The Artist's Way - Week Seven

This week was all about "Recovering a Sense of Connection." As Julia Cameron says, connecting with your "personal angels." All the tasks had to do with remembering and acting on things you enjoy. So even though I had a bad work week, The Artist's Way pulled through for me.

At lunch one day, I created a collage with pictures torn from magazines. It brought back old memories, and made me realize how much I miss my subscriptions! Was there a theme to these images? Well, of course: Water! I'm not at all surprised.

Another task was to create a wonderful smell in the house, so I lit a stick of incense just before I sat down to write. And I wore a favorite shirt to work, for no special reason.

On my artist date, I took myself to a bookstore - lately, I've been buying all my books online. Thought I'd hang out for half an hour, but spent way more time than that. I picked up two magazines before leaving: Watercolor Artist and Art Journaling. When the girl rung me out, I learned it came to over $20.00 For two magazines!? The Art Journaling was $15.00 by itself! If I had seen that, I probably wouldn't have gotten it. Glad I didn't see... (note: no price break in a subscription either!)


Were there any new "significant" issues I faced this week? I tried to place some handmade books on consignment at a winery, and was refused. What a letdown, but at least I tried. Another, more personal thought struck me. And that's my tendency to save what I consider the best for last. This might sound stupid, but I think it's a soft punishment. A case in point: I started reading parts of Watercolor Artist last night, even though I knew I would enjoy the journaling magazine more. Enough said...

Did I experience any synchronicity? There was something. I was told to take all my jewelry out of the Museum Store - I'm not allowed to sell there anymore. What the consultant said was "conflict of interest," since I work there. Depressed, I put everything in a wicker basket and brought it home. And there at the house, waiting for me, was an invitation to showcase my artwork at the Firehouse Art Center, in Norman. What a treat; I feel so honored they want me back for their Holiday Gift Gallery.

Etsybloggers Team - Summertime Inspirations

For the Etsybloggers Team's Treasury Link. Click on the picture and visit us!

New Treasure Necklace

Here's a new Treasure Necklace, created for my Ideas of Inspiration post for something Fiery Orange. Been looking at lots of oranges in the clothing stores of late - maybe it will tickle someone's fancy! You can find it in my Etsy shop

The Artist's Way - Week Six

I didn't really enjoy this week of the Artist's Way, called "Recovering a Sense of Abundance." The author talks about tackling money as a major creative block. One of my tasks was to count what a spent during the week. Didn't do that. I did take five shirts to the Salvation Army, and for my Artist's Date, I went to the Farmer's Market. Gave the man two dollar bills instead of $1.50 for a pound of green peppers. So I guess you could say I wasted 50¢. But I like having the Market there, and want to support the farmers.


I didn't gather any rocks or leaves - two other tasks for the week. A year ago, I pick up some rocks off a beach in Ireland... maybe I should take them out and gaze at them. Instead of picking leaves off trees I picked a single rose and placed it next to my computer. How else am I following my Way? I get up early every day and write my morning pages. Almost completed my first notebook.

Did I have any more synchronicity occurrences? One thing in particular stuck out this week. At work, I called about the map case that I've been waiting for, but didn't get through to Arizona (the warehouse wasn't open yet.) The next moment, there was the delivery truck. I didn't expect my synchronicities to happen at work, for some reason. But I do spend half my life there, so I guess it makes sense. Here's part of my delivery.

almost wordless wednesday - Are These Quacks?

Yes, they're the real thing!
Walking around at the Don Harrington Discovery Center in Amarillo.

July Featured Etsyblogger - Sykin

Missie, from Sykin's One Stop Etsy Shopping Guide blog, features a shop in every post! There's an area where you can suggest a shop to be featured, or if you want to post a giveaway, she has a spot for you. You'll also find Etsybloggers Carnivals and Etsybloggers Featured Artists on her blog. Not sure what's she going to do for this month, since she's our featured etsyblogger!

Here's a favorite item I remember seeing recently - oops, it's sold, but I think she knows where to find more!


