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This past Monday, we had an amazing Soul Safari 2012 live event, as hundreds of people signed up to join together to design a new creative compass for the year, using art and poetry to uncover new portals of wild prosperity and abundance.
A traditional compass is, of course, a useful tool that helps us know the direction in which we are headed. Consciously creating a compass that is pointed toward our dreams and goals greatly helps our chances of reaching them. Not everyone who has ever dreamed of a great goal has achieved it, but everyone who has accomplished a significant goal has first dreamt of it.
Creating our own compass -- whether through making an art and poetry project like we did in Monday's class, or simply thinking about our intentions and "pointing" ourselves in the right direction -- is a powerful act. This kind of compass serves as the liaison between our dreams and the path that we take to make them come true. In the ARTbundance™ approach to self-discovery through art, we address 9 ARTbundance™ Principles of self-awareness. A self-designed compass is the point where the ARTbundance Principles of Vision and Action meet and kiss, launching in motion a whirlwind journey of passionate exploration and productivity.
Whenever we consciously set our compass in a specific direction, we are paving the way for what we will happen. In other words, when we want something to "come to pass" the compass is what helps us get there. Purposeful pointing directs your intentions in a powerful way. If you'd like to design your own artsy compass and you missed Monday's class, you can follow the link below to download your free copy of the recording and follow-up workshop.
This issue of the Artellagram includes some fun places you might like to point your compass, including perhaps learning more about the 2012 ARTbundance Certification Training Program as a potential path to a whole new creative and even professional venture. You might also like to get involved in the various celebrations that will countdown the launch of my first book, Creating Time: Using Creativity to Reinvent the Clock and Reclaim Your Life, which is being published by New World Library this spring. You can get all the details for these and more, below.
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.
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1. ACT Applications Accepted through January 23...Plus Free "ACT Pract" Event Happening Tomorrow! The 6th session of the ARTbundance™ Certification Training (ACT) begins on January 30, and applications are now available and will be accepted through next Monday January 23. Here are a some fun, free ways to learn more about ACT:
Invitation #1: Free "ACT Pract" Happening Tomorrow! — For those interested in applying to ACT 2012, we invite you to a very special edition of "ACT Pract", which is our ongoing monthly "open door coaching" opportunity for ACT program Alumni. This event is happening tomorrow, Thursday January 19, at 3:00pm Eastern. This event will allow you to see ARTbundance Coaching in action, as you observe ACT Graduates coaching each other in inspiring and focused, mini-sessions. You'll see how ARTsignments and the ARTbundance Principles are integrated into the coaching conversation, and how they can be used for dramatic, lasting changes.
There will also be opportunity for you to ask questions, both about the coaching itself as well as the ACT training program, to help you decide if applying for the 2012 session is right for you. Of course, if you can't attend live, you can sign up to receive a recording of the event. To sign up for ACT Pract on Thursday Jan 19 at 3:00pm Eastern Time, simply go here!
Invitation #2: If you missed Monday's event, "Soul Safari 2012: New Adventures to Capture Wild Prosperity!" you can download your own free copy of the recording and workbook here!
Invitation #3: Listen to our Audio ACTimonials, a consolidation of about two dozen ACT Graduates sharing their personal experiences with the program. The recording is approx 24 minutes...feel free to listen to a little, or a lot! :-)
Invitation #4: Read comments from dozens of graduates who have shared about their personal experiences with ACT.
We hope that these invitations help you get a rich, dynamic sense of what the ARTbundance Certification Training is all about. If you have any questions about ACT as you consider applying for you the 2012 session, feel free to send me an email. I'm happy to answer your questions, or connect you with an Alumni who has gone through the program.
2. NEW! Join in the Countdown! My book, Creating Time: Using Creativity to Reinvent the Clock and Reclaim Your Life, will be released by New World Library and will hit bookstores in April, and we're going to be doing all kinds of great things to count down and share lots of fun! Artella Land's newest destination on our website is a cozy "book bungalow" where you can jump in and get involved...visit here to learn more about the book and join our celebration!
We also invite you to "like" our new Facebook community for ongoing creative prompts and games related to "Creating Time"! Come join in the countdown to the end of time as we know it...
