Entries Tagged as: relationships

Creating Your Dream Team

March 1st, 2009, Comments (3)

This week's chapter in The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women, which I'm reading with Jamie's book group, talks about creative alliances and partnerships. I liked how A Feminist Wife called it her "dream team." It fits perfectly with the (totally optional) dream theme this month for the Creative Every Day Challenge.

I have used the idea of an imagined dream team before (people living and dead that I could consider personal allies), but it's been awhile since I thought about who I would put on my team. Among those I don't know, I'd love to have SARK as an ally as well as Martha Beck. Both of these women are intelligent, funny, creative, down-to-earth go-getters, and totally inspiring. I admire their honesty and integrity in the telling of their stories, their energy, and their wild success!

Fortunately, I'm lucky to have some wonderful creative alliances with people I already know. I have an awesome coach, a sort of Mastermind group that I meet with regularly, and I enjoy taking classes where I meet other like-minded, creative souls. One of my greatest alliances is with the hubster who is a wonderful champion for me and my bff has always been incredibly supportive.

I've made many creative alliances online (one of the wonderful things about blogging!) and I'm extremely grateful for that. It's been so helpful for a super introverted person like myself, as I can feel connected and respond in a way that feels good to me, without feeling the energy drain that happens for me in crowds of people.

I've been working on asking for help lately and it's definitely been interesting. The act of asking makes me feel a bit vulnerable, but it also gives others the opportunity to help (and people generally love to help others, particularly when it's something they're passionate about.)

Along those lines, I've approached some people I admire about doing interviews for Creative Every Day this year and the response has been wonderful. I'll be posting one of these interviews this week! In the meantime, check out this fabulous interview that Jamie Ridler did with the lovely Goddess Leonie.

Playing with Words in Art

February 3rd, 2009, Comments (13)

sketchbook swap blah I decided to play with words in art last night as I watched some of the Super Bowl with the hubster.

I used a moleskine that I'm drawing in as part of a sketchbook swap and drew in a few pages just to see what might come up if I drew. The first drawing was inspired by the slouchy pose my husband was making at one point in the evening. I imagined the buzz of thoughts running through his head, all leaking out and landing neatly in a nearby fishbowl.

I sometimes enjoy writing what I imagine the figures are thinking about in my art, like I did in my "Subway Stories" paintings, in which I collaged Subway maps and train schedules, painted a subway scene over that in acrylic and then within the figures I drew what I imagined they were thinking about. "Subway Stories: Green Line" is below. (The original is sold, but you can buy prints of it here.) I'm doing a commissioned Subway Stories painting for someone who met their soon to be husband on the train. So sweet. I usually think of art as a way to express what I can't say verbally. I suppose words in art are just another way to tell the story.

subway stories green line

Another page from my sketchbook swap moleskine. More words, this time just the action itself, "jump!" I seem to have a thing for striped tights at the moment.

sketchbook swap jump

Looking for more word inspiration? Well, I've got loads of it!

  • Ms. Dawn Doran from The Knitting Gnome blog emailed to let me know about this cool art and writing collaboration called Spark, art from writing: writing from art. Here are the details from organizer, Amy Souza: The next artistic/literary exchange starts on Feb 13th; ends Feb 22nd. Again, pick 2 days (48 hours) in which to work. They don’t have to be contiguous. You send your inspiration piece to your partner (and Amy) by the 13th; send me finished work by the 22nd/23rd. The theme this time is “hope.” Not sure how it’ll work out, but if you have an inspiration piece that says “hope” to you, send that to your partner. If not, just send her whatever you want. But I’m asking everyone to look at their partner’s work through the lens of “hope.” Again, it’s so vague, you can define it how you want, and if nothing comes to you through that lens then forget it and just let the piece inspire you. You need to let Amy know if you're interested in participating by this Friday, February 6th, by contacting her at or get more info on her site here.
  • Blogger, Writer, and Massage Therapist, Heidi Fischbach is offering A Month of Living Curiously, a month of inspiration and guidance via email sure to spark your creativity through the wonder of words. Check out all the details here!
  • I loved reading the written responses to my painting at Pictures, Poetry, and Prose yesterday! Laura mentioned this in the comments, but I wanted to be sure that everyone knows that she is always accepting submissions from artists. What a wonderful way to collaborate and join the creative energies of visual art and the written word!

