Art Slam

Imagine, if you please, that statement coming from a five year old with a deep voice. My son has insisted since early November that it was time for Christmas and we needed to get a tree. Going into any stores after Halloween, shoot, before Halloween ruins it for kids because of all the commercialism. I told him, no tree until after Thanksgiving. Period.

So, naturally after attending the tree lighting downtown, he turns to me and says, “Mommy, we gotta get a tree. It’s Christmas.” While I know the holidays have become a lot more impersonal and focused around buying and spending, I have worked hard to not have my kids forget the reason for the season. Having traditions not focused around gimme, gimme, gimme makes for well-rounded little people. In addition to going downtown for the treelighting, we also stopped to see the train display. This year was the first one where we actually made it in the building and were able to see the trains up close.

This is also the start of the carriage rides. We tried to do that last year, but it cost entirely too much to ride behind a smelly horse!

It was a nice evening and the weather was just about right for a November evening. So, like my little man said, it is Christmas time and I guess we had better get that tree or I will never hear the end of it.

This weekend, my family and I went downtown for the tree lighting ceremony. While shooting the holiday scenes around me, I remembered I had an interesting image from last year of the lights all blurred in my shot. This year, I intentionally looked for opportunities to blur my image and let the lights become the art. My challenge to you is to find the perfect imperfection in your blurry images. Purposely blur your image and see what you come up with. Happy shooting!

My middle child comes up to me about an hour ago and says she wants to read something to me. This was her message.

It took me about a year to catch up on all the episodes of 24. Now, it is back and I could not be more thrilled. Jack Bauer has to be one of the most tragic characters I have ever had the pleasure of watching season after season. That is how you know TV is good, it makes you feel something.

If you are not hip to 24, get hip. Do it…do it now! http://www.fox.com/24/redemption/

From now on, I will be sharing some of my favorite finds. I can not see keeping them to myself when sharing is so much fun.

Jen Lemen’s Trust Cards Words of wisdom from a wise woman.

Kris’ Chaos in Translation I met her at BlogHer and her writing always makes me laugh or think.

Laura’s Dolce Pics If you are a photography junkie, this is the place for you. She offers great techniques and photo information about each of her images.

Mrs.O This blog is all about the soon-to-be First Lady and her fashions.

Jennae’s Green Your Decor I can not say enough about the great information she shares about going green at home.

I got this from Jen’s blog. You are suppose to bold the things you have done from the list. I can not believe how many of these things I have done AND how many I want to do.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (been to Disneyworld, does that count?)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Be willing to make decisions. That’s the most important quality in a good leader. Don’t fall victim to the what I call the ready-aim-aim-aim syndrome. You must be willing to fire. ~ T. Boone Pickens

Still have lots and lots on my mind, but I am beginning to slow down, evaluate and channel this energy I am experiencing now. It is not easy for me to choose to “do nothing”, yet, I know it is a necessary step in my journey. I was in an environment a little over a year ago and someone asked me how things were going. I tried in vain to give her a positive answer and I could not. Absolutely nothing came out of my mouth, I could not lie about the situation or even make it seem better than it was. She laughed, then said to me, “You are still renting, you have not signed the lease yet.” I told her that was exactly in. I had never thought of it that way before.

Usually, when I am in a new environment, the first thing to move in with me are all my toys, pictures and a plant. Well, I brought my pictures in to remind me of why I was doing what I was doing and to keep me focused on why I was there. I brought my toys because I am a creative and I need constant stimulation to crank out designs and ideas (get your mind out of the gutter…my toys are creativity books, desk games and paper creatures). I always bring in a plant because I need to feel connected to nature when I am stuck inside all day. In this particular environment, I did not bring a plant for months. Eventually, I did bring in a pink poinsettia I was given during Christmas and it did cheer up the gray space.

I never moved in there completely. I thought I could and I tried, but it was not meant to be. When you are made to feel unwelcome, constantly told you are not welcome and set up to fail, it is a challenge to invest anymore energy than necessary in a place that clearly does not want you there. I believe misery loves company and this was a miserable place full of miserable people.

Now, I am in a better environment with some pretty good neighbors that value my contribution to the neighborhood. I know I was brought here because I needed a break from constant drama and psycho people. I don’t know for sure if this is my final destination or not or whether I will bring in a plant and sign the lease.

It all goes back to that doing nothing thing, being patient and waiting to see what happens. I tell you, God’s timeline is no joke. He truly makes you wait until the time is just right and I must admit, things have happened in my life at just the right time. That is a rather comforting feeling.

I am very excited about sharing the art of Sara Berry on the Art Slam. Sara’s journal pages are among my favorite to look at. She has a way of weaving a message into her pieces that is not always obvious. I realized how amazing her work was when I participated in a Story of My Life ATC exchange where she created a set of cards. I admit I did not want to share her cards with the rest of the group…they were that good. Below is an interview with Sara about her work and what inspires her. Enjoy!

