Entries Tagged as: meme
5-A-Day
December 10th, 2008, Comments (13)
The lovely and incredibly sweet, Jenn has tagged me for a meme that asks what 5 things you do to stay mentally healthy. This is certainly a great thing to think about, especially during these darker days of winter and the stress that can come up for many around the holidays.
Here are my top five things to do every day (or every week) to stay mentally healthy:
- Creative Expression: Clearly this is an important one for me, as you can see by the projects I run here and the title of my blog! Daily creativity, in whatever form it takes (dancing, painting, collaging, writing, cooking, crafting, photographing doodling) is such an important part of my life. It helps ground me, helps me release the internal backlog, and helps me be a better person.
- Snuggle: I am especially fond of my 4 kitty cats and I get daily love from them in the form of face pushes, cat massage sessions, and sweet purrs that warm my soul. And at night, the hubster and I happily share a full-size bed where we (and usually at least one cat) can be found snuggling up.
- Laughter: Laughing is so important to mental health. The hubster has a great talent for making me (and everyone around him laugh), I also love listening to comedy on the radio, and watching shows like 30 Rock and the Office to give me a good, hearty laugh. My laugh is ridiculously loud and people can usually find me in a crowd because of it.
- Scent: I love showering with a good-smelling shampoo. I also love the smell of cocoa in the winter, of chicken noodle soup, candles, pomegranate lip balm, a home-cooked meal, lemon dish washing soap, etc...I think good smells can lift you up. It's a small, simple thing that's a part of my everyday life that I notice and love.
- Movement: Some kind of movement or exercise is important for my mental health. I've fallen out of doing daily yoga, but want to get back to that as soon as possible. But even if I'm not on a regular exercise regimen, I keep moving through doing chores around the house, moving and dancing while I create, taking walks with my ipod, and chasing the hubster around the apartment.
How bout you? What are your five a day?
I'm not always great at tagging or at responding to tags, so if I tag you, feel free to do it or ignore it. And if I don't tag you and you'd like to do it, by all means, go for it!
I'll tag:
1. Judean (who made the coolest wreath ever out of ribbon spools!!)
2. Tammy Vitale
3. Elena
4. Jul
5. Jim
Today, after running around to the post office, other little errands, and packaging up things to send out, I spent the late afternoon playing with tempera paint and charcoal on drawing paper just to play with some internal questions and see what might come up intuitively. I'm still working on them and may or may not share images here when I'm done. It's good to play with no end product in mind from time to time and I enjoyed the process. I played some good tunes in the background and let paint drip and pour. I smushed it around with brushes, sponges and spatulas and looked to see what came through in the colors. I brought out bits of what I saw with a stick of charcoal. It felt good. And then the hubster came home and I washed my hands so we could share a yummy dinner. All in all, a good day. Hope yours was a beauty!
p.s. My calendars are all sold out! Thanks so much! I'll be sure to print more next year and to get them ready a little earlier too. If you're looking for some gifts, I still have my free shipping offer going on at my art website through December 15th! All you need to do is enter holiday08 in the coupon section at checkout.
Assorted Business
November 16th, 2008, Comments (20)
Well, today's art-making was a frustrating experiencing. I was trying out a new material and it was going well until it suddenly went very wrong and the whole thing turned into a big gray mud puddle. Doh! I scraped it all down and started over, trying to just play at this point. And it was just one of those days where nothing was flowing. Somewhere along the way, I decided to let it go and ended up with this little elephant. He's cute, but the whole experience had me feeling a little cranky. Gotta let go. Experimenting is good, failure is even good and I did learn some things in the process. Here's my little elephant, which is acrylic on 6"x6" panel.
Ah well.
This week in Soul Coaching the theme is "Fire." And today's exercises have to do with facing your fears, listing them out and then imagining how you would survive the worst case scenarios. Some of my fears have to do with rejection, although these particular fears have lessened over time as I'm taking rejection less personally. It still bothers me, but not nearly as much. I hope to tackle some of my lingering rejection fears this week.
A big, huge thank you to Jamie for the Kreativ Blogger award!! Here are the rules:
-Link to the person or persons who tagged you.
-Post the rules on your blog.
-Write six random things about yourself.
-Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
-Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
-Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
6 Random Things About Me:
- I'm the shortest person in my family.
- I've dreamed about the sex of the baby (and been right) for all my siblings and a couple friends.
- I find slapstick humor (especially people falling down) incredibly (and stupidly) funny.
- I have a series of freckles on my face that if connected would make the shape of a lawn chair.
- I get all twitchy if someone repeats the same word over and over again.
O.k., so I'm supposed to tag some people. I've resisted doing it all together lately as I don't want anyone to feel left out. But I also know it's nice to receive an award now and again, so I'll pass this one on with the note that I'm overwhelmed by the multitudes of creative bloggers I've met through doing AEDM and CED. Seriously. You all deserve awards. For today, I'd like to nominate:
- Andrea of A Cat of Impossible Color, whose awesomely thrifted outfits make me wish she could manage my wardrobe.
