I was reminded of this yesterday as I struggled with finishing up a toy chest that I’ve been painting. It took me a long time to realize what was missing, but eventually I did.

Here is the finished piece and some detail shots:

Two days ago I was at a loss as to where this was going. I thought the solution was complex, and as always, I discovered the answer was pretty simple. It needed to be tied together with fine lines. It needed its detail – even on the front raised panel, which I was sure needed to be more complicated, it just needed a lovely silver keyline to highlight it.

Done – but not without some sweat and frustration. Yet another reminder that the simple answers are often the right ones too.

~sarah

So, what has changed? Well, me for one. I am not the same person I was two years ago. I don’t know how much is noticeable on the outside, but on the inside I have shifted in some pretty profound ways. My ideas of what make a good and successful work/life are different. My whole relationship with money is different. No, I don’t have more than I did two years ago, in fact, I probably have less, but I don’t look at it in the same way at all, and that shift alone has made me happier. My understanding of my gifts and talents is deeper, and how they go together to create things I never saw before. My desire to have more meaning in what I do has certainly come to the forefront and that has given everything a richness that was missing.

Now I am able to feel when things are out of balance or verging on chaotic for me, and as it turns out, that point is closer than I realized before. Yes, I have pulled back in a big way and that has helped me to appreciate things even more than I did before.

Before my sabbatical I thought that I needed to be working all the time, have a gazillion clients and have money pouring in. I rarely turned away work – and sometimes ended up doing projects that I was either under-qualified for or just didn’t have that much interest in. Part of that was because I saw success as having a monetary value and a large part was not wanting to let anyone down.

One thing that I had never done before taking the break was to really ask myself what my core values are. That question always seemed sort of self-indulgent for me, but now I realize it isn’t. We all see the world in a different way, and we were all put here in this time for a reason. I think for most of us, it takes most of our lifetime to figure out what that reason is – or maybe it’s just me.

Have I ever mentioned that I was one of those children they make signs about? … SLOW CHILDREN CROSSING … yup, turns out I became a slow adult as well. Some things we just don’t grow out of. I didn’t get it earlier because I didn’t stop and wait long enough to listen. In case no one ever mentioned this to you … there is a lot of wisdom inside each of us. Tons as it turns out. Yes, even you, and you and you over there. Tons. We each bring our unique wisdom to the table. Why do you think blogs are so darned popular – because people are sharing their particular wisdom which connects us to one another and helps us to learn.

So, as this journey enters its third year, there are new roads opening that I didn’t know existed even six months ago. There are more personal hurdles to jump, I know that, but I’m up for it. There are shifts and changes that I am not aware of just yet, but I am much more able to flow with what happens because I know everything is taking me where I need to go. This is what comes from nurturing my trust and faith in myself, those close to me and taking the time to listen to what is obviously a divine plan happening for me.

As spring unfolds, may great things unfold for each and every one of us!

~sarah

Here in my studio I do a lot of things – as most of you know. Much of what I do is pretty straight-forward for me, some, like the furniture is not. I don’t struggle with it, I’m glad to say, but I do run into the occasional wall or pothole. It is such a wonderful thing to be able to reach out to other people and know that they are able to listen with open hearts and respond so beautifully.

On Friday morning I knew that I couldn’t spend the day working on the computer – although I have many projects that require me to be there. I just knew that my time and energy – my recharging would be done on the other side of the studio … where the coffee table was waiting for me. This is the coffee table that I decided to finish for our living room.

1945 Gibbard Coffee Table - Before

Here it is before I touched it.

This is a lovely table. Manufactured by the Gibbard Furniture Company around 1945, it was the first piece of furniture that Mavreen’s parents bought after they married! Yes, I really do get the stories of the furniture whenever I can. Someone bought Mavreen a new coffee table and she decided to let this one go.

We tried it out for fit in the living room and it seems to work – then the challenge of how to finish it.

Well, I have to admit, when I see a round shape, I think Mandala. I just can’t help it. So, after I did the other table, I decided that I would try and even BIGGER mandala and see how it worked.

Here’s what it looks like now. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about a gold table, but it’s going to take up much less visual space than something dark.

So, aside from a top coat which I will do when it’s not so windy outside, this is done.

I think it’s going to make a lovely addition to the living room.

