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"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have
into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to
order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a
house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes
sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision
for tomorrow."
-- Melody Beattie
Last month, Artella turned nine years old, and those of you who have been around Artella Land for a while know that I'm extremely passionate about the topic of gratitude. There is a reason that I find myself writing about this topic often; it is the most powerful way I know to change our mindset, mood, and our entire lives for the better. As recently as this month, when yet another foot surgery didn't go exactly as I had planned, I've returned to my grati-roots :-) and I've recommitted myself to a daily creative gratitude practice. In only a matter of days, everything suddenly has seemed to change. If humankind ever dreamed for a magic potion to change our lives, I think gratitude is it!
A gratitude practice works best when we do it rather than just think about it. And, as the writer Colette said, "We only do well the things we like doing." Along these lines, a gratitude practice can be especially truly motivating when we customize it to our interests and passions, and combine it with the things we like doing. For example, creative individuals will be much more engaged when they are writing or drawing about their blessings rather than just halfheartedly thinking about them. A runner may have more success incorporating a gratitude meditation into her jogging time than she would by just entering her thoughts in a daily journal.
To start, think of simple, doable activities that you really enjoy, and play with incorporating them into a regular gratitude practice. This is the ultimate win-win, because then you are making both gratitude and your favorite activities part of your daily life, blending them in a beautiful synergy.
Recently, someone asked Kai why he was a vegetarian. He usually answers something like, "Because Mommy is," but this time he even surprised me when he said, "Because I'm part of the earth." While it is often amusing to hear the thoughts in his 3 year old mind, this idea is actually reminiscent of the feeling we get when we enter into a practice of gratitude: we become one with the heartbeat of the world. By doing so, we truly do become an integral part of the world as we plant the seeds of appreciation in the deepest soil of our being and cultivate them until they one day beautifully bloom.
If you're interested in some new ways to merge a daily gratitude practice with a daily art-making practice, we're introducing two new mixed media art e-courses to help make gratitude artsy and FUN! You can keep reading to get all the details about Artella ARTpreciation Postage and Artsy EnvelHopes 2012, as well as our inaugural offers from Artella's New Business Bohemia adventure.
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. NEW! Artella’s New Mixed Media eCourses and Your Special Thanksgiving Bundle! Just in time for Thanksgiving this year, we are happy to welcome two sparklingly new mixed media e-courses! The first follows in the tradition of our innovative artsy gratitude programs like Accounting Your Blessings, The Gratitude Garland, and Artsy EnvelHopes. It is called Artella’s ARTpreciation Postage: A Mixed Media Art Workshop for Cultivating Gratitude for “The Little Things”.
In Artella's ARTpreciation Postage, you’ll be guided to create an artsy postage stamp, or ‘faux poste’, every day for 30 days, as a miniature art journal of your personal gratitude. Working in a very small art space is so invigorating, and it also provides a wonderful metaphor for reflecting on the "little things". This workshop includes everything you need to engage in this invigorating and dynamic creative gratitude practice, with every day’s lesson emailed directly to you.
At the end of the 30 days you will have a set of beautiful postage stamps to use in a variety of inspiring ways. In fact, each day’s lesson includes a new creative idea for how you can use your stamps (one example… add your ARTpreciation postage to the envelope when you mail your bills, to attract even greater prosperity, or follow our easy tips for posting art to all your social media channels, to share your ARTpreciation for your friends with one click!)
If you'd like a fresh, simple start and brand new approach to combining a daily gratitude practice with a daily art-making practice, you can begin right now to create your very own ARTpreciation Postage collection and allow your gratitude for the “little things” come alive in big ways!
Our second major announcement is the arrival of Artsy EnvelHopes 2012, now available in its special edition release! Artsy EnvelHopes has long been one of our most popular e-courses, and now we've redesigned it with a new version for 2012! Here are some of the things that people have said about Artsy EnvelHopes:
“I was curious about what the heck Artsy EnvelHopes was, because I love envelopes. But it isn’t really about envelopes, it’s about questions and answers -- pulling something from inside yourself and writing it down. All those words go in a beautiful/interesting envelope that you create from the templates. It makes a beautiful letter from yourself to yourself, with surprising messages.”
