06-10-2010

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save the date. for all you obsessive compulsive schedulers out there.

because 06-10-2010 marks: Jackson Reclaimed's annual Art Show. here, let me enlighten you.

i have always, within my own creative spirit, had a passion for having a part in creating something fresh and useable out of something that once was tattered and seemingly unfixable. its this 'reconciliation' process, that warms my heart, truly. even if it is merely amongst soulless objects that will be on display in a home or elsewhere. the beauty of the transformation is sentimental and carries itself into the completed object, thus giving to us, within the object, memory of the process of change and significant meaningful value. and i dont mean value in cost, but instead, value in our hearts and minds. these are the things- the qualities, as humans, that we treasure-that we long for in our home, because while these objects appear to be just objects, the deeper truth behind them brings us back to the reality of who we are and where we come from. this is a humble and extremely beautiful reminder.

we are reclaimed.

this is the unearthed mission of Jackson Reclaimed. a dear friend and extremely talented artist, christy henderson, who i must add is and has been one of the volunteer artists helping with JR for sometime, quotes on the JR website:

God graciously takes broken, torn, nasty, empty souls and breathes eternal life into them. The result—a beautiful picture of freedom that this world cannot offer and a reclaimed spirit ready for eternity. We hope the art will represent that.

what an amazing picture. and who better than the Perkins Center to benefit from all the proceeds the jackson reclaimed art show makes this year. the perkins center's mission is one of a similar calling to that of jackson reclaimed.  the organization strives to 'develop the lives of youth,  leaders, and underprivileged in our community and around the world by setting an example of God's love to further his kingdom.' activities, community, and mentorship through the perkins center provide people the opportunity to be immersed in friendships that reflect Christ's undying and unchanging love for his children- no matter how lost, hurt, or broken a person maybe, God has already graciously reclaimed their spirits. and the jackson reclaimed annual art show is merely an opportunity to expand upon this vision!

so now that your calendars are marked and you know a little of the vision of these two organizations, all you need to do is purchase a ticket or two or more ($20.00 a piece) and come be inspired and enjoy a night full of newly transformed handmade treasures on june 10, 2010 from 5:00 pm -9:00 pm at the cedars. many local and regional artists donate work to be displayed and auctioned at the show.
'The art, along with a photography display and art from inner city residents, express the heart and soul of a people with a passion for creating and a desire for revitalization of a heart and soul of a city' (quoted from jackson reclaimed blog).

someone once pointed out to me that artwork is always a reflection of its artist. yet here, the goal of the work is to be a reflection of something bigger- an unspoken expression: a reflection of Christ.

wouldn't it be sweet to implement art, with such expression, within your home?

june 10, 2010 will give you that opportunity.

white washed

i've made it my goal today to research all white interior spaces. why? well, because up to this point in my life i've had a phobia of white walls. to my knowledge, the very reason i've developed such an opinion is due to the fact that in my mind color = liveliness. color = creative. color = better. let me also point out that throughout my college years, i lived in an apartment complex that was (let me try and not be too harsh) lacking in the architecturally appealling department and was going more for the 'cheap and tacky' demeanor. everything within the interior was a sloppy white. the only way i knew to remove the 'misery' from the space was to paint the walls. it was a quick fix; however, it never dawned on me that color, in fact, could be implimented into a room through the use of objects as opposed to the actual walls themselves. in researching this topic of white walls within my blog, my desire is to disprove my theory of white being bland, dull and lifeless. this isnt implying that from now on i will never put color on walls within my home. don't get me wrong, i still love colored walls very much. this is just taking me out of my own design box, and placing me comfortably into another one. and after deliberating on these images, i will say, i am completely pleased at what white can actually do for a space..

i thought that blog hoping was going to take more time than it actually did during my search. somehow i managed to pull all my images from one of my most favorite blogs. emmas designblogg glorifies spaces altogether. but i just couldn't take my eyes off of all the white rooms. and i'd love to share them with you. 

