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Art's golden thread of mentors stretches not just into the ancient past, but also far into the future.
~ Paul Soderberg
One of the wonderful elements of humanity is the way that we help each other. We all learn and grow by following the examples of other people. Just about anyone who has had significant success of any kind will point to the mentors in their journey; people who have inspired them by example, and shared valuable information that has made a significant difference. When we don't have to re-invent the wheel, so to speak, we can invent so many other wonderful things…and that is exactly what the spirit of mentoring allows.
Mentoring is about sharing information, but just as important is the simple component of believing in someone and their dream. I love the words that Sonia Choquette uses to describe the role that Julia Cameron played in her life; she said she looked at her with "believing eyes". We all need someone to look at us and our dreams with "believing eyes". This affirming reflection can occur in even the most unexpected places. In this way, we all can receive mentorship and support for our dreams, and offer the same for others.
Those of you who have been around Artella for a while will remember our Annual Mystery Muse Project, where for several years, we coordinated our own artistic alternative to "Secret Santas". This year, to acknowledge the mentoring spirit in all of us and to celebrate our upcoming ARTbundance™ MENTORing and INVENTORing Network which is beginning in January, I am delighted to invite you to join in Artella's First Annual Mystery Mentor Project !
When you sign up to be a "Mystery Mentor", you become an anonymous set of "believing eyes" for someone's dreams for 2011, using your creativity to spread fun little messages of encouragement and affirmation…all the while receiving the same serendipitous support from someone else! It's free to participate, and just a fun way to start the new year with positive, support energy. To get all the details about how you can sign up to be a "Mystery Mentor", simply keep reading 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. NEW! Artella Memberships at 55% off…Plus eGift Card up to $50! Our famous annual 55% off Membership Sale returns! You can now once again save 55% on Artella Memberships! We've created just the thing for the really special ones on your gift list, including you: a six-month or full-year Luxury Gift Membership to one of Artella's Luxury Cabin Memberships, all of which have recently been renovated and updated with all-new monthly packages of amazing goodies!
Plus this year, we've added an extra bonus: when you order one of Memberships at 55% off, you ALSO immediately receive an Artella eGift Card for up to $50!
This is also a great opportunity to get or upgrade your own Artella membership at 55% off as well. It's the best offer we ever make on membership so if you are a current monthly member and would like to save up to 55% on your membership during the coming 6 months or 1 year, this is the promotion to take advantage of. The 55% off prices + eGift Cards are valid through December 31.
There are five different Memberships to choose from…truly something for everyone on your list (including yourself!): To take advantage of our spectacular 55% Off Special for Gift Memberships + eGift Cards, read the descriptions above, and when you're ready to order your Gift Memberships, go to this page to order your gifts. We'll take care of all the details, deliver the Gift Membership details to your friends (or YOU!) in artsy, Artella style!
 2. NEW! Applications now Available for the ARTbundance™ MENTORing and INVENTORing Network! On January 18, we're starting a brand new, community based program for creative entrepreneurs called The New ARTbundance™ MENTORing and INVENTORing Network (M.A.I.N.). Applications for the Inaugural M.A.I.N. Program are now available, and will be accepted through January 10, 2010.
M.A.I.N. is a 12-week 12-week ARTbundance™ Business Building Extravaganza in which creative, enthusiastically ambitious professionals, or those who aspire to be such, will receive marketing and business mentoring from me and their colleagues as they progress through a passionately practical journey to build and promote their businesses in an inventive, step-by-step progression that is based on the ARTbundance™ Principles of Gratitude, Intuition, Balance, Vision, Attraction, Choice, Action, Connection, Service.
The MENTORing and INVENTORing Network is a 12-week program that includes: - 12 LIVE weekly teleclasses taught by me, with new interactive small-group projects that take place in REAL TIME, throughout the class! During each class, you will consistently meet with the same small group, to develop a strong rapport as you support one another in this work. The live teleclasses begin the week of January 16; the dates of the live teleclasses are TBA, determined by the actual schedules and availability those accepted in the program.
- Extensive weekly guidebooks with interactive worksheets and exercises and ARTsignments™ (exercises infused with creativity)
- Multiple options for weekly accountability assignments that progressively grow your business: YOU get to decide the rate, pace, and progression for your business!
- A thriving online community where you can connect, network, share and barter with your M.A.I.N. colleagues. It's kind of like a "think tank" except we're calling it the "M.A.I.N. Think-And-Sync Tank"...because you'll be invited to sync up with others and share both thoughts and feelings as you create and implement your brilliant new business inventions!
- Your own "Accountability Advocate" : You will develop a supportive partnership with a colleague in the program with whom you'll be matched based on preferences, personality, compatibility, and complimentary skills and interests.
- A full package of promotional opportunities for marketing your work within the Artella Community
We are accepting applications to this program through January 10, 2010. You can get full information and request your application, here .
 3. Try the M.A.I.N. Kick-Off, First! If you're wondering if the full M.A.I.N. program might be right for you, there is still time to join us for the M.A.I.N. Kick-Off Event, which is a great way to finally get a jump ahead in preparation for the new year, and it's also a terrific way to get a taste, to help you decide if applying for the full M.A.I.N. experience in January is the right step for you.
