#ARTISTSFORLOVE

This past week has been a heart challenge to say the least.

As I sit and write this, I feel timid because I don't want to offend anyone. I don't want to offend good people who think differently than me, and I surely do not want to offend good people I profess to stand by and support. To be honest, speaking up for what I believe in this kind of way is not something that comes easily for me. However, I am willing to take the risk, be courageous and use my voice, because

THERE IS NO OTHER WAY. WE MUST SPEAK UP FOR JUSTICE & LOVE.

In this past week, I know there have been acts of violence across the board. On all 'sides' of the spectrum. I am particularly upset by acts of bigotry, of racism, of threatening & bullying on either side.  I CHOOSE LOVE INSTEAD.

As I rise into my power, I come together with my soulful artist sisters to take a stand.  As the beginning of a movement, we are offering downloadable prints with our art and words to express our stance. We encourage you to join us. Create your own downloadable #ARTISTSFORLOVE prints. Share your own, share these and pass on the light of hope. 

Click on the images below for downloadable prints.

This is one small step of solidarity. There is more to come. I personally commit to educating myself on how I can best rise up, best heed the call which beckons us all. Will you join me?

Beautiful, inspiring video:

Part of the Wonderful Lifebook 2017 & Giveaway!

 

Hey there friends! This is my first ever traditional 'blog' post & its to announce some fun news ... 

I am going to be teaching on Life Book 2017 next year!

(along with these exceptional teachers!)

 
 

I can give away 1 space on this amazing year long art course!

Keep reading to find out more about Life Book 2017 and how you can win a spot! :)

First let me tell you a bit about Life Book in case you haven't heard about it. “Life Book, a celebration and honoring of YOU” is a year-long mixed media art class organized by Tamara Laporte from Willowing Arts.

Tam is joined by 22 incredible art teachers who share their mixed media techniques, tips and tricks with you. Themed around self-development and healing, you’ll be creating several loose mixed media art journal pages per month which by the end of the year you will bind into a glorious journal (a Life Book)! You will have a wonderful keepsake that you can treasure for the rest of your life.. super fun!

You can find out more about this wildly popular course (it has been joined by over 12500+people in the past!) by clicking HERE.

I haven't fully developed my class idea yet, but I'm excited to be sharing some of my fun painting & drawing techniques with you.

come see 46x46 sm.jpg

Registration opens on October 3rd 2016 and the class begins on January 1st 2017. So if you want to start the year with a fabulous creative BANG and spend 2017 with a wonderful creative community of like-minded souls, learning more about art and how to be kinder and more loving towards yourself, be sure to join once registration opens! :) Keep this page bookmarked so that you can sign up the moment it goes on sale!

Now then, onto the give-away and blog hop! :) I can give away 1 space on Life Book 2017 to 1 lucky winner, yay!  And if you follow the blog hop (see below for links and dates) you can up your chances of winning a space by entering all the other give-aways also! :)

How to enter the give-away: 

Please complete the following steps

1. Share this give-away on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram 

2. Sign up to my newsletter (click here)

3. Leave a comment below letting us know why you would love to join Life Book 2017

I will announce the winner on Friday, September  16th!

Here is the list of the other amazing teachers who will be teaching on Life Book – they too will be giving away a spot on Life Book so go check them out and enter their give-aways! :)

 

5th September 2016 Tamara Laporte www.willowing.org/blog

6th September 2016 Jodi Ohl sweetrepeats.blogspot.com

7th September 2016 Susana Tavares ateliersusanatavares.blogspot.com

8th September 2016 France Papillon www.france-papillon.com/blog

9th September 2016 Shelley Klammer http://intuitivecreativity.typepad.com

10th September 2016 Amber Kuileimailani Bonnici www.theradiantmama.com

11th September 2016 Donna Mulholland www.donnamulhollandstudio.com/blog

12th September 2016 Mandy van Goeije https://www.mandyvangoeije.com/blog

13th September 2016 Jennifer Mercede www.jennifermercede.com/blog

14th September 2016 Misty Mawn www.mistymawnart.com/blog

15th September 2016 Gwenn Seemel www.gwennseemel.com/blog

16th September 2016 Melissa Dinwiddie melissadinwiddie.com/blog

17th September 2016 Vicky Papaioannou www.clips-n-cuts.com

18th September 2016 Lindsay Weirich thefrugalcrafter.wordpress.com

19th September 2016 Julie Fei-Fan Balzer balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs

