Happy Thanksgiving!

I would like to wish everyone, their families and friends a lovely Thanksgiving!

Human Nature

Lets suppose for a moment that it's 4500 years in the future. Lets also suppose that all written records have been obliterated. Archaeologists stumble upon Mt. Rushmore. What would they think? Would they think that the four presidents were gods we worshipped? Would they think it was a place of rituals or burials of important people. Perhaps they would think the presidents noses pointed at water sources or were a way to keep time.

I love ancient history, but I always find it fascinating that archaeologists go straight to one of the mentioned formulas above. I was just reading an article on Stone Henge. As usual the theories for it's use were a giant calendar, a place of worship, a burial ground or a place for ritual sacrifice. While I am sure that's very possible, I have to wonder why no one considers that maybe it was just art...or a market place. Maybe it was an entertainment center with plays or parties. Something deep in the recesses of my Celtic soul tells me they haven't found the right answer yet.

While I realize that religion played a much larger part in ancient cultures than it does today, human nature doesn't change that much. We have always had a sense of humor, something that is rarely depicted in pop culture. But I am pretty sure neolithic people enjoyed a joke as much then as we do now. We have always loved, art, entertainment and gathering together for a merry making.

There is the argument that there are a lot of burial sites around Stone Henge...ok but think about current culture. We bury people in organized cemeteries, but some people choose to do some pretty outlandish things with their remains. We like having a testament to our lives and we choose to express those as uniquely as we can.

I don't need to know what Stone Henge was used for, I can simply revel in the fact that our ancestors went to great lengths to build it and that in itself is a testament to the human spirit!

~*~ Snow Queen Bearbit ~*~

I am having fun with these little funny bears, and I added a new one to Etsy. You can visit her here:

Click to see the Snow Queen

Split Personality?

I have noticed as I go along that many people do two blogs, one for work and a separate one as their diary of sorts with personal things. I find that kind of interesting. I guess it never would have occurred to me to do that. I do have another blog, but it's only for featuring other artists a few times a week.

Way back when I started blogging I never thought anyone would read it anyway and I used it to say whatever was on my mind or whatever happened to me at any given time. I posted pics of my work because it was a good way to keep a record in case I forgot to write anything down.

Low and behold right out of the gate people did start reading it. As soon as I discovered this I began to wonder what my obligation was? Did they want to know me as a complete person with many moods, just to see pics of my latest works, or did they want to read only the good stuff and buy into some type of fantasy people sometimes have about artists? Was my blog just for me to exercise things from my brain, write it all unvarnished or did I have a commitment to my readers to only write the happy?

The truth is, I still struggle with this question sometimes. But along the way I found a formula that works for me. I don't know if anyone agrees with it, but that's ok. I figured that if someone only wants to see the new things I made they will just look at the pictures and aren't going to take time to read my usually wordy posts anyway. I could have chosen to just post the good things that happen, or dress things up to create a fantasy world where nothing ever goes wrong, but I chose not to do that either. I used to follow a blog that posted like that and I had to stop reading it, it was clearly contrived and I couldn't take the sugar rush. Overall I am a pretty happy, positive person, but I am a real person too. I go through times that are rough, most artists do. I prefer to read about real live 3 dimensional people, so I post like one.

Now you may not agree with me, and I am in no way saying to do otherwise is wrong. Ultimately our blogs are ours to do with as we see fit. Some people don't want to share their lives and others need a fantasy for a variety of reasons. It's up the reader if they want to come along for the ride. Some people buy a season pass, others take it for a whirl now and again, and still others just peek through the fence to see what it looks like.

I truly appreciate everyone who takes time out of their busy schedules to stop by, regardless how often, for how long or if it's to just to take a look at pics. I hope I never let anyone down by what they read, of course sometimes our words are misread or misunderstood or people just flat out disagree, so it happens. I do believe that people feel a certain comfort in knowing that more people have the kind of concerns they have and sometimes you can get together and brainstorm towards a common solution. I am always thrilled when someone is inspired by what I have written. I combine posts about work and real life because work is part of my real life. I guess blogging is kind of like life...it doesn't come with a manual and we just do the best we can!

~*~ Smidgen Bearbit ~*~

I just wanted to make something sweet and simple. Smidgen is on Etsy, you can visit her here:

Link to visit Smidgen

~*~ First Frost ~*~

I just made a fun little retro inspired Christmas piece and listed it on Etsy, it will also be on my website tomorrow. You can visit it here:

Click Here

Irony And Compassion

I am sitting here working on a fun little tree and deer vignette tonight and while I was waiting for the stain the base to dry I hopped onto one of the handmade sites forum to do the gab and get seen gig for a few minutes. I stumbled upon a thread a person had made to complain about people who complain. (Yes that is ironic isn't it!)

I read through part of it and posted a few replies trying to reason with her to give people the benefit of the doubt which fell on deaf ears or in the case of reading...deaf eyes I guess. I said it doesn't really bother me when people complain especially about lack of sales because I know they usually have a deeper reason behind those complaints over face value. We are all feeling a bit of a money crunch this year, and it's really effecting people who want to buy Christmas presents and do frivolous things like eat or pay the power bill. So it's easy to get frustrated and wonder why someone is doing better than you are when you know you have been working hard.

After I left the thread I was still thinking about it a bit. One of the main reasons that people don't sell well is because of the photographs of their items. But the truth is some people are just not born photographers. Or in others...like me for instance...we have old cameras and haven't been able to buy a new one that takes sharper pics. Refer back to those frivolous things we spend our money on like food and heat. Not only that but when it comes to the handmade world things rise and fall in popularity and sometimes people aren't in the right niche at the right time. But the one thing that struck me through out all the posts people made in the thread...it never seemed to occur to any of them to try to HELP the people who were complaining. All too often when people complain over something it's a cry for help that they don't know how to ask for.

Last night I saw another thread that a woman posted about wanting to make a blog chronicling her journey of being mentally handicapped and still being a successful business person. She wanted to know if people thought it was a good idea. I told her I thought it was a great idea, she could be an inspiration to many others and go a long way towards being accepted as a serious business woman. But most of the people in the thread said no don't do it, it's too controversial and people won't buy from you if they know this about you! Seriously that requires a few more exclamation marks!!!! Why on earth would someone not purchase something based on that? She is a human being like any other. For her it's not a controversial topic, it's a fact of her life. We all have our burdens to bear, they simply come in different forms. I looked to see what she was making, she had some amazing jewelry.

Sometimes I think we live in an odd world that has too much irony and not enough compassion.