Entries Tagged as: synchronicity
Before and After
March 21st, 2008, Comments (7)
So you saw the inkblot before (below) and I loved reading about what you saw. Here's the before:
And here's what I saw!
So much fun. I've completed one more, but before I show you what I did, I'll show you the before pic.
Now, in this one, what I saw was pretty whacky, so I kinda doubt anyone will see the exact same thing as I did, but I'd love to hear about what you see! I'll show the result in a later post.
Actually, what I saw in the above inkblot/paintblot is somewhat related, by random synchronicity, to this Hip Tranquil Chick Podcast with Sera Beak, the author of one of my favorite books of the last couple years, The Red Book
The Monster at the End of Your To-Do List
February 6th, 2008, Comments (19)
I really loved this post from Christine Kane. All her posts are great, but this one I thought might be particularly relevant to all the Creative Every Day folks. The article is all about "Creative Procrastination."
If like me, you are already a procrastinator in general, you probably also procrastinate with your creative urges. I think I've experienced all the symptoms that Christine lists. And it's true that fear is behind them all. Coincidentally (or not), I'd just been talking to the hubster about this...this recognizing what holds me back. And most of it is that big monster, Fear (of rejection, failure, etc...). I've found that the best way to deal with fears is to move straight through them with a dose of compassion and firmness. Beating yourself up over what you've procrastinated about isn't going to get you any closer to your goals, so how to help yourself along?
I try to tackle something that scares me daily, even if that something is super-duper-teeny-tiny. No one else can judge what scary means for me, except me, so I decide. Yesterday that teeny tiny thing, was writing a magazine to get the name of the managing editor, so that I could properly address a query. And the wonderful is, the feeling of getting past that fear, no matter how small, gives me a boost. And suddenly that big monster gets smaller. Heh, I just realized I was picturing the monster as blue which reminds me of a book I had as a kid. The book was called, There's a Monster at the End of this Book
How perfect! Just like in the story, the monster we put up all these walls to hide from, is nothing to be afraid of. Whatever the negative voices and imagined stories you've created, swirl together to create this big, scary monster, when in reality, the monster is yourself. And with a little compassion, you can see that this "monster" isn't so bad after all. And maybe like Grover, it just needs a hug.
I love to keep lists. I have to-do lists on nearly any paper surface within reach. But I've noticed that to-do lists are never-ending and when they start to fill up with scary things, I start to avoid looking at them. In the past couple of days, I decided to keep an "Already Done" list. I realized that not everything I do and feel good about is on a list and it's really helpful at the end of the day to look back and see what I've actually done. A sense of accomplishment is a major boost and helps keep me motivated to tackle the next little monster on my list.
So, if you're finding yourself stuck with a monster on your list of to-do's or a monster sitting at your crafting table, try showing him or her your list of "Already Done" and see what happens. What happens if we keep turning the pages? Is there a loveable blue monster on the other side of your to-do list?
p.s. More fun synchronicity...I had to get in my car before I finished this post and a song came on the radio with the lyrics, "there are no monsters under your bed." 
More Inspiration
February 4th, 2008, Comments (8)
In a bit of synchronicity, shortly after I finished the previous post about Inpiration Treasure Hunts, I found out about (via the Scoop) a new ezine called "Inspiration" from the blog, "design for mankind." It's free to download and full of inspiring pictures and snippets of what inspires a wide variety of creative folks. Definitely worth checking out!!!
I shared my Inspiration board the other day, which is sort of a catching place for random things I want to keep in my line of sight. But there are plenty of things that don't make it to the board. Here are just some of those things that inspire me:
- the fish tank in our home
- the color combinations I see in the sky set off against the trees
- shapes in the grain of wood, glass bottles, and puddles
- poems
- dreams
- doodling
- bookstores and libraries
- chopping vedgetables
- peeking into homes on real estate websites
- teeny tiny boxes
- beautiful handwriting
- the sound of water
- birds
- greenhouses
- blank paper
How about you? What inspires you? Where do you find unexpected bits of inspiration?
Patti has a great post on her blog about the everyday objects of her life. I was drawn in by the art which illustrates her essay and the beautiful poem by Billy Collins. After reading many of his poems on Patti's blog, 37 Days, I picked up a book of his poetry (Nine Horses
Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks. - Plutarch
Draw the outline of a small 2”x2” square on a piece of paper or on a roll of a child’s art paper. A manageable, consistent size. Each day, draw a new square. And create something on one of these squares every day to remind you of your day—it can be a portrait of a simple object you love. It can be a record of your day, how you felt, the color of that day for you—in collage or pencil or paints. It can be a short poem or a quote or a solid block of color. It can be anything you want it to be. It's a small size; you can do this. Perhaps it is a painting of an ambrosia apple every day for two weeks until you really see it. Create one every day for a year. That’s what life is.
