Entries Tagged as: blogs
Featured on CRESCENDOh
May 25th, 2010, Comments (1)
Cool beans! The creative fire-sparkler, Connie Hozvicka kindly featured my video collage tutorial in her guest curatorial duties at CRESCENDOh, the beautiful site of Jenny Doh. You can read Connie's inspiring Art Saves story on CRESCENDoh, here. Thank you, Connie!
p.s. Connie is having a sale on her fabulous Art Journal Love e-course through May 30th!
One Theme Flows to the Next
April 28th, 2010, Comments (13)
Wow, what a fun time of year to focus on the senses. I think my senses are already on high alert in Spring, especially as I've gotten older. Summer has always been my favorite month (I love the warmer weather, my b-day is in July, and summer used to mean vacation!), but in the last few years, I've been especially enamored with Spring. I can't get enough of its young, green, flirty ways. I've been especially loving the flowering trees all around this new neighborhood I'm living in, the young birds visiting our yard (cardinals, blue jays, robins, and a woodpecker, among others), and just being outside. When I was feeling a bit funky on Monday, I took a long walk through the woods and snapped these pictures. Doesn't the path look mysterious? And then below, another mysterious looking picture of the sun reflected in a bog. It felt like I was looking into the moonlit sky, a through-the-looking-glass kind of image.
The senses theme this month also seems to lead perfectly into the theme of Intuition for May. A bunch of people mentioned Intuition or their sixth sense in the comments this month, so I sort of hinted about the upcoming theme here and there. I could barely contain myself from shouting, "Yes, you're right on the money, Intuition is next!" Hehe. I'm terrible at keeping secrets.
I love the way one theme has flowed seamlessly to the next this year. But really, getting in touch with your senses is a great way to tap into your intuition. And speaking of Intuition, today I have a guest post about creating sanctuary to help discover your purpose over at Intuitive Guide, Bridget Pilloud's fabulous blog. I've taken a Chakralicious class from Bridget and think she's just awesome. And I'll be sharing much more about Bridget next month, so stay tuned!
Guest Post by Elizabeth Halt
March 2nd, 2010, Comments (15)
the story we find ourselves in
I love that the Creative Every Day theme for March is stories. I love stories. There is magic in them. It got me thinking about stories, and creativity, and reminded me of something.
I used to have a story that said I wasn't creative. Now, I have a new story that says I am.
The old story said that I wasn't creative because I couldn't draw as beautifully as two of my siblings. The new story says that I am creative because I look at this photo and see a castle rising out of the mist.
The old story said that I wasn't creative because I wasn't in a creative profession. The new story says that I am creative because I tell my puppy stories about a girl and her dog and their adventures together.
The old story said that I wasn't creative because I wasn't regularly creating artwork. The new story says that I am creative because I can take a bunch of random food items and turn them into a meal.
The old story said that I wasn't creative because I'm not a real artist. The new story says that I am creative because I make birthday cards for friends and family.
I could go on and on.
The funny thing is that nothing has changed except the story. Well .. and my state of mind. The old story used to make me feel sad. I really wanted to be creative, but the story made me feel like I was failing at it. The new story makes me feel happy. It reminds me that creativity happens in moments, and it is so much bigger than my idea of it.
Really, when it comes down to it, life itself is a creative act. We are creating our own life moment by moment. And every moment can be a new story. Maybe all we really need to do is pay attention to them.
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Elizabeth Halt is always looking for beauty - in the ordinary and in the extraordinary. She shares photos from her search on her photo blog, retinal perspectives.
Featuring Fabulous Creative Every Day Participants
February 19th, 2010, Comments (15)
There is so much beautiful creating happening amongst the amazing Creative Every Day Challenge participants. You are all SO inspiring! Here's just a little taste of what's been created this month to go along with the home theme.
Sheree of Raven Moon Magic created this super cool outdoor kitchen for her daughter. The pictures brought back so many memories of making "food" with sand and sticks. So fun!
Sandy Coleman of Creations by Coleman created this mixed-media piece, Safe at Home, reflecting on how "home feels like an embrace." Yes, love that.
Salomé of The Sassy Cow used a photoshop tutorial to create this super cool piece. I feel at home in jeans too!
Pat of PAssionarT (I saw this piece in the CED flickr group) created this beautiful mixed media piece. Love the colors!
Eliza of Art Asana wrote a beautiful reflection on home and how she wove it into her yoga class here. She also created this beautiful art piece. Lovely!
Sara of The Painterly Hummingbird created this super sweet embroidery of her grandparents' house. I love how she's framed it like a polaroid!
As always, I could go on and on with these posts. There is so much amazing work to be seen and words to be read. Thank you all for sharing your beautiful selves. I hope you're inspired too!
Other places to find my art
January 28th, 2010, Comments (12)
Over at Liv Lane's blog, Choosing Beauty, Liv is having a giveaway for a print of my mixed-media piece, Lantern. You can enter to win by leaving a comment on her blog by Friday 1/29 at midnight!
