art

I read your letter...

I was thinking about making a different kind of art. Art evokes a response. Even being non-responsive to art is technically a response to it. I was thinking of a chain of letters. The first letter (below) makes a statement. A response to this letter will be made by someone anonymous…maybe you? You can respond with advice, a reflection, a different perspective, a critique or a story. Whatever you are moved to say…say it. Your response will then be responded to by a new anonymous writer. The chain of letters will go on and on until it ends. Your responses become the project and the project is the art. The first letter is here below. The author will remain anonymous. Please email me at cottonwoodcanopy@gmail.com with your response if you have a response to the below letter or if you have a letter you’d like to write to help move things along. I will select the letter that is most interesting to the integrity of the project and publish it on my blog for the next writer to respond to.

Sometimes I feel so completely and utterly ordinary. When having conversations with others I often focus on the fact that I have nothing to say about what they are saying. Is it me? Am I hollow? Or is it them? Perhaps being hollow is my way of being deep? Every “normal” conversation bores me. I want to hear something good! Something juicy, something worth celebrating, something worth crying over, something maddening, something that makes my jaw drop. Something that deserves a hug…or a slap! Tell me something good. Am I allowed to make such demands when I feel I have nothing “good” to say myself. It’s like inside I’m saying “entertain me!” Me. Me. ME. Maybe this will entertain you?

A LETTER TO MY READERS

Perhaps I should call this a letter to my family and few close friends because that is probably  who my readers are!  (For now at least.)  Anyway welcome to Cottonwood Canopy's first blog post ever!  My name is Natalia and I live in beautiful WA state.  I have been a stay at home mom  of two for the past 2 years.  Being a stay at home mom has been a blessing but it can also do strange things to a person.  For example I recently got a strong urge to start a business and blog!  Not that I have tons of time on my hands with two wild kids or anything but my creativity was calling.   I haven't really embraced it fully so perhaps that is what I'm doing now.  I heard once that if you work a job doing what you love then you will never work a day in your life.  That is my goal.

I have been pondering what I would do with my life when my kids start school full time and I always come back to design.  I have a degree in art and  prior to becoming a stay at home mom I worked in high end kitchen and bath showrooms.  I would assist interior designers, builders and homeowners in making selections for their projects.  I don't have an interior design degree specifically but I have my eye and my experience.  One of my top clients once told me "you don't need a degree to do this." She was self taught and very successful.  Would I like a degree?  Maybe if I had the time and an extra load of cash sitting around but I don't.  I also don't want the fact that I don't have a degree to stop me from moving forward so that is why I'm doing this.  It took a little nudging from a few good friends and an inspirational walk on the Mill Creek trail for me to start believing that I could do something.  For me that is the most important step.  Believing in yourself.  I've already made a ton of changes to what I want Cottonwood Canopy to look like and I haven't even launched my site yet.  But I'm okay with that and I hope that you come along this journey with me to see what will be.  

Natalia