(pictures above: A damask wallpaper pattern that inspires me; 3 boxes painted with images of nightmares I've had, made for my Art Every Day Month project one year; bird drawings done for another year's Art Every Day Month; Recently finished piece, A Timely Message; butterflies on display at the Botanical Gardens in Montreal.)
Tiny, Little Things (that are actually Big)
January 20th, 2008, Comments (8)
A big part of what I'd like the Creative Every Day challenge to for myself and others, is to help us notice the little things and the small ways we can be creative. We may not have time to make a masterpiece every day, but we can always find some way (no matter how small) to be creative. And by looking at the many ways we can be creative in our lives, we bring ourselves into the now. In our computer culture, many of us (myself included) get a bit of information add, slowing down to notice the little ways in which we are creative in our everyday lives helps us to stop and focus on all the small things that make our life beautiful. And that's beautiful!
I was just over at Violet's Ink and she talked about a cool blog called Overlooked. I'd never heard of it before! But it's a new challenge that is all about the everyday little things in life. And in a bit of cool synchronicity, there's a picture on the blog of the mug that I posted a picture of last week...yes, the one that says "Do Something Creative Every Day." Gotta love that. I don't really need another mug, but I think the Universe is telling me to get that one as a little reminder of my daily practice.
Today's creatactivity was varnishing up the two pieces I finished up yesterday and collaging the background for three more. I'm a posting maniac today!
Comfort
January 19th, 2008, Comments (10)
I keep hearing, reading, and seeing the word, "comfort" everywhere lately. It was on the receipt of my purchase at a bagel shop this morning which was advertising a new sandwich that they called "creative comfort foods." Inspire Me Thursday this week is about moving beyond our comfort zones (and last week was also about comfort). Jen Lemen mentioned finding comfort in her clutter today. And those are just a few examples. Perhaps it is because I am seeking comfort at the moment.
I have clinical depression and the winter can be difficult for me. I've been doing o.k., but this past week has been a bit of a struggle. I have been endlessly exhausted, teary, and low energy. I say this because I know that this is a difficult time for many people and perhaps my words will help someone else who is struggling too. Fortunately, I've been through this enough to know that it will pass. I don't feel hopeless as I might have in the past. The best thing I can do is have compassion for myself, practice good self-care, and keep taking those baby steps forward.
My week at my old job ends tomorrow night and I'm looking forward to a snuggle reunion with the hubster and my kitty meows. (The picture is of my kitties, Sadie and Emma, snuggling on a box in my closet.) I hope that if you are needing some comfort today, you will allow yourself to seek it out, to relax and soak it in.
On a Roll of Creative Goodness
January 9th, 2008, Comments (11)
Oo, I've got a tummy ache! So, why am I here? Well, call me obsessed, but I'm on a roll today, feeling good and want to share. And immediately after I write this post, I'll be getting into cozy pajamas and curling up with my journal and maybe going to bed early.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I'm working on a book about creativity and in the comments of that post, I got a generous offer of editing help from Sarah. It was scary to email the drafts of the introduction and first chapter off to Sarah, but I did (and I survived.) I got her comments back today and already her feedback has been so helpful.
Before I got her comments back, I was thinking about the intro and wondered how some of my favorite authors did it. I pulled out a few books from my bookshelf and flipped through the pages. One of the books was SARK's Succulent Wild Woman
I closed SARK's book and flipped open to a random page in Jan Phillips' Marry Your Muse
Creativity belongs to the artist in each of us. To create means to relate. The root meaning of the word art is "to fit together" and we all do this every day. Not all of us are painters but we are all artists. Each time we fit things together we are creating - whether it is to make a loaf of bread, a child, a day.
How perfect is that? That seems to encapsulate the essence of what I want to encourage in others in the Creative Every Day 2008 project.
My creativity activities today ran the gamut of playing silly games with young children of my friends to writing and designing the monthly newsletter for my art website. By the way, subscribers to the newsletter are automatically entered into a monthly drawing for a free print! You can sign up in the lower left corner of the website.
How bout some more fun linkage? I can't help myself.
- This is a video by Creative Every Day 2008 participant, Kris Cahill. Kris makes these amazing paintings in reverse on vinyl. Go watch and be amazed!
- I love this challenge posted on JustBeConnected today. Hostess for the week, Patti has posted a fun (and creative!) way to beat those pesky winter blues. Her challenge is another example of how being creative every day often involves changing your perspective a bit.
