WORD :: Encoutering Life's Endings.

Plato said, "If you wish to live well, practice dying."

Tune in to understand why ...

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"All that lives is transitory, and will depart this life."

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Louis Silverstein is a transcendental/holistic philosopher and practitioner, and multi-cultural and interdisciplinary educator. Currently a Distinguished Professor of Liberal Education at Columbia College Chicago, he teaches courses in Peace Studies, Dying & Death, Education, Culture & Society, and Social Problems In American Society. Louis has presented on a variety of topics at meetings of professional associations, including: the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education, the American Council on Education, the Association for Humanistic Sociology, the American Association of Higher education, the American Educational Research Association, the National Adult Education Association, the Third World Studies Association, the Alliance-Association for External Degree Programs for Adults, the National Social science Association, the International Society for Exploring Teaching Alternatives, the Creative Management in Higher Education Association, the Popular Culture Association, the Coalition To Increase Minority Degrees, the Midwest Philosophy of Education Society, the American Society On Aging, the Humanities Education & Research Association and the World Forum On Education. Topics presented by Louis include: "Teaching A Culture of Peace & Justice," "Breaking The Silence: Drugs, Culture & Truth," "Sex As Curse & Blessing," "Aging Stories," "Emotional Intelligence," "Death & Dying," and "Embodied/Experiential Spirituality." In addition, he is the author Of "An Oral History of Columbia College, Vols. I-V," "Deep Spirit & Great Heart: Living In Marijuana Consciousness" and "Encountering Life's Endings." Louis is also co-founder and co-director of the Life Arts Society, dedicated to the healing and uplifting of mind, body and spirit. His studies, theoretical and experiential, of transformative consciousness and alternative realities have been of long duration, encompassing four decades-1960's to the present, and have taken him to settings throughout the U.S., and to Jamaica, Costa Rica, Canada and numerous European countries. 

WORD :: Get Over It Girl.

The world seemed to come alive

When you were by my side


And even though
I may never know 
that feeling again

You are gone

And I'm already moving on...

WORD :: The Big Chill.

I just opened the upstairs porch door to look outside, and what I saw brought tears to my eyes. 

Literally.

I was made to tie on a bikini, bake in the sun, and run my bare feet through hot beach sand; not to disappear inside a down coat, waste away dark days, or pull on boots and trudge through freezing-cold slushy snow. This cold weather gives me anxiety and conjures up in me feelings of intense desperation and desire. Ahhh...I need tea, and a hug, and to lay for long hours and laugh with you.

WORD :: IN MY WAKE & IN MY DREAMS.

In search of a magic potion with the power to erase specific memories, people, places and times...

One can move on, but never forget. And when I am alone, the memories of us, what we did and where we went...when we were, what we were...haunt me in my wake, and in my dreams.

I feel paralyzed by the past, and at the same time, yearn for the future; which I know will be bright. But, how can I even begin to imagine, to visualize, all that this bright future will hold...when my story has a beginning, yet no middle?

The saying, "lost in translation" feels quite appropriate right now.

WORD :: I Can't Stop.

Awww mannn...if only people could see me right now. I'm sitting in my jacuzzi, with no water in it, all my clothes on, my computer in my lap and a cig in my left hand. I NEVER smoke inside my house. But, tonight I'm making an exception. I had a horrible day. I spent it sitting at my desk at work, lamenting over a forecast of definite snowfall, and the sad truth that I can't, no matter how much I want to, be with someone I care for very deeply today, which is his his birthday, or any other day until New Years Eve.

Ouch.

Every time he comes back home to visit, I tell myself to keep a distance. I tell myself not to not get so wrapped up in my feelings for him, or the intense and undeniable energy that surrounds us, hypnotizes us, when we are together. When in each others' presence, he and I lose all ability to keep our feelings, and our hands, to ourselves. So we eat each other up and whisper love into each others' ears; knowingly digging ourselves deeper and deeper, into a hole that is starting to feel impossible to crawl out of. I know that thinking about us in this way, obsessing over things that neither of us can change, and wishing the situation was different, does nothing but make me feel lost and alone (even thought I know I am not).

We fell in love unexpectedly, hard, and fast. And because of this, I know, unless I miraculously fall out of love with him, or lose him completely and find myself in a position where I am forced to move on...I won't be able to stop myself from wondering "what if" ...or let myself let him go.

WORD :: Finito.

WE - HE = ME

There is no more love to give, no more games left to play, and no words left to say. However, I find comfort in my belief that everything, no matter how good or bad, happens for a reason.

THAT'S NOT ME!

