Art, Fun & Healing

All posts in the Art, Fun & Healing category

Kindnesses Chronicles, 1st Monday

Published May 7, 2012 by Cheryl

“Where ever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness.”

Seneca Quotes

April was a wild and whacky, wonderful spring month. Life has been tied up in the end of the semester at Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne where I teach while also being involved in the community and getting ready for an artists’ studio tour. Kindnesses were a necessary gift in helping my students and in others helping me stay in balance. I appreciate the idea of chronicling kindnesses. It helps me to think back over the month and share some good things that I have been doing for people in my life and those that others have done for me. I would like to celebrate the joy that we bring into others’ lives and that they bring into mine!

Some kindnesses given and received~

I offered an Amnesty Day was given to my students to help them catch up on any assignments they may have missed, or wanted to redo, for this semester. Many of us need a second chance when life gets in the way.

I gave an art piece to a local charity for a fundraiser and silent auction.

Volunteers donate their time to help with the audio and cameras for my cable access show        Wide Open, which is very much a kindness. To let them know how much I appreciate them, I bake cookies to thank them and the crew for their help.

One of my students started the class for me when a dentist appointment threatened to make me late to class.

Kindnesses come in all shapes and sizes. My last day of class another student waited to talk with me. When I asked how I could help him, he asked if he could give me a hug. It was lovely :) !

When one of my nieces heard that I was overwhelmed and getting ready for the Artists’ Studio Tour, she called asking how she could help. Even though I did not need her help, the offer was very much appreciated!

I am currently knitting a pair of cute little red socks for a  nephew’s new baby. I love it!

As a computer assignment, my students were given an opportunity to write their own Kindness Chronicles. The following are a few of the comments:

  • Kindnesses while helping on a mission trip
  • A fellow student coming to pick her up when her car would not start.
  • Taking a home cooked meal to her grandmother in a nursing home.
  • A Chinese student in my class talked about the grace of holding a door for someone else being ingrained in Chinese people, but not necessarily so here in the U.S.
  • A young woman talked about playing a special song on the piano for her grandmother.
  • Another talking about the very simple kindness of having someone smile at them and saying hello or good morning.

Want to see more about Kindness Chronicles? Visit Jane LaFazio at http://janeville.blogspot.com/2012/03/kindness-chronicles.html.

Kindnesses are catching. Let’s pass them along.

Kindness Abounds!

Published April 1, 2012 by Cheryl

Kindness Chronicles

Kindness is all around us. Too often, we are just not paying attention.  Kindness comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be some larger gesture, or something as simple as a smile.

1. Stopping by a colleague’s office just to say hello and give her a hug.

2. ‘Trading’ professional services when a long time client can no longer pay.

3. Recently in one of my classes, a female student was laughing at herself and mentioned that she would probably run out of gas on her way home and how her dad would have to come to the rescue. Her car was on ‘E’ and she left her purse at home. Before I could get to her,  two students offered her money. Even after she declined their money, one insisted saying he did not want her breaking down on the side of the road.

4. Being conscious of the need for me to be kind to myself too. It is easy for me to take on more than what is good for me. Kindness to me — one recent example: after several social engagements, I said ‘no’ to an afternoon with my women friends to spend restful creative time in my studio.

Kindness is a choice, whether to others or to ourselves. Pass it on!

Want to see more about the Kindness Chronicles check out Jane LaFazio’s site at  http://janeville.blogspot.com/2012/03/kindness-chronicles.html.

 

Faerie Tales I

Published December 27, 2010 by Cheryl

“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

Published December 26, 2010 by Cheryl

“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

Published December 24, 2010 by Cheryl

“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

Published June 16, 2010 by Cheryl

“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

Published May 21, 2008 by Cheryl

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

Published September 15, 2007 by Cheryl

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 . . .

Published August 14, 2007 by Cheryl

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!

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.