- Jennifer of Life Unfolds for her incredible sweetness and boundless creative energy.
- Julia of Red Otter for her beautiful arrangements of inspiration.
- Shelley of Oiseaux for her stunning creations.
- Tammy of Women, Art, Life: Weaving it All Together for inspiring me with her gorgeous artwork and incredible energy.
- Judean (aka luf) of Sukeydookiedoo for being my bff and an endless source of support and creative inspiration.
Random Tidbits
September 4th, 2008, Comments (15)
Some images from a sketchbook for a swap I'm participating in. I love to doodle and see what comes out. I guess the change of seasons was on my mind!
I'm surrounded by cute kitties at the moment, feeling sleepy after a day of errand running, and getting excited about my honeymoon trip in about a week! Wee!
Speaking of kitties, I loved Amy's post on the lessons her cats have taught her. Too cute.
I was tagged by artandtea to post seven random things about myself. I'm a bit wishy-washy about tags lately. I mean no offense if I don't pass on a tag, I'm just following my energy. I always wonder if I have seven random things to share that might be new. But there's always something right?
- I'm short, but I'm not big on wearing heels. They hurt my feet. And while I'll where them to a wedding on on random occassions, most of the time it's just not worth it to me!
- I love yoga, but I'm not naturally flexible at all.
- I'm not sure if it comes across here, but I'm incredibly silly. I regularly do goofy songs and dances for the hubster and he does the same for me.
- I can't figure out lipstick. I put it on and I think it just looks funny on me, so I don't wear it.
- I love having plants in my home, but can't because one of our crazy kitties likes to chomp on them. I sometimes get fresh flowers and put them in a couple spots that are out of his reach.
- I feel such a sense of spirituality when I'm near the ocean and I'm looking forward to being near it in Hawaii.
- I've never flown first class before, but we splurged for it for our trip to Hawaii and I'm really looking forward to the flight!
- And a bonus: I got some embroidery supplies today because I've been itching to try it. I also got Sublime Stitching
from the library to get some inspiration!
In the meantime, I've been feeling inspired to sketch in my sketchbook and have some new ideas to bring to fruition.
A big thank you to Shelley for the i love your blog award she passed my way. Shelley recently did the most gorgeous collage pieces as part of a 6"x6" collage supplies swap. I love Shelley's collage work and her eye for design.
O.k., it's late and time for me to hit the hay. Well, that's not very friendly, I won't hit the hay. I don't even have any hay to hit. Hey now.
Meme-ish
July 20th, 2008, Comments (5)
So hot. And I'm feeling meme-ish. Got this one from the super talented, Carla.
What time did you get up this morning?
woke up at about 9:30, stayed in bed longer though to pet the kitties and enjoy the only room with air-conditioning
Diamonds or pearls?
diamonds i suppose. I like hand-made jewelry best
What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Sex and the City, with my mom. It was fun.
What is your favorite TV show?
LOST, Project Runway
What do you usually have for breakfast?
balance bar (yogurt peanut)
What is your middle name?
Melissa
What food do you dislike?
celery
What kind of car do you drive?
08 Honda Civic. (love it!)
Favorite sandwich?
Grilled cheese and tomato
What characteristic(s) do you despise?
Outspoken meanness
Favorite item of clothing?
kitty socks
If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Going to Hawaii in Sept. yay! Other than that, I'd love to visit Amsterdam, Australia, Berlin, so many places
Are you an organized person?
No.
Where would you like to retire to?
Maybe California or Pacific Northwest? Although, I could be perfectly happy staying in the Northeast.
What was your most recent memorable birthday?
Just had one this week so it's freshest in my memory. It was the perfect laid-back day full of things I love, like my favorite restaurant with the super sweet hubster and favorite pastimes: walking, visiting a book store & library(!), an m&m cookie from my favorite bakery, purchasing a little tube of paint, working on a painting, and reading an entire book
What are you going to do when you finish this?
brush my teeth and go to bed
When is your next birthday?
July 17, another year away
Morning person or night person?
I'm a bit of a night owl, but I do like mornings too when I haven't stayed up too late. hehe.
What is your shoe size?
8
Pets?
4 kitties: Sadie, Emma, Sasha, and Tabbers. All such loves.
Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?
Hmm, not that I can think of.
What did you want to be when you were little?
A children's book writer & illustrator
How are you today?
Fabulous!
What is your favorite flower?
hydrangeas are a current fave, also love magnolias, ranunculus, and lilacs
What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
September 14th, when we'll get to Hawaii for our honeymoon!
What are you listening to?
Lots of podcasts and the soundtrack to Once
Do you wish on stars?
Of course!