And the next project in the studio is the dresser for my soon-to-be great nephew … who knows what that’s going to look like!

The moral of this tale ~ when things seem tough or you just can’t figure stuff out, reach out and tell someone or a lot of someone’s

~sarah

The 1945 table brought into 2012.

The pothole in particular is around my Refined Furniture. This morning, for no particular reason, I woke up feeling unsure if what I am producing is any good. So, I asked myself “Why do I feel that way?” …. turns out it’s because I don’t see any other pieces like mine out there. Now this is both a good thing and a thing to worry about for me. The good thing is, I am doing some interesting things that really are one-of-a-kind pieces of functional art. On the other hand, I’m all alone out here – producing pieces that are outside what is popular in the marketplace.

There’s the pothole. I’m trying to sell something that is different from what is out there. I like this idea, but it also makes it more difficult to sell them.

Now, will this stop me or slow me down? Not likely. I’m having way too much fun with most of these pieces and learning tons about myself, my love for good furniture and all the paint techniques. It’s just today, there’s this pothole and for the moment, it’s tripped me up.

In a giant leap on a day when I feel sort of iffy about things, I am going to show you the latest piece, which is very, very different from the pieces I have been doing … see what you think.

And if you find yourself face to face with a pothole on your journey, I suggest just accepting its presence in your day and work around it.

~sarah

Mandala Table - Black Cherry Metallic Paint with black accents

Although I am only showing one of the tables, there are actually two. A nice set of twins.

Finished in a beautiful metallic paint by Modern Masters called “Nickel” and a handmade paper with plant materials in it.

These have definitely gone from boring to beautiful.

Saying good-bye to my pieces is often a little difficult, after spending so much time getting to know them and revealing their hidden beauty. But I know these will find a good home and be well loved, and that’s the whole point of doing this.

Now it’s time to bring in some new pieces that have been waiting in the wings … a lovely round coffee table that I am going to put a mandala on, and a dresser that I am refining for my yet-to-be-born great nephew. That one is going to be really fun I think, since I know who it’s going to. It’ll be a special piece.

Of course, I still have another round occasional table here in the studio to finish – so it’s not like I’m going to be bored or anything.

Well, all I can say is that the stainless steel and granite industries have done a completely amazing job at convincing the mass market that their products are the gold standard for kitchens. It isn’t true of course, but the perception is there anyway. And it has become the reality.

What brought this so strongly to mind this morning is my frying pan. To say that I have been having issues with my frying pan for the past several years would be an understatement. I had almost given up hope of finding one that works the way I expect it to.

On a recent trip to Zellers, I found a lovely looking frying pan made in Brazil. It has a ceramic coating and was pretty reasonably priced. I bought it. I’ve tried it out on the worst possible food item – eggs. Well, it cooks eggs and releases them PERFECTLY! I fell in love. So today, back to Zellers I went to buy the next size up – for larger cooking needs. There I stood in the aisle – these lovely red and white ceramic frying pans that work so well,  surrounded by cheap (not necessarily in price) “non-stick” pans – which in my experience don’t work. But there they were, taking up most of the frying pan section – an old technology that is known to have adverse health effects – still being sold by the truck load.

Why aren’t people buying the better and healthier pan? Mass Mind. Years ago we were told that we could cook without needing to add oil or any sort of fat to the non-stick pan. Fewer calories, healthier food. But they don’t work. At least not for me. So, I add oil (only a little), and still they don’t work properly. Plus, they are dangerous for my health from off-gassing.

Just like the mass mind of granite counter tops, which I find cold and heavy on the upkeep, or stainless steel appliances, which look nice but are a drag to actually keep looking good all the time – non-stick frying pans are what people still buy most often. Somehow, people are convinced that these things are better than any of the alternatives.

There are two things at work here, as far as I can see. The first is that manufacturer’s are doing an incredible job of convincing consumers that granite and stainless steel mean opulence, good taste and sophistication, and that non-stick pans are a healthy choice. Second, consumers aren’t even bothering to question it. And each time that happens, we make our world smaller and smaller in a bad way. We limit our choices. We give up the idea that there are better products out there. We settle for the status quo, or we choose something because it’s what everyone else has.

