I moved! I moved from the house I lived in for the last 28 years and from the town where I lived for 37. My sons were 7, 9, and almost 11 when we moved in then. Many things happened and many things changed, but I am, even in a pandemic time, very happy in this new adventure, I found everything I wanted and more.
I never imagined myself living this close to the beach but I am sure, after watching everything happening in the most amazing ways, it was a desire from my heart and soul. I used to walk by a lake and now I can walk by the beach. My new route is breathtaking. I can decide if I want to go by the ocean or by the country watching the most beautiful green pastures. I just love it!
It is also the first time in 24 years that I don't have a ceramic studio at home and I like that too. I know that may sound really weird but it is the truth. I love ceramics, but when you need to produce it, is not that great. It's actually very tough and when you don't have time to create new things, making ceramics can become a burden more than a pleasure.
Having the studio too close reminded me every day that I have to produce in order to make a living. I need variety and creativity in my daily life and my art goes way beyond the ceramics. I love collage painting. I was very productive in creating collage paintings from 2010 to 2013 and even in my most difficult times from 2014 to 2016. I just can't believe that it's been more than two years since I've created a collage painting that comes from my soul. That was not making me happy. I did learn to create art with Procreate, which I love, but creating a collage with my own painted papers became part of who I am now and it was gone.
I also love to design fabric and I almost had no time for that.
Last summer I got sick. Now that we know the COVID19 symptoms I got scared. The symptoms were very similar. It was a virus by laboratory results, not the flu, but I never had a fever. I ended up having respiratory therapy for two weeks for the second time in my life. The first time was due to extreme exposure to cement and oxide dust for one week.
I was in bed for three weeks but still very weak for three more weeks. I couldn't make ceramics and I was sure I needed a change in the way I do my creative business. What happened and the plans I made during that time seems to me now like a miracle.
Everything I planned for my creative business makes sense now. It has helped me a lot through this pandemic. I delivered my last ceramic orders at the beginning of March. I worked harder to get to finish everything before the flight to my son's house in Pennsylvania. I haven't had any orders from the stores since then. Believe it or not, the house, which I was trying to sell for a long time, was sold the night before my flight.
After the COVID shock, which made me come back sooner, I realized I was getting ready for this change. The Universe had it all solved for me. Then I remembered a phrase from Barbra Streisand that made all the sense now, "let go, let God", and that was what I did.
This is what happened after those weeks I was sick:
This website was created by a very special young person who appeared in my life as a gift from the Universe. It's really amazing that he is studying Industrial Engineering which is my field of study.
I opened a new Etsy Shop for downloadable art and renewed the main shop for all my art products created with my collage and acrylic paintings.
I have created a few designs on Procreate and have turned many of my old art pieces into fabric designs.
I am working hard to add more products to the stores and to make them visible with the help of a Virtual Assistant.
I am getting ready to start filming my own videos for tutorials.
sold the house and found a special place to live just by the grace of God, because the story of the way I found this place is really amazing even in Pandemic times.
I am using my own designed fabric to make masks to sell and using all the fabric I accumulated for years to make them to give away. Below a few samples:
I am creating ceramic for fun( a few pieces a week) and even selling them without the pressure of producing the same piece over and over again.
I am writing on this blog that I abandoned. (A fun note: I wrote three different posts related to the decades and the new 2020 decade. Things got scary since the beginning of January with the earthquakes in Puerto Rico and then the COVID. I just deleted all of them.)
I am sleeping a lot better. Actually, after the move, I had the most revitalizing naps of all my life... on the big porch. I always dreamed of having a porch but I was not looking for it. It was given to me and I am so grateful. I am enjoying each day at a time, embracing the moment and making the best of it. The Pandemic has brought tears, anxiety, fear, loneliness. I miss the hugs, the play dates with my granddaughters living in Puerto Rico, the visits from my son and family to Puerto Rico, the coffee dates with my best friends, and more, but I feel grateful because I can see that I have been taken care of.
And last but not least and after saying goodbye to our two dogs and cat, all in 2019, I brought a cat home who was rescued. He escaped from our house, was lost for more than two weeks but we finally found him and turned out to be adorable and super funny.
Life is uncertain. This moment is what we have. Let's make the best of it. Let's love, let's be grateful, let's be kind and let's be an instrument of peace.
You can shop for my pieces at the following online sites (links are also at the top of my website):
I will be sharing the products I love more often. Today I want to share this travel mug, simply gorgeous! You can buy in through Society6 in the following link: Travel Mug
Stay Safe, Stay Healthy!!
From my heart,
Elizabeth Claire
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