This may come as no surprise.

I often find myself going through artistic phases: I draw, I sew, I turn old things into new, and sometimes, but more often than not I find myself writing. I have a countless number of journals, four of which I write in consistently (each journal has its very own purpose, of course). The pen to paper is to me romantic, whimsical, meaningful, beautiful and almost forgotten in this era.

I have found myself falling deeper into a love affair with written (even, spoken) expression. To my mom that is no shocker. For as long as I can remember, she’s loved reading my papers in school, the blogs that I now write and everything else that fell in between. For me, I never really noticed how much I loved writing. It is simply a part of who I am. And then I realized it’s a part of who I am. It seems the realization was something I desperately needed.

Admittedly, I am not a very practiced writer, nor do I feel I always have something important to say. There are many times where words are not necessary; the silence, a soft touch or a look might be all the communication that is needed in a moment. However, I have found that there are many, many words that need to be said. There are millions of people every day who do not get to say or write or express what needs to be communicated. Their voices are smothered and silenced. These are the voices of the oppressed. The enslaved. The persecuted. The tortured. The forgotten. I’ve discovered that more important to me than any silk, any beautiful design, any poem is this raging passion to speak for those who do not have the chance.

In order to cultivate this passion (seeing as “cultivate” is the buzzword on this blog) I am headed back to school. This is kind of a hand in hand announcement, I suppose, because this also means I’ll be closing up shop. That’s right, I’m bidding adieu to Ania Designs (and silk, and marketing, and business, and lace…). I have come to realize that when you take time to discover your passion, what truly makes your heart beat, what really sends the blood coursing through your veins, you must take time to cultivate and follow that passion. I daydream about how the world would look if we were deeply honest with ourselves and chased after the passion that made us thrive. I hope you continue to follow my journey on either of the following blogs:

http://onejourneyamongmany.blogspot.com/(This is my personal blog)
http://cultivatedbeauty.wordpress.com/ (This is a collaborative art blog I am a part of)

This time around I'm spreading the love, this same post will be on both blogs in a similar manner, but before and after that, things will be more interesting and diverse. Thanks for joining along with me in what has been, so far, a remarkably fun journey that I will always be thankful for.

Coffee Spells Trouble...

...but only because it makes me do more than I probably have time for. In a good way, of course. Otherwise I'd have to quit drinking it, and I simply couldn't handle that process emotionally. Um, can anyone say addicted? Yes. I probably have issues. ;)

I sat down with a good friend of mine for a cup of coffee the other day and we got to talking. And then, well, we started this little blog. Go take a read, you'll see our purpose. Eventually we hope this group here in Bend will grow and flourish, busting at the seams with beauty and art.

Cultivated Beauty

While I'm Posting...

Gosh, I feel like I am playing the biggest game of catch up. EVER. I figure I may as well post while I'm thinking about it.

Once again, Ben Edwards photographed a bit of my work. It's because he is a rad friend, and we tend to know some rad people, and radness just happens. In case you wondered.

Now, I need to put a little disclaimer here, I simply altered Cheryl's beautiful gown...but then we funkified it with some beautiful green silk. I also designed her daughter's dress. It was such a treat to be able to really tie the two in to one another, a great symbol, I believe, of the wonderful mother+daughter relationship they already have.

Take a gander at Ben's blog post here.

She's back!

Ok, enough is enough. I have not blogged in ages. I had miles of to-do lists at the beginning of summer including, but not limited to: fashion shoots, design work, teaching, marketing, travel plans, weddings, etc... and life knocked me over. Being the somewhat green and environmentally friendly person that I am, I bike to work and around town. I also recycle and compost, but that's beside the point.

In June I was biking to work. And on one fateful morning,

I was hit by an SUV.

That'll stop pretty much anyone in their tracks. Teaching stopped. Work stopped. Sewing stopped. Design stopped. Aspirations were put on hold. The only thing that started was me learning how to properly function again. Frustrating to the max, I will tell you that. Learning how to sit up properly again, retraining every freaking muscle in my body to do what it did before. Ugh, not fun. The good I found in the trial was that luckily everything had been simply knocked out of place or torn, nothing was broken (miraculously).

Over two months later I can finally sit with only localized pain in my back and my knee - which means this girl is gonna be back in front of her sewing machine ASAP. Teaching will resume. Designing will resume. Work will resume. And it is exciting!

I know I have been talking about whether or not I'll keep Ania around for the long haul or not. I'm hitting this silly mid-twenties crisis that's sending me across the world in the next year. But the one thing I know is that I'm really sinking deep into my own identity, finding and strengthening my passions, and trying to share that journey with others along the way. For now, Ania will remain as creative as possible, and give as much as possible with the gifts she has been given. She has been looked on with favor and grace.

I simply *have* to brag!

I met Lisa Logan, an amazingly talented couturier, by chance last year. I somehow managed to break the clutch in my sewing machine and had to get it fixed. When I picked it up she happened to be at the store and we got to talking. And then we met for burgers and onion rings to talk. She gave me the gift of time and her expertise regarding my little company, and I'm still so grateful.

Well, today I opened up the newspaper, and lo and behold, there's Lisa right on the front of the community section! Go read it here. She's fabulous, and I simply had to give her a shout out. This article will give you insight as to how complicated her job is, and even more so how talented she is - though you must simply see her work in person sometime. :)

Little things like these make me excited to see what life looks like when I arrive home from Africa, and how business takes shape (whatever that may be). Enjoy your Saturday all!

Africa on the Brain

My journey to Africa has begun...well, at least the first stages of it anyway! I'm in the process of planning, raising funds and daydreaming constantly. I have a blog going tracking progress and updates. Swing on by, and purchase some coffee after you check it out!

http://onejourneyamongmany.blogspot.com/

Yay Inspiration!

Seriously, so glad to have gone to Portland this weekend. It was a nice break from the normal routine, as was the reason for the visit: fashion. I'm working a fashion show and a photo shoot for a friend of mine, the lovely Katie Syme, makeup artist extraordinaire. I'm doing 4 garments for this shoot, one fab dress and a few seriously funked out shirts. Below are a few snapshots of textiles we fell in love with. Of course, you'll have to wait and see what they turn out to be sometime around the end of May. It's gonna flippin' rock.