Heart Your Art - part 1

YAY - it's February! That means "Heart Your Art" is here!

Let me begin with telling you how I came up with the idea:

On January 8, 2009, I was taking a nap and literally woke up with the words "Heart Your Art" on my lips. As I lay there, the idea revealed its self as a campaign for all of us who were struggling to appreciate our own creations. I wrote about it in my journal - the what, the how, the who, interview questions. But I didn't actually do it. I was too afraid.....afraid it or I would fail. Perhaps too, part of it was doing it for the wrong reason. So, instead of failing, I got something worse.....I didn't try at all. I moved on and went through the rest of 2009, making changes, taking chances, suffering, learning, torturing myself, accepting, and growing.

2010: Something shifted in me in the past few months. I arrived at a place where I just decided that I really wanted to do the campaign I dreamed of last year. I didn't care about failure, as a matter of fact, I decided that I could not fail because I was doing this for me.....because I wanted to do it, period....because I had been gifted with the idea (I take no credit for coming up with it - it was divinely planted) and not to do it was an insult to me and to whoever blessed me with it.....and because I know the pain of this struggle and how frustrating it is, I wanted to share what I've learned so far in hopes that someone would be helped, even if that someone turned out to be me because I've still got a ton of room to grow! The best thing has already come out of this experience: I'm doing it and I'm truly pleased with myself for that.

Let's talk about the business part: For the most part, interviews will be posted on Tues, Wed, Thurs. I will be posting Mon and Fri (except for this week, I'll be posting Wed too!). I decided to theme my posts around tips that I credit with getting me to where I am right now - which is a lot further than I was a year ago. Mr Linky will be there Mon - Fri for those of you who want to add your link.

Tip #1

As best as you can, Heal Your Past.

I truly feel that my biggest obstacle in this journey has been my past experiences with other people.

I was full of self-disapproval. I wasn't born with this. I learned it from my experiences. (This isn't about blame - it's about honesty.) I was disapproved of by my society (family, friends, etc.). Not my art (cause at the time I didn't really do much art) - ME, I was NOT OKAY, I didn't get the check mark or thumbs up. Everyone was always telling me that there was something wrong with me......You're too intense, You think too much, She's a b*tch, judging the heck out of me with their blah, blah, blah. The who's and the how's and the what's aren't important. What's important is what I came away with: I am not good enough.

Seems easy enough to 'fix.'

I'll just be "good enough" in everything I do. Doesn't work, actually does more damage.

I'll just tell myself, "I'm good enough." Isn't good enough.

I'll blame everyone else and be angry at them. Helps to feel and express the anger about it, but leaves the power in their hands and leaves me their victim.

I'll realize that they are damaged and have no clue what's going on.

I'll figure out that I can never receive enough approval from them to counteract the damage that's been done. Leaves me in a hole.

I'll realize that it's okay if they don't like my personality or even Me because the truth of the matter is that they don't really even know who I am. Start climbing out of the hole.

Find out Who I Am, not from second hand or third hand knowledge, but from The Source.....Me. Determine that I like me and it's okay if I don't like them - furthermore, because of that, it's REALLY okay if they don't like me.

Decide that they don't validate me or invalidate me. Claim my right to validate myself.

Validate my worth through actions, mostly through art, and through friends. Creates a dent in me and leaves me confused.

Gain an awareness that these new people also cannot validate my worth even if they're totally different than people from my past and are highly supportive. Learn to use their support to support my own strength.

Know that if no one else is there to support me, I don't NEED it because The Universe always provides us with what we NEED.

Have a conversation with The Universe and find The ONLY Key to validating worthy'ness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seems so easy from this end. But it wasn't. And I've still got a lot of hard work to do. But I know if I made it this far, I can make it further.

What? Oh, right, I almost forgot.....The Key to Validating Worthy'ness (in my opinion).

The ONLY thing that validates worthy'ness is the fact that We Are. If 'We Are' than that means there is a power behind, an energy, a driving force - call it whatever you like, a soul for example. ALL SOULS are worthy in the eyes of The Universal Power, none greater, none lesser - All is equal because All is One.

The ONLY 'thing' that validates my worthy'ness is the fact that I Am. I am not worthy because I make beautiful art, or even regular art, or have a job, or raise children, or take care of the elderly or animals, or because I give money to charity. Although those are wonderful actions that we can all do, they do not make me acceptable or okay or good. They can help me find out Who I AM and help me to have joy on this journey. But I am worthy with or without them.

I read a lot of the Conversations with God series. There's some really interesting, somewhat confusing ideas in there. But an awesome read! I highly recommend any and all of them.

