy! We Have Liftoff!

We did it!  Our first sales has been ordered and is off to the printer!  Victory!  I am grateful beyond words.

and

Also something amazing has happened above and beyond the sale, another Etsy seller, Colleen Bruce, has added me to her favorites and I'd like to reciprocate and send her a shout out for being so gracious. Any help I can get promoting my work is more than welcomed.  To see and admire her beautiful store, you can go to:

https://www.etsy.com/treasury/MjUzMDU2Mjh8MjcyMzc3NjQ0NQ/a-time-and-a-place?index=2&ref=treasury_search&atr_uid=

After all "what goes around, comes around" so when we help others, we essentially help ourselves. You want to receive?  The best tip I can pass on is to give from your heart. Give whatever you have to give:  time, money, a listening ear...whatever it may be that you have to offer; it will come back to you tenfold, perhaps not in ways you expect or when you expect it but, I assure you, it will come back.  FYI:  that holds true for all the negative stuff, too...just thought I'd add that little reminder.  We want to keep our mojo high and positive.

What now?  As great as one sale is, it isn't going to pay the bills and, believe me when I say, their thunderous roar has not been overlooked, just pushed into the "I Will Deal With You Later" file.  With that in mind, as I totally accept the responsibility of paying them, I need to learn more about promoting and marketing as I continue to blog and add more inventory.  Guess what that means?  It means you will get the benefit of my knowledge because as I learn, I will be sharing with you.

Also, feel free to share your tips in the comments section, lurkers.  My counter is tracking your visit but you remain a mysterious number. Let's be friends.  My name, as you now know (if not see introduction) is Tammy.  Who are you? What questions do you have?  What would you like me to write about?  Or what do you have in your treasure trove of knowledge to share?

Until next time....

Introduction

Most introductions come at the start but what the hay...I don't want to be predictable!

This is me!  Yup, I'm a pretty simple gal and yet very complex, too.

 I have always enjoyed helping others and that has not changed.  My latest venture BC (before closet) was EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) training.  It felt like a natural step to take since I've taken care of people all of my life as a mom of three wonderful sons and nieces and nephews who were always welcome, not to mention all of their friends who would often occupy our home.

I was also a caretaker for my mother whose health declined slowly, bit by bit at first, and then exponentially every day for years before her physical body was no longer in any shape to resist, even her stubborn emotional/mental states were no longer enough a match for her physical temple.

All of those years, the artist in me took a back seat to "more important stuff."  It's always more important, isn't it?  Whether it's family or making a living...our creative self seems to take a back seat, stuffed away for some other day when the kids are grown or our parents are self-sufficient or we have enough money or any other number of excuses, valid or not. Women are especially guilty of this but men, too.  Some of us are most fortunate to live to see that day, and others...well...life gets away from them and they leave this world without ever having had the "right time" to make their dreams come true.  I did not want that to happen to me and so my Etsy store was born.

I am, of course, equally as important as everyone else.  In fact, I have learned firsthand that you cannot truly take care of another without taking care of yourself or you burn out so quickly, doing neither them or you any favors.  I began by niching out 10, 15, or 20 minutes or so a day to just have quiet time, me time and I got up at 5 in the morning to do it!  I was rewarded with beauty and peace...something quite rare in those days.

So here I am...forward and onward.  Still on the journey, trusting the process, and following my heart. I welcome you to do the same!  (Thank you to all of those dear Souls who had a place in shaping me into the person I am today!)

Have fun!  And remember...one itty, bitty baby step at a time!  We'll get there just fine!

Success! Victory! Woo hoo!

It may seem small but a win is a win.  I am happy to report that I have ascended out of Blogger/Etsy hell, and I've come back victorious on our behalf.  For future notice for anyone following in my footsteps, go to "layout," click on "add gadget," and then click on the one that says "HTML," post the code that you have copied and pasted from Etsy, and freedom!  It's that simple!  They just may make a techie out of me yet, but I wouldn't suggest you hold your breath.

On another note, while trying so gracefully to untangle my halo from a nearby tree branch, I spotted the Etsy Mini.  I thought, "Well, this has got to be easier than the gadget" but it turned out it had a code, too.  No worries, though, my new found friends, now that we know how to add a gadget, we know how to add the Mini.  No problemo!

You create your Etsy Mini by going to "promote" and then "off-site."  From there you simply follow directions and it'll give you a code.  Take that code and follow the directions given above.  You're in business!  Not bad, huh?