- Karen posted this hilarious list (a kids say the darndest things kind of list) the other day and it totally cracked me up. Check it out if you need a giggle.
- Need more laughs? This blog is sure to crack you up. Go check out: Tiny Art Director
TTFN, Ta-ta-for-now
Creative Link-a-Roos From Me to You
January 9th, 2008, Comments (9)
Today's (Tuesday's) creativity was mainly found in trying to make thank you note writing an enjoyable experience. I'm down to the last of my wedding thank you notes and as I finished them up, I exclaimed to the hubster, "I'm never getting married again!"
I made the cards fun by using sparkly pens and pretty stamps and writing addresses with silver metallic ink on pretty brown paper and using cool postage stamps. Sure, I probably could have finished them quicker with less embellishing, but what fun would that be? I'm too pooped to photograph the notes, but I'm sure there'll be a couple more to write along the way, so perhaps I'll snap a shot then...or not! The stamps and paper and pens were all picked up at Paper Source a good place to make card making of all kinds more enjoyable. Plus, I just love their motto: "Do Something Creative Every Day." I may have to get one of their mugs that say that on it!
I've been seeing so many cool links recently, that I need to share some of them before my mind overflows and I forget to post them!
First, a super cool blog called Today's Creative Blog, from Kim of Scrap To My Lu which features loads of amazing creative blogs. Seriously, inspiration overload here.
Second, I got the latest astrology email from Rob Brezsny today and haven't even read it as I went off on a tangent from his link to Jonathan Zap. The site features a tool called the Zap Oracle which is something like a tarot reading, which you can try for free there. He has a lot of interesting writing, one article in particular got my attention. It was linked to one of the images in a reading on Zap's Oracle Page which was called "The Fire of Now." I felt a bit of synchronicity there since the word I chose for this year is "Now." The quote the accompanied the image was:
Yesterday is ashes, tomorrow wood, only today the fire burns brightly.
— Native American saying
Anyways, the article, which is called, "Kill the Time Grid and Fire Up Your Life," sounds quite odd I'll admit. But it's all about living in the now and I could relate to and appreciate much of what Zap has to say here about the suffering that is caused by living in some imagined future instead of being in the present. I get too easily hyped up and anxious and I've been getting the strong sense that in some areas of my life, I really need to slow down and be still. It feels like there's a sort of paradox between being more active and being more still, but I also feel like these things are connected. I'm not able to be articulate about this quite yet, which is one reason why I love making art! So much easier for me to express myself that way.
Well, other links will have to be shared later as it's suddenly very late. Hope you're all finding creativity in your everyday lives! It has been fun so far to think over all the ways I infuse creativity into my everyday life. I often share the visual art, but I notice the creativity in all sorts of things, from the thank you note writing I mentioned today, to the swirling of honey into a cup of tea this afternoon and the website work this morning. Have a wonderful Wednesday!
A Timely Message
December 30th, 2007, Comments (25)
I was feeling all jittery tonight and some art making did help. I've named the piece, "A Timely Message" and it's about 9"x12" with collage, acrylic and ink on watercolor paper. I created spontaneously, grabbing collage items and building from there. Then I stared at the collage for awhile until I started to get an idea for an image and then it flowed from there. The message goes from the gut to the bird to the head and off into the world. I think of it like an illustration of intuition, inspiration, and instinct.
I'm super excited about Creative Every Day 2008!! The list of participants has been growing and there is a great group of bloggers, some I've known for a long time and some I've just met. Already the energy of this great group of creative souls is amazing!
A bit of cool synchronicity: When I was listening to podcasts yesterday, a new one popped up from CraftyPod that was about...being creative every day! No way! Yes way! In this case, it's an interview with Kirsty Hall, who in 2007 did a daily drawing on an envelope that she mailed to herself with a note inside. She plans on exhibiting the envelopes all together in 2008. The interview is quite timely and talks about some tips to maintaining a daily practice. It's a really fun interview, so do give it a listen and check out Kirsty's Diary Project!
The lovely Miss Lemen has a great message at the top of her most recent post, "Don't put off your happy life." Definitely a message worth remembering as I move into a year of living in the now! I also loved her list of "25 things she never gets tired of." Jen is always full of such wonderful ideas and positive energy! Here's my list, in no particular order:
1. synchronicity
2. my kitties
3. laughing
4. the hubster
5. making art
6. hot chocolate with whipped cream
7. soft, cozy blankets
8. sitting by the ocean, a river or lake at night
9. watching the stars
10. singing in the car
11. brunch
12. fresh sheets of blank, white paper
13. making babies smile
14. snuggling up with a good book
15. the smell of fall
16. summertime
17. Aveda shampure
18. getting fun things in the mail
19. the smell of clean towels and sheets
20. bubble baths
21. browsing in book stores and libraries
22. doodling on any paper available
23. sleeping in with the hubster
24. seeing my family happy
25. drawing trees
And heh, I did a bunch of these things today! I slept in a bit with the hubster, spent some time browsing in a book store, sang in the car, laughed, had hot cocoa with whipped cream, I drew a tree and doodled on some blank pieces of paper, I made art, and snuggled up with the kitties under a soft blanket while reading (and finishing) a good book!! Life is good!!
