life goes on

so. i've always been absolutely infatuated with seesaw letterpress. the simple prints, the amazing colour combos (love the grey and yellow on the notecards below).

'hello there' greeting cards
2011 calendar
happy birthday and hello friend note cards
but in visiting their blog today, i came upon bittersweet news - they are all going their seperate ways.
The three designers responsible for seesaw press for the past 4 years - Angela Hardison, Raquel Raney, and Lindsay Tingstrom - are all working on their own adventures.
there comes a time in a creative persons life, at which they must decide where to go from here. i don't think it's specific to a lifetime of creativity, but i do feel as though it's much more challenging to put down something you've started from scratch, and move forward without any sadness.
the lovely ladies of seesaw press
the ladies put it quite eloquently though:
"We have some bittersweet news today. After over four great years of design and blogging at SeeSaw, we have decided to go our separate ways and explore new opportunities. This is a big change, but we're excited for what's in store. We have loved sharing our inspiration here, and will always be grateful for the connections we've made with all of you. A huge thanks to our clients, readers and sponsors for the support over the years. It's not quite goodbye though! We hope you'll follow each of us in our new adventures"
with parting ways, come new oppourtunities, and the chance to use the ideas and skills that you've gained from collaboration, on new adventures, more specific and precise to your passions.
what am i, therefore, excited for?
angela hardison's design consulting: her website is being built, and the main page alone appeases me in so many ways. angela blogs so beautifully here - and she's pregnant! her design perspective is so much enjoyed by many... her eye for colour, lines, design, and combinations are incredible. you'll love her. i promise. (plus, she's one of the cutest pregnant women i've ever seen).
angela hardison's design page
Raquel Raney's design website: Raquel is teaming up with Rebeca to work on a design project. and listen. if her design work can be predicted by her incredible blogging on her website.... i. can't. wait.
raneytown with raquel and rebeca
Lindsay Tingstrom's design website: though there's not much to go with on Lindsay's site... I simply adore what she has started. not to mention, lindsay's posts on the seesaw press blog were among my fav posts ever - like these post on nat nicklin, alyson fox, olivia malone and this post on grey and white design
you can check out more of their amazing designs at the links - now with exponentially more inspiration!
thanks for the creativity ladies... and best of luck in your new paths

'when we look up and see the sky | through the tangle of spun lies'

in reflection and with intention.... i have to revisit a blog entry i wrote a little while ago.
the situation has come full circle, and has provided me with much insight. it has provided me with the insight to say that i still stand by my beliefs of a person's feelings of love, and what those feelings mean to their life, other relationships, and ourselves.
i was able to have a conversation recently with the ex-girlfriend referred to in my first entry, as well as a mutual friend of all of ours... and what light it shone. essentially, the conversation broke down 4 different stories - his, hers, friend's, and mine. and interestingly enough the only 2 that were somewhat parallel were mine, and the friend's.
'Go find another lover | To bring a... to string along | With all your lies | You're still very lovable' - bon iver
throughout this scenario, i had been called a stalker, insistant, obsessive, and more. the beauty of the situation is that anyone who knows me, knows i am not the type - i'm distant, cold, and unwilling even to those who i am willing to open up to.
i could spend pages with notes on what we spoke about, the things that made the three of us laugh, speechless, or snicker. i could have also recoiled with letters/emails of defense, shock, accusations and clarification of lies.
however.
instead, i find peace.
image from weheartit.com
the beauty of the truth is that it rises above all - proverbial oil on water. no matter how mixed into the concrete swarms of lies that truth becomes, it somehow manages to emerge, sparkling clean, ready to share itself. and share itself it did.
so again, i reiterate - "what is it about love that turns who we are, and what we know, on our heads?"
a feeling so strong it causes even the most seemingly pulled together person, to utilize self-preservation methods to their own demise... to isolate friends, business connections, and the like, while maintaining only their face value. when, in time, that face value becomes further depleted once those truths rise to the surface. and they always do. they always come to the top.
and again, i reiterate - this situation, i simply use as a platform. i don't think there is much spectacular about this scenario i found myself intertwined in, other than its reality that i have embraced. i think it speaks to many things about love and relationships, friendships and truth, that we have all - at one point or another - found ourselves to be true of human nature.
one of the things that we chatted in length about, was her trust in my validity. i have nothing to gain - in fact, i'm sure i make more enemies through my blog, than i do friends. but you see, my friends, that's not the point. the point is to just write. to spill truths in every shape and colour into my writing. to share with friends and strangers. and, perhaps most importantly - to not be censored. i rarely use names (unless reflecting on a weekend, or praising a friend), because other people's privacy is important to me. it is, and always has been, my decision to write on this blog. and from that, comes transparency. strangers who become friends; people who know things about you that sometimes friends don't; your truth on the world's stage.
i don't hide anything - and i won't start now.
so i can say this - in reflection: the truth starts with ourselves. i vow to be truthful with myself, about my feelings, wants, needs, desires, and strengths. and through that, comes the confidence to be true with everyone around me. a lie comes from insecurity. and i will not be known as that person - and i think, a few more people in this world (as discovered by a thick and perfect conversation) have decided not to invite those people into any part of their being anymore.
truth - image from weheartit.com
can we love ourselves enough to prohibit lies and poor treatment? i'm going to find out.
and i maintain how i finished my last entry.....
"so this i wish for all of us – those who are reading: i sincerely hope we find happiness. i hope those who hurt us, realize they have hurt us. i hope we only allow people to love us the way that we deserve to be loved. and the way that we all deserve to sacrifice everything – relationships, creativity, dignity, and our hearts – for. i hope that we all find the strength in ourselves to do what we love – despite what other people expect of us. i hope that we can allow ourselves to move forward, learning from our experiences. i hope we can finally find ourselves comfortable with our various relationships – in such a way that we don’t have to worry about what people think.
and until these things happen - and after they are all proven true - i maintain that i continue to write for myself. an outlet. a therapy. you can read, or you can ignore. but if you make the conscious decision to read, then this is written for you, but not to you. it's to me. hopefully a way to communicate to my future, or former self that one day, it will all turn out the way it is supposed to."