see you in the studio!

it's finally time!

head on over to wishstudio.com

and visit our brand new home.

hooray!

faith in the process

we are almost there...

TODAY is going to be the day!

wishmamas :: madeline bea

by maegan beshline

I always knew I would be a mom. And I have always been creative. What I didn’t know was that my most creatively inspired period would come smack dab in the middle of motherhood when I would have very little time to create. As ironic and paradoxical as that may seem, it also makes complete sense. My years of creativity have provided me with the best tools for being a mom. Conversely, my experiences being a mother have taught me how to tap into deeper places within my creative soul. These two parts of myself, the mom and the creative, have been like having two children, loving each one differently but equally, combining and dividing my time with the two, and each one helping me and teaching me to be better with the other.

As siblings always do, these two sides of me squabble and compete for my undivided attention. I know that favoring one will result in heartache and outcries from the other. Each one is unique and deserves to have undivided time with my full attention…even if it’s just a little, infrequent, or masked as something else. Of course, I love the times when we can all play as one; me, my mothering role, and my creative spirit. And often they do.

In fact, as with my children, my time with one ends up teaching me more about the other. My creative side has taught me to be intuitive, to work with what I have, to look below the surface, and to make the ordinary extraordinary. These skills have helped me be a better mother. They have helped me turn bad situations into heaps of laughter, rainy days into magical opportunities, and learning time into cozy moments. They have helped me to see my children at their core and adapt my approach with them accordingly. Our mundane and everyday becomes special and exceptional because of the creativity I’m able to bring to the table.

Being a mother has taught me to feel things more deeply. It has made me want to capture moments and feelings and breaths as if they are falling right out from underneath me. I work constantly to try and capsulate these moments, these indescribably wonderful moments, in words or pictures or a combination of both. Motherhood is giving me a surfeit of exercises in putting feeling, depth, and story into my work. From my children, I am learning to observe, to be patient, to be persistent, and to take pride in my milestones. On top of all of this, motherhood has given me the ability to listen to a thousand voices and yet still hear my own; a skill that as an artist, has proven to be one of my greatest assets.



When I was pregnant with my second child, I wondered if I could possible love another human being as much as I loved my daughter. I wondered if I would feel the same desperate attachment to both of my children. I learned that the heart has the capacity to love and nurture all that it needs to. So too with the similar yet very different sides of me, the mother and the creative, it is impossible to separate myself from either one. And though it becomes more of a juggle, it is an act that I perform with fierce dedication.

Maegan Beishline is a wife, mother to three, and a photographer. She shares her life, her work, and her inspiration on her blog, Life Set to Words.

in a new light :: going macro

by susan tuttle



We all need a little adventure to shake up the routine, stir our souls, alter our path, tweak perspective -- whatever the reason may be. As I await the onset of full-fledged spring in Maine (we don't usually get spring until May here, after mud season) it feels like being in limbo -- I could use an artistic distraction to add some spice to this waiting period.

So, I pull my macro lens from its bag and set out on an adventure -- right here at home -- I haven't left the premises, but it sure feels like it. Getting up close, getting inside is a wild ride!...







Susan Tuttle is a mixed-media and digital artist who resides in a small-town community in the state of Maine. Her first book, Exhibition 36: Mixed-Media Demonstrations + Explorations, was released by North Light Books in December 2008, and her second book, Digital Expressions: Creating Digital Art with Adobe® Photoshop® Elements, a technique-based publication on digital art, will be published by North Light Books in May 2010 and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon. Susan is a frequent contributor to Stampington & Company publications and other mixed-media books. You can visit her site at www.ilkasattic.com and her blog at www.ilkasattic.blogspot.com through which she is offering online digital art workshops on the subjects of photomanipulation, digital montage, and a variety of Photoshop techniques.

the necklace project :: the book to share

i wanted to pass along this book, the necklace by cheryl jarvis, because it was a big part of the inspiration behind the necklace project here in the wishstudio. here is a little about this true story...

