Cast All Your Votes for Dancing

I know the voice of depression

Still calls to you.

I know those habits that can ruin your life

Still send their invitations.

But you are with the Friend now

And look so much stronger.

You can stay that way

And even bloom!

Keep squeezing drops from the Sun

From your prayers and work and music

And from your companions' beautiful laughter.

Keep squeezing drops of the Sun

From the sacred hands and glance of your Beloved

And, my dear,

From the most insignificant movements

Of your own holy body.

Learn to recognize the counterfeit coins

That may buy you just a moment of pleasure,

But then drag you for days

Like a broken man

Behind a farting camel.

You are with the Friend now.

Learn what actions of yours delight Him,

What actions of yours bring freedom

And Love.

Whenever you say God's name, dear pilgrim,

My ears wish my head was missing

So they could finally kiss each other

And applaud all your nourishing wisdom!

O keep squeezing drops of the Sun

From your prayers and work and music

And from your campanions' beautiful laughter

And from the most insignificant movements

Of your own holy body.

Now, sweet one,

Be wise.

Cast all your votes for Dancing!

from I Heard God Laughing, Poems of Hope and Love, renderings of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky.  From the inside cover:  "Hafiz, whose given name was Shams-ud-din-Muhammad (c.1320-1389), is the most beloved poet of Persians.  He was born and lived in Shiraz, a beautiful garden city, where he became a famous spiritual teacher.  His Divan (collected poems) is a classic in the literature of Sufism and mystical verse.  The work of Hafiz became know to the West largely through the passion of Goethe.  His enthusiasm deeply affected Ralph Waldo Emerson, who then translated Hafiz in the nineteenth century."

While doing yoga in a palapa overlooking the ocean in Sayulita, less than a month ago, I had the honor and privilege of hearing this poem read to me by my yoga instructor.  It was a large group that morning and I was in a very delicate state of emotional unbalance.  I was questioning a lot of what was happening in my life, my relationships, and just feeling generally unsure, uncertain, and scared.  Upon hearing this poem I burst into tears and I found it difficult to stop or control my crying.  Something about this poem, in that moment, during those feelings and in that space hit me like a ton of bricks.  I felt both enlightened and heavy, at the same time.  I didn't care that a palapa full of strangers could see me visibly affected.  I just felt so grateful.  So grateful to have feelings, even though it felt like pain, and to know that I am on a spiraling path, being held by the Sacred Feminine, ever moving forward and back, in wholeness and yet seeking a great Whole.  Since that time I have wanted to share this poem with y'all.  I hope you find something in it that makes you feel brighter and full.  Something that gives you hope and food for thought, like it did for me.  Oceans of Love, Jennette

Aunt Leaf

Needing one, I invented her--

the great-great-aunt dark as hickory

called Shining-Leaf, or Drifting-Cloud

or The-Beauty-of-the-Night.

Dear aunt, I'd call into the leaves,

and she'd rise up, like an old log in a pool,

and whisper in a language only the two of us knew

the word that meant follow,

and we'd travel

cheerful as birds

out of the dusty town and into the trees

where she would change us both into something quicker--

two foxes with black feet,

two snakes green as ribbons,

two shimmering fish--

and all day we'd travel.

At day's end she'd leave me back at my door

with the rest of my family,

who were kind, but solid as wood

and rarely wandered.  While she,

old twist of feathers and birch bark,

would walk in circles wide as rain and then

float back

scattering the rags of twilight

on fluttering moth wings;

or she'd slouch from the barn like a gray opossum;

or she'd hang in the milky moonlight

burning like a medallion,

this bone dream,

this friend I had to have,

this old woman made of leaves.

from New and Selected Poems, Volume 1, by Mary Oliver, p. 196.  Thank you Sally, for sharing this poem with me 8 years ago.

Huichol Art and Alter

these are the Huichol Yarn Paintings i bought in Sayulita.  These dull photos do not do them justice as they are bright, vibrant and wonderful in person.  the Huichol are an indigenous ethnic group of western central Mexico.

"The Shaman are running together to dialogue about a giant serpent.  The largest they have ever seen.  They are singing to him and trying to learn from his power."

"These Shaman are gathered together in the sacred place of the Gods.  They come together singing and praying to hear the voices of the Gods.  To learn to live and know the teachings."

these yarn paintings are made from dreams and visions and there is nothing predrawn or illustrated.  they apply beeswax to a wood board or surface and just begin by pushing the yarn into the beeswax and creating designs.  it's amazing to watch, see and behold.

this is a Huichol beaded belt that is one of a kind.  i went to visit it every day for almost two weeks and then decided to spend my birthday money on it.  i LOVE it!  there was nothing else like this in town and i just adore the work, talent and time that went into it.  to me, it is amazing.  a million tiny seed beads.

this is a small painting by the same Huichol artist who made the belt.  i love the painting because although that is supposed to be a candle she is holding in one hand, i think it looks like a giant crystal, and when I finally bought the beaded belt, he gave me this painting too.

