Melody Ross Creative Life

Coming Clean about "Being Brave"

So funny, so awesome, so great, so ironic....I keep getting emails from people about how to be more brave...or how I am so brave...or I wish I were as brave as you....so...I am gonna come clean people.....I AM TRYING TO BE BRAVE...live a brave life every day...because I am scared of pretty much everything...I am overcoming it...BUT...I have to wake up every morning and work really hard to have a brave day....I will write more on it later...because I am headed back to the acupuncturist...BUT!! I wanted to post this book that I made for someone I love very much who is waking up every day and trying to be brave too...and it's dedicated to YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE...and to all of you...any of you who are going through something right now that requires lots of courage....forgiveness (others AND yourself) and that is sort of turning your life upside down a bit.........seems like there's lots of people going through BIG BIG stuff right now. YOU WILL MAKE IT!!!! I will tell you more about what I've learned about courage and being brave when I get back from the doc....

It says

LOVE IS SO BRAVE

What is being brave?

It doesn't mean that you aren't scared...or confused. It doesn't mean that you know exactly what to do.

It DOES mean, that you keep going even THOUGH you ARE scared, sad, confused....

and even though you have NO IDEA what to do next.

BEING BRAVE
means that you stay exactly who you are...even when everything changes.

IT MEANS

you believe the feelings in your gut...and you listen to the birds and you listen to your heart,

AND
BEING BRAVE OFTEN MEANS

that you ignore all of the other voices around you. (except God's of course)

BEING BRAVE MEANS

holding yourself together when life seems to be falling apart

AND
when you can't hold it together, then....

SOMETIMES the BRAVEST thing that you can do

....is to let GOD hold you together...

to give HIM your pain, fear, confusion and sadness.

BEING BRAVE means

knowing that things will ALWAYS work out somehow

(AND being brave means accepting God's timetable for working things out)

BEING BRAVE MEANS

LOVING...

LOVING EVERYONE.

IN EVERY SITUATION.

UNDER EVERY CONDITION.

Love is SO brave.

YOU ARE LOVE

and

YOU ARE BRAVE
and

YOU WILL MAKE IT.

Dadgummit, Dadburnit...Crimeny

If you want to hear me whining about my back going out and all the faux swear words I learned as a child...click below...

P.S. back is mostly better now....LOVE MY ACUPUNCTURIST!

My firstborn and our soulful photoshoot.....

This is my son, Brock. We took his Senior pictures last night...it was such a fun little adventure...i told him to bring his guitars and a book and a journal.....he and I are cut from the same cloth...artists...readers, writers....and, I really wanted to capture who he is....a very soulful 17 year old. Can you believe we got these GREAT shots in an hour and a half at a place that is 15 minutes from our house that I had never before discovered?? This is totally making me want to take up more of a serious interest in photography...but for now...I am just gonna brag about the beautiful child that Marq and I welcomed to the word 17.5 years ago....I LOVE YOU, BROCK....

This weekend, I:

It's Sunday night and I just downloaded over 800 photos that I took this weekend.......and I thought, I need to blog....but, I am so tired! I will add photos tomorrow......I was wondering why I am so darned tired (but so happy, too...) then I thought of the long list of things that I did this weekend...

1. Visited my dear sweet angel friend on Friday night who is suffering horribly with life-pains that I wish I could take from her (life is so icky and painful sometimes...when things happen that are out of our control epecially)...was able to hold her hand and love her....be with her...talk....just be. It was such a blessing to me. She is so brave and such an enormous example of how to handle challenges....with grace and strength and faith.

2. Made decorations for my sweet niece Chelsea's all-friend baby-shower that her high school friends threw for her....cut out zillions of flocked paper butterflies and hung them from anywhere they would hang from...it was so beautiful! It was such a fun time watching all of those girls who have been hanging out at my house since they were 10...now all married and having babies...loved being with them so much. I loved sitting with my BFF, Alei, and reminscing how we set up my niece with her brother and how well it has turned out.....we did a GREAT JOB on that one.....we rock, Alei!