notice how beautifully color pops in each of the spaces. even books bring out a unique design feature in a white space, than if they were within a room immersed in color.

i just love the image below (left). the glass tabletop is resting on a stack of colorful magazines. aside from the fact that i'm jealous that the person who designed this space had enough magazines to create table legs with them, i am lusting over the yellow lamp resting oh so nicely on top of the table. what a delightful room?!

question(s): what do you think about white spaces? and how do you impliment creativity into an all white space? i'd love to know.

makingthemostofamonday

hope everyone's weekend was as terrific as mine. i am undoubtedly crawfish-boiled-out. we had two to go to both saturday and sunday. fortunately, although i do not eat crawfish, the windy weather made going both more enjoyable and not quite so 'crawfish-smelly'. blake and i spent the entire day outside: soaking up sun, grilling, eating, and sitting outside during a meal watching the sun go down. i was exceptionally entertained watching my man and his roomie build a hammock stand in the backyard for their hammock.

to bad it isn't as delightful as this lovely picture. i'd give anything to have a snapshot in my backyard look exactly like this.

today has been slow in the office. i'm so thankful i'll get to make the most of a monday by enjoying me and blake's weekly late monday afternoon tennis matches. it most definately takes the "manic" out of mondays altogether.

so, make it a goal to grab monday by the reigns and conquer its 'terribleness.' make it date night. go for a walk. or create a collage, just like the one posted below. adding a little fun to a day can go a long way. funday monday. yep. cheesy. i like it.

enjoy. blessings.

'hoke' house

it's almost comical, the fact that i started a blog full of inspirations, photos, quotes, etc... and never actually considered blogging about the one thing career wise that i am most passionate about: architecture.
unbeknownst to many, i am an architect. well, an 'intern architect' at this stage in my life. striving for the goal of one day becoming licensed. although i have had five years of schooling and one year of an internship under my belt, my knowledge of architecture remains rather vague, at least in my opinion. especially when i'm sitting through weekly meetings with clients attentively listening to my licensed-architect-of-a-boss speaking so fluently about our field, more times than none an overwhelming feeling takes over and i think: i have so much to learn.
that is an extremely discouraging thing to realize at times; however, i'm reminded most frequently that we never stop obtaining knowledge about architecture in our ever-so-changing-and-updating-technological field. as years go on, knowledge just continues building. and i'm okay with that. the question then becomes: how do i go about retaining all this knowledge? let me get back to you in about twenty years on that one. in the meantime, i'll dish out things i do know, based off my architectural research, insightful finds, and whatnot.
so, in lieu of bringing up the topic of architecture, i'd love to share with you one of my absolute favorite architecturally designed homes called the hoke house.
embarassingly enough, i was introduced to the hoke house in the first movie of the Twilight series, which i might add, did not give this house enough camera time that it rightfully deserves. while most teeny boppers were swooning over edward cullen, i was no doubtibly distracted by the sexiness of the cullen's place of residents...that's right..sexy.. a house?...yes... the hoke house.
dubbed the 'hoke' house, after nike footware designer john hoke purchased the home shortly after construction completed in 2007, this contemporary modern piece of architecture nestles itself gently in the heavily wooded landscape of vancouver, canada. architect of the hoke house and owner and founder of skylab architecture, john kovel elaborates, in an interview, on the firms design philosophy that plays heavily into the design of the home by saying:

we bring concepts to life, each of these concepts is a story. the paragraphs are like spaces, the words, materials. each project is a unique investigation into this story telling. our process is research based, and iterative. we look for authentic meaning and relationships. we do not rush aesthetic conclusions.

the minimalistic approach using concrete, glass, wood, and white walls makes all 4,300 sf of this home worthy of being called the perfect retreat. using floor to ceiling glass windows on all 3 floors, the architecture easily draws the beauty of the lush landscape into the home, giving the (what would appear quite public) house a very secluded feeling. relationships between the natural and man made relm are well thought out. there is no clashing of the two extremely different worlds. both are respected. and deeply cherished together.