A Work In Progress – At Sea

November 12th, 2008, Comments (15)

Started this piece today, based on a drawing from my sketchbook. I rather like the way the sky is coming out so far. Right now, I'm letting it dry before I carry on with it. I'll do some more work on it tomorrow I suspect. There tend to be certain symbols that pop up in my work regularly. Right now, it seems that birds, water, ships, and women are coming up a lot. Trees and houses are also common, as are lanterns and the moon. I think of them as personal yet, universal symbols relating to my sense of spirituality. I try and explain a bit where my imagery comes from, but I love it when people are able to find their own story in the images.

Today in Soul Coaching we're looking at our relationships with others. I don't usually interact with many people during the day, but today I happened to be doing some errands and had an odd experience at the post office. When I walked in, the door you'd normally enter through was locked, but a woman was on her way out and opened it for me while saying she didn't know why it was locked. Once inside, I heard the postal worker behind the counter get annoyed with a man who asked politely for a zip code. The customer made a smart comment back and then softened it afterward. It was a little tense. I was next in line with a couple people behind me, but I could see a man with a pile of boxes in his arms trying to get in through the locked door. I left my place in line to open the door for him. The woman behind me decided I'd lost my place in line and moved ahead and started getting helped when the postal worker suddenly got steaming mad, shouting that the door was locked for a reason and then he rolled his eyes as he stormed out to put a box in front of the locked door.

I was a little taken aback by his reaction and at first I wanted to react defensively, apologizing for opening the door while explaining that the man's hands were full and he needed assistance. I also thought about suggesting that he might want to put a sign on the door saying "please use the other door," so that people would understand the regular entrance door was out of order. Having it locked with no further instruction was confusing. But when I got up to the front of the line, I didn't say anything. I acted polite and was conscious of trying to be kind to a man who looked very flustered and unhappy. I can't know what's going on in this man's life, but he always seems unhappy whenever I visit this particular post office branch. I decided being kind to him was the way I was going to react.

After the fact, I wondered if I had just wussed out of a confrontation, if it would have in fact been helpful to me and him if I'd made the suggestion about putting a note on the door. I wondered if I would have been able to say it without getting defensive (probably not without a few minutes to breathe and prepare) and I wondered whether or not it would have been welcomed advice when the man behind the counter seemed very perturbed. It felt o.k. to let it go and treat him with kindness, but I wonder if it would have been better to say something. What do you think?

This is such a small event, nothing major. But it is telling about my relationships with people. Denise Linn, the author of Soul Coaching suggests noticing how your interactions with others might reflect the way you were treated growing up, how it might mirror qualities you suppress, or how it might reflect your core values. Growing up, anger was not a welcome emotion. It's also in my nature to be a bit of a peace-keeper and considering the mood of the postal worker, it didn't seem like it was a good time to make a suggestion, even one that was practical. Interestingly, I also had a dream this week where I was so mad that I was yelling (something I rarely if ever do.) In this case, I think it was appropriate to let it go and move on, but I think it was also symbolic of pattern in which I say nothing under the guise of choosing my battles, not making waves, and being polite. It made me think about how in the future I might want to say, in a non-defensive way, what's on my mind.

I did pat myself on the back though for not taking it personally. The post office worker did yell at me and roll his eyes in my general direction. He didn't yell in my face, but to the room in general, but since I was the offending person opening the door, I knew that it was at least somewhat directed at me. In the past, I might have felt awful about that. I've always been sensitive to yelling, it just seems to set me off (usually into tears.) But today, I felt a little surprised, but calm and curious too. And I knew it wasn't about me, so it didn't feel like a personal attack.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting that this happened today with the focus being on relationships. I had a long chat with the hubster about it when he got home and I'm a bit talked out, so I'll end this here. See y'all tomorrow!

