Not Bad Thing: collaboration

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Hold the Phone!

Lisbeth Miller has a new blog, called Not Bad Thing! (This phrase is what our family refers to as a "Lis-ism...")

And you will notice that the blog has a color scheme that happens to match a certain little cat's pink ears and nose, blue eyes, and white fur!

Yes, Lisbeth loves pink, white, and blue, and she loves to make beautiful cut paper snowflakes!

See?

And I love to have them printed on things, like these cute little onesies....

...and these cool tee shirts! Showing them off here are Lisbeth's big brother Andy, her big sister Kaitlyn, me, and her brother-in-law Cory.

You can find these items over at Lisbeth's new Etsy shop, Brainstorm Studio! We will be making many more products with Lisbeth's snow/flake mandalas in the weeks to come, and I will show the process here, so stay tuned to learn more about this remarkable young woman!

Lisbeth's Blue Bird Angels Mandala

My daughter Lisbeth suffered a traumatic brain injury when she contracted a viral illness in 1988 at the age of six, and she continues to be challenged by multiple difficulties including uncontrolled seizures, behavioral disturbances, learning disabilities and developmental delay. Despite these challenges, Lisbeth's mighty spirit and creativity are remarkably intact. She creates extraordinarily beautiful cut paper snowflakes - hundreds of them (it is ironic that a cluster of seizures is called a "flurry...") and like real snowflakes, each one is unique. Lisbeth sometimes refers to her creations as "brains," which is poignant, for in the making of each snowflake/mandala, it is as if she is recreating her brain. Lisbeth sees figures, animals, and objects in the cutout shapes of each one of her designs, and says that these are what the brain is thinking!