let me just tell you the two best aesthetic qualities of the home, and then i'll leave you with pictures so you can do your own exploring. 1) the cantilever above the entry way ejecting into the trees and 2) the all white bathroom.

i hope you enjoy and are inspired by the pictures below. architecture, if you let it, can be an extremely inspirational thing.

the entry way

the raw artist

nothing delights me more than an attractive piece of artwork that not only becomes something for the eyes to rest pleasantly upon, but also becomes a great conversation starter. and anything created by the raw artist does just that. michele keck is a self taught abstract artist who made it big the hard way, and now her work is displayed all across the world. i discovered the raw artist in 2007 just around the time she transitioned out of being one of the biggest art sellers on ebay. it is her unpredictable use of color and pattern and design that attracted me to her work instantly, and i was immediately determined to fill up my bare walls of my apartment with some of her art. now, some 3 years later, my pretty blue walls in my home are graced with 2 of her signed giclee paintings. both are unique and abstract in their own way, and both, of course, are perfect conversation starters.  

tasha mckelvey

i was introduced just recently to tasha mckelvey pottery while browsing a friend of a friend's blog and was instantaneously attracted to it. i have a nack for unique art, or really, anything that allows creativity to be expressed by the maker. her work is truly sensational and one-of-a kind. nothing about her work screams 'i am a piece of machine made work.' each piece, though similar, is its own and something about it is extremely sentimental. i imagine sipping coffee out of one of those speckled mugs would make the whole 'saturday morning' coffee experience all the more delightful.
as a maker myself, i find inspiration in a quote taken from mckelvey's blog:

my clay work is intended to be useful- this is art that is meant to be touched. in the past everything we used in the home was made by hand. today our homes are filled with stuff stamped out by machines. when we seek out handmade art we make our surroundings a little more human.

the existance of an object gains more appreciation with the knowledge of its journey to completion. and knowing this, mckelvey's entire collection is a handful of handmade delicacies all beautiful and sophisticated in their own way. the aesthetic quality of the pottery: from the selection of more earthtone colors and speckled glazes to the use of animal inspired details, all contribute to making each piece more realistic and well accustomed to the non-manmade realm. each piece, though made, would fit perfectly in the woodsy backyard of a rustic cabin. however, i'd love to eventually see many of her pottery pieces find a nice place in the comfort of my own home one day.

a selfless victory

a friend whom i admire well beyond words sent me this quote, via text message this morning thus giving me my topic for my blog. its from j.i. packer's book, Knowing God:

so we believers may rejoice to know that our conversion was no accident, but an act of God which had its place in an eternal plan to bless us w/ the free gift of salvation from in. God promises and purposes to carry his plan through to completion and since it is executed by sovereign power, nothing can thwart it.

this is a wonderful promise i cling to faithfully especially now, as in this moment, i am struggling with the notion that many believers (Christ followers) perceive they are to act as surperiors and disciplinarians to those who are lost, faint at heart, searching for truth, or just extremely sensitive and pessimistic to the gospel or to believers in general (having been scared by a large body of believers or just people claiming to be "christians" at one time). we are not called to parade around as disciplinary figures firmly pointing out peoples flaws, transgressions, or inadequacies, pushing people to repent and follow Christ. we are to make known the gospel and the beauty of our merciful Father by walking out a life with Him. the most effective way to a person's heart is through our testimony and through carrying out an intentional relationship with them. being full of grace, accepting of them just as they are, yet loving them fully and desiring in the most sensitive way, for them to be completely in love with Christ.
when we gasp the beauty of what Christ did for us on the cross, we should recognize our unworthiness, as wretched sinners, of his mercy and grace. no one is worthy of Christs love, yet He allows us to experience it everyday, so that we may display this toward others. it is the biggest testimony of all. and the moment people realize they can "come as they are" to the feet of Christ, there is victory!
you simply cant parade into someones life and demand or even suggest a transformation of their way of life. you must be gentle, loving, relational, and patient, but most importantly, willing to give that power over to the Holy Spirit. he is the only one capable of changing hearts. i love this about the Lord, because in submitting our desire for control over to Him, the glory in the victory goes solely to our Father.
and when we make the mistake of thinking we can step in and change someone's heart ourselves, we are claiming surperiority over the broken in spirit, and distorting the picture of Christ's relationship with His children, and claiming selfish victory for ourselves rather than directing the praise and glory and honor to our Father who gives to us so freely.