these are the beaded Huichol bracelets i got.  the Huichol religion consists of four principle deities, the trinity of corn, blue deer, and peyote, and the eagle.  all are represented in the bracelets above.  i am fascinated by Huichol myth, their traditional beliefs and and how they are resistant to change.  follow the link above to learn more.

and last but not least is the lovely alter i set up to hang on to a little bit of sunshine, beach, vacation and Sayulita, Mexico.  most of this is items we brought back and a lot of what you cant really see is the many many shells, beach glass, and broken but smooth tile pieces we collected on the beaches.  best beach collecting ever!

i miss you beach

i miss you warm ocean

i miss you whales

i miss you heat

i miss you sun

xoxo - jennette, sitting near a bright window, in smashing rubbish world headquarters :)



New Years Eve

in mexico there are no rules or safety measures around the use of explosives and fireworks!

the huge overhead ones were going off so close to the ground that the sparks fell on our heads

can you spot the fire dancer in the background? 

have you ever seen a three foot long sparkler?!  that's how they do it in mexico!

night boats

happy new year everyone!

xox

jennette



Silver Bag

i found this silver tote bag while i was thrifting last week.  i had been coveting this one:

from Fossil

which i still may have to get. probably not, but a girl can wish.

and to spice up the thrifted pleather tote, since its not nearly as cool as the real leather Fossil one, i thought to add this fabric as an outside pocket.

well this is the piece i remembered, eventually, anyhow.  the tote was begging for an outside pocket, since it had none, in or out, but i had to go through half of my pile of embroidered pieces to rediscover this piece of some kind of hooked or crewel work on silver!  perfect match.

so i lined the soon to be pocket with muslin and pinned it in place and sewed three sides and behold, a pocket!

personally i Love shiny, silvery, sparkly things, even if it looks like a bag an old lady in florida would use, it makes me smile.

off to the smashing rubbish studios,

ta ta,

jennette



December Finds

Some new Kilim pillows.

Another lovely carved shell dish that goes well with this one I scored awhile back:

This one, which I've had a few months now, is very old, has gold trim and is just lovely to me.  You cant see it here but the inner shell pink color contrasting with the muted gold trim patina is just so awesome!

More Dec. finds:  5 vintage arrows with various fletching and colors.  Love!

This gorgeous, full size, wool paisley shawl was scored for $16 at Apple Annies!  Yes, you read that right, $16!  Total score!

It is not in perfect condition but pretty darn close and if you know anything about these, you know what they are worth and how excited I must be!  My lovely Auntie Karen collects these but hers are all in PERFECT condition so I may end up making her something out of this one if I can bring myself to take scissors to it!  we shall see...

Sorry to be so late with some December 2010 finds but better late than never, i suppose.

xoxox

jennette, at smashing rubbish headquarters



Leaving Mexico Breakfast

this is a fake, well half fake, sad face about leaving Sayulita, in honor of our friends Eric and Karli, who have a sad-face photo of when they too, had to leave Sayulita.

we ate french toast but devoured it before a photo could capture it.

door to the wc

that fruit holder basket thing is made from one long palm branch!  amazing!

classic!

our view at breakfast

from inside the wc

note on the door inside the wc

the windows inside the wc.  bottles!

adios mexico.  you did me right.  i miss you.

xoxxo

jennette, at smashing rubbish world headquarters(!)



Military Coat & Buttons

i found this awesome, amazing, wonderful old wool military jacket at value village, way back in november.  it was $10!  for a perfect wool coat!  although it was rather very large on me and the arms were way to long, i had visions of altering, de- and re- constructing it, and making it my very own.  the photos make it look much more gray than it actually is.  it's the perfect military, olive, drab green that i adore.

i thought i had before pictures so i could show you the jacket how i actually found it, with all the original military buttons still attached.  but no, there are no photos, or there are but i am not organized enough to find them now.  anyhow, imagine the jacket with big ugly plastic and brass military buttons and that's what it look liked when i discovered it.  i immediately thought of changing out the buttons, actually that was the whole point of having to have it, that it would be a super easy upgrade and simple way to make the jacket my own, if I could figure out how to alter the fit.  when i got the jacket home i started to get out my vintage button stash.  originally i was going with a combo of vintage blue, green and red buttons, all mix matched, all over the coat.  in all the jacket has 10 buttons.  the belt that came with the jacket had a heavy brass buckle on it.  cool, but didn't go with my buttons.  so i am digging thru a tin of buttons still on cards and low and behold, i come across two, yes 2!, vintage red belt buckles.  that settled it right there.  i wanted all red buttons, to go with the buckle and because the color just pops right off the green background.

the tin of buttons still on cards where i found the buckles

i keep all my loose buttons in old glass and silver coffee servers.  one is all shell buttons, one is all other white buttons and the other two are missed colors.

the unused belt buckle and the original price tag on the back.

above you can see one the remedies i came up with to make the sleeves work for me.  originally i thought i was seriously going to have to remove the entire sleeve, alter it, and reattach it to the coat body.  it seemed daunting and that's one reason it took me a couple months to actually start dealing with the coat.  but then as i was looking at it, i thought, why don't i just turn a bit of the sleeve under and hand stitch some embroidery thread around it and call it good.  o.k.  so i love how this stitching turned out, very "hand done" looking.  i was happy with the stitching but the arms and sleeves still fit weird, like way huge and bulky on me.  