Mini Bites of This and That

October 14th, 2008, Comments (17)

Yesterday afternoon, the hubster and I celebrated our anniversary by heading into town and having lunch at the posh Four Seasons. We ate at the more casual lounge, the same place we ate dinner at the night after our wedding when we were on our mini-moon. The food we had that night was one of our favorite meals of all time and the highlight of it was the complimentary dessert they gave us as a sweet happy wedding gesture. We were SO full from dinner that night and had decided not to order dessert when this lovely little cake arrived at our table, presented to us on a plate with the word "Congrats!" written in chocolate. So we said to eachother, "Oh, we'll just have a couple bites." Forgetaboutit! The cake, in the shape of an over-sized candy bar, was the most glorious Boston cream pie I've ever tasted. So, we went back to the same restaurant for lunch to celebrate our anniversary and to hopefully have another taste of that magnificent cake. Thankfully, they had it. And oh, it was good. I should have taken a picture of it, but I was way to excited to think of that.

Benfranklinbirthplace After lunch, we walked all over, visiting a book store (for me) and an antique coin shop (for the hubster) and we also took a peek at Ben Franklin's birth place which the hubster had read about while we were lounging around on our honeymoon last month. In the picture on the left, you can see a bust in the center building of Ben Franklin. It's across the street from the Old South Meeting House downtown. It was such a nice day and we saw people following the Freedom Trail and cooling down after a race that ran around the Commons.

CommonsI'm feeling a little off balance about the time. After being away for half of September, I missed a chunk of New England fall and so I'm a bit surprised by how far along we are in the season. It's like I looked up and all of the sudden it's full-on-fall! The trees are oh so pretty. It was fun just strolling around, holding hands, and marveling over the fact that a year has passed since our wedding.

The afternoon was full of sports watching. The Red Sox are in the playoffs and the Giants (the hubster is from NY) were on at night. And they both lost. That was a bummer. We managed to cheer ourselves up by taking the top tier of our wedding cake out of the freezer for a slice. That was kinda fun. A bit too much cake for one day though. lol.

Later in the evening, I played with paint on two different pieces, including this piece, "Underwater Tea Party." I had done the drawing earlier on a piece of watercolor paper and last night, after working on a larger painting, I used the leftover paint along with some ink to finish up this piece. I've been drawing little versions of this in my sketchbook and would like to do another piece along these lines. It was inspired by memories of underwater tea parties in the pools of my friends when we were kids. Did anyone else do that? We didn't take tea pots or dresses into the pool or anything, it was all imaginary, but we'd sit on the floor of the pool and pretend to pour tea and eat cookies. And later we'd pretend to be mermaids.

Gotta go figure out what's for dinner! Oh, but one more thing. I've created a couple new buttons for AEDM which will also live on the AEDM page. I've been using the same button for first 5 years with a change of color, so it felt like it was time to have something new. You can still use the old button or grab one of the new ones. It's up to you!

                                   

Mermaids, Hope, and Other Tales (or Tails)

September 7th, 2008, Comments (9)

Mermaidwip

I worked on this all day Friday and it's already different from this picture. But it's fun to see work in progress pictures I think. I had the idea for this mermaid ages ago, but it kept developing in little sketches and doodles until I was ready to go. I incorporated a bit of collage. As soon as I received it, I knew that the vintage postcard that Tammy from Sunflower Studio sent me because she just felt it belonged to me would be going in this piece. I love it when that happens. As much as the image has been played around with in sketches and doodles, it's already entirely different than I thought it might be and I still don't know where it will end up. This process is definitely a metaphor for life.

I was feeling oh so tender around the edges yesterday. It was a lovely day, yoga in the morning, cleaning and movie watching in the afternoon. It was so incredibly muggy and I was dripping sweat and generally feeling sad and teary for no particular reason. The hubster was out of town and late at night we chatted on the phone lying in beds in different countries. The talk made me feel much better and then I slept like a baby, a baby surrounded by snuggly cats.

Today I'm feeling so much brighter, my ups and downs seem to be mirroring the wild weather. When I was feeling blah yesterday, I saw this meme on Elizabeth's blog and decided to do it. What is it about memes that are calming? Simple, a bit mindless, short answer, lightly creative. 

Song you love: The song the hubster wrote for our wedding.

Word you love: Lately i've really enjoyed saying Hawai'i (not just for the meaning behind it, it's just fun to say.) I also love the sound of the word "ciao." Go figure.

Academic subject you love: art history

Hobby you love: getting lost in a book

Type of baked good you love: warm chocolate chip cookies

Type of sky you love: fiery sunsets, starry nights, stark blue against tree branch silhouette, poofy clouds, so many skies.

