Words of Wisdom

The beginning of a new year offers the opportunity for possibilities and also for responsibilities. In the creative business, it means there are many administrative hum-drums to be taken care of...the duller, less colorful side of things, you might say. It also means the opportunity to make adjustments, fine tune or even eliminate some things that either worked or didn't work in the past year....improve on a pattern or design or create altogether an entirely different pattern or design, build upon current skill sets or learn completely new ones. It's all an adventure really!

So, with great pleasure, I begin on a custom creation that not only puts to work the imagination and creativity, but is also offering me a chance to reflect and contemplate on some thoughts and ideas...particularly, the direction in which I would like to balance my personal life with my creative life in 2016, both of which I love and enjoy deeply.

In the process of gathering thoughts and ideas for not only this next custom creation but also for Scarlet Elfcup's direction in 2016, I've been digesting some words of wisdom offered by a small young owl who is about to come to life soon.

First and foremost....

Max Ehrmann's Desiderata is among one of my favorite poems of all time. There is a history, a sentimental attachment to these words....a very deeply personal one. In these words resonate a personal story that echoes the sound of a love found and lost, of persons and memories that exist in my mind today only as haunting voices and images. So, yes, this poem holds a very dear, very tender and very special place in my heart. Perhaps one day, I will be able to designate a creation wholesomely on this poem and then I will be able to tell you it's full story. But, until I am courageous enough to bring that story back to life, these words are mere letters that sit nearby and flutter in the wind of life, waiting for it's turn to be set free into the air.

So, I take them for no more or no less than what they are today...words of wisdom..."Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars....In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul." Isn't this all worth striving for starting from today and forever more?

"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." I've strived from the start to make this Scarlet Elfcup's purpose. Scarlet Elfcup exists not because I'm an artist or have brilliant talent or skills, but because I wanted to take all the beauty that I've had in life...the things of the past, the things of the present and even the things of the unknown and turn them into something tangible, truly to bring them to life...to make them immortal in a sense. Perhaps this is because I have a hard time letting go of things and in my mind, if I can make these things tangible to me and for others who might hold a doll, a creature, a something that I made with my hands that was inspired by the beauty that I experienced....perhaps, I keep thinking, that will make these beautiful things that I've experienced, am experiencing, might experience....perhaps it will make it so that they don't slip away into nothingness. I know it's a silly thought....to try and make sentimental things become tangible and even immortal, but still, it makes me happy to think that I might have a tangible version of it exist somewhere in the world and then if the story about this beauty is shared, then perhaps somewhere in another place of the world....someone else might know of this beauty and then it makes them happy. Then, to me...it's not such a silly thought after all.

"Sew your little heart out...have tea...collage...go make art...make something that you like...don't worry if it's not perfect...make something amazing for someone you love." The difference between a personal life and a creative life is a thin, fine and very gray line. Sometimes, I ask, isn't it one and the same if this is what one loves? But, no...not really...it's not one and the same. I think it's a slippery slope and a dangerous idea to make oneself be one's passion or one's work...it really is not the same. So, this year, I want to make a goal of balancing these two things that may seem to be one in the same sometimes....the personal life and the creative life. I want to sew and make for myself and for my dearly loved ones as much as I make for Scarlet Elfcup. And I think that in doing this, I'm going to be able to make Scarlet Elfcup be more of who she is and me be more of who I am and in the end, they will each balance each other out in a beautiful way. And I wish for you the same...go make something amazing for yourself and for someone you love...don't worry if it's not perfect....just MAKE.

With these three thoughts to start me on my next creation, I want little boy owl's mama to know that these words are spoken to her, for her and not just for her, but also for her little boy who has grown so quickly and whose image is reflected in this little boy owl. This creation, the sentiments in the words that will be attached to this creation, mean so much more than what it seems...represents so much more than what appears on the surface. This creation represents all the sentiments I expressed above...the whole thing about making something tangible, turning sentiments into something immortal so that we may always have it's presence in our hands and near to us...for this creation, it represents a mother's wish to hold on so tightly to her little boy's fleeting childhood memories...the ones of the past, the present and the unknown. It is a sentiment that I understand so well and so whole heartedly as I watch my very own little boy of 3 years grow and grow fast and grow faster and faster. It's a heartache to see the speed of light work itself within a child. No wonder we desire the need for sentiments to become tangible and even immortalized. No body knows how to let go of those we love the most....no body.

