I've moved!

I've moved! Update your RSS's and Google Readers and bookmarks to:

http://www.quietworldcreative.com

[and come see me there - some fun new stuff posted this week :]]

iPhone photography : Spring!

Spring is here :] Judging by the thick yellow dust on my everything, Spring intends to make it's mark this year, too. Here are a few iPhone photos from the last few weeks:

[sunset @ tribble mill park]

[weeds and sunshine]

[light on the dock]

[easter gift from my mommy]

[chai and notes with Betsy]

[a door and a direction]

[starbucks date]

[i so want this cow coffee cup]

[and one of my all time favorite text messages, again from Bets]

creative life: the good, the bad, the salsa of it all.

I woke up at 5 Monday morning {which, by the way, is totally ungodly. I don't care who you are [hah, hi dad] but seriously. 5 am is just ... so wrong. I agree with my mommy: Vespers is the best time of day} But anyway, that's not the point here. I woke up at 5 Monday morning, and I began seriously and immediately craving salsa.

I don't know, I didn't question it, I just woke and knew: today, somehow, someway, I will have salsa.

It was like my soul needed salsa. And, magically, Betsy and I went to lunch at my new-slash-old favorite taqueria in Decatur [new because we've been there twice in the last week, and old, because the last time I was there was in highschool] and I ordered chips-and-salsa. And was presented with a beautiful plate of three varieties of salsa. I should have just eaten that for lunch. My soul was immediately happy.

I so wish that my creativity was like that plate of salsa: I craved, I said it out loud, and Bets took me to a place where I could get it. I wish I could:

*Get Inspired [crave]

*Fully imagine the whole experience [say it out loud]

*Have someone take me to the place I need to go to get what I need to complete it

But I find, more often now than ever, that my creativity is like a mountain, in that it's as much about the climbing as it is about being at the top. 

Sometimes it's as much about the craving as it is about satisfying the craving.

{both photos iPhone photos by (c)quiet+world+creative}

can't get enough [photos from the first day of spring]

I don't know what's changed.

but i can't get enough.

not enough food.

not enough sunshine.

not enough coffee, or happiness, or sleep, or greif.

i feel like there is an itch for life inside me that will never be scratched all the way.

i am content, but i feel like i will never have enough.

of life, you know?

i feel like i could swallow the moon, and still want more moonlight. i could read every word ever written, and still want to buy more books. 

can't get enough, won't get enough, need to get enough.

late night + Big Woods

depth of field love ...

love these tiny, itty flowers in my front yard right now:

confessions + gifts

my friend betsy says i have the spiritual gift of dream catching.

i don't know if i know about that, but i'm accessorized well if it's true.

i've been thinking a lot about gifts + dreams + life lately. i'm doing a lot of growing and changing, and that leads to lots of new thoughts.

in alice in wonderland, the Mad Hatter comments on Alice's loss of 'muchness'.

i feel like i've lost my muchness.

like i'm afraid to go after what i really want. like i might make someone mad if i do, or i might step on someone's toes, or someone might think i'm dumb if i open my mouth.

then last night: meltdown. full on angsty-angst meltdown. i'm getting really close to figuring out my dreams, and taking all kinds of leaps towards reaching them. but for every step forward, there are two steps back. that's part of growth, right? [yes]

after we wrapped filming a little project for the church, and i was melting down on the inside, my friend made me stand in the room we were using for filming and punch his hands. i don't know how to throw a punch, but he made me punch his hands anyway. i was surprised at what i found myself saying while we stood there.

i'm scared, i don't trust, i don't want, i do want, i can't, what if?
so much growth, so fast, means i might have forgotten who i am a little.

i've forgotten my muchness.

i'd like to sleep now, and work on remembering it when i wake up.

photos on the go

favorite recent iPhone photos. rest of the set can be found here.

I'm in a funk this week; one of those where I can't stop listening to the same forty-five seconds of one song. Over and over and over. Ever feel that way? 

January/February Journal

I closed the cover of my January/February journal-slash-life-book. I really didn't think I could finish a whole journal in two months, but apparently my life has been really really full the last few weeks!