If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Ocean blue
How is the weather right now?
Hot and humid
Last person you spoke to on the phone?
the hubster
Favorite soft drink?
coca-cola
Favorite restaurant?
Best meal I ever had was at the Four Seasons in Boston on our mini-moon. Seriously, everything was outrageously good.
Hair color?
Brown with some highlights
What was your favorite toy as a child?
My dollhouse. My grandpa made it and my mom helped me decorate it.
Summer or winter?
Summer definitely
Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate definitely
Coffee or tea?
tea
When was the last time you cried?
A couple weeks ago when my cat, Sadie was very sick
What is under your bed?
Some dust bunnies and rubbermade containers with winter clothes in them.
What did you do last night?
Went to an art opening (see previous post)
What are you afraid of?
Sharks
Salty or sweet?
Usually sweet
How many keys on your key ring?
Four
How many years at your current job?
A bit more than a year
Favorite day of the week?
Saturday
Do you make friends easily?
Sort of. I make acquaintances easily. True friendships take longer.
Intuitive Creating
March 14th, 2008, Comments (27)
Inspire Me Thursday has a super cool challenge this week that involves using inkblots in your art. At first read I wasn't extremely inspired by it, but then I saw where the inspiration came from, the moleskine inkblot pieces you can see here, and I was so wowed that I had to try one straight away. I love the before and after shots and the question, "what do you see?"
I used my moleskine type mini journal (I finished my first moleskine and replaced it with a moleskine look-a-like by hand book which is just as lovely) with some paint squished between the pages, I looked at it to see what the blots suggested to me, and then went into it with pen and colored pencils. In this one I saw mermaids. I didn't do a before shot because my camera isn't communicating with my older computer for some odd reason, but I think you can see where the ink blots are. I'm sure I'll be doing more of these as they're so much fun!
I think I particularly love this idea because it is how I do much of my artwork. I'll often start a collage with no idea where it's going and then I'll step back and see if there's a suggestion of a form in there. Sometimes I see a figure, sometimes a tree, and so on. It's a wonderful and intuitive way to create.
When I was around 10, I took a cartooning class and one of my favorite parts of it was when the teacher would play this scribble game. He would whip out crazy scribble after crazy scribble on sheets of paper and pass them quickly to the students. We'd all look at the scribble we got and make something from it, a scene or a character or whatever. The teacher would judge each round and proclaim a winner and then he'd create a new offering of scribbles for each of us and this would go on for most of the class. I loved it.
All of these techniques are ways of getting you to let the art guide you instead of you guiding the art. When you let go, where does your art take you?
In other news, my friend, Sarah has started a new business, S. Joy Studios. Go Sarah! She offers lots of great services for all you creative types including great web design work. Sarah has also started a new blog to go along with the business and she has started a great series of articles on the "7 deadly sins that creative professionals make." The first in the series can be found here.
I'll be away this weekend, there's a big birthday party for the hubster's dad's 65th. So, it may take a few days to get back to you if you email. I'll be bringing my sketchbook along for the trip, so I can continue being creative. I hope your weekend is a wonderfully creative one!
In the Garden and some Love and Light
March 12th, 2008, Comments (16)
I was thinking about Illustration Friday's theme of "Garden" when I sketched out the idea for this piece, "In the Garden", which is 8"x10" with rice paper, acrylic, and colored pencil on panel. I used damp rice paper that I had wrinkled up into a ball, then unfolded and glued to the panel to make interesting texture. I let that dry overnight and then started into it with layers of paint and colored pencil. I think I was also influenced by Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth" (see my sidebar for a link) which is helping me reconnect with my body and everyday moments. I've listened to the first two webcasts on the book and I'm enjoying the dialog. The discussion makes the information sink in a bit more and clarifies a lot of the muddy areas.
My poor laptop is in the computer hospital and hopefully it will return soon. In the meantime, I'm using my old iMac which is really slow and I'm unable to upload the pictures from my camera for some odd reason, but thankfully, it works, so I can still check my email even though I'm not on the computer quite as much without the laptop (which maybe is a good thing!)
I do have a minor build-up of linkage to share!!
- Design*Sponge held a DIY contest and the 20 finalists are now on display. There are some super cool projects to see! I think my favorite is the tree mural with the painting of the owl with glow-in-the-dark eyes. But I have a thing for trees and owls, so there you go.
- The hubster sent me the link to this story today about a super cool dolphin that saved 2 whales who were stranded on a beach in New Zealand. It's nice to read some good news type stories isn't it?
- Speaking of good news types of stories, if you haven't heard of hopeREVO yet, definitely check it out. The idea, started by Krystyn Heide, is to leave messages of hope in public places. Love that. There's a flickr group for this movement here. The idea reminds me a bit of the guerilla art of Keri Smith and the found art project (Found Art Tuesday) that Rosa Murillo runs.