20th September 2016 Effy Wild effybird.com

21st September 2016 Wendy Brightbill agirlandherbrush.wordpress.com

22nd September 2016 Jamie Dougherty jamiedoughertydesigns.blogspot.co.uk

23rd September 2016 Andrea Gomoll andrea-gomoll.de/blog

24th September 2016 Whitney Freya www.whitneyfreya.com/blog

25th September 2016 Annie Hamman www.anniehamman.com/blog

26th September 2016 Connie Solera www.dirtyfootprints-studio.com/blog

27th September 2016 Leilani Joy

 

Best of luck to you & happy arting!

i was gonna go in the kitchen & eat some breakfast

and then my roommate came home. huh. now my mind goes blank. feeling ok enough to write. didn't yesterday or the day before. interesting, just cause I'm sick, its like I stop doing things i normally do to take care of me. getting in the mood, this grayness I love. the pops of color and of course i think how could i not live here. reminded of my attachments. wondering how it will ever be possible for me and my love to live together. in the same place. my life so different. so independent. so just me. there its family. kids. making dinner. ha. cause i don't make dinner here, i really don't. if i go to my notebook to spur ideas, that, so much different with a pen and paper. then keys. sent j that video today. wonder what she'll think. what do i think. i think i look kind of fat, but at the same time I feel good. i felt good making it. my eyes look pretty. feel kinda sexy, smooth and i also notice my overweightness.

so interesting, such an interesting conversation. and my goal currently being, eating what i want when i want. today, need to make sure to sit down when i eat. notice the food, the sensations. its like when i teach scribbling. ha, i teach scribbling. so weird. so many teachers. teachers of art everywhere. how am i different? what have i to offer.

need to eat something. but what, nothing seems appetizing. feel gross. nose icy cold breathing. want joyce to look at the video and comment. what is she doing, science saturday. sigh.kind of started packing, but that task is going to be daunting. really need to start working today. kind of excited about making these books, of course I have questions, wonder if joyce cares if i mention her in this blog thing. younger artists. fresh artists. there. that is where my mind goes. i will not name names here but there is one in particular on my mind. my art. freshness, how so i discover that. finances. finances. FINANCES! i am abundant i know, but do i know? do i really know. where has my abundance gone? or do i not see it. i think of geneen roth losing millions. and, apparently, making it back. i can make mine too. just to live like.. have whatever. not having to choose. but maybe that is not the goal. maybe its still good to choose. to have priorities. mine would be to live on a lake!!!  probably not the ocean. 

I so want a boat, but then again, i don't REALLY want a boat. like i don't want to own it, to take care of it (who will even read this and what the hell will they think? ha.. keep going). the slime. the mold. the replacement parts. i mean, how do you even... sigh. but it was nice being with chris and his family and on the water. on the water. thats where i want to be. and i want to sleep on the water and sleep outside. and honestly, thats where, um.. its all about wanting that fresh connected to nature feeling, so really, you can achieve that many different ways, ya know?

I wonder how often Bruce would feel that. for as crazy as she was, she really did seem to do some good things for herself. sleeping outside. she had that whole porch set up with a bed. it was beautiful. i think about her so much. i wonder if she thinks about me. i bet its not the same, even if she does.. she probably doesn't. our relationship.. i looked at our relationship so differently than she did I think.

Anyway, the kitchen is free, so i'm gonna find SOMETHING to eat. da.. joyce hasn't responded yet... 

sparkles on the sidewalk (fiction) (sometimes I write fiction & I love doing it)

its starts out like this. GO! Go! go! like seriously GO! He called to her down the hallway. don't ever come back here ever.

He had said that to her many times, but there was something different about the tone in his voice this time. She never knew if she could trust him anyway. 

She lit a cigarette and crept out the fire escape window. She'd have to go back for her phone at least she thought. the door opened from down the hallway and she could see her phone placed on the floor by an outstretched hand and then the door shut. not slammed. just shut. 

