My age

January 13,2023

64 yrs old.

My Birthday is the Friday the 13!And-the first breath I take, the opening of my eyes, I feel I received a gift from God to live another day in this world.

Life. One day at a time.

How it happened so quickly, I will never understand. Now I'm singing the Beatles song "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty-four?" believe that happiness may come from how you deal with the past rather than how you prepare for the future. How you reconcile the sadnesses, the losses and the regrets with the triumphs, the joys and the achievements in our life and find happiness in our life. I suppose the secret is to treat everything as a positive experience. We learn, we grow, we understand more.

Life is mysterious in these ways; one day we are young the next day, we are in our 60s, seeing that life is filled with more question marks. Age brings a kind when one believed that there will always be more time, more opportunities to do.

Life is more precious these days, "Just one word of advice, 64 comes before you know it, so live each day like it's your last."

Mujeres Gonzalez Art

 My name is Dolores Gonzalez-Jarvis 

My business name is  Mujeres Gonzalez Art is very special, because when I’m creating my sister and my mother are with me in spirit both past away decades ago.

 I am a self-taught pique assiette (broken from plates and stain glass) mosaic artist. I create unique mosaic art and home décor from found objects. 

I was born and raised in the gulf coast of Texas, in the tiny town of Robstown. Whether wallpapering a room, sewing clothing for my children or gardening, I always had the urge to create. 

After raising a family and pursuing a career in social work, I discovered the craft of mosaic and object collage. Having always been a scavenger of sorts, I started to collect dinnerware, mirrors and stain glass to repurpose in my mosaic art. I have a passion for color, texture and pattern - as seen in my work and home.

I adore shopping at flea markets and thrift stores. It is in that search for the perfect object that my mosaic/collage inspiration begins. When I discover a discarded treasure that I can re-work into something beautiful, my spirit soars. 

Mosaic art is a beautiful art form, provoking emotions, inspiration, contemplation, and 

Particularly exciting is seeing your finished art. The addition of grouting, cleaning, and polishing combines to enhance the design and compliment the piece.

Challenging…For me, it is how I will work with the ‘flow’ of the design, how I will cut each piece of glass, and placement so that the art has movement.

Each piece of art has a unique feel to it. It is one-of-a-kind. Art brings warmth, humanity, character, and inspiration into spaces, whether it be your home, office, or commercial entity. Purchasing beautiful things enhances the atmosphere in all living spaces.

My current offering includes Mosaic/Glass on Glass mosaic all  one-of-a -kind pieces by hand in my home studio in Corpus Christi, Texas.

November feelings

I write this open letter with so much ?? Of what ? Don’t know I’m sad, frustrated, teary eye, mad..
This times of the year is very depressing for me
Nov 22, 2004— my brother’s Dennis death,
Nov 24, 2008- my first grandson Miguel death
    It seems like I’m on  roller coaster of emotions this time of how in the moment. 
And now that 17 yrs  has passed since My brother Dennis died, and 13 yrs for my grandson , I still don’t know the answer to any of  questions I have of those  days . And more importantly, it doesn’t feel like it’s been that many years.  It still feels so raw and heart-wrenching, like it was only last week.
I can still remember every part of those days it happened. It comes back to me every single day, in points when I least expect it. I might be cooking, painting,  My breath turns short and sharp, and the  shock hits me all over again. That’s the thing about  sudden death; you never get over the shock. I know they are gone. I tell myself over and over, I think that sense of disbelief and shock is what allows me to function, to survive. My insides hurt all over.. And I’m still here having to learn how to live with that empty feeling 
But losing a sibling- grandchild brings more than just grief. It changes you entirely.
I am a completely different person now.  Every day I am trying my absolute hardest to face the day, smile and carry on being the bubbly and energetic person I was before. Each day, each hour, will be different. But I’m still here, and have to continue trying to be and eventually focusing on what I love and doing more of that everyday.

Mi Mama—-Beatrice

My mom has always been a beautiful woman, and then I suddenly had to  face the death of her..I wonder what my journey would be without her ?

Mom’s dying was a new world for me, but I knew dying is only the beginning of our life  

Sharing my experience of all the deaths that have surrounded me has changed me  – in ways I could not have imagined. I don’t take life for granted, I live my life to the fullest, it makes me aware of the value of each day. Looking back over my mother life working at the family grocery store makes me realize how she made me a strong, independent woman.  And while my heart aches and my eyes get watery I thank my mom for all the  knowledge she gave me..

I have been writing about this since 1998.

Here I go again, nearly a 2 decade later, talking about my mom death.

Grief——-Would I ever just get over it?

 

My whole life sort of ended when my mom died.

No one has a choice to go thru grief, you just have to cry in the shower, in your pillow and Pray

My mom isn’t just someone who died. She is someone who lived. Just because my mom isn’t here physically anymore, doesn’t mean she should ever be forgotten about. Just because she isn’t sitting with me at the dinner table, doesn’t mean the stories have to stop. Just because she will never meet some of the peoplE that are now in my life, that doesn’t mean that they won’t get to know her. This day every year just plain sucks. It's a reminder of all of the pain I have been through and a confirmation of the reality that for the rest of my life, this day will mark another year that I have lived without my mom.

