Note: If this newsletter doesn't display in its delightfully colorful formatting, you can view it on the Web at www.artellawordsandart.com/ARTELLAGRAM-1-13-10.html. By now, you've probably read so many articles about beginning new years and new decades that the last thing you want is anyone else trying to get you to have a great new year. After it while, it can get a bit frustrating hearing about all the things that we should be doing, ought to be doing. There are plenty of sources telling us that 2010 is the year to start...to start a meditation practice, exercise program, or writing your autobiography. Maybe it's helpful to think of the new year as a time to stop...to stop paying attention to what other people say you should do...to stop listening to the preaching from the outside world...to stop writing your "oughta-biography". :-) Even during Artella's ARTbundance™ Coach Training this past summer, a key component we focused on was working with individuals to see that more often than not, the most valuable element of gaining a new insight is when a client can be given the opportunity to actually uncover it herself. When Kai was first learning to walk last summer, we would take him to the local beaches around the island to help him practice his first steps. I had to laugh at myself, because after all these years of talking to creative people about taking "baby steps", it was only then that I experienced what a "baby step" actually entailed! LOL:-) Far from simply being a "tiny" step, true baby steps are often awkward, very slow and indecisive. We could hold his hands or walk beside him, but Kai had to find that actual motion and rhythm for himself, and that was something that no amount of instruction or good advice could ever do for him. And this is what we can all do, when we regularly connect with our true nature…who we really are. This allows us to then shut out all the "shoulds" and "ought tos" because we know that the only voice we really need listen to is our own. And it is this inner voice that may then guide us to follow the doors and portals that open before us to serve our best interest and fullest, deepest joy as we walk along the inspiring shores of our lives, while taking time to make sand castles and feel the deep wisdom of the ocean as it playfully splashes at our feet. For those short on time, to simplify this week's Artellagram, here are some ”quick links” to the highlights in this edition. You can simply follow the links that you're interested in and go directly to that section. NEW! Free "ARTbundance™ Soul Safari" Teleclass! NEW! Digital Altered Books™ Contest! NEW! January YOUpon codes are here! Earn extra spending money with the Artella Affiliate Program Become Part of Artella's Team! In the Studio with Nancy Gillett Creativity Tip: Inspiration from the Outside Quotz Crystal™ 1. NEW! Free Teleclass Next Week! Join me and some of Artella's ARTbundance™ Coach Training Alumni on Tuesday for Artella's ARTbundance™ Soul Safari: Capturing Wild Prosperity in 2010!, a playful and practical workshop in which you'll learn how to use art and creativity as powerful tools to increase your wild prosperity in 2010. ARTbundance™ is all about tapping into the universal wellspring of creative wisdom to make powerful changes in our lives; it allows us to capture the power of creativity and actually use it as a life-transforming tool with real, practical results. ARTbundance™ Soul Safari is a free teleclass to be held on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 9:00pm EST, taking place via telephone conference line. This free teleclass will include: Fun exercises to identify the core components of your true wildest nature! Innovative, hands-on art projects that actually use those personal elements to creatively design a compass for your own adventure for new, unchartered, and unexpected prosperity and growth. All participants also will receive a follow-up workbook including inspiring and effective ARTsignments™ that you can use to harness the ARTbundance™ Principles to uncover new sources and opportunities for wild prosperity in your life. For those with an interest in applying for the 2010 ARTbundance™ Coach Training Program, you are also invited to a brief orientation following the call, where you'll hear from recent graduates of the Inaugural Training Program, and get full details about the 2010 ARTbundance Coach Training program, which begins on February 8 (applications due January 25). To join us for the free ARTbundance™ Soul Safari teleclass on Tuesday, January 19, sign up here! 2. NEW! Digital Altered Books™ Contest! I am excited to announce that our third exciting Digital Altered Books™ Contest is here, with a deadline of February 15, 2010! Digital Altered Books™ are the latest phenomenon to hit the creative world -and here's your chance to try the brand new art genre that merges the fascinating process of altering beautiful vintage books with the creative ease of digital imaging technology. Get more information and supplies for Digital Altered Books™, here! You can even download free videos of a workshop that introduces you to this amazingly fun, versatile art form! Also, take a look at the amazing Digital Altered Books Gallery - where you can see these beauties in full, interactive, inspiring glory! We've got some great prizes for everyone who enters the contest, as well as terrific bonuses for the winners. The deadline for submitting your book to be eligible for our third exciting Digital Altered Books™ Contest is February 15. Happy creating! 3. NEW! January YOUpons codes are here! Take a look at the January YOUpons, and you'll find discounts on many of our favorite new-year themed Artella goods! Happy New Year from all of us at Artella! 4. Earn money and great prizes for spreading the word! Join Artella's Generous Affiliate Program! If you're looking to make a little bit of extra spending money this year, join the affiliate program and find out about the great bonuses we have going right now! 5. Interested in Becoming Part of Artella's Team? We are expanding our team for all the great things we're planning to do in 2010. So if you're interested in becoming part of the Artella Team, check out this post in the Artella Cafe for details. I mentioned Artella's Digital Altered Books™ above, which is just one of the many ways that you can artfully alter books. One of the most creative uses for I've ever seen for old books is the way Nancy Gillett turns them into purses! Nancy is not only a talented artist but also a beautiful soul with an inspiring story. I hope you enjoy this opportunity to get to know Nancy a bit better. Artella: How can people use their creativity to help others? Nancy: I think people are craving creativity! If you work from within your own unique creativity, it will touch other people. It is like your spirit is reaching out from your work. Of course, the only way that can happen is if you share your work. You can do that a thousand ways. Make a card for someone having a difficult time. Participate in an art show or sale. Contribute a piece for a charity auction. Invite someone who thinks they are not artistic to come play for an afternoon. Volunteer to bring your art into a school, a hospital (especially children's hospital), nursing home, or youth shelter. Organize your artist friends to make a series of pins for your favorite charity to sell. Teach a class for beginners helping them to discover their own creativity. You are creative! Use some of that creativity to look at your world and discover new possibilities. You can read the rest of Nancy's interview, here See Nancy's products in The Shoppes of Artella, here. If you want more artist interviews from Artella, take a look at our eBooks Artist Profiles Assembled and Artist Profiles Assembled, Vol 2. ART TIP OF THE WEEK: When you truly trust your inner wisdom, you can become confidently inspired by other artists and writers in new ways. No longer worried about comparing or copying, you can enjoy the experience of looking at your own creativity through the lens of others' art. For example, here's a painting that represents my "Heavy Load Muse" in Artella's AlphaBetter Muse Workshop - a piece I originally created for my dear friend, Dan. The background of this painting consists of big blocks of color, inspired by the style of the artist Mondrian. My silly, whimsical elements in the foreground provide a contrast to the otherwise very structured background, and helped me allow playful feelings to come forth. You can get complete instructions if you like, here. WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK: You can do the same thing with writing, too. Find something that you've written - a poem, a short story, essay, or even a journal entry. And then try editing the piece to reflect the style of another writer. Or, switch it around and start by writing something that very closely follows another writer's style, and then slowly bring in elements from your own voice. These are both useful experiments that help you try new things and clarify your own voice, while calling upon the inspirations around us. It is such a delicious and valuable moment when inspiration from the outside helps us reveal new, exciting creative revelations within. This Quotz Crystal is a high-resolution jpeg image, suitable for printing. Print it out and hang it up to remind you of the power of believing in your own inner wisdom. ~Celebrating what already knows..., Marney Artella Founder, Mango Lover, Hula Dancer Artella Land ~ the creative isles of words, art, and spirit Artella PO Box 6211 Kamuela HI 96743