Goodbye Old, Hello New

Many of you have visited this building, traversed the steep 19 steps to what we made into a coffee haven, but alas we have moved out of that lovely space. We are sculpting and moulding a place on groung level where the dirt is our own and whims of change are much more likely. 

    Although, I will miss 50 Depot road, and yes, even those dreaded stairs. In the beginning we walked into a space with crumbling ceilings falling in from water damage, plexiglass boarded windows with no escape, and reminants of Skip Shelton's unfinished art on the walls. A Drainboard sink pitted by wear and stained by paint, was the only water aminity available. with the exception of being granted permission to use the downstairs bathroom that was an entirly different unit than the upstairs, we dug in our heels and sculpted a coffee shop during COVID. We painted, wrote, laughed, argued, celebrated and cried in that space. we loved it enough to panic when it switched owners without warning and stayed until we had no choice. I owe so many for supporting the adventures had in that space; We began the revivial of community by hosting events and starting a Farmer's Market on that short cut through street. I am happy to say that we will still be having the Farmer's Market there, Thanks to Doug Stewart of Better Milling services, but I am looking forward to what we can do with where we are now. 

    The new to us space was once a liquor store and a feed store ran by my Grandfather in law. Small in footage and big on character. It also had a roof falling in and I was using the space as storage all the while paying rent for 50 Depot rd.  It still needs lots of work and lacks loads of curb appeal, but it has nice big windows and a view of sappling pines of some of the best sunrises ive seen yet. I have a space for sharing coffee with friends already prepaired . 

    Time and Again I've heard the saying; A picture says a thousand words. But does it, really? I don't think it can...Perhaps that is why the Artist tries so hard to do it. A picture can tell a story faster than a thousand words, and perhaps give a more expansive story in less space, but let's be honest words can often relay a feeling with more intensity than a look. The words actually guide thought to a moving timeline where the principles of design simply hope and attemp to share a captured moment in time that is left up to the interpreter.

    In this perticular moment in time I, as the subject, know where I was and from my expression, hope it was pure happiness over that cute cuppa tea. But I cannot pinpoint the truth of it. Had I written, would it have said something along the lines of:The taste of honey sweetness, paired with the remberance of having hot tea with her grandparents from the same tiny cup, gives a warmth so intense it raise her cheeks to a smile that sqints her eyes?.....or is this image more along the lines of what most pictures feel like today.....Look cute for advertizing your life on Social Media. Maybe that's why I personally steer clear of social media. I feel like it doesnt paint an accurate picture of what and who I am. All that to say; Hi! I'm Saija and this is one cute cuppa tea!

    It’s important to review things we know, and even more important to hone in on things that we don’t quiet understand in order to better understand them. Value is one of those things for me. I can think of more than once that I have either used or thought of the phrase ‘ its as easy as black or white’. Truthfully that’s just either end of the scale. It’s the grey in between that gives you the most information and even then, the spectrum of gray is wildly vast.

    The in between is where the real story is told in art.

    The same can be said of us. Sure some of us are darker in personality than others, with outlooks that are a bit more gloomy or dismal, and on the opposite some are so bright that it can be read as naiveté but its the ‘grey’ that got us wherever we are. The difference in art is that we have a definite white and a definite black on either end of the scale where as with life the scale is askew to the eye of every individual.

I can honestly admit that my understanding of values still needs work. Not only in art, but in life as well. I’d also like to look at my grey days in a different way, knowing they are what give me depth and they shape a clearer image of the me I’d like to master.

- Saija Butters

    I wonder who decided that January was the month to restart our calendar? I feel sure a quick google search would give me that answer but having known myself for a while now, I know if go look I'll be lost in some chain of 'oh cool' until I'm no longer here writing this. 

    I love it though. The chance to feel as if I can kick off with a new me....I could if I would work at it. The question is whether or not I really want too. I supose in some ways I'm willing and in others I'm ok with myself enough that the rest of the world can adjust to my weird, to my picture.

    To look at this in another way... our lives are much like a painting. A painting where each stroke is a tiny habit that leads to everything that we are; it leads to the picture that everyone else sees. we've heard it a thousand times, in hundreds of ways yet the lesson is still missed. We know this to be true yet we rarely realize the acts that make these changes. I can only turly speak for myself in this.

    I've recently picked up Atomic Habits by James Clear. A worthy read for sure. He finds a way to translate the fact that small actions add up. He knows that what he has to say isn't something that you haven't heard before.  What he offers to help you adjust is pretty cool.

    It dawned on me that I've created an image in my habits that have lead to everything that I am. That each of my habits much like the stroke of a paint brush don't really matter on their own but when you step back they make up me. I like the picture I see yet I also must answer to the creative within myself that always longs for the new differerent, the challenge of just a bit better. 

    In some work it's nice to just follow a thought and see where it leads; in this I'd like a refrence.... to ask myself who, what and how do I want to be? and what little adjustments will get me closer? 

 cheers