Beverage you love: coke

Vacation you love: Exploring a new place

Restaurant you love: Blue Ginger

Way of getting around that you love:  walking

Person you love: the hubster

Room in your home (or ideal home) you love: studio/office

Movie you love: Clue

Book you love: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

City you love: Seattle

Future plan you love: owning our first home, starting a family

Form of communication you love: art

Junk food you love: m&m's

A huge good luck to Elizabeth (not that she needs it!) in her first year of the Squam Art Workshops! I wish I could be there, but I'll be on the opposite side of the country for a wedding.

I've been feeling the need for a short blogging break and the time I'm away on my honeymoon makes perfect sense for that. I'll still be checking my email of course and I'm sure I'll pop in on occasion, but for the two weeks from Friday the 12th through Friday the 26th, I'll be enjoying checking out San Fran for a wedding and then soaking up the rays in Hawai'i with the hubster. I'm SO excited! I will still have the weekly posts where you can share what you've been up to. And I know I'll be back with loads of inspiration. And I'll still be blogging this week too.

How bout some links? Yes? Yes.

  • Mother Henna has a great post over at JustBeConnected that is fabulously filled with great links.
  • One of the links Kara (Mother Henna) shared was to MIT's OpenCourseWare, a selection of classes posted for free online. One of the classes is called, "The Creative Spark"! Yeah! I loved this quote from the description of the course: Creativity - "the mastery of information and skills in the service of dreams" (Hirschberg).
  • The sweet and talented, Jes has an article about artist's studios on the wishstudio zine blog here. There's a little bit of my studio in the post! And Jes is looking for more info about artist's studios, so check out the article and get in touch with her if you have something to share about your space.
  • Hope The upcoming election has me partly excited, partly angry, partly scared, partly hopeful. Speaking of hopeful, I love this kind of news. The Maine artist who made the pop icon of the word LOVE has created a new piece for the word HOPE with proceeds going to Obama's campain.
  • Have you ever wanted to make a bowl out of an old record? My bff recently let me pick through some old records she was bringing to a thrift shop. I'd like to use the covers in some art and she mentioned she was going to keep a couple records to make some of those funky bowls. If you'd like to try it out, here are some instructions from P@perSeed.
  • I received two copies of Patti Digh's Life is a Verb: 37 days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally this week and I'm so thrilled with how gorgeous it is! Patti's writing is absolutely fabulous and inspirational. I've got some cool art in those pages too! It was so fun to do some illustrations for Patti's essays and I'm so pleased to be a part of the community of creative folks that brought artwork to her book.Here's one of the pieces that I created for the book:

    Writesomeblues1

Still behind in emails I'm afraid. Hope to be caught up soon. I hope you've all had a lovely and creative weekend!

Beetle Juice

July 11th, 2008, Comments (17)

Life is good and I'm feeling oh so grateful. One of the things I'm feeling grateful for is a healthy Sadie-cat. Thank you for all the kitty well wishes! Sadie went on antibiotics on Tuesday and by Wednesday evening she was 95% better. Thursday she was her regular crazy-kitty-self. I'm so happy about that.

It's late and I need to crash, so I'll have to save the rest of the post I was planning to write til later. Above is a spread from a moleskine I'm doing as part of a swap. On the right I drew a little pic of the necklace I purchased recently and on the left I wrote the message that's on the opposite side of necklace.

Oh wait, one last story before I go to bed because this whole thing made me laugh so hard. It started when I went into the bathroom where the hubster was brushing his teeth and I noticed something strange around his waist. Where a belt would normally be, he had a usb cable going through the loops of his shorts. I was confused and asked, "Um, what is that?"