 

inside view.  not fancy.  but fine.

 so then i figure i might as well try taking out some of the shoulder pad stuff that was in between the jacket and the lining so i ended up trimming away as much of that as i could get my hands on.  i got a lot of bulk out but the sleeves themselves were still big and bunchy so then i had a brilliant idea and said to myself, "hey, just wash it.  in really hot soapy water. and dry the hot heck out of it. it's wool.  just see what happens." 

i figured the worse that could happen is the sleeves would shrink and felt down too short.  in which case i would just undo the crooked embroidery thread stitching i just did and let it out.  turns out though, that washing it was just what it needed.  it shrunk perfectly and i love how it fits now.  it is slender and narrow through the torso yet the arms are full enough to allow me to really stretch and feel comfortable, yet not huge and gigantic.  the red buttons are fully functional and that darn buckle just sets it off! 

I love my "new" coat!

the only thing i might still do to it is put a bunch of patches down one arm.  when i first got the jacket it had a military patch on each shoulder at the top of the sleeve.  over at Honestly...WTF i had fallen in love with this look and thought the idea might translate well to this coat.

here are some patches i have that may, or may not, end up on the jacket:

  this is a large vintage patch i bought from my friend Marie at the antique mall for like $2.

and here are a few smaller.

i will post more photos if i add the patches but for now i think i will just go with it as is and see i decide to tackle all the detailed work of attaching patches.

working on a silver tote bag,

xox

jennette



Mexico Finds

Hi y'all!  Here to share some favorite finds from my two weeks in Sayulita, Mexico.  I will save the "art" for another post!

Above you can see the "Viva Mexico" detail from an awesome hand embroidered and appliqued apron I found.

Love this basket weave plastic tote!  These are made by prisoners in Guadalajara and a shop in Sayulita sells them.  The felt flower was attached.  See below:

Had to get a Luchador guy and patches!

Check out this amber ring set in metallic knotted thread!  There is a TON of this type of jewelery in Sayulita.  There are markets every week and all the awesome hippies come and sell their wares.  I asked a lot of questions about this process and with my very limited Spanish I could understand that this is not knit or crochet but actual knots.  Like macrame, I guess?  It amazes me, the detail and miniature scale.  I will buy a lot more 'knotted' jewelery next time!

Here are two different view of the same amazing and huge amethyst crystal pendant I scored at the market in Sayulita.  There were no others like it and it called my name as I walked by.  I couldn't pass it up!

Here are two pin/buttons from a local Sayulita artist.  I especially love the whale one since I got to see several whales, very close up, in the wild, for the first time ever, while boating in the Banderas Bay.  It was life changing.  Totally AMAZING!

I had to get a beer cozy for my Pacifico's! One more!

A Hula Hooping Luchador t-shirt for August

Euphemio and Emiliano Zapata Salazar t-shirt for Jasper.

Both t-shirts above are from this shop, Revolucion Del Sueno, in Sayulita.  The Dream Revolution is about having your feet on the earth and your head in the stars.  Everything they produce is offered in limited quantities and when its gone, its gone.  In the two weeks we were in Sayulita I saw them sell out of many items I had my eye on. It's a must visit place if you are ever in Sayulita.

And this is on the t-shirt I bought for myself.  Oh boy, do I ever hope to refill as needed! 

Miss you Mexico.

Miss you sun.

Miss you heat.

Miss you warm ocean.

Miss you whales, whales, and more whales.

Love, love, love.

xoxox

Jennette



Doorways

All of these doorways caught my eye in Sayulita.  Literal doorways here, although there were many a figurative doorways to be had as well!  No, I did not do peyote, but still.... the scenery, the colors, the scents, textures, tastes, heat, salt water and bright sun all did a number on me.  So, yes, the doorways were open.  And I passed thru them in my imagination into worlds beyond and afar.  Seems like a dream.  Surreal.... to be real..... so surreal.  Ahhhhhhh.



Home

All of our bones made it back from Sayulita, safe and sound.

It has been a very slow reentry into the daily grind but I'm getting there.  Surprisingly, taking long runs in the cold, dark, wet rain has helped to loosen the heartache of leaving behind two glorious, hot, sun drenched, dry, bright and lovely weeks in Sayulita.  Who knew?!

As I get back to crafting and opening my Etsy shop, I will keep you posted on works in progress, shop updates, new finds, etc.  I will also be posting a lot of photos from our trip here so they don't get lost in the abyss and so that I have a record of our time and can remember what it was like, what we did, when, etc.  It's important to me to document it here as I do not keep family scrap books and I suck at printing pictures and filling up photo albums.  So bare with me.  I'll try to mix it up and I hope it doesn't get too boring!



Adios!

xoxooox

Jennette