Karen Karsten
"As always, with Artsy EnvelHopes, Marney has come up with a great, fun, inspirational online course that makes me want to tell everyone. She is my light in the dark, even when I don’t’ know it, She is hope and fun for me. This class has to be her best yet. I will recommend it to all friends and online pals!"
Jodie Foster
"This is just a short note to let you know how much I looked forward to my EnvelHope each night. It has helped me to gain insight into how blessed that I really am.”
Pam Mckillop
And now, Artsy EnvelHopes is even better, as the course has been totally updated with tons of new inspiring goodies for the new Artsy EnvelHopes 2012 release.
Best of all, as part of our holiday celebration, when you buy either of these courses, you can get the other for just $19! Plus, when you buy both, you also get your free ARTpreciation Bonus Bundle, including:
- Two amazing Studio Collage Kits: "Postal Passion" and "Tickets, Tags, and Tidbits". ($20 value)
- Your own, personalized Petite Post: a delightful envelope overflowing with authentic postage stamps and other miniature bits of actual vintage ephemera, sent to you via U.S. postal mail, so you'll have it in your own hands, personalized with a delightful message just for you.
You can take both courses at the same time for extra inspiration (you can use your ARTpreciation Postage directly on your EnvelHopes), or take one 30-day course now and then begin the next whenever you like…You can even keep one course for yourself, and give another to a friend.
Get details about the ARTpreciation Bonus Bundle, here!
 2. NEW! Inaugural Business Bohemia Teleclass Series Begins Next Week! In last week's Work du Soleil class, I announced our newest fun adventure: Artella's Business Bohemia, a fantastical new world where work feels like play! The inaugural teleclass series for Business Bohemia begins this coming Monday, and it's called Mastering the My-Name-Is Mystery: Interactive Acrobatics for Inspiring Introductions! This dynamic, power-packed two week series is all about articulating your vision in way that is captivating and intriguing for other people, and makes you feel absolutely awesome about yourself and your work at the same time.
Mastering the art of the personal introduction was the #1 most important change I have ever made, in terms of changing the results in my work. So if you’ve ever struggled with how to talk about yourself and your work -- either how to put into words or just how to access the deep-down confidence to share in a way that steadily develops customers, clients and connections, then I think you will love what is in store for you, and it all starts on Monday!
Get full details about Mastering the My-Name-Is Mystery here!
 3. NEW! Applications Now Available for Mapping and Mentoring with Marney! Our other exciting announcement from Business Bohemia is that I'm now accepting applications for an intimate business-building group called Mapping and Mentoring with Marney offering 21st Century Goal Achieving & Time Metamorphosis for Creative Professionals.
If you already have a good sense of direction of where you are headed, but could use an expert's hand to guide you, this innovative program provides the structure and support to help you reach your goals quicker, more efficiently, and with greater results than doing it on your own. Applications are being accepted through December 9, and you can get all the details about "Mapping and Mentoring with Marney", here.
 4. NEW! For those interested in the next ACT session! If you're thinking about applying for the next session of the ARTbundance Certification Training Program, please fill out this quick form to let us know your timing preferences, which will help us as we create Artella Land's 2012 schedule. In return, you not only help determine the dates that are right for you, you also get a really fun and passion-packed booklet, "Pizazz Your Purpose: An Introduction to the ARTbundance Principles", as a li’l thank you.
 5. This month's ARTbundance™ Community Events! We've recently posted several new free teleclasses that are part of the ARTbundance™ Community Events Series in November and December, all 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 new events and sign up here!
 6. 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 clicking here.
 7. Interested in Becoming Part of Artella's Team? We are expanding our team for all the exciting things we're working on this year, so if you're interested in becoming part of the Artella Team, check out this page for details.
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For today's "In the Studio" Interview, I'm delighted to present Certified ARTbundance™ Coach and Practitioner, Peggy Lynn. Peggy is a walking human heart; she embodies gratitude and delight, and so I knew that her interview would be a great tie-in to this week’s theme.
I know you will enjoy getting to know Peggy!
Artella: What led you to become a Certified ARTbundance™ Coach/Practitioner?