"The true story of thirteen women who took a risk on an expensive diamond necklace and, in the process, changed not only themselves but a community.Four years ago, in Ventura, California, Jonell McLain saw a diamond necklace in a local jewelry store display window. The necklace aroused desire first, then a provocative question: Why are personal luxuries so plentiful yet accessible to so few? What if we shared what we desired? Several weeks, dozens of phone calls, and a leap of faith later, Jonell bought the necklace with twelve other women, with the goal of sharing it.

Part charm, part metaphor, part mirror, the necklace weaves in and out of each woman’s life, reflecting her past, defining her present, making promises for her future. Lending sparkle in surprising and unexpected ways, the necklace comes to mean something dramatically different to each of the thirteen women.

With vastly dissimilar histories and lives, the women show us how they transcended their individual personalities and politics to join together in an uncommon journey. What started as a quirky social experiment became something far richer and deeper, as the women transformed a symbol of exclusivity into a symbol of inclusiveness. They discovered that sharing the necklace among themselves was only the beginning; The more they shared with others, the more profound this experience–and experiment–became.Original, resonant, and beautifully told, this book is an inspiring story about a necklace that became greater than the sum of its links, and about thirteen ordinary women who understood the power of possibility, who touched the lives of a community, and who together created one extraordinary experience."

so if you are interested in reading this book, i would love to see it passed along (which really is in the true spirit of the book). leave a comment on this post, and i will choose one person to send the book along to. you must be willing to pass it on when you are done reading it, and don't forget to follow our own necklace's journey right here in the wishstudio! i will announce the recipient right here on wednesday, april 7th.

********************************

laura, please get in touch... you are the one who will be sent this book!
and because of all the interest, i am thinking of hosting a book group around this title
... anyone interested? let me know!

blowing bubbles in a concrete jungle :: a joy rebel’s take on style

by brandi reynolds



I find it kind of difficult to put into words exactly what it is about my style journey that has been so profound for me. Oh, by the way, I’m on a style journey in case you didn’t know.

I’ve always been a fan of low key comfort. I’m not one to walk around the house in a cute little outfit when my husband’s tee shirts and sweatpants work just fine. And I can’t remember the last time I wore makeup.

Yet even as a little kid I remember being fascinated by fashion. Putting pieces together inspired by outfits in magazines, figuring out how to make look work with what I had, getting creative with accessories. I loved it. It was a way to express my creativity. Sure I still liked my jammies but I also liked putting a fun outfit together for school and outings to the skating rink.

But then…I stopped. Part of that, I think, was college laziness. It’s pretty hard to stay motivated about style when everyone around you is also wearing baseball caps and sweatshirts to class. But I am realizing that part of it was a desire not to be seen. During my 20’s I went through some times that kind of knocked the wind out of me (who hasn’t?) and my confidence was shaken enough that I didn’t feel comfortable dressing in a way that would get me noticed.

Fast forward a few years and I start on a creative journey. I try just about every creative medium out there. And as my comfort level with expressing myself artistically increases, so does this desire within me to start playing with style.



At first, I resisted. Hiding myself had become a habit. For a long time, I’d dressed to blend in so I wasn’t sure where to start.

So I looked at the people around me and started letting myself be inspired by pieces they wore. I started photographing my outfits and it’s amazing how that small change in perspective-I mean, it’s not like I leave the house without looking in a mirror-can influence how I dress. And I became a member (and rabid fan) of wardrobe remix.

And just like with my artistic journey, my style journey has become about play and creative expression. What I wear can now be an extension of how I see the world instead of just something to cover my skin. Another layer of depth has been added to my life because of experimenting with style.

I would love to know what style means to you and how you discovered your own style. Do you play around with fashion? Do you have style icons? As I am falling more in love with expressing myself with what I wear, I have become fascinated with how others choose to dress themselves. Please share!