I also love the question Liv asks with the giveaway, "What lights your way on your darkest days?" I answered the question in the comments and have been enjoying reading the answers from others! Liv is a fellow Creative Every Day Challenge participant, who also co-hosts a fabulous weekly radio show in Minnesota called Get Real, which I got to be a guest on last month!
You can also be entered to win one of my prints every month by subscribing to my Blue Tree Art Gallery newsletter. The sign-up form for that is in the lower left corner of the site, where I offer original art, prints, greeting cards, and calendars featuring my work.
This month and next, you can also see my work on the beautiful online zine, All Things Girl. The theme this month is Through the Looking Glass and my pieces, Leap and Listening are featured.
A big, heartfelt thank you to everyone here for supporting my growth as an artist. It means the world to me!
Featuring Creations by Amazing CED Participants
January 21st, 2010, Comments (20)
Every so often, I love to feature some of the fabulous work that Creative Every Day Challenge participants are up to. I could seriously fill every day with this sort of post, as you all are up to such amazing work and I'm utterly blown away by your talent, creativity, and deep-down beauty. You all inspire me!
I've been head over heels with your responses to the body theme. It's been a really juicy topic to explore and I've laughed, cried, and been inspired along with many of your posts. Here are just a few of the amazing, creative works I've seen this month with some more to come:
Aimee from artsyville recently created a super cute drawing of her outfit (love her style!) and I was going to share that, but I was so tickled by her ode to her addled brain in this piece below that I had to share that one instead.
I was so touched with this poem by Patty of Waking Up that I asked her if I could share it here.
The Body Principle
What if I looked at my body in a different way?
What if I appreciated it for what it can do, not for what it can’t?
Instead of grumbling about my dyed-over-gray hair,
what if I thanked my hair for keeping my head warm,
and for smelling like coconuts when it is freshly washed?
What if I thanked my brain for imagining stories and poems,
for coming up with clever puns and figuring the tip for lunch,
instead of berating it for not remembering some actor’s name
at the instant I wanted it to remember?
What if I walked more, and danced and hugged more, and
Used more expressive hand gestures when I talked,
instead of holding myself so tightly within myself
that sometimes I can hardly breathe?
Wouldn’t my body and I smile with sheer joy?
Wouldn’t that be something to see?
Evelyn from Enjoying the Good Life created this gorgeous drawing of a yoga twist. Love it!
Christy from Sweet Tidings joined the challenge with adorable spool and peg dolls like this one. Too cute!
Melissa aka Dandelionlady of Dandelion Seed on the Updraft created the beautiful sketch of hands that I'm just loving.
Hege of Cloudberry made this fantabulous body flip book with her kids. So cool!
Susan of of The Nest created this lovely torso tile. Love the colors!
Lastly, new CED participant, Angie Fletchall of Thalo Blue Sky, shared this book she created about loving your body with me. While not created for this month, it fits so well with this month's theme and is such a lovely story, that I had to share it with you here. You can preview the book and its sweet illustrations here.
Connecting to Your Body with Briana Aldrich
January 17th, 2010, Comments (7)
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with the brilliant Blisscovery expert, Briana Aldrich. Briana is a coach who helps folks find their thing and also with helps people heal their relationship with their bodies. I loved talking with Briana about her work and ways to creatively connect with the body. You can listen to it here by clicking the link below or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to download and listen to later. Enjoy!
You can find Briana's at Blisscovery and Blisscovery Wellness. Briana has a (diet-free) weight loss teleclass starting up on Tuesday the 19th, which you can find out more about here. You can also find Briana on twitter: @brianaaldrich.
Thank you for the great chat, Briana!
Soul Artist, Laura Hollick
January 13th, 2010, Comments (5)
Laura Hollick working in her studio
Last night I had the pleasure of speaking with the lovely Laura Hollick, an artist, workshop leader, and creative dynamo. Do check out her site and her blog, she's up to so many amazing things!! Laura interviewed me about my creative process and artwork, and you can listen to our chat here.
"Unicorn and Pink Dragon"
Soul Artist Laura Hollick enters the magical world of Heartland where she is transformed into a unicorn and frolicks through the meadow with pink dragon.
vision, sculpture, costume, model Laura Hollick
photo by Kevin Thom
Fitting in beautifully with the body theme this month, Laura has some absolutely stunning pieces that utilize her body as part of the creation. Some of the work is photographs of her, such as the image above. Last night, while perusing her work, I also noticed a series of images she calls Body Mapping. These mixed-media pieces began as tracings of her body and were transformed into these stunning images. I absolutely love them! And I love how she uses them as a tool to dive into the language of her inner world.
It reminded me a bit of what I've been doing with my body shadows painting (which I shared here and here.) As I've continued working on that piece, it has been a similar process to what Laura has done with her body mapping work. It has felt like some body wisdom has been coming through the piece which has been very interesting. I'll share where that piece has been going tomorrow.
