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Art Slam bio picture

There are no mistakes, only inspirations

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. ~Scott Adams


What you may see as a mistake is likely just the beginning of something big. As a photographer and mixed media artist I love blending traditional art techniques, photography and digital art to create something truly expressive. The Art Slam is a place to help you jumpstart your creativity and grow your artistic photography skills and nurture the creativity inside of you.


Art Slam Newsletter

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Happiness is a Choice. What are You Choosing Today?

The only way out is through. ~ Joyce Meyer

Tell me this; do you think people would be happier if they would choose to be content with the blessings they already have?  There is nothing wrong with striving for and wanting more. Thing is, do you know the difference between your wants and needs? Just because you want something does not mean you are going to get it, nor does what you want mean it is what is best for you.

Your needs on the other hand, are those things you absolutely must have to survive; like food, shelter and clothing. Our society has become a selfish one. There is not as much compassion for your fellow human being because so many of us have become focused on our own wants and desires without regard to others. I admit, I have been this way before and it is not a part of my past I am proud of, but I can share my testimony and how I grown out of this kind of mindset.

It all starts in the mind. You can choose whether or not you are going to have a bad attitude and allow your feelings to run your life, or you can choose to be happy and content right where you are. Happiness is a choice and you are responsible for your happiness. Material things do not make you happy, wanting what belongs to another does not make you happy, and thinking the grass is greener elsewhere will not make you happy. Happiness is a choice.

What are you choosing today? Are you choosing to wake up and think yourself into a bad day before your feet hit the floor? Are you choosing to go to bed with ill-will against someone in your life? Are you choosing to see the good in people or the bad? Are you choosing to speak blessings over your loved ones and your enemies? What are you choosing to do today?

Please share, because I am genuinely interested in hearing about the choices you are making today. Let me start: I am choosing to speak a blessing of favor over everyone I encounter today.

Ebb and Flow

Writing does not come easily to me these days. In fact, I have found it a challenge to express myself creatively. My mojo is definitely ebbing and flowing.  There seems to be more ebb than flow. A stripping of sorts…pruning. As various layers of who I was are peeled away, I am left with the essence of who I am. Do I like this person I am becoming?

I do.

She is like a quiet storm. She is confident and compassionate. She loves completely and is learning that she is loved. She is accepted. She does not need to know how things will turn out…she has faith. She trust God totally. She understands that not everyone will be comfortable with who she is becoming, but she allows herself to be changed because it is for the best. She is tender and vulnerable. She does not worry…as often as she used to. She believes.

I am learning that sometimes you have to ebb more than is comfortable so that you can flow…freely and abundantly.

Interview at the Empty Easel

Today

I am humbled anytime someone contacts me to do an interview.  You can read my latest at the Empty Easel. It is always a blessing and my pleasure to share my love of words and art.

Journaling Your Journey

my shoes

The second Art Slam newsletter went out this morning and I am happy with the way it turned out. If you have not subscribed to receive the newsletter, please do so here. My goal with it is to offer inspiration and useful information. If you did not receive the March newsletter and would like to, leave me a comment below and I will send it to you.

All of a sudden, I have this insatiable desire to write. Not your typical, “this is what I did today” writing, but serious soul searching journaling. I feel my mojo coming back, but not for making art. Instead, I find myself shooting photographs again and filling my journal with words faster than I can write them down. The desire to complain and use my journal as a dumping ground is leaving me and being replaced with inspiring quotes, scriptures, gratitude lists and doodles. My journal is filling up with words of hope, faith, truth and trust.

What do you know about where you are coming from and where you are going? This question comes from one of my favorite books, Life’s Companion by Christina Baldwin. I hope you enjoy pondering your journey up to this point and where you plan to be.  Tell me, where do you want to be?

Cultivating a Mood of Excellence

cultivating an excellent mood

I woke up this morning in an excellent mood. According to dictionary.com, excellent means: possessing outstanding quality or superior merit; remarkably good. I would say this is accurate. I feel remarkably good. Part of the reason is a shift in the way I have been looking at just about every area of my life. How you choose to look at what is going on inside you and around you can make all the difference in cultivating a mood of excellence. For me, it starts when I get up in the morning.