The day she dies you’ll start a new life. 

Your new life will be motherless. It will be different than before, in the most painful and heartbreaking way.

Grief is hard work

Grief is hard work. 

 I call my art  “Grief-work”. 

I started a several glass on glass  hearts today to deal with today. 

If you know me I’ve been thru a hard time and staying sane is difficult at times. Even years after a loss, and you hear that a close friend dies, there has been 5 people that I knew ( 3 were my close friends and 2 were husband and father-in-law of a friend). 

I  experience a strong sense of grief when I told about thier passing. My emotion come rolling in-like I’m on a roller coaster ride, full of ups and downs, highs and lows, it takes so much time to work through the grieving period. 

In my case I lost several family (10) members that I could not even go thru the stages of grief when  another pass away . 

 It requires more energy to work through than most people expect. It takes a toll on me physically and emotionally. Coping with the loss of someone is one of life’s biggest challenges. 

If you, a motherless daughter, are looking for ideas on how to celebrate your mom on Mother’s Day

 

And no matter how lonely those moments feel and how much we want to feel sorry for ourselves, we have to remember…we are the lucky ones, with angels watching over us and life lessons under our belt that have made us so incredibly unbreakable. 

This year, 2021, Mother’s Day looks very different from previous Mother’s Days. Many people won’t be able to spend time with their moms, take her out to dinner, spoil her with flowers and chocolate, because we are all quarantined during COVID-19. This is sad for families. The pandemic is posing real challenges to everyday life. People are scared, anxious, grieving and we are all feeling uncertain about the future. Nobody knows how long this new way of experiencing life will go on. Personally, I’m living moment to moment and day by day, focusing on positive things and trying not to worry too much while taking the necessary precautions. 

We need to  find time in the day, preferably morning to meditate for at least five minutes. Ideally about twenty minutes feels right for me, but do what you can. Light your favorite scented candle. Sit comfortably with your eyes closed and invite your mother into your space. Breathe. Hold her in your thoughts. Focus on the gratitude you feel for your mother and the gift of life that she gave you. Reflect on some memories you have of her. Let the tears flow if they come. Grief is love, remember.

Only by knowing all the elements necessary for the production of a certain work can you estimate the actual cost.

 

 A customer asked me how much it cost to make a big mosaic 

I answered him: $ 800 

He said: So expensive for this job?

I asked: How much do you think it would cost you?

He answers me: $ 300  maximum... That's a pretty simple job right? !"

- For $ 300  I invite you to do it yourself.

- But.... I don't know how to.

- For $300  I'll teach you how to. So besides saving you $500 , you'll get the knowledge for the next time you want

- It seemed right to him and he agreed.

- But to get started: you need tools and TIME and the design, Broken dinner plates, tile, a broad, adhesive, grout, tile nippers, a mixing bowl , towels, sponges, plastic table cover etc...

- But I don't have all these equipment and I can't buy all of these for one job.

- Well then for another $225 more I'll rent my stuff to you so you can do it.

- Okay, he says.

- Okay! Tuesday I'm waiting for you to start doing this work

- But I can't on Tuesday I only have time today.

- I'm sorry, but I'm only available Tuesday to teach you and lend you my stuff. Other days are busy with other customers.

- Okay! That means I'm going to have to sacrifice my Tuesday, give up my tasks.

- I forgot. To do your job yourself, you also have to pay for the nonproductive factors.

- That is? What is this?"

- Bureaucratic, tax, vat, security, insurance, fuel etc.

- Oh no!... But to accomplish these tasks, I'm going to spend more money and waste a lot of time!

- Do you have them? You can do it to me before?"

- Okay!

- I'll make you all the material you need. Truck loading is done Monday evening or Tuesday morning you'll have to come by 6 loading the truck. Don't forget to be on time to avoid traffic jams and be on time

- At 6??? Nope! Too early for me! I used to getting up later.

...

- You know, I've been thinking. Y ' all better get the job done. I'd rather pay you the $800. 

If I had to, it wouldn't be perfect and it would cost me a lot more.

 

When you pay for a job, especially handcrafted, you pay not only for the material used, but also:

- Knowledge

- Experience

- Study

- Tools

- Services

- Time to go

- punctuality

- Accountability

- Professionalism

- Accuracy

- Guaranteed

- Patents

- Sacrifices

- Safety and security

- Payment of tax obligations

 

No one can denigrate other people's work by judging prices.

Only by knowing all the elements necessary for the production of a certain work can you estimate the actual cost.

 

Don't forget to account for your materials: tile, adhesive, grout, sponges/rags, wear and tear on your nippers, grinder, mixer etc.  All the stuff that you bought to be able to create should be considered/prorated.  You can either charge by the hour or square foot, but be sure to consider the intricacy of the design as more/smaller tessera will take longer to design and assemble that larger ones.  If you are cutting up dishes, you may spend significant time cutting, nipping and grinding to get the perfect piece, which takes longer 

than just laying out standard, ready-made tiles and trimming a few.