Sykin displays her creativity in a number of ways: through photography, beading, and on paper. Kinda like me! I just love her photographs! I'm thinking she must live close to the ocean in Washington State, because of the wonderful views of the beaches. Wanted to share some of her photos with you:

"Kissed by the Sun"

"My World's On Fire"

Aren't those amazing! You can visit her two Etsy shops or go to her new website, which is in the process of being organized.

http://sykin.net/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sykin
http://www.etsy.com/shop/nwwonders

The Artist's Way - Week Five

It's been over a month since I started The Artist's Way. Just to catch up with what's been going on, here's a wrap up:

Week 1 - Recovering a Sense of Safety
Week 2 - Recovering a Sense of Identity
Week 3 - Recovering a Sense of Power
Week 4 - Recovering a Sense of Integrity

I think something spiritual happened last week, that really changed my outlook. I'm not quite sure what it was... maybe I saw that synchronicity is more that just dumb luck.

So I'm at Week 5 - Recovering a Sense of Possibility.

Did I mention that I bought The Artist's Way on Amazon? It arrived in the mail, a few days ago. The book has more exercises and explanations than the workbook. That's always good. I started going online to find explanations... the same time I was telling myself to create more and surf the internet less!


One of the exercises this week was to write down quickly, without a lot of thought, what you wish for. That was fun and full of possibilities. Try it yourself and see what happens. Give yourself 19 lines to fill in, and let yourself go. As Julia Cameron says, "Because wishes are just wishes, they are allowed to be frivolous." My tenth quick wish: "I wish DH could get a job." Then a few minutes later, Mike called and said DH got the job, if he still wanted it. Was this synchronicity? I don't know, but it sure felt like it! Starting next week, we'll have to begin sharing household duties again. But I'm all right with that!

almost wordless wednesday - stormy trading post

Here's a pic from last Wednesday of the Red River Trading Post
at the Museum... the week of never ending rain.

Dream Vacation - Etsybloggers Carnival, July 16, 2010

Athena Workman is acting as host for this week's Carnival. Here are two hot topics to choose from:
1) It's summertime, a time to get away from it all. Do you have a dream vacation? Share details of your perfect getaway.

OR

2) Expanding on the vacation theme, are there any special (or not-so-special) traditions that you and your family do while away on trips?

If I didn't have to worry about the money I spent (I guess that's a dream), I'd like to go to Europe. I've never been there. Maybe stay on a boat or on the shores of the Mediterranean. Go to Venice and Athens. My dream vacation would include the whole family, with spouses and my mom.












Actually, I took a dream vacation about 8 years ago. It was very much like vacations we took when I was a little girl... we went sailing. After my father died, big brother came up with the idea of gathering the family together and going for a sail. Everyone pooled their money, and we flew to the British Virgin Islands and BB captained a charter boat! I would love to experience that again.

Here's DH helping BB raise the main sail.

The ocean in the islands is such a beautiful blue, it's like heaven on earth. Here's a cute (big) sea turtle swimming around, when we were getting ready to jump in the water!

Swimming and sailing, that's a vacation ingrained into our family!

Work of Art - on Bravo

wanted to share with you a great new show on Bravo, Wednesday night, called "Work of Art." Here's a clip from MediaWeek Videos. Check it out!

Artist's Date at the Flea Market

Remember the Flea Market I visited last week? Actually, we didn't get inside due to the holidays. I went back yesterday, and took a walk around.

Had the good luck (or is it synchronicity?) of seeing a friend, who started her first day selling there this weekend. Twenty dollars / weekend, for a booth-size spot. What was there? Furniture, some appliances, candles and scents, lots of knick-knacks. One guy had a whole bunch of baseball cards. And I did see a few ladies selling handmade jewelry. In the fall, I might try selling there with DH, instead of having a garage sale. When the weather is a bit cooler.

The Artist's Way - Week Four

It's hard to believe another week has come and gone. This week: "Recovering a Sense of Integrity." Hmm. I was faced with one of the most difficult things I've been asked to do: "Reading Deprivation." I believe the whole idea is to push the artist to create, instead of taking in information from outside sources. Not only books, but that was including television, radio and every other media. But I wasn't quite sure.


