Still Musing about Family over the Holidays

I am still excited about my big sister being here from Alabama. I spent the whole of yesterday with her. She came over with the boys, my husband took the older ones out and I stayed home with her and my youngest. When D took his nap, A and I chatted away about our creative endeavors. She makes jewelry and showed me all of her new pieces, I showed her my new fabric cuffs (she also got one for Christmas) and other projects I was working on, it was like a manic show and tell session that had been pent up for a year (I only see her once a year).

Remember, my last post about my youngest being attached to her even though he only saw her once a year? Well, the same thing happened with my oldest and her boys. The minute they got to our house, M turned off the TV (M does not turn off the TV for ANYONE!!!) he went right up to them ,said hello and they went off picking up where they left off last year...wrestling, throwing things across the room, playing race cars. Very intriguing male bonding. That's like another world to me. I grew up with two sisters. I am so girly. I sometimes don't understand why God gave me boys, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I have a Masters in anthropology, it' so exciting to be privy to this secret lives of boys that I never grew up with. My sister and I had a lot to talk about on that topic , too.

Anwway, I am just lost in family musings these days. It's incredibly uplifting, inspiring, intriguing, mystrious. Family can get on your last nerve, yet it is an unbreakable, inexplicable bond. I could be so upset at my sisters or mom after a fight or something but when I am hurting, they are the people I come to first (well, after my hubby, he's family too). I don't think that I am as vulnerable with anyone else as I am with them. That says something.

Sisters together on Christmas

The best part of the holiday season is seeing my sisters. My younger one lives near me but my older one, A, lives in Alabama and I only get to see her once a year. Having both of them here makes me feel complete, we compliment one another so when A comes back home, she brings out and confirms a lot of things about me and who Iam.

D, my youngest, was sick on Christmas and only wanted to be carried by me the whole time which was quite exhausting!!! So when I had to take a bathroom break I gave him to my hubby and he cried bloody murder ( D, not hubby). A was nearby and D reached out towards her and allowed her to hold him as he gently layed his head on her shoulder. When I came out, A motioned to me and whispered, "I think he thinks I am you." We do look a like and have the same kinda voice. That was so interesting to me. The fact that he only sees his aunt once a year and is still drawn to her. It speaks of the power of family and connection. I am still thinking about it.

Monday Inspiration - Fabric Cuffs!

Once again, I am participating with maternalspark.com and writing about inspiration. As I mentioned in an earlier post (November 17), I have been looking for other ways to use fabric, my artistic medium of choice. I love designing clothes and printing on it but I have been wanting to branch out. I bought and took countless books from the library about fabric books, artist trading cards, fabric jewelry, etc. trying to find something that would call to me and I think I found it.....fabric cuffs!!! I have been having so much fun with the few that I have already done. It combines my love of faces (I just can’t get away from that! What can I say, people inspire me), my interest in wearable art, and my desire to use recycled fabric. It is also something I can finish in a small amount of time which gives me a great sense of accomplishment.

I decided to start by making some as gifts. The top and bottom are gifts for my sisters, they each have three kids so I decided to stencil faces of their children onto the cuff. I love stenciled faces and I thought that this would allow for a more artistic interpretation rather than just printing their photos on fabric. I also did one of my favorite people, prominent in my clothing line, Frida Kahlo. I am definitely going to make a lot more of these for my shop. One of my goals for the new year is to offer more variety on my shop in terms of products and sizes, continue working on my designing skills, and update my blog more often. Stay tuned!!!

WORLD AIDS DAY and Monday Inspiration

As usual, I like to join Maternalspark.com in talking about what inspires me. In addition, in honor of World Aids Day, I would like to honor those who are living with Aids a well as those who have passed on from the disease.

Today, in particular, two people that inspire me are my cousin P and my close friend S. Both of these beautiful women lost their parents to Aids at a time in their lives when they needed their parents most. S was raising a budding family and P was just starting on her journey of womanhood. When I think of them, I stand in awe at how they have continued to persevere for themselves and their families. S is a strong woman who is a fighter and refuses to be a victim of her circumstances. She continues to love life and tries to instill that in her children. P has had some set backs but always gets back up and continues to strive. I am so proud of her. I honor you today, S and P, you inspire me to be a strong woman in spite of what may be going on in my life. I am grateful to know you!!!!

Monday inspiration

My husband and I have been having a hard time finding time for a date. We planned something last week and my mom, who was supposed to come over to babysit, cancelled on us. We planned something else on another day and one of the kids got sick. Another time, we realized that we simply had no money to hire a babysitter. It kept going on like this for quite some time that I finally blew up and told him that we needed to get creative if we wanted to go out (okay, I said some more things but I don't want to go into it here). So since going out at night was not working, hubby rearranged his work schedule so that he could work 4PM-12AM, I asked D's physical therapist to arrive half and hour earlier, and we arranged for my mom to watch D while my six year old went to school. Cool! Everything was working as scheduled. The therapist arrived on time, Good. I got a call that M had thrown up all over himself and he needed to be picked up, NOT GOOD. Okay, okay, we can work something out. I called my mom and asked her if it was okay for her to watch two kids instead of one (she said yes, of course, and told me how silly I was for asking, i asks anyway because I want to teach her a lesson about boundaries, but that's for another blog post) and I then tell my husband he needs to pick up M from school. Okay, everything back on track. M gets home and he seems okay. I ask him how he's feeling and he says he's feeling better. I don't ask him twice for fear that he might come down with something at that very second and, even though my mom's home, I would feel guilty leaving her with a sick child. Anyway, M then tells my husband that he has a headache, I pretend not to hear and grab my coat. There is no way in heck that we will not have a date today, darnit!!! So we made it out the door and into the car and off we went. We didn't even do anything ultra special. We had breakfast together and then went to Barnes and Nobles and his favorite, KB Toy Store. Okay, my hubby is a big kid too. It was just great to be with him, alone, and talk. That stirs my creative juices, to feel like an equal in a relationship, to feel like there is a give and take and not just a take which is what happens when you are with needy kids all the time. I also realized today that creativity is not just about putting stuff on paper, on fabric, about making something tangible. It's about making time to be with the one you love. I am inspired today.

Inspiration Monday - Monday's Muse

I am once again joining www.maternalspark.com in sharing what inspires me this Monday. Well, I have been really obsessed with fabric. Yes, fabric. I know that I use fabric all the time when I reconstruct and sew. But lately I have been wanting to do more with all the fabric sraps I have lying around. I love screenprinting faces on fabric which is what my clothing line Nelesc is all about (http://www.nelesc.etsy.com/) but I am interested in doing more. I borrowed Create Your Own Handprinted Cloth by Rayna Gillman, from the library and it has really gotten my wheels turning. I have also been wanting to make fabric books. Recently, I bought Fabric Picture Books by Gwen Marsten. My kids have these amazing fabric books that they love and I would love to custom make one for each of them or even make themed books for grownups. I have so many ideas in my head with so little time. We'll see how I fit it all in my schedule. For now, it's inspiring enough to see, through my books, what other people are doing with fabric.

Julia de Burgos Screenprinted Top

Hello all! Here is my new addition to my etsy shop. It's a new face, Julia de Burgos! De Burgos was born February 17, 1914, is considered by many as the greatest poet to have been born in Puerto Rico and generally considered as one of the greatest poets of Latin America. She was also an advocate for the independence of Puerto Rico and an ardent civil rights activist for women and African/Afro-Caribbean writers. She fits perfectly with the line and I am so glad that I finally added her. Let me know what you think.