3. Played in the clay again.....took my daughters this time....made a tray to match the floral bowl that I finished on Wednesday...Malary and Madi both made beautiful hot-chocolate mugs. Aubri took her kids too and Carrie made a gorgeous bowl and a flower pouch to hang on the wall....Malary and Madi both want to learn to throw pottery on the wheel now...we will start classes with them when we get back from Africa....

4. Went to the annual super-fun Halloween party that our friends, Pat and Donna host every year...this is no regular Halloween party....batman and spider man drop from the sky on parachutes (can you believe that?)....then the airplane circles over several times dropping candy in the field...there's hayrides, campfires, crafts, music...it blows my mind how much time they put into this incredible party...they are so generous and Marq was in hog-heaven because he got to drive the tractor all night that pulled the hayride and the haunted hayride...I just got to catch up with old friends....it was such a magical evening...the kids had a total blast.

5. Slept in this morning! YAY! Read most of the rest of Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts...I love that book SOOO much.

6. Made lunch/dinner for my 92 year old Grandmother and her new husband (they met at the retirement center and got married this year!!!)....delivered it to them and got to stay for a nice long visit..I can not believe how clear my grandmother's mind still is...and how beautiful she is....she was outside when I arrived...in a lovely dress and polished heels and pearls and earrings and perfectly coifed hair and her signature pink lipstick. she is the picture of class and elegance...I love her so much...I couldn't believe all the details she remembers from everything I have ever told her. It was SOOO lovely to spend the afternoon with them.

7. Packed up guitars and cameras and went to THE MOST MAGICAL PLACE and took my son's senior pictures....HOLY MOLEY...when did this happen. The pictures are amazing.....but, sheeeeesh, how did I get this old? WHere did this amazing, soulful kid come from....i will post the photos tomorrow...just finished editing his 12 favorites.....he is a beautiful child....but......now I am super tired....

WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND.

I hope yours was great too.

xoxox

melody

HEY ARTSY LADIES...(oh, and Gents too....)

My long-time artsy friend, Vicky Breslin, is having an art retreat that I TOTALLY wish I could go to....but I will be in South Africa having one there! Oh, poor me! ANyWAY!!!! You need to go to this, you totally do! I wish I could be there so bad...but HAVE FUN WITHOUT ME! Check it out......it's gonna be SOOO FANTASTIC, Vicky is one of the most creative, funky, unique and FUN people I have ever met in all of my life...I love her so much.

Here's the details....

THIS IS IN COLFAX, CALIFORNIA...not in Boise....but a Boise one is coming soon I hope!

No Frill Fall Workshops: Make everything by hand this year
Let's use what we have, recycle, renew & reinvigorate ourselves

Date: November 4 to November 10, 2008 Tuesday through Sunday
Time: Classes start at 9:00 a.m. end at 9:00 p.m.
Place: Daily workshops are at The Funny Pharm 30 North Main Street, Colfax (California)
and 32770 Main Street, Dutch Flat, (California)

Sleeping Arrangements: Tues, Wed or Thursday
Dutch Flat Hotel next door to workshops
Accommodations are available: Tues., Nov 4, checkout Friday A.M.
Rooms are based on 2 people in a room 50.00 per night
5 people in a room, 30.00 per night
please call me directly to book the rooms 530 389-2233, 220-4103
If you would like to stay with me. No charge
To keep the expenses down we are going to do a potluck breakfast, lunch &
dinner. Dessert too! Contact me for meals.

No frill Class fees: $10.00 per class plus supplies
Card Making Class: I will be bringing out my hand printing press
It works with the vintage wood type. You can make all of the holiday cards
you wish & have a fun time doing it!
I will show you how to set the type.....the rest is up to you.
Black ink will be provided. Let me know if you want another color & I will
get a price quote for you. This will be available all days!

It is late....but I got somethin' to say....

