Note: If this newsletter doesn't display in its delightfully colorful formatting, you can view it on the Web at www.artellawordsandart.com/ARTELLAGRAM-2-21-09.html. In this space a few weeks ago, I shared my definition of a force I call "persedurance": a sassy combination of perseverance and endurance which, when activated, is truly a power to be reckoned with! I challenged you to access your own persedurance, simply by asking yourself: are you ready to persevere and hold on to your dream, regardless of any disappointments you may have had up to now? Are you ready to say “I cannot and will not let go of this dream”? I know a lot of you may have a dream to finally make a living with your creativity, but you've felt like you need to put that dream away, given the current state of the economy. But true persedurance can overcome virtually anything when we are anchored and inspired by it. That's why next week, I'm teaching a new live free workshop called The Complete Idealist's Guide to Growing a Creative Business. You can get the meeting details below. Believe it or not, in spite of the financial climate, this is actually an ideal time for a creative person to start or expand a business. I've never agreed with the myth that creative people don't make good business people, because in my opinion, creative people are ideal in business, most especially in difficult circumstances, because they have the ingenuity and unique vision that is crucial to innovate and thrive. So if you have a dream, don't let any circumstances on the outside stop you! Goethe said, "Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” I truly believe that the world is ready for your boldness…the question is, are you? :-) If you're in a hurry, here are some "quick links" to the highlights in today's Artellagram. You can simply follow the links that you're interested in to go directly to the relevant information! NEW! The Complete Idealist's Growing a Creative Business...free live workshop! Mixed Media e-course, "Artella's Mixed Media ME-flections"! Artella Loves YOUpons New in the Artella store: individual consulting, new magazines, and new vintage items! Muse Cruise "Sail" Continues! Join the Artella Affiliate Program Become part of Artella's Team! In the Studio with Jaime Adcock Creativity Tip: Reconstructive Art Quotz Crystal™ 1. NEW Live Groundbreaking Creative Business Workshop…! Come join me this Thursday, February 26, for my live workshop, The Complete Idealist's Guide to Growing a Creative Business: 37 Ways to Really Make an Artsy Living. The world needs new and expanded businesses by Complete Idealists. With their unbridled creativity, they are born to be problem-solvers and innovative thinkers. They live out of the box. The world needs their products and ideas. Period. And yes, I'm talking about YOU. :-) In this free class, you'll receive... - Practical information about why and how the businesses of Complete Idealists are the promise of success in this economy, and how YOU can be one of them. - Real-world guidance to accompany your idealistic dreams...including realistic, actionable tips for distilling all of the overwhelming information and resources that are available. - An opportunity to ask me your biggest, most pressing questions about starting or expanding a creative business. - I'll also present 37 unique, and sometimes shocking, ways that you can make a living from being your wonderful artsy self. I think it's a pretty safe bet you'll hear ideas you've never thought of before. The workshop is free; your only cost if you don’t have a free long distance phone plan is whatever your phone company charges you for a standard phone call within the U.S. space is limited and spots are reserved on a first-come, first-serve basis. So join me this Thursday evening for The Complete Idealist's Guide to Growing a Creative Business, with your creative dreams in tow! 2. Save $20 with the new Mixed Media Pilot Program! Artella's new e-course, Mixed Media ME-flections: 30 Self Portrait Projects to Change Your Life, is here! If you’ve ever created a self-portrait, you know that it can be a rich opportunity for introspective and exciting self-growth. Now you have an amazing opportunity to create 30 self-portraits in a variety of artistic media, each project tailor-designed to inspire you to live more fully, passionately and authentically! This exciting course is not just another collection of art techniques. While following these step-by-step projects, you'll also embark on created an unforgettable journey of self-discovery, inner healing, sacred inspiration, and creative fun! From assemblage to origami…clay to collage….photography to fine art….watercolor to wire…these self-portrait projects offer an unparalleled opportunity to get to know yourself more deeply and become more comfortable and confident with yourself than ever! The course only started last week, and we've already been getting great feedback, like these words from Tara: Wow wow wow. What else can I say? After only a few days of ME-flections I'm already feeling like a different artist and dare I say, a different person. Thank you for an already life-changing experience! From now through March 15, you can enroll in the Mixed Media ME-flections Workshop Pilot Program and save $15 off the regular price of the course! Learn more about the Pilot Program, here! PLUS, you can save an additional $5.00 when you use of one of our current Artella Loves YOUpons!, for a total savings of $20 off the regular price. 3. Have you seen the latest coupon codes? We've been getting lots of raves about Artella Loves YOUpons: a new page at Artella Land where we list all our current Specials in one convenient location! The current YOUpons include some never-before-seen discounts in Artella Mae's Vintage General Store, the lowest price ever on an Artella print issue, and deep price cuts on our most popular products, including our newest e-course, Artella's Mixed Media ME-flections! 