My theory is if you don't know how to do it, research it.  If you still can't find the answer, take multiple deep breaths, beat up a pillow, take more deep breaths, have a cup of tea (preferably something to induce calm and inner peace), and then go do something else.  After a sufficient break from banging your head on the wall and a nap/contemplation/meditation (take your pick), return to internet and try approaching it from another angle.  Someone out there has the information you need, it's only a matter of finding the "who."  In my case I send out a thank you to http://craftcultwidget.blogspot.com/.  You're a lifesaver, a rainbow in my once cloudy skies.

Tomorrow we will tackle...well, I don't know...it's today still and I'm giving my mind a rest.  I think I blew a fuse...there's so much smoke rising from it.  Stay tuned!

Etsy Badges

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SeeMoreDivinelyPhoto

Step 1:  Open a store.  Check!

Step 2:  Put your artwork in store.  Check!

Step 3:  Write a blog while continuing to put art up for sale.  Check!

Step 4:  Link Etsy Badges from blog to store.  Boing!!!  You know those boxes that you open and everything springs out of it all over the place....that's my brain after trying for two days straight to get these badges linked up to Blogger!  Yikes! Blogger wants a URL and, according to Etsy's help center at https://www.etsy.com/help/article/3533, I need a code; only the code doesn't work in the URL that Blogger provides for gadgets where I think I'm supposed to be linking it.  Feel my pain yet?

Okay for all of you I have lost, let me break this down.  There are no badge buttons on Blogger that require a code as far as I can tell, and there are no gadget URL's on Etsy so where does that leave me? I will tell you...in Blogger/Etsy hell!  Yes, that does sound a bit drastic, I know, but I call them as I see them.  After all I am told that in order to be a good, or even possibly great Etsy seller, I need to have this.

I have no complaints with Blogger or Etsy, mostly they accommodate us un-techie and extremely un-techie folks, but I have found a fruit loop in the program for Etsy/Blogger for Dummies and it's called badges.  What's a girl/woman to do?!  Oh me!  Oh my!

You didn't expect me to have the answer to that, did you?  It was purely rhetorical on my part.  I've been asking it for going on 48 hours with no answer in sight.  I haven't given up, though.  I am straightening out my halo, putting on my cape, fixing the "S" on my chest (for Super Slow...what did you think I meant?), and pulling up my big girl panties.  There's a way to get this badge, and I'm gonna find it.

If you are visual like I am then this photo will help you understand how I'm feeling right now....

He just needs to be scratching his head and it'd be right on!

If I'm not back in a reasonable time, please fish me out of the internet swamp and hang me up to dry. I'm going in!

Closet Artist Goes Public on Etsy

See for yourself!  Yes, I did it, perhaps it's not as glamorous as saying you landed on the moon but, for the mostly hidden artist who secretly works his or her magic quietly behind the scenes in what amounts to be the proverbial closet, it's quite the achievement.  Surely, if I can do it than there is hope for all of us who clandestinely play creatively and fail to do anything with it.  Let's face it...it takes a wee bit of courage to crack open that door, to dust yourself off and your art(s) of choice (mine happens to be photography and creative writing), and put it out there for all to critique.  I mean, what if they totally hate it?  Oh my!  What if they totally love it?

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SeeMoreDivinelyPhoto

As I am incredibly new to marketing my, up until now - underground hobby, Etsy seemed the most logical choice.  It's fairly easy to start up and inexpensive so far...I haven't actually sold anything in my less than one week of being open, but I remain hopeful with my face ever positioned towards the sun and my feet solidly anchored to the ground.  Others artists aka moms looking for an additional income or some way to keep their sanity while the kids are at school (and aren't into pole dancing...not that there's anything wrong with that either...I judge no one)  have discovered this continuously up and coming gem so why not an empty nester looking to breathe new life into an old love?

This is not to say that all Etsy artists are women or even moms.  I would venture to say there are also others from all walks of life, whether they be retired or college students or even entrepreneurs attempting and many succeeding to come out of the closet and indulge in a part time or full time adventure, playing with hidden talents.   Hooray for us!  Hooray for Etsy giving us an avenue to make our dreams come true, not much unlike a Disneyland for artists online where we can share our love of art and possibly even make a few dollars in the process.

So follow along if you dare and I will share with you my adventure in recreating myself from a woman whose previous life revolved around everyone else to a woman who still loves to be there for others but who is rediscovering herself and her talents, who is becoming a co-creator and perhaps a creator of her own life, and would like nothing more than to help others in their journey, too.  I can't promise this will be a fairy tale with a happy ending but I can tell you I am putting my best effort forward and promise to give an honest account for those who are venturing to some day do the same.

I'm blowing this closet wide open, an artist of this caliber needs space, whether to fall or to expand or more likely to do a lot of both, doesn't matter...it's all part of the process.

Bonne chance, mon amies!  There's enough room for us all to succeed because as one of us does than so do we all.