It is late and I just now took these photos...and I refuse to use a flash....and...I stayed up REALLY LATE last night, so I am already super tired. But...I am super duper proud of myself so I am gonna come right here and document it........I was SUPPOSED TO BE up cleaning up my studio last night...because it is THE BIGGEST MESS EVER....but, instead....I got distracted and made a paper crown...on top of the mess....
don't you dare tell me that making a paper crown is not important....because it is....really important...it's important because of what it represents in my life...which, I am not sure exactly WHAT that is quite yet...but...making that crown at midnight last night was wonderfully wonderful.....this is it...
My 17 year old son asked me what I was the queen of when he saw me wearing it today after school......and I said...I am the queen of my brave brave life.....and he rolled his eyes and went into some long discussion about how I could not have my own government if I was the only one in it...that it would be more like an anarchy...but that a queen ruling an anarchy is a complete oxymoron....and I just twirled around in my office chair and let my cape breeze in the wind. I was deliriously tired, you see.....but, still...I am glad I stayed up all night to make this crown and not clean my studio.....
I DID, however...have to eventually get to it today...and I JUST FINISHED a few minutes ago........I LOVE WHAT HAPPENS when I clean...I find things....usually they are little things that seem like notes that I leave for myself that I might need later....but, I have no idea when I wrote it or why. I found a crunched up piece of tissue paper that had paint all over it...and I ALMOST THREW IT AWAY...then I read it...and I loved it...and here's what it says: "what if I could fly? what if there was peace everywhere? what if all dreams came true? what if no one was ever afraid of failing? what if all intentions were good? what if people put people first? what if everyone started over, every day, and let each other do the same? what if love was the only rule?

if you could do anything, if there were no limits, no barriers, no excuses, what would you do? why don't you start today? why don't you just take one little step toward your dream?...one little step will add up to 2, then after a week it will be 7 steps, then 30, then 50, then 100, and then how close you will be to where you really want to go"

Hello....Melody? Uh...THE Melody who wrote that...where are you now? OH! You are still here, right here...ok...just checking...let's get to it, then, shall we?

So I just finished cleaning my studio...here it is now. This is the place where big things are going to happen, my friends...where magical happiness and the spilling of my heart will take place, finally...I can feel it...perhaps it is the sleep deprivation...but, I can feel it. My art is coming back.....   OK...you REALLY organized, super neat freak people that I so admire and envy will probably not consider this THAT CLEAN...but...let me tell you...it's ten thousand miles cleaner than it was when I started this morning...and it's organized....and...it DID take me ALL DAY because I get distracted REALLY EASY and I stopped to play with all sorts of things along the way.....and I kept FINDING THINGS that I thought were lost........like....my dreams...my heart........and stuff like that.

SO...I am 37
AND
this is the new painting I have started to explain how I feel at this point in my life.........everything that I need fits in these bags...and.....there's an open road ahead...I have no idea where it leads to...but...I am not lookin' back....I am gonna keep on it. I am on the right track...the right trail...the right road.

I love being alive.
I love being an artist.
I love creme brulee (did I tell you chelsea and luke made some from SCRATCH and brought it over to my house to flame it on my birthday...and we ate it FIRST, before dinner...we ate it all fresh and delicious...............I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!) 

I will explain later

And the winner is.....

THIS WAS TOTALLY RANDOM CHOOSING (because there were waaaaayyyy too many good ones to choose a best)...but man oh man, Erin Glee left a WHOLE BUNCH of awesome reasons!!!

It's agreat thing to be turning 37 and have a healthy body. In 36 years you have breathed 216,722,563 times!

Posted by: Erin Glee | October 18, 2008 at 12:07 PM

Ok email me Erin and we will send you a big fun present! WOOOHOOO!!!!!

on another note...I am back to not being able to post photos...so soon as I get it figured out, I will be back!

xoxoxo

melody

....and this is what HAPPY looks like...

. .

I only have time this morning to post a few photos...and I have so many more...but, I spend Saturday morning celebrating my bday with a few of my bffs....Carrie, Aubri and Therese... and, we decided to play in the mud. Every time I look at these photos my whole heart swells with happiness....see what a little creative play can do for you?

You can see the swirly coil bowl I am working on....I wish we had everyone else's projects! Carrie took the shot of my bowl and then our hands were all too muddy! I will take pictures when we go back to fire them....   

P.S.

On the giveaway...I will pick a winner by tomorrow night. 

THIS IS WAYYYY TOOOO HARRD!

It's gonna have to be something random because what you ALL WROTE is so wonderful and I am seriously going to figure out a way to turn it into a little book that I will keep FOREVER.

....I will be back soon with lots of photos from the weekend!

xoxox

melody