Anyways, perhaps someone might be saying, "What's this got to do with hearting your art?" I say, "EVERYTHING!" If I do not approve of the base of something, I will not approve of the whole. If I do not approve of ME, I will not approve of the art that comes from ME, from my insides and is part of Me. If I am not good enough, neither is it.

~magick~
Melissa

The Heart Your Art Campaign 2010

I have struggled for many years to "feel good" about my creations. This has caused me a ton of pain and stopped me from fulfilling my potential. I know many others experience this struggle as well. I contain a deep understanding that having the warm-fuzzies toward what we create is important, perhaps vital, to our journey, to our art, to ourselves, and to those who love us. This is why on February 1, I am launching a campaign called "Heart Your Art"! I'd like this to be an open and honest discussion about:

~ the struggle - what we think, how we feel, what we experience

~ what we've learned - about ourselves, about others, about being an Artist

~ how we can keep going - how we can cope, tips and tricks

My plan is:

~ to share my own past and present struggles through my journal entries, what I've learned, etc.

~ to have a Mr. Linky, so that you can share your thoughts, feelings, experiences, and of course your art

~ to interview artists about their experiences

I'll be posting Monday through Friday.

I've already received a lot of positive feedback from the artists that I've contacted. Here's a current list of the artists who are participating:

Chris from Creative Juices Arts
Heather from Audry Eclectic
Jane from Jane and the Happy Crow
Joanna Rowan Mullane from Little Faerie Tales
Robyn from Robyn's Art
Sandy from Indigo Goddess
Sharon from All Norah's Art
Shonna from Twisted Figures

Theresa from The Happy Soul
Zorana from Zoranaland

If there are any artists that you'd like to see interviewed that aren't listed, please let me know.

If you'd like to add the logo to your sidebar, here's the code.

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I hope no matter where we are on our artist journey we can learn something new, grow bigger in our beauty, and commit ourselves to HEARTing OUR ART! See you on February 1!

~magick~
Melissa

One World One Heart 2010

Welcome to my magickal space in lala land.

A Whimsical Bohemian, aka Lisa, is hosting her magickal One Heart One World event again this year! I love the idea behind it, meeting kindred spirits - Lisa describes it as ~ taking a giant tour of homes; you get to stop in, look around, meet the people who live there, admire and be inspired and before you go on to the next one you leave your name in hopes to win a door prize at each "home".~ Last year there were 911 participants!! WOW, that's a lot of kindred'ness! (You can click above to find more information, how to participate, and more beautiful bloggers on board the magick carpet.)

The event runs from today, Jan 25 - Feb 14. Leave me a comment and I'll put your name into my magick lamp for a chance to win a prize ~YAY~. ---YOU MUST BE A BLOGGER TO PARTICIPATE IN MY GIVEAWAY.---


~~~~The story of the lamp~~~~

In the country, the corn fields can tell you whether it’s summer or it’s winter. The Amish can infect you with the desire to live simply. And treasures can be found by digging in the woods.

We’ve always loved walking in the woods and frequently visited the local state park. When we decided to move to the country, being surrounded by trees was a must. We were lucky enough to find the perfect place, nestled in the woods.

The woods are a wild place, a dangerous place, but full of life and beauty. We often found ourselves tromping through the piles of decaying leaves, over fallen branches, and under a canopy of green.

For many years, this entire area was owned by one family. There was no paved roads and certainly no one who came and picked up your trash. You took care of your own mess by burying it in your yard.

Hubby and I were on one of our adventures among the trees when we saw an old bottle laying on top of a pile of dirt and rocks. Poking around revealed another bottle and then another. Moving rocks and dirt with sticks, we found a Franc from 1945




and strange drinks we’d never heard of


(this particular one is called Whistle, the bottle says “Whistle 6 ½ fld ozs, registered, rec us pat off, pat no 70343, 1926").

At some point, we got more serious - we brought little shovels, gloves, and buckets to carry our treasures. We found more and more bottles, little glass face creme containers, old toy guns, little cars, used oil cans, and even the soles of shoes - I love these.....I always wonder who wore them, where they went, and what they saw. With each new discovery we were thrilled, but the biggest thrill was the day we found a box. Inside the box, carefully wrapped in an old shirt was this


I wondered why someone would bury such a beautiful lamp and what would happen if I rubbed it. But since I’ve seen too much tv, I was too nervous to find out......until today.

Wanna rub the lamp and see what happens?

~~~~POOF~~~~

“I am The Frog of the Lamp!”

“Great! Wow! Impressive entrance, but, uh, you’re a frog.”

“And?”

“Well, it’s just that I was expecting Barbara Eden.”