Because of my hesitancy, I decided to purchase the book, The Artist's Way (I have the workbook.) And I explored The Artist's Way website. It has forums, news & events, tools, and more. I discovered that other people had a difficult time with Week 4.



When I did my weekly check-in on Friday, I was asked “Did you experience any synchronicity this week.” I looked up synchronicity, and this is what I found:

“an experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated occurring together in a meaningful manner.”

Actually, the workbook asked me the same thing last week, but I didn’t understand...


Something did happened this week. Last Sunday, I was so inspired by my friend’s fiber arts that I started stitching over the design of some leftover Washi paper... always wanted to see how sewing on paper would be. It was my morning glories paper - a very beautiful design. Then in the evening, I sold my doodle book, that used the same paper.

That has to be synchronicity!

La Brea Tar Pits

sunset at the Tar Pits in LA

A very nice holiday weekend...

Took Friday off, and I finished my wind chime. Late Saturday morning, DH and I went in search of the Flea Market I've been hearing so much about. We found the warehouse but it was closed this weekend because of the holidays. I'm wanting to check out what's being sold there and if there's any artist booths. Will have to wait till next week....


In the evening, I went on my artist's date.


A friend had her opening reception at a local gallery, and I just had to see what she was up to. Carol is a fiber artist, and she does the most fantastic quilting. Most of her work is large, but I noticed that in this show, she had some smaller pieces. Many had sold already! "Good Show!"


I bought one of her landscapes several years ago - it hangs in my living room / work room.


Photographs don't do the quilts justice... sorry. Below are two that I snatched off her blog. If you're in the Lawton, Oklahoma area, her work will be at the Leslie Powell Gallery until September 2nd.



It's been raining all weekend, and it's supposed to continue all week. But everything brightened up Sunday evening when I sold two fishing sketchbooks and a doodle book on Etsy. Woo Hoo!

Elephant and Tiger Wind Chime

After many trials and tribulations, I finally made a clip of the wind chime in motion. To see a better view of the chimes, go to my Etsy page here:

The Artist's Way - Week Three

Just finished Week Three of my Artist's Way Workbook. Are you thinking, "What on earth is she talking about?" It all started back in June, when I lost my groove. I decided it was the perfect time to start looking for creative sparks (you can glance back at my recaps of Week One and Week Two - I'm tracing the progress through a blog series.) This week, "Recovering a Sense of Power," I was cautioned that I might be dealing with unaccustomed bursts of energy.

And something did happen. I got my groove back! Is it a coincidence? Maybe... The week was full of activities: job, home life and most importantly, creativity. One thing I'm happy to report: I finished my wind chime. Been working on it all week. And I'm real pleased with it. Everything seemed to fall into place!
It took over nine hours to complete. I won't be able the pay myself properly, but just finishing it gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling. I plan to put it in my internet shops, that is, on Etsy and 1000markets. First, I want to record its "chime," for buyers to hear. A very important selling point for a wind chime...

I wanted to leave you with a quotation from page 49 of my workbook. It's something Martha Graham said, which I thought was very profound:

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost."

thoughts at the beginning of summer

I don't get the chance to read much anymore... It's probably a combination of working too much and watching unnecessary television, especially one evening news show after another. But I like sitting around with my hubbie, and being in touch with what's happening. Here's a political clip from last night, from one of my favorite shows, that I found interesting:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Also started a new book last night, for my book club. It's called Dorothea Lange : A life beyond limits by Linda Gordon. Agreed with a fella member, and got a hardbound copy, to get a good view of the photographs. You can find clean used copies on Amazon, and probably elsewhere. In Gordon's introduction, she brings up some good points, even though her language is a bit "over the top" for me. Don't like to read with a dictionary. Maybe her verbiage will change some... Here's one quote that I enjoyed, "she [Lange] told her students [taught photography at the California School of Fine Arts] that documentary photographs should ask questions, not provide answers."

To see a listing of other books I've read this year (with links to reviews) click here