Apparently he got to work and noticed his shorts were so loose and could fall down at any moment. He couldn't find a belt in his office, so he improvised, found a usb cable, took it into the bathroom, fastened it around himself like a belt and then pulled his shirt over it so no one would see. Too funny. I started cracking jokes about him being like a geeky MacGyver and then kicked him out so that I could use the bathroom. Well, I'm in there with my shorts down when I see this gigantic bug on the floor. I mean huge! I thought it was a cockroach at first. I yelled to the hubster to come quick and he told me it was a very large, but friendly looking beetle. Well, he may have been friendly, but I wanted him out of the bathroom immediately. So, I grabbed a plastic cup and a piece of paper, put the cup over the super-bug, the hubster slid a piece of paper under him, and I went ahead to open the porch door. The hubster came out of the bathroom with the gigantic bug in the cup and as he gets close to me he says, "Get out of the way, he's getting out!" Apparently, this clever beetle was trying to make an early escape. The hubster starts running towards the porch door just as his usb-belt-less pants fall down around his ankles. He practically trips and throws the cup, paper, and beetle out onto the porch all together and slams the porch door shut. I'm hysterically laughing at this point, yelling, "Oh my god. That was classic!" The two of us pant-less, trying to get a huge beetle out the door. Good times. Hehe.

I really hope that was a stray beetle though and that we don't see any more of those things inside. I'm not usually super spooked by bugs, but this one gave me the heebeegeebees!

Busy, Busy Weekend

June 2nd, 2008, Comments (11)

It was a busy, full, fun weekend and I found myself quite energy-less this morning. The energy is returning thanks to a gorgeous day. So, what was I up to this weekend? I should have brought my camera. Friday afternoon, the hubster and I hit the road and drove down to the new MGM hotel/casino at Foxwoods. It was the hubster's brother's b-day, so we met him and his wife there and treated them to tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld stand-up. Seinfeld was fabulous, so funny and amazingly energetic. We had great seats and was definitely the best comedy stand-up I've ever seen.

Afterwards we had dinner and then spent the night at the new hotel, very shmancy with a phenomenal view from the 16th floor. I didn't gamble any because that's not really my thing, but I did get a great pair of new shoes. :-)

My dad will be out of town on father's day weekend (his second trip out of the country, this time to see Italy and Spain!), so my brother and his wife came up from NYC, my sister came down from New Hampshire, and the hubster and I drove up to celebrate an early Dad's Day with my dad and step-mom. It was super hot out and eating out on the porch, I got a bit of a burn on my super white shoulders. Ouch. My dad requested we go to the driving range where my dad showed off his skills and the rest of us showed our lack of. Then were overfed by my step-mom (homemade mac& cheese, lamb, spinach salad, and brownie sundaes!) before driving my brother and his sister back to the train. I'm not sure if it was the sun, all the driving, all the eating,  all the socializing, or some combo, but I was totally zonked last night and today.

Friday afternoon, I brought my sketchbook to the hotel and drew this image. I like the idea of a cloud of intuitive thoughts. I was also thinking about the way we pick out shapes in the clouds sometimes. In this case, there's a Red Riding Hood theme going on.

Just found out that I'll have three images in the Calyx journal this summer! The journal is all about the fiction, essays, poetry, and artwork of women and I'm thrilled to have my art in it. This will be my second journal appearance this year and it's so satisfying to check that goal off my list. I'd like to apply to some magazines like Cloth, Paper Scissors next.

Re-Thinking Rejection

May 28th, 2008, Comments (15)

I haven't done a "Wellness Wednesday" post for awhile. Today I was thinking about how as part of wellness you need to learn how to embrace rejection. Well, maybe not embrace it, but at least re-think it.

There are all sorts of heavy feelings tied up with the word rejection, such as hurt, shame, and embarrassment. We all deal with it, whether in the form of relationships, our work, or simple exchanges with other people in the world. As a creative person putting their art into the world, hearing the word "no" is to be expected.

In the past, I've avoided putting myself out there because of the fear of rejection. Somewhere down deep, I was saying, "Aha, rejection, I've got you now! If I don't apply (show up, try it, etc), I won't have to experience you at all!" Well, this is wrong on many counts and the sad part is that it only ends up hurting me more.

Patti twittered the this quote the other day:

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.- Joseph Chilton Pierce

I've definitely been scared of being wrong. It's a fear that follows me around and shows up in my work, in my relationships, in my conversations. In a group, I might not speak up because I don't want conflict. Or I may get into a heated discussion with someone I care about because I want to be right. Some of this wanting to be right is all tied up with rejection and I'm slowly, but surely learning to let it go. I don't need nor do I want to always be right. I'm letting those stressful attempts at perfection (fruitless and never-ending attempts) go. I'm learning to lose. And through losing, I win.