He'd get over it. that was an indication. Anyway, she needed her charger. Her leopard print jacket with fur around the edges. her brush. the rest of her cigarettes. her vinyls and some other things. She kept most of her things at jacki's so it was easy to just go there. but she wanted that leopard jacket. and the rest of her cigarettes.

hmmpf. she looked out at the night. the sky. dark. stars up there somewhere, but she couldn't see them. the building next door was about.. i don't know, 10 feet away? is that how far buildings are? it was close. she could see into the people's place across the way. they seemed like a normal couple. up. to work. home. dinner. watch tv. bed by 10 or maybe 11. Veronica imagined that they would read in bed for somewhere between 30minutes to an hour before turning off the lights, kissing goodnight and sleeping peacefully until their alarms woke them up at 5:30 AM to go to the gym. Gah. 5:30 AM, what a god awful hour. Makes her nauseous to even think of rising at that hour.  But she was sure the perfect couple didn't mind. They probably felt good doing it.

The woman had blonde hair. brownish blonde. she wore black and white striped shirts. wide stripes. long sleeves. Tom's shoes. he was dark haired. Greek? little stubble. cute. very cute. not the kind of guy that would like ver, but she thought he should. or that she should be with someone like him. but he wouldn't give her a second look. At least that's what she figured anyway.

It looked like they were gonna have a baby. I don't know what made her think that. maybe it just seemed right. maybe they had a baby. No, she'd know if they had a baby she figured. Duh, that would be obvious. But it seemed like they had a baby. Does that make sense?

Hmmpf. what to do. Jonny probably wasn't gonna cool down for a while. plus she didn't really want to be around him anyway.  she climbed down the fire escape, jumped the last ten foot (ten foot? hard to be sure) drop to the slightly wet pavement. It had been raining on and off all day in the city.  there was a chill in the air and V was grateful she at least had her hoody on. 

her pace was mellow. whats the rush anyway? its moments like these you get the opportunity to slow down. to take a look at the graffiti. the sparkles in the sidewalk. notice the steam coming off the road. the stop lights changing color. Any other time you're too wrapped up in where you're going. who you're talking to. but when your boyfriend dumps you for the umpteenth time and you don't really have anywhere better to be.. being here, now, walking on the streets, breathing in the cool air, seems like as good a place to be as any other. HOnestly kind of better than anywhere. Definitely better than jonny's apartment thats for sure.

She definitely didn't want to go back there and considered what it would be like to curl up on the street for the night. she'd do it if she didn't think she'd get too cold. yeah.. i'd get too cold. she shivered at the thought of herself huddled in a doorway at like 3 or 4 in the morning just way too cold in only her hoodie.  Up until then it pretty much seemed appealing. the fresh air, the freedom. the adventure. things like that she liked. and she didn't want to go back to jonny's apartment.

nor did she want to go to jacki's place. she probably had. ugh. oh god, she definitely had that guy over. ugh! she couldn't go to jacki's. shit. that's not an option.   Sigh. fuck. fuck. fuck. where am I gonna go? shit. dang it. arghh.. i don't want to go back to Jonny's.

so many emotions

I HAVE SO MANY EMOTIONS. so many emotions. so many emotions. and they are not small. they are big and there's lots of them and they run around all crazy in my head all day and all day.  they are also in my body. in my chest. in my stomach. last night, i invited them to wake up (as if they were all asleep, cause Lord knows they are not ALL asleep. many of them are well, well widely awake. shouting. kicking. screaming. crying. all the time. to get attention. to be heard. so those i don't need to wake up) but the others, i welcomed them to wake. the ones sleeping in the nooks and crannies of my body. of my psyche. in the rafters, like an owl hiding in a barn, behind cobwebs unseen to the quick glancer. 