this is my prayer today:

ephesians 2:8-10

for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast. for we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

praise Christ. happy friday.

a 'happy' reminder

today is international barefoot day. toms is doing a one day without shoes to help raise awareness of what its like for adults/children in africa who live without shoes. so kick off those shoes and support the cause... and maybe if youre up to it, buy some toms. i promise, they'll be the most comfy shoes you own. so buy a pair, and give a 'happy' to kids without shoes. when you buy yourself a pair of toms, another pair shoes a shoesless child! enjoy raising awareness today. i am.

happies

i must admit to being a 'southern girl.' and not for the very reasons i dub other girls as southern: 1) updo poofs and 2) ridiculously outrageous accents (non of which are bad things). one who has lived in the south for most of their lives, as is my case, can also be labeled southern, accent or not. so here i am: admitting to being apart of the southern culture. i may not sport the famous 'updo poofs' nor have an accent; however there are things that i've been accquainted with while living in the south, that i'll carry with me whatever region i may end up living. one of which i am most grateful and would like to share it with you today.

while growing up in the south, i remember my mom was always infamously popular for giving "happies." whats a happy? you say, ah, well let me inform you. a HAPPY is something, usually a physical object, that is given to someone for no apparent reason, like a gift, except it's dubbed a 'happy' probably because that's what it does to the recipient. it makes them happy, happy to be recognized for no apparent reason, happy to be given something that they love or enjoy and are surprised by it. in the 'happies' case, a little goes a long way. its a simple and thoughtful thing to do. and as i mentioned, it was something for which my mother was famous. and it wasn't or still isn't the actual receiving of a happy that makes me happy. as i watched my mother give happies randomly to people, i recognized that the best part of the happy was watching people's faces light up and enjoying with them the joy they experienced from the random act of kindness. she is the most generous person i know. its one of the may things about her people love, aside from her precious personality. its a quality of hers, i am proud to say, i inherited. i feel more blessed giving than receiving. and for that, i count her personally responsible.
i hadn't heard of anyone giving 'happies' until i moved to jackson about a year and a half ago, when a dear dear friend of mine, blindsided me with one. i think i may have been more excited that she refered to it as a 'happy' than the very gift itself, but nonetheless she is the only other person i know to make reference to one as that... which makes a 'happy' in itself quite unique. though, i do know this is a common gesture among people in the south, (as it probably is elsewhere. i just notice it more frequently down here) its just refered to as something different. so, next time you feel like doing something out of the ordinary for even the most random person, don't hesitate. do it. give and experience a 'happy.'

