Reinventing Myself

There isn't a way to reinvent myself without blips, wrinkles or road bumps.  Of course it will take time and energy and a lot of hard work to unravel myself...to put myself together mindfully...thoughtfully.  There isn't an easy 5 step program that can tell me what to do to be successful or happy. Time and a lot of insightful self discovery can mean one thing;  that growth is inevitable if I keep my eyes open.

I've learned a lot over the past 9 years writing this blog. I know I haven't been present here much for a few years.  Life. That's really it.  Life happened and my need to write and connect dissipated, and my need for it came in ebbs and flows.

A little about my life;  I grew up in Brooklyn, New York to a family that was broken before I was even born.  My youngest memories are filled with magic among the fog of tension that existed at home.  Oh I felt the bad deeply, but I found my own kind of magic, whether it stemmed from coping with misery or if I was just a creative little girl, stuck in a sad cycle.  I had amazing friendships as a young girl in Brooklyn.  Wonderful memories fill my head with thoughts of friends (some lost, some gone forever) and our intimate times together.  Every summer, I visited my grandparents in the mountains of North Carolina.  That's where most of my childhood magic happened.  I had freedom to explore the creeks, forests, pastures and gravel windy roads, play in wonderment and create my own fantasies and realities.  The trips to the local library in my grandmother's convertible Camaro, top down, wind through our hair was one of my fondest memories.  And the smell of the library and the sound of the crinkly plastic covers on all the books brought me great  comfort.

My mind often runs off to Black Mountain and the wholesome, plentiful times I experienced every August.  And so.  And so, I sit here, 40 years later, wishing to tap into some of the good and magical moments spattered through my life, and especially in the mountains, so that I can gain some inspiration.  If I am to reinvent my person, which I am already knee deep into, which direction do I go?

I immediately think that I must tap into my creativity because great knowledge has emerged from doing my art.  I have dabbled in printmaking, ceramics, photography and making soap.  I don't make soap anymore since starting my new company. I just don't have the time to get back in the groove.

Okay, that has to be bull.  I AM a very busy woman.  I run a company.... wear 500 hats at least, and my home life is busy, but I realize that if something is important to me, I have to make time for it.  It's true for everyone.  I can browse Facebook, Instagram, YouTube....for fun, inspiration and to fill my void... but the reality is that if I took a portion of that time looking at what OTHERS do, and I used it to invest in MY work/art/moving on.....then I will FEEL good.  At least better.  "Good" may take time to sit right there on my shoulder, but it feels like the right step.  The first step.

Here goes.

The first thing I have to do is get my eyes checked.  Hit 45 years old and stopped being able to focus on anything.  Got glasses and now, a year later, I can't see the details of anything anymore.  Not only is that frustrating when taking photographs, but downright impossible to feel good doing it if I can't see clearly.  That is my Step One!

Step Two:  Write in this blog more.

Step Three:  Crack open my stone walls and TRUST there is still wonderment and innocence inside and set it FREE.

Step Four:  Evaluate

Step Five:  Unknown at this time...


Let me say something about something:

1. I have never claimed to be a writer.
2. I am Grammatical Error Queen.  I own that title, so try not to evaluate my errors.  You will become tired and bored.  I type what I think and I rarely look back or edit.  I write from the hip.  Is that a term?  I do that.
3. I do not assume anyone sees the value in what I say.  This isn't to say I don't care.  I do.  But this blog starts here.  With me.  So you will have to decide whether to take me or leave me.  In my journey to be the best me I can be, I really understand I will never please everyone all the time.  It helps to focus more on goals when I realized that notion.  Common sense makes the thought available, but it is much harder to implement.  Easy to see.    Not to do.

Soap Dough Art Through The Eyes of Bee Iyata... she took my hand and led me

Bee Iyata of Sorcery Soap has touched me yet again with her eerie insight.  I first noticed Bee’s work over a year ago… images of her colorful and expressive enchanting creatures.

Perhaps it was my deep love for my childhood book, The Velveteen Rabbit and the magical and emotional presence I felt when reading it.  Bee Iyata unknowingly touched my inner child and sparked wonder and excitement every time I saw her images.