I think this is a sad state of affairs. I want to have choice and lots of it. I’m willing to pay more for a quality product that I don’t have to replace every two years. My pots and pans were a gift to me 31 years ago and they still work just fine! Except the for the frying pan part of course. I want the best and brightest designs to be in the marketplace – not just what a certain industry has deemed “the thing.”

Come on folks, let’s go out there and make conscious choices for quality and sustainability instead of crap and lots of it.

The next time you go to purchase anything – take the time it takes to choose wisely – your consumer vote is incredibly important in shaping the material world – something we all need to be doing.

Yes, I really do live by my motto … Beautiful, Functional, Simple.

~sarah

March has been a very full month of busyness and business. Several nice projects came my way and after emptying the studio of furniture, I filled it up again. Funny, it’s been full so much that when all the “extra” pieces are removed, the place seems empty! Right now there are three tables in the studio and another table and chair in my bedroom. Oh, and that “pretty little thing” chair that I have yet to address again.

On March 1oth I was delighted to attend a Wine and Cheese “Meet and Greet” at the Chemainus Festival Theatre, I was one of two artist’s there to talk to people about my work. It was a fascinating afternoon, one I had not experienced before. It was interesting to show my furniture pieces to a whole new audience. The reaction was quite good, and people couldn’t believe that pieces they had in their homes could be changed so dramatically.

Here are some of the new pieces …

What I have found out about myself in the last month is this … when I step away from working on the furniture for too long, I get out of balance. My mind doesn’t get the kind of freedom in the other work I do. Not even the other work I do for myself.

This is an important thing for me to know to help keep me in a place of maximum flow in my mind and body.

Of course, my biggest hurdle right now is finding more places to carry my pieces.

If you have a chance to drop in to Chemainus, take a trip to the Gallery – right next to the theatre – the quality, variety and really good prices are quite a treat. This is a gallery that has been going for about 24 years and it gets thousands of visitors a year. I feel very grateful to be able to sell my pieces there.

Also, check out the Nanaimo Museum if you’re in the neighbourhood – I have quite a few pieces there also. Both the gallery and museum seem to be just the right places to put these pieces. Somehow they feel right at home.

On Saturday I will deliver two new side tables to Chemainus … and then will move the pieces in the bedroom into the studio – along with a chest of drawers for my soon to be great nephew. That’s going to be a fun one to work on … creating a piece of furniture for someone who hasn’t actually arrived yet. It will be the first piece of furniture that will be especially for him. I’m thinking animals … still working out the details.

In the midst of all of this, much work is before me – my own and for clients. I love to be busy, I really do – but I do know that finding balance in this busyness is a very important quality I need.

May the spring offer great things, popping up in your life too!

~sarah

The first BIG THING that got completed was the new book – Save the World from Mediocre Design: Graphic Design Basics for Non-Design Folks. It’s done. It’s at the printer right now and I will have copies by the end of the month!!

This has been a really, really long project – months behind what I’d hoped it would be, but I know that everything comes in its own good timing, and the time for this is right. I am very proud of the additions I have made to the book and will get it out in the world, now that it’s ready!

Now that this book is done and ready, I guess I can go back and work on my other books – I think I currently have 2 on the go. Of course I have a huge list of other books I want to write as well, but I must find the right timing for each piece!

The other BIG project in my world, which has consumed my brain cells for the past few months is the NEW WEBSITE. Yup, it’s up and out there, live for the world to see. I am extremely happy with it. Kathleen Wilson of GraphicDetails.ca did an amazing job on pulling it all together and doing all of that magic behind the scenes that make it work. For the first time in a couple of years, I actually have a website that reflects all of the things that I am doing right now … design, design workshops, writing, writing workshops, mandalas, mandala workshops, and of course – furniture!

I now have a cohesive place to send people when they ask what I do, or want to know more about me. That is a big thing for me, it really is. My first website was amazing and perfect when Renée and I put it together, it was everything I needed and wanted it to be … but then time passed and as you might have heard, I changed A LOT! So, for the past couple of years I have had a site that didn’t really reflect me or what I was doing. That’s all changed!

This is both my jumping off point and my grounding place. I can build things from here. And I always have here to come back to and remind myself of the wonderful diversity I have created in my life. I have staked my place in the world, at least at this moment and am now building, building, building.

In the studio, there is much activity. As soon as all of the furniture was taken to the Chemainus Theatre Gift Shop, I filled the place up again with some great new pieces. I’m very, very excited about working on all of them. When they are finished I will share the before and after pics here.