- Lia of Art Junk Girl recorded her first live blog radio show today, all about art journaling. I didn't hear about it in time to listen live, but you can listen to it anytime here. I think Lia plans to make this a regular thing. Way to go, Lia. I really enjoyed your first show!
I feel spring in the air (and in my step.) How bout you?
A Quick Share
March 10th, 2008, Comments (8)
I got home last night from working at my old job for the week and I was treated to the *best* welcome home ever! I came in carrying heavy bags, dropped them at the door where I was met by fuzzy kitties and then looked up to see the hubster smiling and carrying a plate of fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies. I mean, can you beat that?
We shared a lovely night of snuggling, chatting and watching a movie and then went to bed. I stayed in bed a little later this morning to snuggle with the fuzzy kitties who were being exceptionally adorable.
I wanted to share a couple things with you before I get back to work. One, is that the sweet and talented Carla of Anonyrrie has started a blog about her coaching practice called Wings 4 You Coaching. As part of this new blog she is issuing a weekly challenge, Weekly Wings. The current challenge has to do with poetry. Go check it out! Speaking of poetry, my friend Betsy sent a link to this poem which I thought was wonderful. And speaking of words, today I'm loving the word, "exquisite." The word itself is exquisite.
Andrea of A Cat of Impossible Color (love the blog name by the way, Andrea!) asked if novel writing counts as part of the Creative Every Day 2008 Challenge. And the answer is, hell yeah! Anything creative counts, from gardening, to poem writing, to doodling, to cooking, to knitting, to re-arranging your bookshelf, and so on... Be creative in the ways in which you can be creative!
And I'm off...happy creating!
More Leaping!
March 3rd, 2008, Comments (27)
I loved that this was the theme for both Illustration Friday and Inspire Me Thursday was "Leap" this week. I find it to be an inspiring word and I knew I had to do some art with it. It's been ages since I've done one of these challenges and it felt good to be inspired to join in them this week. I also really liked Inspire Me Thursday's art calendar challenge this week. Very cool idea!
I made the above piece with acrylic paint on watercolor paper. More houses, I know, I'm really stuck on the house imagery right now. I've got two other pieces started with houses in them too. Even the birthday card I bought for my mom referenced home. Certain symbols come and go and I like to just follow where it leads me. These symbols usually have something to tell me about what's going on under the surface. This is what I love about making art.
Feeling Bookish
February 25th, 2008, Comments (14)
I got an email from someone working on marketing the online class that Oprah is running about Eckhart Tolle's latest book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
Have you read A New Earth? I'd be curious to hear what you think of it. I know some bloggers, such as Melba and Kate, have started blogs to discuss this book, so I think there will be a lot of talk going on about it within the blogosphere.
I've also been seeing a book meme making the rounds again in which you go to page 123 and share the 6th, 7th, and 8th sentences on that page. So, from A New Earth, here are the sentences:
The ego doesn't know that the more you include others, the more smoothly things flow and the more easily things come to you. When you give little or no help to others or put obstacles in their path, the universe - in the form of people and circumstances - gives little or no help to you because you have cut yourself off from the whole. The ego's unconscious core feeling of "not enough" causes it to react to someone else's success as if that success had taken something away from "me."
I've also been reading another book called The Now Habit
I've been working on another "Subway Stories" piece and hopefully I'll have time to take a picture tomorrow. I've got to prep and hang some art at a local coffee shop tomorrow, so it'll be a busy day! Hope your weekend was a lovely and creative one!
A Meme
February 21st, 2008, Comments (5)
I'm afraid I'm still feeling sick. I've got a bone shaking cough that won't let go and keeps me up at night. Yucko. So I'm feeling a little low energy, but I'm still being creative! I've been sketching away ideas in my sketchbook which is always fun and I'm sure my energy will return soon. In the meantime, Regina of the rgr designs blog tagged me for this meme, so here it is!
Here are the rules:
1. When tagged place the name of the person and URL on your blog
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write 7 things about yourself
4. Name 7 of your favorite weblogs
5. Send an email letting those bloggers know they have been tagged!
Seven things about me:
1. I loved my wedding, every minute of it. But I still haven't picked out the pictures for the album yet. Gotta get to that!
2. I have extremely vivid dreams. The other night I had one dream in which I could feel and smell my surroundings. It was so real!
3. I can't sleep without white noise in the room.
4. I'm working on my first book about...what else...creativity!
5. I love seeing my art go to new homes. But I also miss it sometimes.
6. I enjoy exploring new cities by foot. The hubster and I explored Seattle, Boulder, and Montreal this way, with no plans and it was so much fun.
7. I think we'd probably live in the Pacific Northwest if it weren't for all our family living on the east coast.
O.k. I'm going to bow out of tagging seven other blogs because I'm all pooped out. But if you want to give it a go, feel free!
