this weekend, the scoutie family took a trip to pittsburgh to visit my sister-in-law and nephew. we left thursday evening for what was supposed to be an easy, lola-asleep-in-the-backseat trip. unfortunately, we ran into sleet & freezing rain as we were crossing the mountains of western pennsylvania.
not fun.
but we made it, even if my nerves were shot to hell. and enjoyed ourselves! on saturday, the clouds cleared, the sun shone, and the temperatures rose to a “balmy” 50 degrees. my friend carrie – the founder of the i made it! markets – took me on a whirlwind trip of the city. there will be more on that this afternoon. but you can enjoy these few pics for now!
hey, that’s me! thanks for taking this picture, carrie, it’s not everyday i’m willing to post an image of me a glorious 550 pixels wide!
so anyhow, down to the business at hand. this week’s issue is all about success. what it means to me – what it means to you – and how it shapes the work that we do and the product we create.
carrie brought me past this amazing sculpture on the campus of carnegie mellon university. it’s by jonathan borofsky and consists of a 100 ft high pole being scaled by several people and includes onlookers below.
i couldn’t have hoped for a more fabulous depiction of this week’s issue. borofsky explained that the sculpture was inspired by a tale from his childhood. “In each tale, father and son would travel up to the sky to talk to the giant about what needed to be done for everyone back on earth. The artist says the sculpture is “a celebration of the human potential for discovering who we are and where we need to go.” (from cmu’s release on the sculpture)
in my heart, i believe that artists & crafters have the most capacity for delving into the human condition and discovering what lies at the center of us all – and that’s coming from someone with a degree in religion! as people who are all caught up in this movement to reclaim the work of our own two hands, i believe we are also uniquely gifted in guiding society towards a new beginning of purpose & self-realized success.
i hope that this week you become inspired by the dreams, goals, and obstacles-overcome of the featured craftspeople.
catch ya on the flipside!
Tara Gentile is a business coach and blogger serving passion-driven entrepreneurs with fresh ideas about 
awesome picture of you! and thoughtful post. thanks.
[...] Check out what Tara has to say about our friendly city that honored her visit with some sunshine and a 50 degree day! [...]
Great pictures of the ‘Burg! Glad you were able to have some fun and see some sights while you were here. I am a also a Pittsburgh fellow that will be at Carrie’s I Made It! Mine show in Feb. Love your blog!
Thanks Tara! It was a fantastic day!
my husband and i have also been talking about the subject of creativity alot lately…we believe that many problems would be worked through if individuals exercised their creativity more frequently. because people, especially american people, are sooooo busy the art of being creative has been pushed to the side. the thing is that in order to work problems out one has to BE creative with their solutions. no time for creativity and the imagination slowly dwindles down to just existing. too deep maybe for a monday morning but i agree with you about the arts and our human condition which longs to be creating something. it is in us and as we cultivate this we can bring about true change inside and out!
that sculpture is awesome! great visual. for me success is about being the woman God created me to be: one who worships and give thanks, who is a wife and mother first, THEN an artist. When I keep my first priorities in proper balance, i am then more successful and productive in my creative endeavors. balance is never easy, but thankfully God is graceful.
What a great post! And that photo of you is adorable!
Great post. I used to think success was meeting my bills with a bit left over. It always seemed to be wrapped around money. Now it’s a thank you note like one I got today saying “It’s even better in person”.
[...] big thank you to Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl for her insight (see here and here) and to the Handmade in PA blog for helping us to spread the word about how crafty, [...]
Wow! You are from near-ish by, I just commented in your other blog, and decided to do a bit more digging, and saw this post about Pittsburgh, which is where I am currently living. I’ve been to the I Made it! Market once or twice now. Maybe I will try to start selling once I have my inventory up. I’m going to go dig some more. Thanks for the great blog.
That appears wonderful nevertheless i’m still not too sure that I like it. Nonetheless will look far more into it and choose personally!