Day 8 – New Moon Bird (In Progress)
November 9th, 2007, Comments (10)
Oops, posted this later than I intended to! It's not quite done yet (as you can see, still wet with medium, as I laid it on real thick), so I'll have to finish it another day. (Remember all you creators out there that it's totally fine to work on a piece over more than one day! I did that last year and it was very cool to work on a piece over time, as I continued working every day.)
This piece, partly inspired by the fact that the new moon is tomorrow (and I totally didn't realize that when I drew that new moon in my art yesterday.) Seems like there's a lot of art going on around the idea of transitions and this idea of a bird in the moon, came to me today. So far, it's made entirely out of torn collaged paper on wood panel, 8"x8".
I'm itching to do some more encaustic work, but I need more wax. I'm going to be working at my old job (keeping an eye on the teenager in the house and the dogs of my former boss while they're out of town) to make a little extra dinero. I'll be able to make art there, but no encaustics.
My sleeping patterns are all out of wack. Hopefully, I'll get on a better schedule this weekend when I have to get up to feed their dogs.
Yeehaw!
August 14th, 2007, Comments (10)
I love Carl Kasell yellin' "Yeehaw!" on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me on NPR in the little intro to news about the presidential race. I've been listening to lots of podcasts as I'm knee-deep in a project that's drinking up all my time. But it's a fun project. Actually, I've got a few projects going (things tend to come in floods) and it feels good. I've been having crazy synchronicities throughout the last few days (which usually means I'm on the right track.) I should have been writing them down, but my hands have been full of paint and I've just laughed. I just had one...as I was writing the word flood above (which I thought was a random word choice for what I was trying to say), the woman talking on a podcast in the background said, "Where's the flood?" Ha! Just before that, I was thinking about intuition and I got a newsletter from a woman who writes about intuition. Heh. I was thinking about intuition because I got an email from the woman who won this month's Blue Tree newsletter's give-away (hello Carla!) and she had been thinking about me shortly before she got my email telling her she won. She had been reading a book in which a woman dreamed about a Blue Tree and was going to ask me if that's where the inspiration for the name of my business came from. How crazy is that? You know, these stories of synchronicity never sound as cool as when they're actually happening, but they're great fun. And that's just the start. I was painting late last night and a podcast had ended and I didn't put anything else on, so it was very quiet, just the sound of crickets and my paintbrush and my email chirped (it makes a chirping noise to let me know I have mail.) I didn't check the email right away, but I was thinking how nice the quiet was and then when I finished up, I checked my email which was the newsletter from Robert Genn with the subject of "Silence is Golden." Carla Kurt (a different Carla) actually mentioned this newsletter today in a post with some beautiful art.
Anyways, among other projects, I've also decided to attempt to create a piece of art every day for the next month. Now, I'm planning to be fairly relaxed about this because I've got a lot going on. And I've got Art Every Day Month coming up in November. It's going to be the 5th anniversary of Art Every Day Month!! (I'm going to create a page for Art Every Day Month soon, but you can see my albums from past years on the left and I always invite others to join in for a very relaxed creative challenge to create some art (which could be anything) every day for the month of November.) I like a good artsy challenge and wanted to join in with Karen and Jessie on this creative journey.
Anyways, this is from yesterday and there's more. This is a new piece in my "Subway Stories" series. Tammy Vitale owns the first creation that I actually made last year during Art Every Day Month. And this new series will be up at a show which I'll talk about later on. This piece is 10"x10" with collage and acrylic paint on cradled wood board. This series idea came about from riding on the subway and seeing people through the windows of subways passing in the other direction and wondering what their stories were, what their lives contained, their dreams and hopes, what was running through their heads. So many people we pass every day. So many stories!
I'm trying to decide about the name. I could name it after the Green Line (a subway line here) because of the hint of green to the left of the window in the collage (something like Subway Stories: Green Line) or I could name it in reference to the stories that are written within the figures in this piece (something like Subway Stories: Knit, Purl, News) or just give it a number (Subway Stories II). What do you think?