jackson: the experience

caption: a boy and my dog just outside the city limits

alright. i'm going to brag on jackson just a bit here. however, i must preface that statement and be honest just for a sec though, as this may come to surprise most of you: initially, i hated jackson. maybe it was because i was spending most of my days (and nights) in the architecture school downtown and didn't have enough time to enjoy my surroundings or maybe it was just because i moved here initially with a pessimistic approach. i dunno. i do suspect most people can agree with the later. i am here to tell you that, i have a new outlook on the city and for those of you who now disagree with me, maybe this blog post will help you think "outside the box" for once about a topic that sits exceptionally close to home.
i would like to assume that most people who hate on jackson don't get out much. or, for that matter, just don't care to try and appreciate or enjoy the city. i may not have any fancy statistics that prove anything about how great jackson is. all i know is merely based off opinion. and the handful of people i do know who enjoy the city actually have been productive in obtaining their opinions. those are the people more should aspire to be like. even if you don't live in jackson.. have you done your part in giving the city you live in a chance? my guess is that you will not be disappointed if you try, at the least.
why do i enjoy jackson? glad you asked. i felt prompted to write about the city, as i was enjoying my dinner at keifers on the patio last night with my man. a gorgeous spring evening. a good beer on tap. greek food. good conversation. need i say more? as i looked around, it dawned on me that, though tables were slowly starting to fill, even then, at seven o'clock in the evening, i was disappointed at the small turnout of people desiring to make the most of a gorgeous night.
within the last several months i've traveled to cities with great restaurants: little rock, ar. columbus, oh, and several others, that just cant come to mind. when on the topic of great food in these cities, its inevitable the conversation always circles back to bragging on jackson's food selection. we have great choices. one in particular: julep. and for those penny pinchers, aside from its fantastic fried chicken, awarded a 'favorite' in USA TODAY, they have fantastic deals. for you early eaters, go to julep anytime for dinner before six and buy one entre and get another totally free. yes. i said it. FREE.
i joke around with a friend, who lives in flowood (a suburb of jackson), about how "the other side of the river" (meaning the pearl) is practically a foreign country to her. and for most, who live outside the city limits, this statement most likely applies. this is me talking to those people: have you ever been to Fondren After 5? the 'artsy' district in jackson opens up its quaint shops, coffee stops, and art galleries to the public after 5.  its the perfect way to enjoy Fondren. you can eat at a handful of local diners to complete the Fondren experience. let me say it again, in your attempts at being social and/or adventurous, i don't think you could be disappointed. oh, and what are the odds: Fondren After 5 is actually this coming Thursday. i hope to see you there.
so, if you're like me, and enjoy your city, props to you. if you don't, there's probably an unexcusable reason for it... and i'll go ahead and say what you're probably already thinking: 'everyone is entitled to his own opinion.' i'm fine with that. just give me reason to comply with your pessimism.

caption: aerial view of downtown jackson

success of a good find

my craspedia flowers from nettleton hollow came in the other day. i literally wasted no time in lavishing my house with them. and i really couldn't be more pleased. i could fill up every vase, empty wine bottle, or candle holder with these beauties. they are absolutely perfect. their yellow color pops in my home. this is a picture of them being displayed on top of a bookshelf in my dining room. and what is wrapped around them is actually movie reel film from the movie fantasic four that i actually dug up in an old abandoned movie theatre years back in starkville, random, i know. but i find that its a pleasing contrast with eachother; however, i'm not completely sold on the display. my man and i have different opinions on the film. you can clearly see who's opinion won, but it might be a temporary win. he has excellent taste. 

anyway, its a slow day in the office, but have no fear. i've been keeping myself preoccupied with the ridiculously cool iphone app i discovered just hours ago. if you have taste like mine, (i.e. a sucker for a good find, anything vintage-anthro esque, modern touches, or excellent photography) then i may have just the app for you. shakeitphoto is an app that can transform your already existing or new photos into a beautiful old looking polaroid with just a few shakes. it especially comes in handy for those with a mild case of a.d.d. because you have to actually shake your iphone for the pictures to develop (just like you would an actual polaroid). granted, i am no photographer, but this app sure turns my lame old photos into something that i'd actually put up all around my home. i'm not keen on buying apps, but this one is sure worth the 0.99 cents you pay for it.

i gotta give a shot out to my man and my puppy. he is the only person she lets hold her like this... must be a super special guy.

and i must include a super cute pic we took together at his sisters rehersal dinner. it was in the coolest place. the style of this picture kinda goes well with the location's atmosphere.

i'll leave you with a pic i just snapped sitting at my desk. it really expresses the, er, out-of-date look we've decided on to decorate the office. enjoy. have a safe and delightful april fools.