Onedia in the Ozarks

Welcome to my website. I lean left, over analyze, decide with logic  over  sentiment, embrace asymmetry, get the heebie jeebies, exercise too   little and know my birth certificate lies. I am frequently  distracted, fidgety, forgetful, or dazed and dismayed.  I am an artist,  dabbler, writer, web designer, and certified gadgophile.  I have had as many as five blogs going at a time covering a wide range of subjects. This current re-invention of the remaining two blogs (Fiery Heart  Designs and Onedia in The Ozarks) is necessitated by the need for a more  structured life both in my studio and in daily life.  I work from my  multi-media studio and occasionally from my chair in front of my  favorite news channels.

I   write guided only by my interests, my sense of good manners, my   moral compass, my conscience, and my agility of wit and words. I see my   world as a photograph which I capture when I can.  I believe in  speaking  my mind even when my voice trembles or my finger hesitates on  the enter  key.  I write about topics that matter to me, that tweak my  interest,  raise my hackles, or tickle my funnybone. This may include  the  occasional rant or even a rambling post with no focus.   I started  blogging in 2006 introduced to it by my daughter, a talented freelance  writer and literary translator.  As my interests find new compass points  I either shifted the focus of my blog or started a new one.  I love  writing and I love examining ideas, researching, and throwing my  thoughts out for others to bat around.  I enjoy sharing my artistic  endeavors and the results of my experiments, reading, learning and  practicing as a continuously learning artisan.  Although I refer to  myself as a metal clay artist I am also a jewelry designer and website  designer.  I also dabble in other creative media.

I do not depend upon results of my artistic endeavors for my  livelihood.  I like to sell my creations to fund the next creative  exploration and because it pleases me to know that someone else  appreciates my ideas and creations enough to hand over enough green to  pay for a couple of  fine dinners.  I enjoy knowing that my work is  giving someone as much pleasure as it gave me in making it.  When the  art turns into work I back off.  It loses all charm.  By some standards I  am not an artist perhaps and I resist calling these hobbies or crafts  because I am not a fine craftsman and I have never been able to think of  myself as a hobby person.  No, I am a woman whose brain is constantly  bombarded with ideas. Some ideas must form words and phrases and  eventually paragraphs that I struggle to make pleasant to the ear and  intriguing to the mind.  Other ideas become websites or jewelry or small  scale sculpture.  Some ideas get trampled by all the others competing  for front row attention.  The Buddha tells us that, “An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.” My mind and my spirit demand allegiance to this instruction and  ultimately, the ideas that return to me over and over must emerge in  some form of tangible expression.

In October 2010, I exported most of my older posts to  again switch  the focus because in September, 2010, I discovered (was diagnosed) that I  have  Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). This discovery  explains  much about why I frequently feel so dazed, distracted,  dismayed, and  disorganized.  I am discovering what this means for me in  the  present. Learning how to live more successfully with it in the  future  and reflecting how it brought me to this point.  I thought I  needed to write often about my discoveries and the challenges of   learning new ways of doing things.  Since ADHD and especially adult ADHD  ¹ is  frequently misunderstood as are the people who have ADHD, I felt my  writing openly and candidly would both inform and raise awareness.   I  find however, that there are plenty of people doing that. Besides, along  with the challenges I face because of the ADHD, I am rewarded  with a  creative and curious mind that thrives on learning and loves the  words  available to communicate ideas.   The Buddha tells us “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is     everything. What we think we become.”

This blog then will unflinchingly reflect my interests and reflect the mind of an Absolutely, Definitely, Hopelessly Distracted Artist, Dabbler, Writer, Web Designer, and Gadgophile!