Archive for the ‘Art, Fun & Healing’ Category

Faerie Tales I

December 27, 2010

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”

Albert Einstein

Would you believe that ‘once upon a time’ may not be so long ago? We live in a five-sense world, and sometimes things happen that just don’t quite fit within our seeing, smelling, hearing, touching and tasting. Yes, we often had/have a sense that there were faeries about. The thing is we are logical people, well educated and considered quite sensible; and still, things just seem to happen around our home. For example, things seem to disappear, then rea-appear sometime later. One of our first clear instances happened with a favorite garden shears. I brought in from the garden and before I got it back into the closet it disappeared. We looked everywhere; it was nowhere to be found. About a week later it turned up in plain sight on the counter. (There are only two of us living here and neither put it there.)

A more recent tale: our faeries love sparkly things. We have learned to careful with our diamond rings. Several years ago the whole crown broke off a diamond ring so we are carefull with them. We began to leave our rings safe on the jewelry chest while out gardening. Then, a ring disappeared from this safe and secure spot, obviously not so safe and secure. Fairly recently, we were putting in a new flower bed and there it was –  sticking up from a clump of dirt, just like a jeweler’s box, was the ’lost’ diamond ring.    

Is all of life logical and scientific with precise cause and effect or maybe there is just a bit of magic going on. We cannot see a link to cause and effect, nor can we see these marvelous creatures. Maybe sometimes we just need to expand our  minds and our expectations beyond the five senses, science and logic. What do you think?

Faerie Tales — an introduction

December 26, 2010

“I believe in everything until it’s disproved.  So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons.  It all exists, even if it’s in your mind.  Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now?”

  ~John Lennon

What happens when the faeries live in, and around, your house? Once upon a time, almost 15 years ago, we were looking to buy a home on a lake that was close to town. We spotted ‘the one’: older, in need of some loving care and on a small lake. From the very beginning, there was something a bit magical about the place, nothing we could put our finger on exactly, but it was there. It is like there is an unmistakable force.  When family or friends visit, they often comment on how it feels here – fun, playful, energetic, gentle, safe, boundless, sparkling, loving  .  .  .   

When first working with the landscape architect, we asked her for a feeling of sanctuary and refuge for us, for the animals and for the faeries. Since that time, we include the faeries when we talk with service people and visitors. They may think we are talking ‘tongue in cheek’; but then again, are we?

Faerie Tales is a remembering of our adventures with the faeries, including some faerie lore I have picked up along the way. Join us for Faerie Tales as our adventure unfolds.

 

Birthday Afterglow

December 24, 2010

“We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets.”

Marilyn Monroe

 After another wonderful birthday, I am still basking in the afterglow. From my perspective, birthdays are to be totally enjoyed and celebrated. It is a day all about me — what a treat! This is a relatively new perspective and I love it!!! Growing up, ‘all about me’ was selfish, or self-centered. Not anymore, now, it is a great thing especially on my birthday; a day to have fun, to play and to relish in exactly what I want to do, to eat and who I want to share it all with. Life is so good!

One of my favorite cards reads something like “Cheryl is willing to accept that she creates her own reality . . . except for some of the parts where she can’t help but wonder what the hell she was thinking.”   As I grow older, we all grow older really, I am becoming more and more aware that I really want to live fully, wide open actually. Yes, it is about creating our own reality, taking some risk, making some goofy decisions, learning along the way and still going for it the next time. 

That same old box has sprung wide open. This next year is bound to be a doozy, filled with fun, laughter, lots of joy, connecting with people and sharing the positive life while moving into even greater personal and professional success. what a gift life is.  Come on in and enjoy the fun!

The Power of Play

June 16, 2010

“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.”Joseph Chilton Pearce

Have you ever thought about the power of ‘play”? I sure have! Whether you know me as an artist, a life coach, a professor, a reiki practitioner or very simply as a friend, you probably know that I am basically a positive, fun-loving, playful woman.  My art is expressive, that is I have more of a focus on the process than on the product.  I love to create whimsical pieces of clothing, wall hangings, pieces for the garden, jewelry . . .

Most recently my studio time  has been focused on costumes for The King’s Curse, a Fort Wayne Dance Collective performance in which I am a sorceress, and focused on items for a summer garden art show. I noticed that I was beginning to lose steam and to become bored; it was not fun anymore but I was not sure why. Well . . . I just realized that somewhere in the process my studio playtime turned into work.

So, back to the original question: have you ever thought about the power of play? What happens when we play? If we think back to when we were young and out with our friends on the playground, we might start first with the swings, then move to the slide, then to the monkey bars and maybe on to the merry-go-round. With each change we were excited at the new movent, a new thrill in our playtime adventure. All the while we were talking and laughing and teasing each other. This play was fun! When I am in my studio playing, all sorts of possibilities open up. It is an adventure!  There is no right or wrong. If something does not work just the way I hoped, I try something else.

The idea of play can, and maybe must (?), be used in our professional lives as well. Play can excite us; the whole idea of ‘no right or wrong’  can open doors to creative ways to solve problems and address challenges. There is an excitement in playing with possibilities and that excitement is sure to draw in all sorts of new opportunities. When working with a graphic designer friend, I loved watching her work! Yes, she was working, but she was excited and playful - like she was playing with her computer and what she could make it do.

