FEARLESS

"I have no fear of the future. Let us go forward into its mysteries, let us tear aside the veils which hide it from our eyes and let us move onward with confidence and courage." 

~ Winston S. Churchill 

I know. You must have thought I had fallen and I couldn't get up. Something like that.

When I said that I would explore I thought that would mean more active things. I have been doing a whole lot with not much to show. I have been here, but I have been absent. I have been present but my mind has been a million miles away.


*sigh*


This month for the 'simple truth' sampler club I chose a custom carved stamp that I had made with the Chinese character for 'FEARLESS' on it. I think that FEARLESS is a great way to start out the year, and it goes very well with EXPLORE. After all, the explorers would not have gotten very far if they were stopped by their fears.


Then I found that quote above from Winston Churchill. 'No Fear of the Future' - to me that means that I need to open my arms and welcome whatever comes my way.

I posed the question on Facebook about what FEARLESS means. I got some interesting answers:


My dear wise college friend Kari said, "FEARLESS means being able to accept the truth, whatever that may be. FEARLESS meands being able to accept any outcome and deal with it honestly."


My high school friend Anne said, "FEARLESS means staying true to yourself, despite possible outcomes."

Sweet Miss Courtney said, "FEARLESS is moving forward without concern."


My friend Miss Cherrie said, "FEARLESS could mean if you never try you will never know."


The oh so talented, funny and lovely Miss Rose said, "FEARLESS is doing what others only dream of."


And my cousin Jane said, "No regrets, whatever the outcome."


These were all answers that I had not really thought of when it came to the word FEARLESS, but I think that they are all things that I am striving for. To boldly go in the direction of my dreams, to dealing with truth and honesty no matter what the outcome...being true to myself and to live a life without regrets... to giving it a shot because I won't know if I don't try. Thank you so much to all of those FEARLESS women for their honest responses! 


So, I guess that I have been doing something to make my January FEARLESS. I have been experimenting with materials and forms. You might think that a bracelet is not a really earth-shattering form, but for me it is. It takes a lot of effort for me to make a bracelet. They are always either too long or too short. So I rarely make them, even though others will think that it is the simplest form.


In addition to the form, I wanted to use materials I am not comfortable with. I was playing with leather the other day. I wanted to see if I could paint on it. So far the results are encouraging. I have quite a lot of bins of stuff to play with, and I have a whole one dedicated to leather. Old belts that have fallen apart, suede cord, flower cut outs. I am still experimenting with what can be done with it. 


Back in September when I went to visit Vintaj for the 2 day workshop we experimented with all sorts of things. In one of them we did an image transfer and sealed it with a resin. I added riveted details and did a filigree wrap. And that is as far as I got. I have bins and baskets and boxes and bowls full of stuff like that, particularly when I attend a class. 

So I got to painting the light leather with inks and sealing it. There were these holes in the leather which were perfect for embellishing. So I whipped out some wire and attached the flower filigree wrap to the leather, added snaps, et voila! Instant bracelet! I know that I will make more like this, particularly since I have a pile of leather to play with and an idea now of what to do.

{Brass Blossom Cuff available on Etsy}

In other FEARLESS news, I managed to sign up for two classes that will put this new FEARLESS mantra into practice: Barbara Lewis' Painting With Fire method at Bead & Button in June and Richard Salley's Alchemy & Relics class at Valley Ridge Art Studio in July. I am over the moon excited about taking these two classes. 


I have Barbara's kit, but I have a healthy fear of fire, even though almost every single class I have taken since 2007 has been using a torch. I have done things with fire. I just need to set up that station in my studio and start. I might break out the creme brulee torch first just to get used to the flame before I launch into Mapp gas. But I am going to torch fire something real soon!


I have always, always wanted to meet Richard Salley. Taking a class and learning from him will be the cherry on top. He is someone I have long admired. He has been very encouraging to me and I know that this class will be an awesome adventure. I just wish that it was July already!


So those are some things that I am doing to keep this year about FEARLESSLY EXPLORING.

{January 2012 Simple Truth Sampler}

What does FEARLESS mean to you? How are you FEARLESSLY EXPLORING?