Why are you an artist and when did you become one?
Hmmm, I guess I am an artist because I can’t not be one. I believe that we are all artists in some way. For me, the visual arts have always had a place in my life. I have been drawing from the time I could hold a crayon and I am very fortunate that my family is full of creative and encouraging people. I was very lucky that my parents found a way for me to take formal drawing and painting lessons when I was a kid and as I got older it was just understood that I’d go to college and study some field of art. I started out majoring in Drafting and then moved on to Art History. I finally settled on Photography and received my BFA from the University of Hawai’i. Even if I had never gone to ‘art school’ I still feel like I would have found a way to incorporate creativity into my life wherever I ended up, because really isn’t that what being an artist is all about?

How would you describe your style?

I’d like to say something profound about style here, but, honestly, I don’t really feel like I have a distinct “style”. To me the best art is multi-dimensional and I try to incorporate that into the things I create. My favorite work marries obvious mainstream imagery with personal imagery creating art work that anyone can view and understand but that holds special meaning, a sort of secret meaning, for me. I love almost all mediums but particularly love art that is done with paper and paint and of course, photography.

Can you explain what inspires you?

Everything! There is so much going on in the world today…and in my own world. I have a four-year-old son who doesn’t let a day pass without being 100% in the moment and that certainly has changed my perspective on time and getting things done.
I am also in awe of the connectivity that we as artists share via the internet. There’s no limit to what you can see and learn these days. I can remember going to the library in our little town and pouring over books just wishing that I could find a picture of this or that. Now all one has to do is type a query into the Google search box and whatever you want pops right up on the screen. It is amazing.
I am in love with flickr and blogs, too.

What kinds of interests do you have outside of this form of expression?

I try to run at least 3 times a week. If I can’t go I get sort of fuzzy…like I have one of those little squiggly lines above my head. I have found running to be the best way for me to clear my head and get back to center. I always feel better after I have gone…even if it was a hard run.

I also enjoy reading. It is nice to lose yourself in a book every once and a while!

I also own a small scrapbooking company called Story of My Life. We sell monthly scrapbooking kits and running the company and website definitely fuels my love of personal documentation.

How do you keep motivated when things get tough in the studio?

I keep journals. I have tons of journals that are full of ideas, photos, pages ripped from magazines, napkins…you name it. It was a hard adjustment for me to make once my son was born. I went from being able to just drop whatever I was doing to work on a project to being responsible for this tiny little human. I learned that if an idea presented itself I had better store it somewhere safe and then when I had the time I could break it out. The problem is not inspiration…it is time management! I will say that having time to work is not as much of an issue now that Hunter is older, and especially because he wants to make art of his own, but the all-nighter is a thing of the past!

What advice would you give to some just starting to explore their creative side?

Don’t be intimidated—just go for it. Journals are your friend…you never have to show them to anyone unless you want to and that safety is wonderful for truthful self-expression.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves ‘who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? – Marianne Williamson
I have been a little stir crazy the past two or three weeks. Bubbling inside with an energy that is so intense at times I feel like I am going to have an explosionation all over the place. A friend asked me to describe what it felt like and I told her it reminded me of the slow simmer of a volcano. I can feel it in the core of my body. An electricity, warmth and vibration. Like I need to be doing something.

I was having a conversation with the Lord and I told him if this was His way of trying to tell me something, I was listening. The message that came to me immediately was, “Do Nothing.” I am thinking, “What? Do nothing with all of this energy? Nothing at all?” So, I did nothing. I started doing slow deliberate breathing. Forcing myself to chill and focus. Whatever this feeling, this energy is, I have to learn to flow with it so it does not go to waste.

How many gifts and treasures are overlooked because our attention is so fiercely focused on what is not available? Christine Mason Miller

I have been reading Christine’s book, Ordinary Sparkling Moments for a few weeks. I love that the book looks and reads like an art journal. Much of what she has written resonates with me as I journey closer to my authentic self. The above quote from the book struck me today as I have been focusing on something that is not currently available to me. It was at one time and that time has passed, yet it still has an invisible hold on my heart. It is easy to get stuck in the past or so focused on the future you do not appreciate right now. Always thinking we are lacking is poison to the mind and soul. You end up thinking something is wrong with you when in fact there is nothing WRONG except your skewed view of what happiness and success is. We need to stop thinking so damn much.

Each of us is unique and will have a unique set of experiences that defines us. The grass may appear greener on their side, when the fact is, it is no greener than yours. Taking action, moves you closer to the life you want and squash the comparison bug. Believe me, I know it is not easy, but I am willing to give it a genuine try before I have a pity party about how my life sucks.