What do you think? Can there be playful productivity? That is my current exploration. Life is meant to be good and fun and filled with joy. It is often a choice. I am off to play first in my kitchen, then in my studio. May you too find a way to play in your day!

Daring to Dare

May 21, 2008

daring wink“I believe the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity, in any artistic work, is daring to dare.”

Maya Angelou

Could it be that our life is an artistic work? How is it that too many of us loose the ability to ‘dare’, even to dare ourselves, after we move out of childhood? No this is not about taking risk, though that is part of it. This is more about living outside of the box, outside of that comfort zone that we have created for ourselves. The reality is that since our beginning every experience, every person, everything said be it praise or criticism help to make us who we are today. Each experience helps to build that box, our norms, beliefs and values, and the comfort zone, in which we live. Now, we are told to “think outside the box” — to be creative, to find different solutions, to make new and exciting choices. WHAT?!!?

Maybe before we can do that we need to know first that the box exists and then to explore it a bit. How does your box fit you now? Are there some things that we need to let go of, that no longer fit? Dare we choose to take steps to think and live outside this box we have built for ourselves? I dare you! In fact, I double dare you. Remember as a kid, didn’t a ‘double dare’ mean that the the person who dared would do it first? Well, that is what is happening here.

At a meeting last week, one friend challenged/dared another to take just 10 minutes to paint every morning; saying that it would open up new possibilities. This sounded like a good challenge, so I made a commitment to myself: every morning using my art journal and a box of oil pastels. I draw/scribble without thinking a lot, then write down what comes to me. I just let anything come and each morning it has been about that box. Amazingly, last night and this morning I broke through the box that I have been working on for 58 years. Of course, the work is not done; but with creativity and discipline I am excited to take the dare and forge onward. Exciting stuff!!!

Have a great day! C~

Fighting the Gremlin

September 15, 2007

gremlin3.jpg

It’s hard to fight the enemy who has outposts in your head.

~Sally Kempton

Did you ever notice that there is this little negative voice inside your head, especially when you want to make a change in your life? It may tell you something like ‘You’re not good enough!’ or ‘You look stupid, what will they think of you?!’ or simply ‘How dumb, that won’t work!’,

These little gremlin voices sabotage different areas of our lives, both personally and professionally, with their negative talk. I have noticed that saboteurs take on different personalities depending on the situation. Our saboteurs may not seem dangerous, but they can sure slow us down in realizing our dreams or making any forward movement.

Want your saboteur, that little gremlin voice, to let go? In working with my clients, I have found that being playful is often more successful than fighting. Get it involved somewhere else. You could dream up a marvelous vacation and send it away for awhile. Take it to its favorite restaurant and leave it there. Show it a great movie, then leave the room.

Whether you are fighting your gremlins or playfully letting them go, good luck!

a welcome celebration . . .

August 14, 2007

girraffes.jpg Always kiss your children goodnight -even if they’re already asleep. ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Would you believe a newborn baby that is six feet, five inches? I happen to love giraffes. Recently, we took a trip to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo. Of course, a trip to the zoo is not complete without seeing these wonderful tall blonds.(While not actually a picture of the newborn here, I love the thought that mother giraffes love and kiss their babies too. It touches my heart!)
Back to the zoo — I have the kind of energy that draws people and animals to me. That day one of the giraffes walked right up in front of me as to have a little chat. Eyeball-to-eyeball we silently conversed. I asked her if she was expecting (she looked quite round.) How fun to see in yesterday’s paper that there was a new arrival at the zoo! I am so delighted.

There is so much in life to celebrate. All we have to do is keep our eyes and our hearts open. Blessings and have a great day!

Weaving the Dream

August 10, 2007

sunstwds72.jpg“We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving . . . and we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing. -Louisa May Alcott

How do you weave your dreams with your real life? How fully do you believe in yourself and in your own dreams? For me, life is about living my dreams as fully as possible. And yes, it is a challenge some days. Usually, I find that integrating my dreams into life is possible because I hold the belief that we each have the power and the strength within us to make it (whatever that “it” is) happen. Sometimes it takes a lot of work and sometimes it is almost instantaneous.

I am a weaver and a dreamer. I love to play with textiles weaving them into rugs or wall hangings, building on the dream, the inspiration, I have in my mind. This piece celebrates a sunset at Solana Beach, a moment in time when I was living my dream.

Is this so different than bringing another dream, a business, a relationship or maybe a whole new way of being, to my/our current reality? I don’t think so. When we connect the quantum field and life force energy, we can accomplish anything; especially when we allow it to happen one step at a time.

Blessings and have a great day! C.

Journaling- Creativing Healing

August 5, 2007

Just in case you think that Art Journaling is about creating beautiful pictures, I wanted to assure you that it is more about the process of expressing yourself — however that comes about. It is not about being pretty; it is about just opening up and letting what is inside come out. It may take the form of a scribble, a line, shapes, colors, textures . . . and the results can be healing.

In the May/June issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, Linda Edkins Wyatt talks about art journaling and how it helped her work with her panic attacks. She reports that she had fewer and fewer panic attacks and that they lessened in severity. I can well understand how this works. Some creativity every day, even a few minutes, can lessen my stress and calm me. cps12cover1.jpg

I would love to hear your stories.

Blessings! C.

PS. I love this magazine. It makes me smile and provides off-the-wall inspiration galore :) !


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