 3. Mystery Muse Project Update! Our annual "Mystery Muse" Project is off to a great start! If you are participating, remember that your commitment is to send two creative offerings this month via postal mail, so please plan to send your first offering this week. You'll even get a fun little gift from Artella when you mail your second gift, to thank you for keeping your commitment! If you have any questions, please contact NanLeah, our Mystery Muse Coordinator, at mysterymuse@artellaland.com. We love this tradition of doing our own creative twist on "Secret Santas" and we're so glad to be ringing in the new year with such positive, creative energy! Thanks to everyone who signed up to be part of it! We aren't accepting any new participants for this edition of the Mystery Muse, but since the turnout was great for this winter, we are looking to have a special edition later in the year as well...so stay tuned!
4. NEW! ARTbundance™ Community Events – We have new events for January, presented by our talented ARTbundance™ Practitioners in training. In addition to the attending these events for free, you also get a wonderful pack of ARTbundant goodies to enjoy! See the descriptions of the next event and sign up here!
 5. Join the ARTfiliate Program! Join Artella's generous ARTfiliate Program and enjoy all the new affiliate tools that we’ve recently added! You can get more info by going here.
 6. Interested in Becoming Part of Artella's Team? We are expanding our team for all the exciting things we're working on in early and mid-2012, so if you've ever been interested in becoming part of the Artella Team, now is the time! Check out this page for details.
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  For today's "In the Studio" Interview, I'm delighted to present a wonderfully talented ARTbundance Coach and Practitioner, Sheila Masson. Sheila is passionate about facilitating breakthroughs in others, and is very skilled at doing so, combining her ARTbundance™ training with Reiki, IET, and sound and energy medicine practices. I know you will enjoy getting to know Sheila!
Artella: How has your ARTbundance™ training affected your work and/or life?
Sheila: I was immediately attracted to the heart centered, fun with words, joyful and creative approach business and coaching that Marney presented as well as the balanced, practical tools of the program for integrating Spiritual elements into our business Life. The ACT program confirmed my belief that not only is integrating spirituality into our business life possible but so is establishing a heart centered, co-creative, win-win approach to prosperity to replace the outdated paradigm of win-lose competition. In addition to the philosophical cornerstones of the program there was plenty of challenge and support for my inner critic to transform into my inner Muse and for me to transform my "act-shun" mode of operating into an "Act-I-On" response that has continued into the present. An unexpected gift that appeared as a result of Marney's ideas was an umbrella business name. I had been searching for a few years for such a name that would embrace my various and seemingly diverse interests. The name is Wiseheart Healing Arts. I have a temporary website template on line that I will be acting on completing in 2012!
Artella: What kinds of people do you most enjoy working with? Who is your ideal client?
Sheila: I most enjoy working with people, who even though may be experiencing crisis, are essentially open-hearted with curious minds and a fine sense of the ridiculous.
You can read the rest of Sheila's interview, here
The 6th session of the ARTbundance™ Certification Training (ACT) begins on January 30, and applications are now available and will be accepted through January 23. You can learn more about ACT and request your application here.
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Since I introduced compasses in this week's article, I thought it might be fun to share some ideas for creative projects related to maps! I love using old maps in my art. Painting directly on a map is like having a dialogue with lines, shapes, colors, and spaces. You have to choose what to cover and what to leave exposed, and what kind of opacity and translucency to use on the parts of the map that you cover up. Maps represent journeys of all kinds, and you get to create a relationship between your own personal journey, and the places that the map represents.
When creating art on maps, you can bring more meaning to the process by asking yourself questions like:
"Are these real places, or imaginary?"
"What do the meanings of these locations add to this piece?"
"Why is THIS map in particular in this painting, as opposed to any other?" (An important question when using any ephemera, not to mention when it's your entire painting surface!)
On a practical note, most maps -- especially older ones -- are rather flimsy, so, depending on the media you are using, you may want to mount them on a stretched canvas or cardboard before you work with them.
Maps are great tools for creative writing, too. Here are a few ways to incorporate maps into your writing:
For fiction: When you are writing stories, drawing maps for the different locations in the story is a great way to capture details, ensure consistency, and expand your sense of place.
For poetry: Sketch figurative maps, such as what the map of love looks like, or the map of the ocean's sigh. Allow those images to breathe new life into your poetry.
For non-fiction: Use mind-maps to help you organize your thoughts and resources.
Maps have always been the definitive tool that helps us know where we are, and where we want to go. Bringing maps into your creativity is a powerful way to activate a whole new sense of direction!
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Marney