Bee’s Soap Dough book “The Enchanted Book of Peculiar Ideas and Soap Potions” contains recipes and tool suggestions so you can create 3D images to adhere or insert into your soap. That is probably why you are reading it.  But let me tell you that those things, the tools of her trade, are only a tiny aspect of the enchanted book’s contents.  Bee writes in depth about inner presence, the state of mind and guides the reader to find their Muse.  Pure wisdom exudes from the very pages to gently bring us to the very place as an artist before we set out on the path of trying to hand mold soap.

She clearly is one of the most thoughtful, patient and insightful artists of our time.  I would recommend this book to any artist of any medium…a book that can offer structure and gentle guidance to help free our minds and encourage walking with the Fairies and magic that our inner art can possess.

Your creativity may be frozen in a state of sheer fear.  Bee can help you break that barrier and set it free.  Let her hold your hand through the Magical Forest.

You can order her EBOOK by hitting the BUY NOW button below. 

Pull Up Your Chair ToThe Black Bomb Bar

I think I have a little fascination with black bath bombs.  Why would one want to bathe in black or dark water of any kind.... then I started thinking that activated charcoal water with other skin loving ingredients could feel GREAT!  And why not?  Who's taking notes or giving one hoot about having to clean lightly after a bath.  I, for one, would love to try them.  I think the photo below of someone actually IN a bath after the bomb fizzed away is alluring and I now want a hot bath filled with black water.  Bring it on!

I chose a few "makers" and their bombs from Etsy and ... well .... you could call it BLACK BOMB PORN.

Black Bath Bombs?!?!  BBB: Bodacious Black Beauties.
Tick Tick Bloom.  A creative duo making the biggest bath bombs I have ever seen.  Their photographs are on point and the size of the bombs are beyond my fantastically wildest dreams.
Best friends and biz partners... band together for a colorful bomb business.  They grabbed MY attention and you should check them out!  They sell on Etsy and there BIG BOMB is $20.00, but I bet it's worth it.  Too steep for my current budget, but they are on my list of things to buy!  :)

~~~

Others I saw also made me want to sell my soul in order to get a hold of them..... Such as these.... yum...

Universe Bath Bomb by Kiyi Kiyi is another eye catcher!

CrystalMaeCreations has a bath bomb offered has a regal, dark, goth appeal to it.

SouthernBelleSoap has a bunch with different sparkly glitters to go with all there black bomb offerings!

~~~

I love the photography in the next one, a bunch!!  Love the rustic wood table with the naked hand holding the bomb.   Nice product shot!!  This one is Black Gothic by ParadiseSkinClub:

Now I will grab one of these, although hard to choose.... I will have a black bath soon, I tell ya!

xoxo Joanna

The Cuppa Jo Challenge Winners

The Cuppa Jo Soap Challenge had three beautiful entries and three beautiful winners! The Challenge was described in the previous post, but here is an excerpt:

Since I've moved into my new place, I often wake up before sunset, take my fresh coffee and walk, in my pajamas and slippers, to the Intercoastal Waterway/Lake Worth Lagoon, which is only one block from my new place.  I love the salty breeze that wafts into my face and through my short hair..... while I listen to the small waves slapping against the concrete ledge I sit on.   Within minutes, the black sky turns twilight blue and from the horizon, emerges orange and pink colors.

It has been a new experience living near the water and enjoying the sunrises I get to witness when I sit out there and ponder life's curves, dips and surprises.
 
This one may be hard because I'd really like you to tap into your creative mind and try not to be too literal in your interpretations  (if you CAN).

I want all of you to design and interpret in your own way, my morning cup of coffee at the Lagoon.

If I were to participate in this challenge, I'd start of with a layer of soap mixed with sea clay or mud with superfine coffee grounds (this would represent the concrete ledge I sit on). I'd then make an orange to pink ombre technique.  But that's just me.

JANEL GRUBER-STEVENS, Colorado, USA

"Okay, here is my interpretation of Jo drinking her coffee in her new place. (a little background first - this has ocean critters, but smells of grapefruit, coconut and tropical goodness)...