This past week I got an amazing package from my friend Kathy, with some new Modern Masters paints!! This is so exciting. These paints are not like anything else you can go to the store and get. They are all metallic in delicious colours like Black Cherry and Sapphire … oh, the possibilities are truly endless.

And now, I am heading over to complete a couple of the pieces today – because more and more great little pieces seem to be coming up, so I gotta keep this stuff moving, moving, moving!

Please drop on over and check out the new website: sarahclarkdesign.ca and let me know what you think. If you find glitches, please let me know – every system offers new perspectives it seems.

May you find the flow of your work emerge gently, like spring.

~sarah

Today is one of those days … I have what I want, and now I have to actually step up to it … and I’m full of a low level of anxiety.

About ten days ago I went to see Nancy Hendry who manages The Chemainus Theatre Gift Shop. We talked about my furniture and whether it could be a good fit for the shop. She loved it and said yes, pretty much right away. It was easy. I got what I had come for and it was smooth sailing. Today I am packing things up to deliver to the shop and suddenly I wonder if any of it is good enough to be there.

Stage fright, that’s what it is … a truckload of stage fright. Actors get it all the time, no matter how long they have been performing. I get it every time I have to put new stuff out in the world – except my graphic design work – I’m pretty confident about that because I have experienced so much success over the years. But this furniture thing, that’s different. I am putting things out there for the first time and have no idea how they are going to be received. Yikes.

Breathe Sarah, breathe!

To add to my stage fright – I have accepted an opportunity to meet and greet people at the gallery during a wine and cheese event in March. Meet the artists … that’s me. Oh yes, I will be plenty nervous that day on my way down there, but I’ll do what I have done before – remind myself that this is what I asked for and I got it. Just keep telling myself that this is what I asked for and the nervousness seems to lessen.

I have to remind myself that I am the only person who stands in my way … this is both annoying and reassuring. And if I can just continue to face nervousness with a positive attitude, chances are, in the not-t0-distant future, I will feel pretty confident in this new work I am putting out in the world.

Eleanor Roosevelt said … “you must do the things you think you cannot do.” Good advice for today and for many days in my future.

~sarah

It’s been a fabulous exercise. I’m learning more and more about what I want to offer the world and I’m less and less afraid to do it. This new website makes me feel grounded and comfortable in my own skin. It makes me proud and feels like a delightful fit. I think it reflects me well and how I’ve changed in the past couple of years. It’s amazing that all of this comes out of a website.

Perhaps it could also come from working on other materials like brochures and ads, but I don’t think so. The technology and expansiveness of a website is really very different. In the past I haven’t changed or updated my website enough and I know this new one will not only encourage me to do that, but insist on me doing it. This is the powerful part of it – keeping me energized, requiring me to actively participate in communication in a way that makes sense to me.

There's just nothing like a good sweater.

I still read all the good reasons to be on Twitter and Facebook and various other online venues, but none of those feel like me – at least not yet. I won’t rule anything out – I know better than to do that. But what I see happening here is that what I say and where I say it has to feel as comfortable as a good sweater. (Note: Feb. 9th is National Sweater Day in Canada.)

My other most favourite tool these days – my BIG list, is also proving to be a fabulous way to keep me focussed and productive. By putting everything on a list to be done sometime during the month, I get away from the nagging of a daily list. I so dislike not getting something done on a certain day and then moving it to the next and the next. On a general list I go where the energy is without any pressure. All the things on the list need to be done – and when I look at it, I know which ones have to come first. But I’ve got to say, there is just a whole lot less pressure on me doing it this new way.

Yes, I’ve started my February Action Plan.

Progress update … My Refined Furniture and Accessories have been accepted at the gift shop of The Chemainus Theatre! I spoke with the manager on Saturday and she was quite excited about this new idea. It’s different for them, but they do have the space for a few pieces … so on my way home, I popped in to Red’s Emporium in Ladysmith and scooped up a lovely square coffee table from Rick.

As the weather gets warmer and drier, I will be able to scoop lots more stuff, because then the carport becomes my larger studio. I think I might need a couple of more places to sell, but right now I have three and that feels pretty good.

Slowly things are coming together at a perfect pace that I can manage!

I wish the same clarity and progress for each of you.

~sarah