I remember sometime last year when the hubster told me, "there's no such thing as failure." There is trying and there's not trying and every "try" is an experience through which you learn and grow. I think we can all look back on relationships, jobs, moments where we felt rejected in that moment, but now we realize it was for the best and simply part of our path.

So, why embrace rejection? Well, if you're putting your work out into the world, more rejections may mean that you are stretching, that you are going for it. You may get more "no" responses than you normally would, but you also open yourself up for the "yeses!"

It's also important to remember that rejections usually aren't personal. That gallery, job, person, experience may not be what they're looking for at that time (or the right thing for you either), but it doesn't necessarily mean they don't like your work. So, when rejection comes my way, I think to myself, "O.k., that isn't the right place for my work right now. Good to know. Moving on."

Speaking of moving on, as Julia Cameron says, the only cure for criticism is creativity (I'm paraphrasing here.) And while rejection isn't exactly criticism, it can sting just the same. Unfortunately, it's all to easy to let a "no" stop us dead in our tracks. I can tell you from experience, the best antidote is to get back to work in whatever way you can. As soon as you start to create again, the fog of doubts will lift and you'll get connected with what you love.

I've been putting my work out there more (and need to do much more of it.) Today I received two rejections (one very nice, one brief and form-like) and one acceptance. And that's one yes I would not have had, if I hadn't put myself out there. There's no doubt that some rejections are more painful than others. You may need to grieve a bit, but then pull yourself up and get back to it. As for me, I got back into it and had some fun with acrylic and ink on paper and made the painting at the top of this post! ("Birdhouse", 8"x10", acrylic, ink, pencil on watercolor paper.)

The Year in Review

January 1st, 2008, Comments (7)

One of the cool things about blogging is that you can look back over the year and see some of the accomplishment that you've completely forgotten about and maybe give yourself some credit! So, I like to do a year in review every year and here it is for the year 2007:

January: Hosted a month of Sunday's Creative Challenge Day at Create a Connection. Chose the word "commitment" for my theme for the year in honor of my upcoming wedding and the commitment to myself and my art. Started working part-time instead of full-time in my nanny job as I slowly transition out of the job I'd held for 6 years. Made a video vision statement.

February: Submitted two pieces to Artstream's Lovely Hearts exhibition to raise money for breast cancer research. Graduated from the two year massage school program I attended. Phew! Began hosting an online group through Julia Cameron's "Finding Water" with Jessie. Received a book of Edgar All Poe's writing from Vedrana from Croatia in a book swap.

March: Showed 3 pieces in a group show of contemporary women artists at a Boston University. Saw a gorgeous, haunting exhibit on jellyfish.  Planned and hosted a big surprise party for the hubster's 30th birthday complete with bowling and ice cream cake. :-) Had my last day of work as a nanny. Started working for myself full time.

April: Worked hard on re-designing my art website and store. The hubster got a small (14 gallon), mesmerizing salt water tank.  Finished a large commissioned painting.  Found gorgeous dresses for my co-maids of honor. Attended a weekend mixed-media workshop and tried encaustic painting for the first time (loved it!)

May: Continued working hard on the website. Created one of my favorite paintings to date, The Lighthouse. Traveled for a wedding, a bridal shower, to see a friend's new home and a birthday party.

June: Got my art website up and running. Hoorah! Went to the opening of Mindy's "Wish Studio" and met many fabulous blogging gals! Went with the hubster on an unplanned trip to Seattle. Had a blast! Participated in the hubster's brother's wedding in NY. Attended a friend's wedding in Boston. A bird flew into our apartment and Tabbers caught it and brought it to me (I was in bed.)  Sent out our save-the-dates (magnet we designed mounted on a card printed at home.) and found the perfect wedding earrings (and my something blue!) Continued making loads of art. Best friend had her first baby.

July: Turned 31. Had my first wedding dress fitting and found shoes to go with it. Traveled to Boulder, CO for a wedding. Loved Boulder! Donated a piece of art for the Angels for Brianna auction.  Created my own special life binder. Lots of cool synchronicity. 

August: Had a creepy stalker experience. Made lots and lots of art. Took a class on art promotion. Had my bridal shower. Sent out the wedding invitations.