The first thing I do is spend time with God. I pray, do some reading and ask for my steps to be ordered for the day. I thank God for all I am going through and ask to be strengthened to deal with areas that are challenging me to grow. It is only through challenges, storms and trials that we truly grow, anyway.

Second thing I do is gather what I need for the day. I make a choice to not worry about things I can not control and I try to avoid unconsciously engaging in the mental chatter of my mind. This is not always an easy task. I don’t like watching the news first thing in the morning. You want to talk about killing an excellent mood…watch the morning news. I conducted an experiment a while ago to see how much good news was reported on TV. Of the three local channels we have here, not one of them started the broadcast with good news. NO, NOT ONE! If the mental chatter is getting out of control, I put on some feel good music to block it out. My song of choice at the moment…Sade’s Solider of Love.

The time I spend with myself in the morning and before I get my kids up is about 45 minutes. I noticed I don’t do a whole lot of talking, the house is quiet and I get a lot accomplished in that time. This little bit of time alone sets the tone for my day. Now, some days are better than others, but for the most part, this new process has helped me get and stay in a much better mood.

You will have to ask my family if I am more pleasant to live with. I would like to believe so, as I know I have been working hard to be a better me.  I am a constant work in progress…only this time, these changes I have been making make me feel really good. They make me feel excellent.

Waiting

I am waiting on:

  • God
  • Sunshine
  • Flowers in the garden center
  • Things to unfold as they may

I don’t know what it is about this winter season, but it has me reflecting on a lot lately. I believe part of the reason is you have no choice but to wait for things to run their course. We have a lot of snow and the heatwave of 36 degrees has started to slowly melt the mountains of snow around my neighborhood. No matter how bad you want that snow to go away, it is going to take it’s sweet time. No matter how badly you want spring to come, it is going to take its time.

Waiting is not a bad thing. It is not passive. It is active, like stillness. It is a choice. And, there is a lesson there, if you are willing to wait on it.

The Right Time, the Right Season

I miss running. I miss the park I run in. An additional 8″ of snow fell yesterday on top of the 8-10 inches we already have. Around this time of year, people start talking about Spring and how they wish it was here right now. I have been one to want to rush it along, but not anymore. There is a time for every season. To rush it along robs you of the blessing of that time.

I become rather reflective during the Winter months. Especially on days like today, I want to be home where it is warm, and stay close to my family. I think about the things I would like to do when the weather warms. I think about what I want to add and purge from my life. I reflect on where I am. Self-reflection is not an easy process when you are totally honest with yourself. I have prayed for God to reveal to me areas I need to change and get in order. My father-in-law mentioned to me yesterday that God is about order and things being of one accord. I have a few areas that could stand some improvement. This slower time of the year is just right for making those changes.

How do you use the winter season to order and refocus your life?

Lent


Lent starts tomorrow and this year, I decided to participate. I did not want to be one of those people who does this because everyone else is doing it. I did some research and here is what I found:

Lent is a period of restriction, when Christians give up their vices and try to live a “better life’. It is representative of the time that Jesus spent in the desert – 40 days and 40 nights.

Now, with today being Fat Tuesday, did I indulge in what I plan on giving up? Yes, yes I did and you know what? I will be glad to let this go. Honestly, no good comes of it in the long run. This period of restriction will be a blessing. I am determined and sometimes, being determined is all you need to get started. I want to be a person of excellence…this will be a starting point for me.

Happy Valentine’s Day

How fitting a heart would appear on the roof of my party bus during the last snow storm. I hope this has been a joyful Valentine’s Day for all of you. It is not about whether or not you receive a gift, it is about sharing your love the best way you know how. May you be a blessing to someone who really needs it today.

Argus Seventy-Five

argus_75

Here is another vintage camera I received for Christmas. This one is in excellent condition. I have wanted one of these for a while.  I am on the hunt old film camera and lenses. This is one collection I am enjoying growing. Photography thrills me to pieces.

argus_75