I need to, I should . .arg!

It’s one of those “I need to” mornings right before the Hildegard: Art and Soul Workshop which begins at 10:00 this morning at the Studio – incredibly good timing, because it is much needed.  “I need to post a Friday Freebie – oops, too late – I need to fold up the laundry – oops, forgot to put it in the dryer, it’s probably all stinky – oh, no.” Have you ever been swamped by so much stuff that you can’t talk yourself out of panic mode? I’m not quite there yet, but am on the outskirts. However, after visiting with Michelle Belto yesterday about the workshop plans, there’s hope, because she could calm and refocus anybody. Check out her blog post on Viewpoint and Perspective. It makes me wonder why we don’t give our own selves permission to chill out once in a while, like Michelle did at the Spurs game. I’ll report back from the workshop as a new, improved serene ME.

On that very topic, Here’s a link to upcoming Studio events – lots of cool stuff- actually, being frazzled is sometimes productive. I keep telling myself that the best research papers I ever wrote in college were the ones I did the night before they were due. Yeah, sure.

Your Saturday order-of-the-day is to do something relaxing for yourself. Get a pedicure – guys, too! Eat some gelato, that yummy salty caramel kind! In the meantime,convincing myself that things are getting done, I did finish the five Guardian pieces – they will go to the Cathedral House exhibit on the 19th of this month along with some other small paintings. Here’s a phone shot as I was leaving the Studio last night – whew! Happy Saturday 🙂

guardians

 

Sunday Pass-along: A Manifesto

pod1I am sitting here at my desk trying to remember what the heck my Evernote password is (and what I was even going to look for in Evernote) when I came across this link I’d saved to a Blog called Inspired Home Office by Jen Hofmann.

This is her most popular post – read it and you’ll see why. Here’s the link:
A Manifesto for Cluttered Creatives – and here’s my favorite excerpt (the whole thing is great):

 

I have a right to a sacred space
that is free from intrusions

that is free from guilt
that completely supports my spirit
that is truly sacred space
powerful as an ancient circle of standing stones

Right on!

Sunday inspiration

Don’t you think this is a great quote?

“What is ‘no’? Either you have asked the wrong question or you have asked the wrong person. Find a way to get the ‘yes’.”

This applies perfectly to our doubts about our own worth as creative people – I have heard so many stories from friends who say they are not “creative” or “artistic” because someone in the past criticized their attempts . Seems to me that you just have to approach it from another direction that is your own, and create with joy that feels right to you and not be influenced by someone else’s judgment. Find a way to get the “Yes.” OK, off the soap box, but I really get frustrated when creative people don’t realize how talented they can be.

This quote came, via a friend in England, from a book that I just ordered,  “Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?” by Jeanette Winterson (2011). You can read some of her thoughts about this book on her blog. Here’s an online review excerpt:

It’s a book full of stories: about a girl locked out of her home, sitting on the doorstep all night; about a religious zealot disguised as a mother who has two sets of false teeth and a revolver in the dresser, waiting for Armageddon; about growing up in an north England industrial town now changed beyond recognition; about the Universe as Cosmic Dustbin.

I don’t often talk about a book that I haven’t read, but this one sounds like a keeper – will let you know what I think about it a little later. In the meantime, I’ll remind myself that there are different ways to get to “Yes,” and that if my work (below) that I took to the juried Art League show yesterday is rejected, I’ve just been asking the wrong people!

sombrassm copy

 

 

School starts tomorrow

I still have a day job! Meeting the new Trinity students is always so much fun – we kind of test each other out to see how the semester might go. If you’re curious, you can see my class page at Trinity at this link (click below) and follow along throughout the semester – not sure why you’d want to, buy you never know!CSCI

Speaking of links, I’ve created a Facebook page for the studio where I’ll post events. It’s easy to remember. Just go to facebook.com/creativebelonging – hope to see you soon on FB.

 

Studio updates

studiobanner

I’ve just finished a small re-do of my website homepage with the new studio logo and a heading that says Lyn Belisle Studio: A Place of Creative Belonging. That’s pretty much expresses what I want people to feel in that space – a haven to create and learn with joy and without judgment.

Whether it’s a workshop, a poetry reading, a computer lesson – there needs to be a sense of serenity, anticipation and accomplishment.  One of my favorite comments from a past workshop was “I amazed myself!” Oh, yeah! That’s perfect.

The poem that inspired the Studio slogan is House of Belonging by David White. If you would like to read it, go here to the Panhala site. I subscribe to this site and never fail to enjoy the daily poems – this one is particularly special.

Hope to see you Saturday at Lyn Belisle Studio: A Place of Creative Belonging! 🙂

The Artist’s Way 12.03

Starting a new project is scary for me – what if nobody gets it? What if it doesn’t say something that’s worth anything? Then, as serendipity has it, this was yesterday’s excerpt from Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way, Everyday: A Year of Creative Living. Hooray, I feel connected again! Whew, back in the nest with the rest of you birds 🙂

“We are like songbirds. When one of us gives voice to our true
nature, it is contagious and others soon give tongue as
well. There is an infallibility to the law that as we each
seek to express what we are longing to say, there is always
someone or something that is longing to hear precisely
what we have expressed. We do not live or create in isolation.”

Grid of Nests – Richard Barnes, 2000/Artstor