She had the “makings of greatness” as the saying goes but never amounted to anything. What a whopper of judgment and out-and-out lie! If you are breathing and walking, you are a success. The rest is judgment. We are always a work in progress.

We are always in the process of greatness

As I create my art, it creates me too. The struggle and the many minor difficulties are part of living. The clay I mold is how life molds me, and there is adding and taking away, smoothing, and digging, and carving. It does not end until I die and likely goes on from there.

It’s so easy to judge everything and everyone around us, but what a limitation! What do we really know about others and their work? I don’t want to put limitations on my life, but to be fluid in life is to let go in every moment. Go with the flow as they say.

I realize I have so many items in my Etsy shop that I have to branch out. Part of life is discipline, which helps us move along and not get stuck, but sometimes there is too much “making” and not enough “creating.”

The makings of a crow

I found a doll pattern by Susan Barmore of a crow and decided to try my hand at making one. I bathed in frustration for days and blamed my sewing machine for the clumsy sewing. But good comes to those who persevere… Discipline – perseverance – makings of greatness.

The feet were not that hard to make since I have made several for other projects. Sewing never came easy to me, and I can never get one side looking the same as the other even if I follow the pattern exactly. But it’s not about perfectionism.

Gray cotton fabric was great to work with, and the crow could stand on her own two feet.

I used black satin craft paint and it got all over me, the table, and the crow. 🙂 I dry-brushed some purple paint that never showed up when dry, and on top, I added some copper paint.

When I had painted the crow, all the fun commenced. I stained some fabric to make the dress, made a clay bird and talisman for the necklace.

It was hard to get good pictures of the black-painted bird. The black seemed to eat all the light.

The most important part

I kept a prayerful frame of mind (for the most part), and also added prayers to the actual doll. Crow is one of the smartest birds, and the energy of intelligence, fluidity, curiosity, agility, and courage they embody is inspiring.

You can purchase this healing doll at Earth and Faery, and there are loads of other things in the shop as well.

December is a busy month, but I hope you’ve had some time to make things. I made some items to give to my friends, but so as not to spoil the surprise, I will post pictures in my next blog post.

If you missed my last post, another stuffed bird I made, the Dastardly Owl, you can check it out. I’ve been into birds lately.

To move into greatness, which is some kind of elusive goal we made up, keep going, create, get surprised as the art takes over and becomes much more than we ever intended.

Lots of love this holiday season! Remember to breathe.