I did a little styled photo shoot instead of scanning my pages. Natural light is my love!
The rest of the set can be found on flickr, here.

i listen to the foo fighters when i'm feisty.

today i feel:

*loud

*messy

*not nice

*managed

*pushed

*feisty

*cold

*cramped

*tired

*fast

change is coming. i don't know how, i don't know when or where, but it's coming.

things that have been inspiring me lately [photobooth photos :]]

I'm loving these markers right now: 

 

I could watch this movie every day until forever:

and masking tape!

 

and this book!

and a pretty spread in a journal from my lovely friend betsy 

 

and i'm making good progress on this little list: 

 

much love on this snowy weekend! xoxo

january digital journal pages

I'm trying something new with this digital scrapbooking thing, and I have to confess ... I'm addicted. I love scrapbooking/art journaling, but sometimes just getting supplies out is more time than I have. But since I'm almost always mobile, and almost always have my laptop with me, I can find little scraps of time to put spreads together [or like last night - I finished this set while laying in bed and watching a movie at midnight]. I'm liking how this is fitting my life, and helping me learn all-important Photoshop skills!

I learned a lot from this pretty lady: www.shimelle.com

And gathered some supplies [paper backgrounds and stamps] from here: www.twopeasinabucket.com

and most of the supplies I used were by Erica Hernandez.

growth

(c) quietworldcreative/katie holley

vlog 2.0

This week was a big week for quiet world creative.  A few weeks ago, a team of friends and I headed down to midtown to shoot footage for a 'music vid' for a night at Water's Edge. It was a crazy fun day, so we decided to shoot a little behind-the-scenes vlog to go along with the video! First vid is the vlog - just silliness and fun. Second vid is the actual vid! It's set to Kanye's "Amazing". Be sure to watch to the end of the vlog to see a little live-action shot of the night - drumline + dustin bringing it + vid. So sweet!


behind the scenes - vlog 2.0 from quietworldcreative on Vimeo.


amazing : rough draft from quietworldcreative on Vimeo.

office days + studio nights

Happy Friday all :] I'm about to go and spend a happy friday night in my basement studio. You can expect to see a little of the following over the weekend:

+ A new vlog!
+ A new stopmotion [well, it's new to this blog :]]
+ Photos uploaded to 365project on flickr
+ Progress made on a new scrapbook [note to self - print some new photos!]
+ A few tries at some digi-scrapbooking. Spent some time researching and looking up tutorials [ps - this lady here is brilliant and i'm learning a bunch! i might sign up for one of her online classes soon, i love it!]

... or i might just sit in my space and watch a movie and eat chocolate. either way ... it's a good day!

thinking + feeling + moving

Sometimes I think I am paralyzed in taking actions because I am equal parts thinker and feeler. One never over-rides the other. If it feels good to make a move, does it match up logically? If it's logical to make a move, does it feel right?

I need to make peace with the fact that sometimes, the right thing feels right to my intuition, but doesn't match up in numbers and logic. And sometimes logic and numbers are right, even though they don't feel to happy.

I need to make peace with both sides of my personality. Split down the middle, 50/50 artist and admin, it just means that I need to figure out how that works, and make it work for me, not against me.

That was my waking-up thought today. I'll let you know when I find out how it plays out in real life :]

transforming!

ps! before i go to sleep, a quickie pic of the new hair. i have more thoughts to share about the experience tomorrow :]

before! [fondly referred to as mufasa mane]

and after! still getting used to it, but looooving it so far!

pps - this is my usual pose while i'm sitting at the computer, when i'm not typing. just realized that as i sat and thought about this, and sat just like that.

risk + reward

Some musings tonight from my Evening Pages [supposed to be Morning Pages, but I'm trying something new, to see if it works better for me. Three pages of brain dumping at the end of the day. I'm sleeping way better and creating more, if that's any sign]


Just thoughts, I'll come back with more complete ones later ...


+ I think I could be pushed to the edge of myself every day if I could be refreshed as deeply as I was tonight, after the end of a very edge-pushing day.


+ How is it that the riskiest/most roller-coaster-y feeling things are both life-giving and life-taking? It takes MORE of me to do those things, but I get so much more back in return. How does that work?


+ Why is it so hard for me to try new things? I don't understand this about myself. I'm praying for courage in my life right now.


+ I love people, so so much.