You can sign up for the Kick-Off and still join us for the live teleclass on this coming Tuesday, December 21. Here's a description of Tuesday's class:
The third week in the Kick-Off series harnesses the ARTbundance™ Principle of Choice as you evaluate the resources you already have, as well as identify possible resources that you can call upon when necessary as your business-building work continues and expands. This week's content is full of interactive worksheets to help you think and plan ahead to evaluate, uncover, invent, and make choices about the time, money, skills, and support systems that you will be using to invest in your business. If you will be continuing with the full MENTORing And INVENTORing Program in January, this week's work is essential to help you prepare for the work and play that will be starting after the holidays! And even if not, it will still provide a sturdy support and solid practical background for any business-building efforts that you plan to make in 2011.
In addition to the upcoming class and workbook, you'll also have instant access to the recordings and workbooks for the two previous classes. You can see go to this link to see what current participants are saying about the M.A.I.N. Kick-Off and get more details on how to join us on Tuesday.
 4. Sign Up for our First Annual Mystery Mentor Project! Give and receive creative, serendipitous bits of inspiration through email and snail mail, and help someone else believe in her dream! Sign up to be a Mystery Mentor, and become an anonymous set of "believing eyes" for someone's dreams for 2011, as you use your creativity to spread fun little messages of encouragement and affirmation…all the while receiving the same serendipitous support from someone else!
It's completely free to participate, and just a fun way to start the new year with positive, supportive energy. Sign-ups will be accepted through December, 22. Get all the details and sign up for this inspiring project, here!
 5. Join the Affiliate Program! Join Artella's generous Affiliate Program and enjoy all the new affiliate tools that we’ve recently added. You can get more info by clicking here.
 6. Interested in Becoming Part of Artella's Team? We are expanding our team for all the exciting things we're working on, 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 an interview with Certified ARTbundance™ Coach Jan Blount.
Jan's work is so firmly grounded in the ARTbundance™ Principle of Gratitude, that I knew she would be an ideal Coach to interview during the festive holiday season! I know you will enjoy reading about Jan and her new Web venture, "Gratitude and Company".
Artella: How has your ARTbundance™ training affected your work and/or life?
Jan: It has dramatically changed my life already and I am certain this is only the beginning of even more dramatic changes ahead. It's reconnected me to my creativity. I know this sounds contradictory, but it has simultaneously expanded my creativity while giving it more focus. The ARTsignments™ are so powerful and so much fun. I invariably surprise myself with what results from using these tools. I knew I was creative, but I had no idea just how much so.
Artella: What kinds of people do you most enjoy working with? Who is your ideal client?
Jan: In the process of doing my ARTbundance™ training I created a character whose name is Gratitude. My ideal client is a lot like her. When we first met she was feeling bored and restless, and was in a bit of a funk. But she was also tired of feeling this way and was ready to get some "fresh air." She was ready to "stretch her legs." She was ready to see her world differently, ready to discover a wide-open world of possibility.
Gratitude and my ideal client want to feel alive every day. They want to have energy and courage to follow their dreams and passions. They want to get clarity about their next step. They are transforming their life. They are on a journey to find them self, that unique, quirky self, with all its rich and juicy complexity. They are longing to express their creative genius. They're seeking a trusted guide to help them along the trail to that wide-open world of possibility and ARTbundance™.
You can read the rest of Jan's interview, here
We have now closed the application process for the Fall 2010 ARTbundance™ Certification Program. If you are interested in receiving notification when the next ACT session is scheduled, simply fill out the form on this page.
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 Surrounding ourselves with supportive, encouraging people is important not only in making a business successful or turning an idea into a reality, but it's so valuable when it simply comes down to day-to-day happiness and contentedness. This ARTsignment™ is called "Relationship Wrapestry" and it is a creative way to examine the relationships in your life.
Our relationships are the fabric of our lives, and this ARTsignment™ takes that concept literally and uses fabric as a media for exploring relationships and the people that we choose to "wrap around" us. Here are the steps for this ARTsignment™:
- Gather pieces of fabric to represent the people that you choose to wrap around you, and your energy. You might start with a list of the significant relationships in your life, and then enjoy finding a fabric that "matches" that person. (This is sort of like that exercise where you examine your color associations with the people in your life, except it takes it a bit further by adding pattern and texture to the mix!) Engaging in this fun "treasure hunt" to find interesting fabrics is a creative, abstract approach to exploring a person's energy in a very deep way. It's amazing what we can learn about our relationships when we start looking at them in metaphorical, non-linear ways.
- Once you have gathered all your fabric bits, the next step is to pick an item that represents you – and item that she will then be wrapping with the fabric. Some examples might include: your journal (as in my example shown above), a small dollar-store photo album, a lampshade, or even a photograph of yourself.
- The next step is to complete the symbolic journey by wrapping the item that represents your with the bits of fabric. The wrapping itself can take many forms, from sewing to gluing to taping to tying, to using small decorative brads to attach the fabric pieces together. No matter which method you choose, as you work, allow yourself to uncover even deeper insights about these various connections in her life.
Here are some sample inquiries: - Which fabric swatches seem to "go together" and which don't?
- Do the swatches make you feel differently when you see them combined with one another?
- Are there any swatches that don't really seem to fit, and does that ring true in real life? - How might you make this "wrapping" feel more comforting, nurturing, cozy, safe, and inspiring? What changes would need to be made? What new kinds of fabrics would need to be introduced, and which would need to be taken away?
- What new choices might you make to enhance your connections with other…to truly become part of the fabric of the world?
Taking these questions out of the logical realm and inserting them into the abstract world of color, pattern, texture, and art can yield surprisingly clear realizations and new levels of awareness.
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Marney