Now, on a lighter note, let's play a bit with some colors and textures. Back in October, Winston came to life. And oh, did I love this owl, as did so many others. He was a wise little owl who carried these words of wisdom on his wings and in his hat...to be taken out and given for a day when the blues might come or for days when things feel harder than usual...he was a pick-me-upper kind of guy.

He was just that kind of guy who knows just the right thing to say and when to say it, to make a person feel better right away. So, you can't blame me for wishing that I could clone him...make a large assembly line of little Winstons and hand them out for all who need his words of wisdom on a grey day...kinda like the manufacturing of the moon in the book "When the Moon Forgot" by Jimmy Liao. It really wouldn't be the same...Winston or the moon. But, that goes for all Scarlet Elfcup creations. I like for each creation to be unique unto itself...unique in it's inspiration and unique in the process of creation, so that truly, each making that comes to life is one-of-a-kind and inspired by something one-of-a-kind. As such, a mama and her little boy have inspired the making of another wise owl...but, don't be mistaken...this is not the mini-me of Winston. This little man is his own.

This is the moment of "imagination" and "playfulness" in Scarlet Elfcup's motto "Dreams, Imagination, Adventure and Playfulness"....for all ages....that includes me. Here's where creativity goes to play. 

For his coat...a neutral color that is not screaming and gleaming with brilliance, but that conveys gentle and quiet words of wisdom. Will all grey work? Or perhaps a mix of grey and cream with some beautiful trim added? If grey is not for today...how about the neutral of cream, but with a different texture scheme...a soft, all wool pinstriped fabric type? 

For his eyes, this has been decided...a green to match the eyes of a very loved boy. Here are the shades of green from which to toy.

As for his locks, shall we go with loopy boucle or brushed mohair? Whichever one you dare to flair, make sure to choose the shade for which "he" will be most portrayed.

Before I leave you to your day, to ponder on these thoughts, let these words be imparted to you....

Go do something that you've been holding back on...

Go be YOU...

Remember...YOU are enough!

Go find love....then give it all away....

To all the blessings in your life....

And finally....most of all....

To our little wise owl....can't wait to see your little face shine through soon!

Firefly

Magic happens every day...if we are willing to open our eyes and mind to it. With that said, please follow me...(there will be no photos in this blog post because the images will all be in your head)....

...come with me on an evening walk, actually an evening run, but we have to walk a bit to get to our running trail. This is a lovely, warm, musty, humid summer evening. You are walking across a short wooden bridge that crosses over a small, yet strong river. Upon crossing the bridge you will walk through untended grounds of overgrown bush. Stretching along in front of you is an ugly, old metal wire fence that runs along the length of a railroad track that is seldom used, but still in use for freight trains traveling long distances between destinations. You will short cut through a hole in the wire fence to get to the other side of the railway tracks because the next opening to access entry beyond the fence is a long distance away.

You will walk on crunchy gravel. You will step your feet over...no...pause...you will step your feet on the railway tracks because it is so fun to do. You will listen and hear that no trains are coming, so you are safe to take pause and be in the moment, to play, to balance...your arms outstretched as you walk one foot at a time ahead of the other. Then, you pause and listen again real close...no trains coming...still safe to play. You bend over real low, eyes level with the tracks and examine the tracks because they're fascinating. You notice that they are aged and rusted. And you notice that every bit of steel and wood that lays untended, rusted and old was designed with every subtle curve and angle calculated to keep that train on the tracks....the sleepers, the gauge, the ballast.

Then, you remember that you were headed somewhere. So, up go you...walk across those tracks, scramble down a steep hill that leads into a thick forested space. But, before you enter the thick of those trees, you walk along a very narrow dirt path, barely noticeable, really. You only know it's there because you've been here before. Flanked on either side of this narrow dirt path is a large meadow, overgrown to knee length with tall unkempt grass and weeds. Twilight had long set in and dusk is now heavily in loom. You are walking with your eyes set on those trees because that's where you were going. But, you stop in your tracks because in your periphery you thought you saw a dim glowing light. You look in the direction of the light and you see the light had moved. On closer examination, you realize the light did not move because you now see that there are many dim glowing lights...flashing ever so slowly, ever so dimly, ever so gently, ever so silently...flashing...flashing...flashing every where...slow...dim...gentle...silent. And you realize you are surrounded by an enormous field of fireflies...twinkling dimly, moving silently. You stand amidst the silence filled with the hot, humid, thick air of a summer night, the crickets now awakening, the sound of evening in full effect and you tell yourself that life is amazing, beautiful, magical. This is it...magic.