+ What does it mean to cultivate creative land? How am I doing this for myself? How am I helping others do the same?


+ How long does it take old dreams to die?


+ What in my life am I missing out on right now by not being willing to risk?


I'm open to advice on any of the above questions :] Just a little peek into my headspace right now! Yikes!

In other news, I started making a new scrapbook/journal [scrounal?] tonight. So excited for that. Life book is growing beautifully. Evening pages are helping me sort so many thoughts. My piano is in the master bath right now since the house is getting a little reno work done, and the acoustics are amazing, and I'm not apologizing for playing the piano in the bathroom.


Look out for a new vlog coming Wednesday! I have something super exciting to share!

on getting a hair cut

A blog about getting a hair cut.

Not conventional, not important, not big or deep or transforming, in most worlds.

But in my world ... it's big. It's important and big and deep and transforming.

It means that it's 2010 - its a year for doing things. Not thinking about things [well, still thinking about things] but DOING things. That's my list of 24 before 25. Things to do. Do decide and define who I am.

That's this hair cut tomorrow. More about deciding where I want to go and getting there than just getting a hair cut.

I'm not doing a good job of explaining this, but I needed you to know. I'm getting a hair cut tomorrow, and it's more than a hair cut. The next time I'm here, I'll be different, and not just because I'll be blonde again.

life journaling

So I have this habit. And I'm not going to say whether it's good or bad, but just that it exists and I'm trying to break it. Because there is better for me, at least in this season.

My habit revolves around journal angst. Do you guys ever have journal angst? I have journal angst that involves several layers of grief.

Layer 1 [one] is a layer of 'the-book-has-to-be-just-right' syndrome. I only enjoy journaling on graph paper, in hard-backed journals, with certain pens, in certain light ... it goes on. And on. And on.

Layer 2 [dos] is a layer of 'the-book-has-to-be-just-right' PLUS 'i-have-to-have-specific-books-for-specific-things'. Last year, that meant each of the following:

a.] a journal for PWI teaching notes

b.] a journal to carry with me everywhere, and record odds and ends

c.] a planner, with more odds and ends

d.] morning pages, to dump journal angst [and all art angst] in the mornings

e.] a song-writing journal, for all of my incomplete songwriting ideas

f.] a visual journal, for all of that art journaling i needed to do

g.] a sketch book journal

h.] a brown-paper journal, for white chalk, black ink and the occasional splash of red

i.] artist's way journal, for artist's way notes

Uh, that's crazy. I'm aware.

Layer three [trois] of the crazy was all of the above PLUS PLUS a layer of 'i-have-to-be-in-the-right-space-[mental and physical]-for-this-to-work.'

Meaning that yes, every time I had something songwriting to write down, I had to wait until I was with my songwriting journal, in a songwriting headspace, ready to think songwriting thoughts. Which, of course, meant that when I got to that place, which was never perfect enough, I had lost the thought I originally was going to write down in the first place. Same with EVERY SINGLE JOURNAL I OWNED in 2009. Crazy - again, I'm aware.

So here we are, in 2010, and something has to change. Here's the plan - one life, one journal for said life. Everything caught in one book: inspiration, snippets of poetry, lists, budgets, notes, sketches, prayers, confessions, stories, calendars ... all in one book.

My life isn't perfect. It isn't neatly packaged, by any stretch of the imagination. I am coming to terms with the fact that I will be 'in transition' for the rest of my life. This is the life I want, though, and I need to stop wishing it was anything less. And in an attempt to mark and record an unperfect life, I need an unperfect journal ['imperfect', i know, but i like unperfect better. even though it's not a word].

Marking my unperfect life with an unperfect journal. Sounds perfect, huh?

what i'm excited about today

My brother and I have been working on a new short video for Water's Edge. I'm super excited about it, and can't wait to share it with you in a few weeks! I also made a short behind-the-scenes vlog to go with it, but I'll wait until the video goes public to post the vlog. So much fun!

Until then, though :] My dear blog friends get a sneak-peek at some screen-caps from the video! I think they're just lovely. Don't laugh at me when I tell you that the video is going along with the song Amazing by Kanye. It's going to rock so hard.









ps - you can see a version of the last stop-motion we did over here: http://vimeo.com/8433109