September: Family difficulties. Registered for Artfest 2008. Went to a totally awesome mini retreat with new friends, hosted by the lovely Jes. And they threw a surprise shower for me! Showed a series of my Subway Stories pieces at the "Tiny Enormous Show" at Nahcotta and sold them all. Attended my brother my brother's lovely wedding in NY. Had a pottery painting bachelorette party! Had way too many hair trials. Made a cute button for Wellness Wednesday which is hosted by Elena of Lunar Musings.

October: Took care of loads of last minute wedding stuff. Put together many, many programs with the best friend. Got married! Recovered from wedding and read some books for fun.

November: Hosted the fifth annual "Art Every Day Month!" Met some fabulous new artists along the way. Made loads of art. Submitted art to Patti Digh's art card challenge. Spent a weekend nannying for the family I used to work for. Worked with resin for the first time. Dug into defining beliefs. Made lots of art every day. Got mentioned on the Blogher website. Showed art on the zine, All Things Girl. Spent Thanksgiving with hubster's family in NY. Started making plans for Creative Every Day 2008.

December: Wrote my 200th post on this blog (those I promised a special something for being the first five to comment, can expect something shortly after the New Year!) Got a new car with (gasp!) power windows! Announced that I'm writing a book on creativity. Synchronicity abounds. Hosted a week at Create a Connection. Chose my theme for 2008: "Now."

I always feel like I'm not doing enough, but looking back I see that I did quite a lot in 2007 and I also know that the whole wedding thing took up a great deal of my time and energy. I'm feeling ready to step into another wonderful year.

The Time is Now

December 27th, 2007, Comments (22)

I hope everyone had a wonderful week however you may have spent it! We bounced from one part of my family to the other which was a bit crazy-making, but fun nonetheless. Even though I was home for Christmas this year, we had the addition of the hubster and my brother's wife celebrating with us which made for a different dynamic. I loved having the hubster with me, but I felt myself grow very quiet. The hubster pointed it out last night and we talked about it. I'd been feeling a bit self-conscious and was assuming (never a good idea) certain judgments. I came to the conclusion that I need to let go of these assumptions and be proud of where I'm at. I also need to do a major overhaul on my goals this year.

I started working on one of my goals for the year last month. I'm writing a book on creativity. The hubster suggested I say it out loud as it helps to make it more real and helps to hold me accountable. I've been a bit quiet about this as I've always said that I'm not a writer. But clearly I write a lot as can be seen in the six years of blogging I've done. I encourage people all the time to say they're an artist when they create, so I'm writing and I suppose that makes me a writer which makes me all sorts of jittery to type. It's not my goal to be strictly a writer, but for a long time I have wanted to put together a book of creativity tips that I would write and illustrate. As anyone with big dreams may know, it's easy to put these things off for some better time, but as Patti writes about on 37 Days, we never know how much time we will be given. So, if we have dreams, it's best to begin. In response to Patti's post, I commented: 

I love the idea that living as if you only had a short time left doesn't necessarily mean tackling those big things like traveling to such and such place, but it more likely means to live each day full out, slowing down, enjoying it all and expressing what needs to be expressed. I think we all have so much inside us that wants to be expressed and we hold it back thinking it not worthy or thinking that we have plenty of time to get to that later, but how rich would our lives be if we spent at least a part of every day sharing what we have within us. And who knows what places it would lead us to if we did?

My intentions for the coming year include stepping out of that space of thinking "there's plenty of time to get to that later" and into the space of "the time is now."

I'm liking that for my theme for this year, "2008: The Time is Now." So, I've been working on my book. I started with a brainstorming session, then an outline and then I started to write in a very free flowing manner, not looking back to edit at this point, just getting words on the screen. And of course, the beautiful thing about working towards your dreams is that taking action and moving forward feels so good!

Last night, I started working on this painting and stopped when the hubster asked for some snuggle time. I finished it up tonight and I'm just loving it. The rabbit feels like something out of a dream. I'm calling it "One Rabbit Night", it's about 10"x15" and was made with acrylic paint on watercolor paper.

I believe I've added everyone that has asked to be added to the "Creative Every Day 2008" participants list, so if you don't see your blog up there and you'd like it to be, let me know! I'm just returning to regular life after a busy time with family, so if I owe you an email, I hope to get to that very soon. Toodaloo for now!