I am blessed to have had the experience with fireflies twice in my life. The first time was amidst a hot, humid summer evening in Ann Arbor, Michigan where I lived at the time while attending graduate school. The path we walked through above was the very path and the very experience that I remember. One does not easily forget the details of moments in life graced with magic.

The second time was while living in Kenya, many years ago. I was a Peace Corps volunteer teaching in a small village at the base of Mt. Kenya. On an evening walk to my house from the main road, which was a distance of about 4 km (2.5 mi), I had come from the market with dinner for the day. It had rained that day. The rains in Kenya come in seasons of long wet downpours or short wet downpours....they are always wet downpours. On this day, I was tired and drenched from rain and anxiously walking with a brisk because I was late getting home that night. And in Africa, you don't want to be late getting home. After the sun goes to bed, there is nothing but pitch black that does not allow sight beyond the nose. So, anxiously, briskly I walked. The dirt path leads from the high road down into a small valley before it inclines again to bring me on the trail to my boarding school. It was there in the valley that I witnessed yet another moment of true magic. Upon reaching the valley, there was a small grove of large banana trees. Here, I stopped in my tracks to witness thousands of warm, dim, glowing lights that twinkled ever so slowly and silently....the fireflies. And here, once more, I was left to stand frozen in awe and amazement, completely absorbed in the moment to feel an immense gratitude toward mother nature for the beauty and wonder she's given us.

I retell these stories of my firefly experiences because I realize now that not everyone will recognize magic when they see it and not everyone will be lucky enough to see a firefly during their lifetime. Fireflies only live in specific parts of the world. And if you happen not to live in those parts and you don't travel, then you may never see them. I retell these stories because these are the very inspirations that drive the creativity behind Scarlet Elfcup dolls and toys. They are deeply meaningful, deeply personal and they inspire the things that I make. So, the creations come from the very bottom of my heart and in bringing the memories, the stories, the ideas to life, I am expressing my gratitude for all the beauty and meaning that I have found in life. I hope that in sharing bits of my world with you, I can bring forth moments of beauty and magic into your world.

I like to dream that one day I can walk once more amongst fireflies...except this time, I want to go chasing them with my children. For now, I'll leave you to chase one certain firefly and her fairy on tomorrow's eve.

Story Telling...

...has a function deeper than that of entertainment alone. It presents life in a new light. It can open the pathway to a wide range of vision and understanding and it can awaken the perception of beauty in things that are ordinary, put magic into days that are hum-drum.

Each Scarlet Elfcup doll or toy is inspired by something deeply meaningful and personal to me or by something that has moved me deeply and greatly. You see, long before the doll or toy is born, there is already a story that has been woven and the story will eventually conceive the being that comes to life. When I write a story for a doll or a toy it is a way for me to share a bit of my understanding of the world, a way for me to send small messages out into the world, a way for me to regard and respect the understanding of other people's perspectives and absorb that perspective back into my own world. And so, I dream, I create, I weave the words, and then I let it be. And most of the time...the story ends there.

But, on some occasions, the story will not just end there. The story will rise once again to show the wonder and mystery that are the elements of life and growth all around us. On some occasions, customers have come back to re-tell their own stories...stories that are deeply personal and meaningful to them...as close to the heart as one can get. It is when these stories are told that we know the world of imagination has come to life. The child or the child from within who has learned to look upon a doll or a toy as something more than mere sawdust and stuffing is inclined to awaken in themselves a treasury of personal tales. Much more, they are able to have respect for other people's treasures and to respect the sentiment that values them.

With all this said, for those who have shared their extraordinary, deeply meaningful and moving stories, I thank you for these stories and for adding that much more beauty into my life. You provide yet another view of the world, painted by the colors from your own.

To all, may your Christmas be filled with love, laughter, and warmth as you tell your stories and as you receive the ones told to you. And may you keep on passing the magic and wonder of it all on to the little ones in your life so that they might also share in the beauty of this wondrous world. Merry Christmas to all. And to all a good night!