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 * Important Update: The final entry day into the discounted Pilot Program of The From Here to ARTernity Pilot Group is July 2, 2009, and June 29 for those applying for scholarship aid. Several of you have asked when the next Pilot Program for this course will be coming, but as always there is always only one pilot program per new workshop, and the $30 half-price savings plus the three live teleclasses are only available now as part of the Pilot Program, in exchange for your feedback on the course. As detailed below, July 2, The From Here to ARTernity Pilot Group will be available in the Artella store at its full price.
“Metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space”
– Orson Scott Card
Perhaps this explains why creative people love metaphors so much. It seems to me that the more we understand about life, the less there is to say, as communication itself wanes in importance next to the sensitive apprehension of raw truth. When an experience is profound, words often feel so inadequate, and so we use metaphors to express what we mean.
But metaphors are more than just poetic descriptions of things. They can become powerful guides for living. For example, when challenges come our way, we can choose to play with the metaphors, similes, and analogies available to us:
For example:
What if this situation was an ocean? (How could I better ride out this situation, or appreciate its hidden power, or use its flowing nature?)
What if this project was a baby? (How could I better care for it, or appreciate the power of its yet unspoken words, or what could I learn from its pure heart?)
You can even get wild and throw in interesting adjectives, if you really want to get your mind stirring:
What if this challenge was purple? (How would I then think differently about it, how would it make me feel?)
What if this deadline was chatty? (What would it tell me? What would I tell IT? :-) What is its favorite song?)
Whenever you're faced with a challenge, try opening up the situation to see what lessons are there in the metaphors you explore. A bad experience can be seen in a whole new life as you use metaphors to add new colors, textures, and depth to it.
Our lives are poetic novels, filled with the metaphors we choose, day by day, moment by moment.
What metaphor do YOU choose,?
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. Final Days for "From Here to ARTernity" Pilot Group! – Just a few more days to sign up for the From Here to ARTernity Pilot Group, a Mixed Media Metamorphosis that invites you to make dynamic, magical shifts in your life by organically re-shaping the way you think about time and completely altering the way you see it and use it! Whether you fantasize about taking 10 years off your age or adding 10 hours to your day, From Here to ARTernity is an inspirational journey with me through fun and lively lessons, mixed media art projects, a real hands-on art supply kit, live teleclasses, and an interactive community…all working together in new and very powerful ways.
We are taking enrollees in the Pilot Group through next Thursday, July 2, or earlier if we run out of ARTernity Supply Kits. Each time we release a new program, we allow a small group at the start to be part of the Pilot Group, receiving a substantial discount in exchange for their feedback once during the program and once when they are done. Those who enroll in the From Here to ARTernity Pilot Group instantly save $30, half off the cost of the program and also get to participate in 3 Live teleclasses presented by me, exclusively for the Pilot Group. Read about the teleclasses topics, here! We've also extended the deadline for those wishing to apply for scholarship aid from The Lonnie D. Kliever Scholarship Fund until June 29.
While there are lots of resources out there to help you manage the time you have, I've learned that time management can only go so far. So where time management leaves off, Time Metamorphosis takes over! And that's a glimpse of what From Here to ARTernity is all about! So if time metamorphosis meets mixed media art is a concept that resonates with you as you read more about it, come join me as we have fun creating, sharing and traveling From Here to ARTernity!
 2. ARTbundance™ Coach Training Program Rescheduled for July 14! We’ve rescheduled the free sample workshop for Artella's new ARTbundance™ Coach Training to Tuesday, July 14. An ARTbundance™ Coach is a pioneering, unique hybrid of inspiring coach, creativity teacher, workshop leader, and spiritual guide. Our signup for the event has just surpassed 200 people, so if you have been trying to figure out how you can steer your vocation to fit in with the world's current deep hunger, join everyone else in finding out more about this inspiring and joyful opportunity.
On Tuesday, July 14, I'll be presenting a free ARTbundance™ Coach Training Workshop, which will present the Top 9 creative strategies that you can pass on to your own clients, or even integrate into your own creative endeavors. We'll do some fun interactive exercises to examine your own professional, monetary, and life goals, and help you determine where your best path and next step in life might be. You also will get a first hand look at what training to be an ARTbundance™ Coach is really all about and a pioneer's wagon full o' nifty resources and tools you get to keep, as you determine whether applying for the full Training Program is the inspired next step for your creative journey!
If you'd like to sign up for the free Training Sample Workshop on July 14, or find out more about ARTbundance™ and ARTbundance™ Coach Training, simply visit this page.
 3. Last days for June YOUpons codes! The June YOUpons expire on June 30, so take a look at the current discounts on our newest, most popular e-courses, plus savings on Artella print magazines, vintage photographs, and Complete Idealist Super-Bundles for creative entrepreneurs!
 4. Luxury Member Ship Update…Live Events! I’m excited to announce the following upcoming LIVE events for Artella Luxury Members:
The Live Events are just another nice bonus of Membership, in addition to all of the weekly goodies that are sent out each and every week. If you are not currently a Luxury Member, you can get more information, here. You can access the instructions for signing up for these live events immediately when you sign up!
 5. Feeling Lost? Have you ever just wished someone could hand you a literal map...with all the steps and paths mapped out to get directly to your creative dream? That's exactly what happens when we work together in one-on-one Creative Cartography™!
 6. Earn money for spreading the word! Join Artella's Generous Affiliate Program, It has great commissions, bonuses, and it even makes your teeth sparkle! :-)
 7. Interested in Becoming Part of Artella's Team? If you're interested in becoming part of the Artella Team, check out this post in the Artella Cafe for details.
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I'm thrilled to feature Tammy Hensley, who not only is a stellar graphic designer on Artella's team, but is also a fabulous artist across a variety of media! Her beautiful calligraphy creations are among some of my favorite handmade items in The Shoppes of Artella. I hope you enjoy this opportunity to get to know Tammy a bit better!
Artella: You are talented and skilled in so many areas: calligraphy, quilting, mixed media, and digital art. Do you have a favorite medium, technique or type of art, and why?
Tammy: It's really difficult for me to pick just one! In the last few years I've discovered that I seem to most enjoy combining my many different interests into pieces. Right now I am most focused on working with my nature photography combined with calligraphy and handmade beads. Creating pieces that combine these art techniques and media allows me to keep exploring and discovering my new hometown of Duluth and the northwoods of Minnesota. The calligraphy aspect of these pieces also keeps me poring over the volumes of quotations I've collected over many years and illuminating those writings in my own voice.
You can read the rest of Tammy's interview, here
See Tammy'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.
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In Artella's Metaphor Machine, I present a fun progression of exercises that all you to start with any adjective, and once you run it through the "Metaphor Machine", suddenly you've got 48 new words, phrases, and images to work with!.
Here's a li'l "Mini Machine" sample, so you can give it a try yourself!
And here's an example of how I used the "Mini Machine" to come up with new ways to describe the word "soft":
This fun process is especially great for visually-oriented creatives, who will enjoy following a graphical map to come up with unique, innovative metaphors to incorporate in their writing and art. For writers, this instantly enlivens their writing with new, bold choices. Similarly, artists can run a word through Artella's Metaphor Machine to find new interpretations of thoughts, ideas, and themes that can then be interpreted in artwork of any media.
So try it again, with a different adjective! Keep playing…the Metaphor Machine can be rather addictive!
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Marney