In the meantime, I wanted to point out that Laura is teaching a free teleclass tonight called Shift the sh*t so you can launch: 3 keys to total transformation. Love the name! 
You can get all the details and sign up for that here.
Creativity & the Body with Jamie Ridler
January 8th, 2010, Comments (25)
I'm so grateful that i was able to have this conversation with Jamie Ridler about creativity and the body! When I first asked Jamie to chat with me about this theme, I wasn't sure exactly why. I knew she taught Nia and loved to dance, but Jamie's work doesn't center around the body. I just had a feeling that she'd have some particularly juicy things to share on the topic and boy, was I right! I hope you enjoy our chat below, which you can listen to here or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to download and listen to later.
Some juicy things to think about: What's one thing about your body that you're feeling grateful for today? What's one, tiny thing you do every day that you can do today with awareness and pleasure?
You can find out more about Jamie on her website where she blogs, leads groups (like the Full Moon Dreamboard groups Wishcasting Wednesdays, and super fun Next Chapter book groups), has a great podcast, and offers beautiful products (like Your Creative Spark and the brand new Soul Reflections course.) She's on Twitter too as @starshyne. Thank you, Jamie!!
Update: Sorry about the recording snafu! It's all fixed now!
Flowing out of 2009 and into 2010
December 31st, 2009, Comments (26)
What a magical day. It's a Full Blue Moon, it's New Year's Eve, we're on the cusp of another beautiful year of being Creative Every Day, and I feel like I'm inside a snow globe with these teeny, tiny flakes falling outside. I'm especially loving that it's a Blue Moon, since I'm such a moon girl and as you might imagine, my favorite color is blue (plus, I say that "once in a blue moon" expression quite a bit.)
I've just finished my full moon dreamboard for Jamie Ridler's dreamboard group and I'm using it to reflect what I want for myself in 2010: mainly more ease and flow. I have this image of a river in my mind. There's an ease to the movement of a river, but there is also motion, action, and continuous, steady flow. Perhaps the river is also in my mind because I find sitting near moving water incredibly soothing. I think I sometimes associate stillness with stagnation, but ease and movement are not so separate. I see that in the way that getting regular exercise helps me feel more calm, and how de-cluttering helps me feel more spacious and open. It's a funny little paradox that I'd like to have in my life in 2010: ease, flow, and movement. While I've been thinking I'd use the words "ease and flow" as my theme for 2010, I think I may use the image of a river as it captures more of what I'm going for. Why not?
The dreamboard above was based on a sketch from my sketchbook that I drew onto a larger sheet of watercolor paper. I created the river with gesso and bits of snowflake tissue paper to create texture. Once that dried, I painted over it with ink and acrylics. (By the way, this is a great way to recycle holiday tissue paper and make cool textures in your art!) I then drew in the figure and wrote in some words, such as: ease, flow, resonance, calm, and movement. When I mentioned wanting more ease and flow in my life earlier this month, Terri (@TerriFisher on Twitter) let me know that Rhea is the goddess of Ease and Flow. How cool! I'm sure I'll paint her at some point this year too.
The last few years, I've loved choosing a theme word for the year. I think I may have read about it first on Christine Kane's blog (by the way she's offering a free download about choosing a theme word for the year.) Last year, I chose the word "Leap" and it served me well. I made some huge leaps in my career and my life in general. I'm especially proud of having art on the cover and an article in Artful Blogging Magazine, being on the radio, creating my first online teleclass, in-person workshop with the fabulous Jennifer Lee, first e-course, growing my online challenges, buying our first home, and selling more art than ever before. I'm so very grateful for my wonderful family, friends, loving hubster, and our four fuzzy cats. I'm also thrilled with the amazing connections I've made with fabulous creative people this year, many I met through this blog. I feel so incredibly lucky to be part of such an amazingly supportive community.
It's been a challenging year in other ways. I lost my Grandma after a battle with Alzheimer's just before Thanksgiving, I had some behind-the-scenes technical issues and problems with boundaries, I had a health scare with my beloved cat, Sadie, and I found the whole process of moving to be exhausting. I also made the decision to come off anti-depressants after being on them for ten years (I did this over a long period of time with the help of a doctor.) It was one of the most challenging things I've ever done. It still feels like a bit of a journey for me, but I'm doing really well and I'm thrilled about that. Overall, life is good. So very good. And I'm so grateful for it all.
To help me close out 2009 and grow my vision of what 2010 will be, I've printed out Goddess Leonie's stunning Creating My Goddess Year Workbook & Planner. There are some pages in the workbook that go along so beautifully with next month's (totally optional) theme of Body for the Creative Every Day Challenge, so I'll share those here. And I'm going to be interviewing the lovely Leonie next month about loving up your body, so stay tuned for that too!
Actually, I've got so much goodness planned for next month, that I can hardly stand it! It's going to be an amazing year. I love the energy that's building already. I wish each and every one of you a beautiful close to your 2009. May 2010 be filled with wild creativity, uncontrollable laughter, quiet moments of delight, and loads of love. See you in 2010!
