Ahhh, I’m finally unpacked after my annual journey to the beach on Ocracoke Island. It was a luxuriously long and slow-tempoed vacation. And as always, I came home rejuvenated and armed with a new set of resolutions for the coming months. THIS is truly when my new year begins.
The quiet and solitude are usually uninterrupted for days on end, so I always pack a big bag of books—too many to actually read--of course! And the island has a fantastic little bookstore—Books to be Red. I always stop in and buy a book or two regardless of how many books I’ve hauled to the island myself. Their selection is THAT good!
This year I enjoyed reading:
- The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel
- Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon
- Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
I also packed lots of creative projects to keep my hands busy. Ocracoke Island and village are very small, but one of my favorite things to do there is explore the galleries and gift shops. They carry incredibly unique and inspiring works of art & jewelry. I’d go crazy if I couldn’t harness the good vibe that comes from the local artists to make my own creations back in my room.
My jewelry-making endeavors began on Ocracoke because of the inspiring artist there. So every year, I pack more and more jewelry-making supplies for the trip. This year my pliers breathed new life into old sparkly bits from my “magpie’s treasure.”
I combined a button and a rhinestone clasp that broke off of my aunt’s Marriam Haskell necklace to create some new vintage jewelry. I’ve been trying to find a way to give this family heirloom a second life for a so long now, and am so, so happy that it will be going out on the town and to dinners, again!
I also mixed vintage enamel brooches and lampwork beads to make some funky necklaces. I just love the lampwork beads with the tiny flowers from my friend Kim Nelson on Etsy. Aren’t they sweet and fun?
Just like a kid, I had to bring my crayons. Except mine were special crayons--the wonderful Lyra water-soluble crayons that I discovered at Art & Soul workshop with Lisa Kaus.
I used them to experiment with “art journaling.” I looked through Journal Bliss by Violette for pointers on doodling. I just loved the way my drawings/paintings turned out. Now my journal is illustrated—so much more interesting than just page after page of words!
And if that wasn’t enough, I began dabbling in embroidery. Turns out that it’s a great media to work with when you’re traveling. The hoop, needle, fabric, and thread take up so little space, and are very easy to carry to the beach with a towel & beach chair. And--if load an audiobook onto your iPod—you can sew and make it through a novel at the same time. I loaded The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows onto my iPod and enjoyed the story while stitching the afternoons away.
Before I left home I designed this Ocracoke Island pillow. It is inspired by the Catstudio hand emboidered pillows and Natural Life pillows. And I found
two books on fun embroidery techniques that helped me determine which supplies
I needed to get started -- Sublime Stitching by Jenny Hart and Aimee Ray’s Doodle Stitching.
It took a few days of sunshine and sitting still, before I
began to relax and unclench myself. And that’s also about the time when my
subconscious begins to do its work. I face this part of vacation with equal
parts of anticipation and apprehension—because on about day 3 or 4 my biggest
hopes and fears begin to reveal themselves in the form of vivid dreams.
Sometimes these dreams can be unsettling, but they’re just a sign that I’m
letting the silly worries fall away and the important stuff is rising to the
top.
Every year, Ocracoke works its magic on me. First come the dreams, then the relaxing, and finally a clear mind that’s capable of coming up with a plan to change. I always return home with practical ideas to improve my situation and to refocus myself on all the good things that I have going for me. These new marching orders are priceless! (One year I decided to leave my desk job to begin The Magpies Treasure! In October I turned in my resignation. It felt scary but oh-so-right!)
This year’s vacation was exceptionally restful and my subconscious was surprisingly calm. It sent me lots feedback reaffirming my decision to pursue jewelry design. Instead of fitful dreams, my nights were filled with cloudy visions of jewelry designs and paintings. And I decided that I need to rededicate myself to making jewelry, to expand my abilities, to begin producing silver and metal jewelry this year, to spend less time admiring other people’s work so I can focus on developing my own style. I slept soundly each night and woke up eager for my morning jog past the British Cemetery and out to Pamlico Sound.
And so now you know why my long and slow-tempoed vacation on
this sleepy little island is really the beginning of my new year. It’s a ritual
full of quiet days, free time, books, beach, creative moments, inspiration, and
new resolutions that lead to real change. Rain or shine--time on Ocracoke
changes me from the inside out…
I hope you made time this summer to relax, recline,
rejuvenate, and even make some new resolutions.
Happy New Year everybody!