4. New this week in Artella Land! Here's what is new in the Artella Land Store this week: One-on-One Project Consulting Is Back! You've been asking, and after taking the past year off to be with my newborn baby Kai, I'm once again offering individual project development consulting. If you have any interest in possibly working with me on a one-on-one basis, just drop me a line with a little description of what you'd like to work on and I'll write you back with my thoughts and info on what, if anything, I can do to be of help to you. NEW! The Art Journal Journey e-magazine! The first three issues of The Art Journal Journey e-magazine, published monthly as part of the Luxury Art Journal Cabin, are now available individually! Each issue is at least 50 pages of art journaling inspiration, presented in an animated Flash format. Take a look at some sample pages, here! NEW treasures in the $1.99 Vintage Ephemera Bargain Bin include: Retro Tourism Booklets Vintage Wedding Photos "Mushroom" Polish Matchbox Labels And remember, until the end of February, can you save an additional 25% off everything in the Vintage Ephemera Bargain Bin using one of the Artella Loves YOUpons! NEW fun Storefront! Great news! The Inspiring Springs is now organized by topic, rather than product type, for a much more convenient and fun way to browse through all of Artella's items for creative souls. So come check out the NEW Inspiring Springs, overflowing with catalyzing waves that bring renewed creativity, wisdom, abundance, joy, and deep connections to words, art, and spirit. 5. Muse Cruise "Sail" Continues! By popular request, we're continuing our Grand Opening Muse Cruise "Sail", when you sign up for more than one Luxury Cabin, each new Membership is permanently locked in at just $5.00! This includes… The Luxury Art Journaling Cabin, celebrating the amazing power of Art Journaling to enhance creative well-being! The Blissness Cabin, offering Artella's unparalleled support for creative entrepreneurs of all kinds! The Digital Art Coach Cabin, created especially for those who love Digital Art and want to learn more about it! Or you can sign up for the Artella Land Complete Access Pass and save even more, AND get a bonus Artella digital spending spree! Here's what Pam Tucker has to say about the Complete Access Pass: "I am LOVING my COMPLETE PASS to all of the Member cabins! I love the weekly recordings from Marney (what an inspiration)! I look forward to hearing her messages every week. I love the Zines in each cabin...I don't know where to start! I could spend all day here!! Thanks so much, Marney, for these wonderful new additions!" Thanks to everyone for your positive feedback! We're so excited to have you on board for what promises to be a fantastic new year! 6. Are you an Affiliate, yet? Have you been wanting to bring in some additional income? If so, you'll be very happy to know that Artella's New Affiliate Program is finally here! After many of your requests and over a year in the making, Artella's Affiliate Program is ready to help you start earning income, just by spreading the word about Artella. The Artella Affiliate Program is free, and within a few minutes, you can be ready to actually start earning real income, receiving 25% commissions, one of the highest commissions available online. Get all the details about Artella's exciting Affiliate Program, here! 7. Interested in Becoming Part of Artella's Team? If you're interested in becoming part of the amazing Artella Team, check out this post in the Artella Cafe for details. We're rolling out some exciting new features in the coming months and would love to bring a few more wonderful, creative souls on board! I'm happy to present this interview with Shoppes Artist Jaime Adcock, who eBooks on creative style are filled with tips to help us put our best authentic foot forward! I hope you enjoy this interview with Jaime! Artella: The possibilities to "create art" when you are a novice seem endless - where's a good starting place? Jaime: To me, the idea of "creating art" should always have an element of fun and experimentation and camaraderie - that way it doesn't feel so intimidating (which it can for many people) . The most inspirational places for me when first starting out where art and craft stores - I was lucky enough to have an independently owned rubber stamp store near my home and what an eye-opener that was for me! Amazing stamps, all those paints and glitters and papers and collage elements and the sample artwork that people had created! Oh, it was wonderful! And really got my creative juices going, too! Another fun way to start would be to grab a like-minded friend and head to a weekend arts and crafts show - again, just being around the demonstrations, seeing artists at work and being able to ask questions is a wonderful way to begin to dip a toe into the art-making process. I've found that most of the artists are eager to share their knowledge in these types of settings. You can read the rest of Jaime's interview, here See Jaime's eBooks 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: One of the 30 projects in our new Mixed Media ME-flections course is to take something apart and then reconstruct it in a new way, creating a self-portrait that honors your own personal resilience. The actual lesson includes an introspective process for how to approach this project. This funky little self-portrait was a lot of fun to make, so I wanted to share the art technique for how I created this project by taking apart a toy and reconstructing it. Get step-by-step instructions for this project, here! Get more information about the "Mixed Media ME-flections" e-course, here! WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK: The Art Tip above shares a unique way to take something apart and then make something else out of it. Why not challenge yourself to some "reconstructive writing", in the same way? Find a piece of your writing that you're not crazy about. You know…that poem you jotted off quickly at the bus station, or that short story from college that never quite "worked". What happens if you completely take it apart and then re-use the pieces to write something new? First, grab a highlighter and highlight some things in the piece that you like: a sentence here, a plotline there….a character description here, a metaphor there. Then take those elements and create an entirely new piece of writing! This Quotz Crystal™ is a high-resolution jpeg image, suitable for printing. Print it out and post it somewhere to remind you of the love that is in you, and all around you! ~Loving your buoyant boldness, Marney Artella Founder, Mango Lover, Hula Dancer Artella Land ~ the creative isles of words, art, and spirit Artella PO Box 6211 Kamuela HI 96743