As Joanna walks out onto the terrace of her new place with cup in hand, and looks out to the sand, ocean and sea, and smells the crispness of the citrus, coconut that is Florida (ha, don't know just guessing here that that's what FL smells like) she sees all the critters of the sea. Dolphins, sea turtles, sea horses, and tropical fish rising to the top of the ocean to greet her for the sunrise, while just under the crashing waves there is turmoil in the sea, but the sandy bottom is calm. Mixed in with the creatures, there are a few shells because they have to get stirred up and taken to the beach somehow, right? 

And as she is most every morning at sunrise -- she is at peace...

And as she is most every morning at sunrise -- she is at peace...

*

BRENDA MERRICK-HAVLICE, California, USA

"At the Intercoastal Cafe and Reflection Center we strive to cleanse our minds and enjoy each sip life has to offer. We manifest our intention to allow our souls to bubble forth with all the promise of a new day!

Goat milk salt bar with coffee grounds, scented with a blend of espresso and sea spray. Mad Oils micas: Tahitian Teal, Neon Orange, Neon Pink 

(note to self: double check which salt you pull off the shelf... Dead Sea Salt results in a gloopy mess and a need to start over...)"

* 

RACHAEL BROWER, Montana, USA

"The smell brings you in, coffee, mocha, espresso, the grit, the bluster of the wind, the wake me up caffeine of it all in one bar, a coffee flavored world. Here is my soap Cafe Mocha, made with cocoa, brewed coffee, and coffee grounds" 

*

Thanks, you three, for participating!  Because there is a lack of entries for the last couple of Soap Challenges, there is really no way I can continue doing them right now, while I am so busy at Mad Oils. So....I would love some participation regarding photo tutorials made for this blog or a blog post on ingredients or processes....etc. Hit me up jo@madoils(dot)com.

peace

Cuppa Jo Sunrise Challenge

I have been neglecting the challenges for WAY TOO LONG.  I have to offer my sincere apology for the major delay in fun.  Mad Oils has exploded and not only are we understaffed, but between seasonal colds and unforeseen employee childcare issues, we have had quite a time keeping up with the floods of orders (which we love!  Thanks to all our loyal customers!)  So having been a bit overwhelmed at work and tirelessly navigating my personal life and continuing to improve on myself....I have been a very bad blogger, and I am sorry.... :(

So I challenge you up, baby!

Since I've moved into my new place, I often wake up before sunset, take my fresh coffee and walk, in my pajamas and slippers, to the Intercoastal Waterway/Lake Worth Lagoon, which is only one block from my new place.  I love the salty breeze that wafts into my face and through my short hair..... while I listen to the small waves slapping against the concrete ledge I sit on.  Within minutes, the black sky turns twilight blue and from the horizon, emerges orange and pink colors.

It has been a new experience living near the water and enjoying the sunrises I get to witness when I sit out there and ponder life's curves, dips and surprises.

This one may be hard because I'd really like you to tap into your creative mind and try not to be too literal in your interpretations  (if you CAN).

I want all of you to design and interpret in your own way, my morning cup of coffee at the Lagoon.

If I were to participate in this challenge, I'd start of with a layer of soap mixed with sea clay or mud with superfine coffee grounds (this would represent the concrete ledge I sit on). I'd then make an orange to pink ombre technique.  Ombre is a gradual GRADIENT change from one color to the next.....

{You can see the tutorial that was posted here on The Soap Bar Blog in 2012.  The tutorial was written by Emily Shieh of Shieh Design Studios.}

I think I would take  some dark mica and mix into a cup of soap batter and pour it in blips and plops from high up, so it reaches close to the bottom of the first layer.  One of those bloops would represent me, a figure.  In the photo below shows some designs from the soap I "blooped".

So I suppose even if I did a tutorial, everyone's soap design would end up being unique because of the haphazard way of the plop/bloop "technique".

So there you go.  Challenge has been assigned.  Please post your final creations on our Facebook Group, Soap Challenge Gallery.  PLEASE tag your post with #cuppajosunrise

Challenge starts now and all soap entries (entries are posted photos) are due by April 9th!  The grand prize winner will receive Mad Oils Micas ~ FOUR Mad Oils mica samples of your choice!

Good luck and soap on!

xoxo

jo