Wake up from your slumber, from your napping. i invite you to come out. come to me. speak to me. you have been invited to the platform. at first it was a cold, concrete platform, with a podium and a microphone so they could speak. but then, it became much more comfortable, like a place my friend Flora Bowley, or Anahata would design. with pillows and rugs from bali. warm unique furniture. fluffy rugs. geometric designs. colorful modern wall art. crisp, soft design. fresh wood. environmentally friendly. beautiful lamps. lights. lighting. people who know how to do lighting, I admire you. warm christmas like lights. lamps that hang over a sofa. never the overhead light (which I always use. i also like bright light sometimes)

my emotions are invited to a cozily lit opportunity for outpour. a cozy couch they can sit on. they have the stage. they can say what they want. for as long as they want. with whatever feeling. anger, sadness, frustration. longing. discomfort. rage. joy. they can know that they are safe. that they are held. one by one. loved.

come, come out and let me hold you and love you

Anahata's Space

Flora's lovely space

Flora's lovely space

here goes another. thats all thats important

Like I've mentioned. I don't know what I'm going to say when I sit down to write. all i know is that I have to write. this will not be correct grammar. this will not be correct spelling etc. if that irks you too much, or if rambling is not your thing, ha.. then this may not be the 'blog' for you.

so far, i'm not sure what to call it so i'm calling it a 'blog' in quotes. definitely not a blog.

what do i want to say to you.. and thats the catch. i need to eliminate the .. to you part. 

i needed to sit down and write today. i am also going to go for a run. its challenging to get 'you' out of my mind. the audience. seriously. 

yes. following my yes. this 'blog' is a yes. don't think i'll always use quotes. too much energy to do. i rearranged my room. just a little. some parts are still not put together. freedom. freshness that is what readers would get from my blog. freedom to let go and be. less structure. following the moment. i had ideas what i would write, but that is not important. those are to vanish to make way for the moment. 

like at this moment, if I could be anywhere else, just transported, i'd be at Breightenbush hot springs. sitting in that one pool where we saw the daughter and dad. or what, was it his son? it was in the morning. oh this feels good not worrying about having to explain all the details. this is me. this is me writing. 

a sigh. a sigh of relief. letting go. relaxing. saying yes. to me.

meet sam the cell

this here is my first 'blog' post. though i'm not really calling it a blog i suppose. i am in my mind, but its not a traditional blog. i will call it a blog in my mind until i think of something else that it truly is. until that title emerges.

this morning i met sam the cell. chief sam, but he told me i didn't need to call him that. he is the head of all the cells in my body. he represents them and he came to talk to me.  he thanked me for my commitment to not eating sugar for the past 8 months. mind you i haven't been perfect and he knows that. he understands cause i'm human. but wow, i have really decreased the number of times i've LOADED my body with super simple white unrefined sugars from chocolate chip cookies. ice cream. donuts. bread etc.  

he told me, in tears... touched, how thankful he and all the cells are.  to not have to be on alert for some emergency. to have to drop everything and tend to the influx, the overdose, the overwhelming amount of trash entering the system. they have actually been able to focus on the WORK. the projects they want to get done, like detoxifying, like rebuilding, like strengthening etc. 

(this is what sam looks like btw:)

a doozer from Fraggle Rock! 

a doozer from Fraggle Rock! 

doozers at work. like cells in my body

doozers at work. like cells in my body

 

he thanked me for how i have been eating more nutrient dense food.  for the resources. it was like he was accepting his grant and he began to tell me what they intended on doing with all these resources. 

1 first we will start with the bones. the structure. we will increase their density. patch up andy tears, shreds, etc. we plan to heal your ankle, toes. we will heal your arthritis.. with the calcium you provide us . and other nutrients.

2. two we plan to heal the muscles. the organs. detoxifying (which we've already started) your kidneys, colon, pancreas, liver etc. we will clear out the toxins, which we've already started because you have given us such a great break from all the sugar you liked to consume. now we can actually focus on this.

3. we of course will eliminate excess fat. this is our last step.  cellulite will be gone. blemishes etc. its a focus later on in the process, but it will be addressed. 

he outlined his plan. he told me that he was grateful that i was finally available for him to connect with to communicate with.  knowing my current commitment to my body, he felt he could trust me. so here he was.. introducing himself to me.

 

 

 

 

 

free association

Thats truly how I want to run my blog its like free association. without editing. without necessarily having a point. its just a go. its vulnerable. im not quite sure how it will go when say I'm really negative. or when i'm talking about someone. hmm.. i don't want to censor and to be honest with you i don't even really want my grammar to be correct. its hard not to correct it though. let me see how i can add images inside a blog post.