I have decided that I do not like the quotes on my FB page...and I am going to erase most of them now. When I read over them a little while ago, I realized they make me out to be an extremely intense, romantic at heart, jaded woman...and that is not who I am, so it is time to let them go. 

GOODBYE...

Things do not change; we change.  - Thoreau
A kiss, and all was said.  - Hugo
If music be the food of love, play on.  - Shakespeare
We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.  - Goethe
If you were what you were, then you always will be.  - Me

HELLO... 
???

STEEZ: TORCH & SOLDER.

KATHY BRANSFIELD

"Distinctively meaningful silver and gold jewelry"

Kathy sprouted in the backbone of America's Midwest; Cincinnati Ohio, where she spent her childhood outside climbing trees, fishing for bluegill, and pursuing any and all craft projects that came her way. Always a creative person by nature, a turning point came at the tender age of 11 when she had the opportunity to meet and paint along side the legendary TV artist Bob Ross. It was the first, as well as the last time in her life that she was speechless. After meeting her frizzy haired mentor, who was the master of giving little friends to lonely trees, she knew she wanted to devote her life to art. At the age of 13, she befriended a man from Nigeria who was selling African trade beads at a flea market. That began an obsession that started her on her jewelry path. 

Having attended the prestigious School for the Creative and Performing Arts, she left home at 15 and began selling her wears to finance her travels across the country while following the band The Grateful Dead. It wasn't long before she hit a creative ceiling with beadwork and sought out metal-smithing classes along the way. After receiving a $6 letter-stamping set as a gift, she went at it with a creme brulee torch and cadmium laden solder. She was inspired by a love poem that hung behind her workbench and out of that sprung the first 'Book Necklace. It was a tiny adornment with hand-stamped pages that held the world for her. It was also the foundation for many pieces to come that would pay homage to the luminous writers whose quotes helped her to find solace and strength through the toughest of times. 

Some of her other early pieces were kinetic and largely inspired by found objects. The 'Time Flies' necklace held a vintage watch face and riveted wings that moved up and down, there were anatomically correct people pins that featured interchangeable clothing, hats and hair, car bracelets that raced around the wrist with wheels made of 150yr. old Venetian glass beads, and even miniature sprinkling cans that when tilted sideways poured out streams of sterling water. But alas, it was the power of language that superseded and brought the jewelry line to where it is today. 

Kathy now lives in Los Angeles, where she works hard to play hard. Camping, gourmet cooking and boating are just a few of the things that make up playtime in and around her work schedule. A lover of travel, she feels that her journeys to other lands and experiencing other cultures has been a primary resource for inspiration. Within these travels she is almost always on a mission to indulge her rivaling passion of scuba diving and underwater photography, which opens up yet another world of inspiration unto itself. She hopes she can share History's most brilliant visionaries with you through her sterling silver work. 

Most pieces open to reveal hand-stamped quotes or images that capture her trust in human faith, life's complex beauty and all its diversity. Each item embodies an essence of her quirkiness and unfalteringly cheerful spirit. All are cherished by their wearers and many hold them as a sacred personal amulet. 

Kathy's distinctively meaningful jewelry continues to evoke passionate responses from long time collectors and new fans alike. They can be found in the finest galleries, catalogs and exhibitions across the country. Almost 25 years later, somewhere, somehow, Bob Ross has got to be smiling.

(Portfolio)

 ORIGINAL CONTENT: Artfully Elegant

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

LOVE NEVER DIES

 18kt Gold plated bronze and brushed Silver

18" Bar link chain

5/8" pendant

$68.00 

COMPASS

“I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul” 

- William Ernest Henley -

 

18kt Gold plated bronze and brushed Silver

18" rolo chain

3/4" pendant

$68.00

LOVE IS MY RELIGION

  

18kt Gold plated bronze and brushed Silver

18" bar link chain

3/4" pendant 

$68.00 

GOETHE TREE

"Whatever you can Do or Dream you can, Begin it. 

Boldness has Genius, Power, and Magic in it"

- Goethe -

 

18kt Gold plated bronze and brushed Silver

18" snake chain

7/8" x 7/8" pendant

$76.00

CREATE

18kt Gold plated bronze and brushed Silver

16" Bar link chain

3/8" pendant

$52.00

VAN GOGH SUNFLOWER

“I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream” 

– Vincent Van Gogh - 

 

 18kt gold plated bronze and brushed silver 

18" rolo chain 

1" pendant

$72.00

TREE OF SERENITY

"God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change

Courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference"

 

 18kt Gold plated bronze and brushed Silver

24" Snake chain

1.375" x .75" pendant

$80.00

GHANDI IVY

“Be the Change you Wish to see in the World” 

– Gandhi - 

 

18kt Gold plated bronze and brushed Silver

16” Ball chain

5/8" pendant

$64.00

FEELS LIKE.