Peggy: I met Marney through SARK’s Dream Boogie and was just blown away by her talent, creativity, inventiveness and generosity. Plus Marney is the “Queen of Quite Captivatingly Creative Captions!” So her methods’ lightning struck and stuck and the fireworks of a new creative explosion has pursued me ever since in fun, new ways. When I learned the Principles Marney teaches, I really resonated with that foundation. I felt I was already living with a lot of the ARTbundance™ philosophy every day, even before I knew about them in the ARTbundance™ context. Yet, I absolutely loved the engaging ways that Marney brings the Principles to the surface in our creative lives. After experiencing several classes Marney offered, when ACT came around, I jumped at the opportunity. We were a perfect fit! And I felt like I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel with clients! With those nine Principles led by the foundation of Gratitude, Marney exudes creativity in every nook and cranny and has it all covered. That, plus the perfect blend of Art and Spirituality peppered with the Archaeology of our beings, made it seem like I was made for the role of ARTbundance™ Coach! I’ve studied many things down through the years and I believe this process has definitely been the most fun!
Artella: How has your ARTbundance™ training affected your work and/or life?
Peggy: I grew up believing I was creative and “good in art” so art has permeated my life from the onset but the ACT raining brings it to a new level. Frankly, I was surprised at how great it is! I mean, I figured it would be good and fun, but here again, I was swept away like Dorothy in the vortex! Lots of nuances surfaced for this ol’ gal! I found it transformational in that I now look at everything through the lens of the ARTbundance™ Principles of Gratitude, Intuition, Balance, Attraction, Choice, Action, Vision, Connection and Service. I grew up in a very service-minded family so it’s in my DNA - but I see my service from here on out as totally fresh, fun and very inviting…for me, anyway!
You can read the rest of Peggy's interview, here
The Fall 2011 session of the ARTbundance™ Certification Training Program (ACT) is now in session. If you would like to be notified when the next session is announced, simply fill in this form. |
This envelope template is one of 30 templates presented in the new Artsy EnvelHopes 2012 e-course. While many of the templates in the e-course are unusual and quirky (i.e. a fortune cookie envelope, a seed packet envelope, a circular envelope, an interlocking envelope, etc.), this template is simply for a straightforward square envelope. However, we're going to do something not-so-simple! We're going to use this as background for discovering the hidden blessings that can come from creative experimentation and trying new things.
- Click the template to open it and print it out. If you like, you can select a background paper to use to make your envelope. If you like, you can use this journal page, which is one of the 30 gorgeous pages you receive in the Artsy EnvelHopes workshop.
- Follow the instructions to assemble the envelope, but…try something different as you're working. As you're cutting the envelope out, allow yourself to deviate a bit from the lines. Cut the envelope out in a slightly different shape, allowing you to experiment a bit.
- When you fold the envelope, try something different as well. What happens if you make up your own folding instructions? What if you use honey to close the envelope, instead of glue? Get wild!
- Do something that you normally would never do, to decorate and embellish the envelope. Use colors you would never use, imagery that feels experimental and unusual for you.
- When you feel like your creative experimentation has come to a close, take a look at what you've created. What do you think?
- Take a new slip of paper and answer these questions:
- Does this envelope look like you thought it would?
- What is at least ONE thing that you really like about this envelope, or the experience of making it? What is the "hidden blessing"? In other words, even if you don't like the result as a whole, find one blessing to focus on.
- Think of a recent time when something didn't go as planned. What did you expect to happen, and what happened instead?
- What was the hidden blessing in that experience?
- In this experience, in what way are you grateful for how it turned out?
Fold this piece of paper, and put it inside your "experimental" envelope, to signify your trust in the beauty of things that didn't quite go as planned.
This project is excerpted from Artsy EnvelHopes 2012: Joyful Art Projects to Change Your Life, which has now been re-designed and expanded for 2012. Get details about Artsy EnvelHopes and the Special Thanksgiving Bundle here.
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This Quotz Crystal is a high-resolution jpeg image, suitable for printing. I invite you to print it out as a reminder as a fun reminder to live in gratitude and feel the world expand!
~seeing as part of the earth:
 Marney
Artella Founder, Mango Lover, Hula Dancer
Artella Land ~ the creative isles of words, art, and spirit
Artella 9090 Skillman #182A-116 Dallas TX 75243 |
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