“Ugh, tv has completely ruined the gig! Can’t be a frog in a lamp without people thinking it’s weird. Not everyone can look like Barbara, you know?”

“I guess not.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t do my job.”

“Sure. Sorry.”

“Yeah, well, it’s okay. At least I can stretch out now. I’ve been waiting around for you to rub the lamp. Do you have any idea how cramped it is in there? I know I’m small, but give a frog a break!”

“Well, to be honest, I was a little nervous cause someone buried you in a trash pile.”

“Oh, yeah, uh, about that, there was a slight problem.”

“A slight problem?”

“Yeah, well, it was completely blown out of proportion. All rumors. I swear story telling has completely ruined the gig!”

“Uh-huh.”

“Some little girl got the bright idea to kiss me, you see? Nothing happened, of course cause this is real life, not some fairy tale. So, anyways, next thing you know she gets a wart. And then her brother gets one, and then, her mom, uh then her dad, her grandparents, her cousins and their parents, all the kids at school and their parents.......there was never any proof that I gave them warts, ”

“Ooooookkkkkkk.”

“But I SWEAR it wasn’t my fault. Little girl kissing me thinking I’m gonna turn into some prince. If she’d just kept her lips to herself none of that would have happened.”

“I’ll definitely keep my lips to myself.”

“Smart woman.”

“Thanks. So, I’ve got this blog thing I’m doing. I need some prizes for the people who are reading this. Can you help me out?”

“That’s my job man. But, like the story goes, you gotta say the magick words.”

“Frog of the Lamp, I wish for prizes for the people.”

“Your wish is my command ~

Prize number 1 ~ Oooooo, aaaahhhhhh, it's a gorgeous handmade journal! The cover has a leather feel and is very sturdy.

Questions of the heart - solve them in the art

(front - click to enlarge)

Reach out and touch the art - let it touch your heart

(back - click to enlarge)

Inside, the pages are varying shades of pink, purple, and blue with a hot pink ribbon to hold your place. The pages are also unlined which leaves lots of room for writing and drawing.

Prize number two ~ Ooooooo, aaaaahhhhh, an adorable picture frame to hold a picture of GORGEOUS YOU! We so often forget how beautiful we are and how important we are in this world....so here's a reminder.

You reflect beauty into this wonderful world

(click to enlarge)

My new froggie friend says, "Don't forget to leave a comment to be eligible. The last day for commenting will be February 14th. We will announce the winners on February 15th. Good luck and have a wart-free day!"

~magick~
Melissa

A pretty much clean studio and my plans to make a mess

Okay, so my studio is pretty much done (just a few minor things to put away) and now it's time to get started on all the fabulous stuff I want to create this year....in other words, time to have fun and mess up the studio.



See, I vacuumed. Now all you can see on the rug is the green dye I spilled. The orange paint I spilled. And the wax I dripped.

I'm writing all my plans in a brand new journal. Nothing like a new journal to fill with yummy'ness! I've been going through my journals from the past and collecting the ideas into one list. Last year, I started keeping a list of favorite things in each month. I enjoyed reading that so much that I think I'll do it again this year. So far on my list: This new journal!

(front)

(back)

Spiritual goals for 2010:

~more self love~

~more focus on the home~

~more time focused on faith and wearing my hat~

~living the moment, loving the moment~

~acknowledging the magick that is always all around me~

~remembering that statement at every single moment I can and then live knowing it's true~

Physical/Spiritual:


Hence the yoga that has been causing me pain for the past couple days. But I'm still doing it. 2010 for me is the year of the body. I haven't been to a doctor of any kind for awhile....so this year, I'm going! I'm getting a physical. I'm going to the gyno cause it's just so much fun. And I'm getting glasses cause I can't see anymore. I'm letting go of the need to smoke tomorrow. Even though tomorrow will come and my body will have a fit about it, I'm still going to do it.

And since this is true

Here are my artistic goals:

~alter more boxes and that stack of journals~
(check out that 1970's duck hanging above - I made that when I was just lil - it's ugly, but it's mine)

~finish that clay pitcher that I started eons ago and maybe make more~

~paint, Paint, PAINT - paint more paintings, paint walls, paint quotes on those walls, finish the paintings I started last year, paint myself if I'm sitting still too long~

~play with new art toys~

~one guess what I'm going to do with this~

I just have to figure out how to do it.

I also have this recent adoration of clocks....so I'd like to make some clocks, some real, some not real.

Oh and I absolutely have to make some of these!

There's much more, but I gotta keep some secrets to myself.

If the following is true:

I'm already ahead of the game! :)

(the cards pictured above are from "The Mastery of Love" deck by Don Miguel Ruiz art by Lori Koefoed)