OUCH.

WORD :: Let Go.

Shiiiit...

Need to let them both go.

I can write,

Endlesssssss

Prose and flow

About what I think I know

But really,

Will we ever grow...

Into what I want us to be;

The future I see?

DIFFERENT WAYS TO SPEND A DAY.

While my best friend from high school celebrated her engagement with her family and friends (minus me - I wasn't invited), I was reuniting, yet again, with a boy she and I both have a past with. Theirs was very short-lived, while ours, at this point, seems neverending. But it does make me reflect on the past, ponder the present and daydream about the future. I wonder who's happier with their life right now...or maybe we're equally satisfied with our current state of being, even though we are in such different places in our lives. Which brings me to my hypothetic reason for her not inviting me to celebrate, even though we were (and until this point thought us to still be) very very close friends. I don't fit the "mold"...never have. I don't conform, follow the "rules," or live a "normal" life (and I mean this in soooo many ways). She is now beginning her WASPlife and I accept the fact that she had to let me go in order to do so. I'm not angry. I accept her for who she is and the choices she makes...that's what friends do. I hope she had a magical night.

WORD :: I Am Ana.

I am ANA.

I am confused.

How did i end up like this?

Sucked dry.

Beat up.

Black and blue.

Bruised and used.

WORD :: Self-Destructive Behavior.

As corny as it may sound...I've always believed in true love. But, lately I've begun to question the existence of such a thing. In and out of one dysfunctional relationship after another, I find myself growing more and more jaded with each passing day. My astrologist once told me that I have a tendency to throw myself full-force into relationships with men that will only leave me brokenhearted and disappointed in the end. I remember shaking my head and thinking she was an idiot, but now I am entertaining the possibility that she was right.

No matter who it is I start a relationship with, they all leave me in the end...confused, painfully in love, broken. Over and over again I involve myself with men that are either too old or too young, unstable, self-consumed, unreliable, and immature (no matter their age). It seems as if I never learn from my mistakes because no matter who it is that I become romatically involved with, in the end, I always find myself in the same heartboken and desperate situation. Maybe I fall in love too quickly, maybe I give myself and my heart to easily, who knows. However, what I am sure of is the importance of reflecting on my own actions, in order to find the root of this problem, so that I can work to change this repetitive pattern of self-inflicting pain and self-destructive behavior.

WORD :: About A Boy.

Normally I wouldn't put myself out there like this, but it's almost three and the only person I can talk to at this time of the night is myself. I started crying about half an hour ago and I just cant seem to stop. My head hurts, I'm tired, and I want to go to sleep, but I can't. I'm so angry and confused right now; angry at myself for being so stupid and careless, and confused about how this thing between he and I went from so right to so wrong and why I could do nothing to prevent our relationship from spiraling out of control.

Its not like I loved him. Really, I didn't even know him. Aside from the uncanny number of things we had in common, he was just another boy to me. Someone to focus my attention on, someone to daydream about, someone to adore me and all my flaws and perfection.

Maybe I cared about him more than I know because it takes more than just some boy to make me cry. I tried not to, fought hard, but couldn't hold it in. He said all the right things, touched me in just the right way, confided in me, kissed my forehead, dressed like a pro, and best of all, like me, was the perfect mix of hip hop and hippie. 

He got me. I wanted him to be the one to call...and he did. But, then the calls stopped. He disappeared and I blindly chased after him. I don't know why; he enthralled me. He had so much potential and I wanted to show him that. He was so young and I wanted to help him grow up. What can I say, I'm a hopeless, hopeless romantic with the heart of a saint. 

After ending a two and half year relationship, it's hard to deal with the loneliness that comes along with separating yourself from someone who you shared all of yourself and your life with. For a long time I thought I was fine, that everything would be ok, that I would find someone else to fill the void. But now, I realize this will be much harder than I had originally thought. 

I never kiss without undying passion. People say having sex is the most intimate way you can be with a person, but for me its kissing. This is a recipe for disaster. When I kiss someone, I feel like I give them a part of myself. The challenge that arises from this, is that I somehow have to find a way to regain the part of me that was lost when they are finally gone. As Nine Inch Nails sings, "There is no you. There is only me." 

See it worked. I stopped crying. Writing brings me great happiness.