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I celebrated my 40th birthday recently, and reflected on the mysteries and miracles of this winding journey of life, and how our experiences throughout life greatly shape our interests, passions and dreams. Writing is one of my favorite things, and I’m grateful to have had parents who supported my creativity early on. By the time I was about five years old, I was an often frustrated little red-head, with a head filled with stories that I couldn’t write down; I could sound out words, but couldn't yet master the mechanical process of using a pencil. My parents had the crafty idea to introduce me to a typewriter to simplify the process, so that I could simply sound out the words by pressing the letter keys. Their plan worked; I wrote story after story plunking away on that old typewriter and it opened a window which still brings sweet light in my life today.
My mother has kept a box of these old stories, most of which seem to be written in some sort of strange code. My first masterpieces are almost impossible to read, as they don't contain any spaces in between the already crudely-spelled words. Little by little, my use of the space bar increased, but it still was a long time before I started regularly using vowels in the words. One of the earliest somewhat-readable pieces is called "The Ende ov Sata Cloz", which I wrote when I, at an unfortunately early age, learned the truth about Santa. The story dramatically describes Santa's demise (he was burned in the fireplace), but, happily, it turned out to only be a dream. Even at such an early age, I was obviously learning to use stories to process my emotions. I'm already seeing this tendency in Kai, as he acts out stories with his toys that often mirror something that has happened in his daily life.
Children naturally use story as a way to find their place in the world, but we grown-ups often forget how helpful stories can be. We can consciously call upon the power of story to help us see options and make new choices. This Thursday I'm presenting a free class called Live Your ARTobiography, which is all about using creative tools to transform the stories of our lives. If you are feeling like you could use a refresher course from your younger and more imaginative self, and if you're ready to start living an "ARTobiography" instead of an "oughtabiography", then I invite you to keep reading to learn more.
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. Free ARTbundance™ Teleclass this Thursday…Live Your ARTobiography! Join me and some very special guests for Live Your ARTobiography: Using ARTsignments™ to Discover the Story You Are Meant to Live, a playful and practical free teleworkshop in which you'll learn how to use art, creativity, and storytelling as powerful new tools to discover and live the life you were meant to live.
In this very exciting free event, I'll be joined by some of Artella's ARTbundance™ Certification Training Alumni, as well as my ultra-special guest, Brian Andreas, the creator of Storypeople books and products, who will share from his vast treasure chest of knowledge about the role of "story" in our lives.
It will be one great big party as we all share practical tools to easily and joyfully discover new insights about your path and how to make your story come to live!
Live Your ARTobiography: Using ARTsignments™ to Discover the Story You Are Meant to Live is a free teleclass to be held on Thursday, September 8, at 9:00pm Eastern Time (8:00 Central, 7:00 Mountain, 6:00 Pacific), taking place via telephone conference line.
Sign up for this free class and you will….
- Engage in transformative tools to learn how to transition from living your "oughtabiography" to your "artobiography", so you can do more of what you love, more of the time.
- Participate in hands-on ARTsignments™ - fun exercises to help unveil new insights about the story you are meant to live!
- Hear candid personal stories from me, Storypeople's Brian Andreas, and ARTbundance™ Graduates, with our best examples for bringing the power of story to life.
- Receive a dynamic follow-up workbook including inspiring and effective ARTsignments™ that harness the ARTbundance™ Principles to uncover even more new sources and opportunities for tapping into the story you are meant to live.
- For those also interested in hearing more about the Fall 2011 ARTbundance™ Certification Training Program, you are invited to stay for a fun gathering after the call, where you'll hear directly from actual ACT graduates, and get full details about applying for the 2011 ARTbundance™ Certification Training program
To join us for the free Live Your ARTobiography teleclass on Thursday, September 8, sign up here!
 2. Artella's "Back to Cruise" 40% Off Member Ship Special…Plus an eGift Card Up to $75! Come aboard Artella's unique Creativity Cruise! Right now you can get all Artella Memberships at 40% off!, with 6-month Luxury Memberships starting as low as just $36.00! You'll have your choice of a six-month or full-year Membership any one of Artella's Luxury Cabin Memberships, all of which come with new amazing goodies every month!
Plus we've added an extra bonus: with the Back to Cruise Member Ship Special, when you order any membership at 40% off, you ALSO immediately receive an Artella eGift Card up to $75!
"I am LOVING my Complete Pass to all of the Member cabins! Yay!!! It is just so awesome! I love the magazines and art kits in each cabin...I don't even know where to start! The Blissness Cabin has me very excited for all I'm learning there...the Art Journaling Cabin and its goodies, along with the Digital Art Cabin and the Studio cabin... I really could spend all day here!! Thanks so much, Marney, for these wonderful new additions!" - Pam Tucker
This is the best offer we have made this year on membership, so if you want to save up to 40% during the coming 6 months or 1 year, this is the time to do it. This is also a great opportunity for current members to upgrade your Artella membership at 40% off.
To take advantage of our "Back to Cruise" 40%-Off Member Ship Special, simply go to this page to order. Happy sailing!
 3. Free ARTbundance™ Goodies! Applications for the Fall 2011 ARTbundance™ Certification Training (ACT) are due on this coming Monday, September 12. If you are considering applying, or if you'd just like to learn more about the ARTbundance™ Philosophy and ARTsignments, here is a whole bundle of new inspiring freebies for you:
- Listen to Audio ACTimonials! The Audio ACTimonials are a consolidation of about two dozen ACT Graduates sharing their personal experiences with the program. The recording is approx 24 minutes...so you can feel free to dip in and listen to a little, or a lot! :-) Listen to your recording, here!
- NEW ARTbundance™ Community Events for September! We've recently posted five new free teleclasses that are part of the ARTbundance™ Community Events Series in September, all presented by our talented ARTbundance™ Practitioners in training. See the descriptions of the new events and sign up here!
- Get a Free ARTbundance™ Coaching Session! We're also once again accepting volunteer clients to work with our talented Coaches-in-training in the newest group of trainees in Artella's ARTbundance™ Certification Training Program. ARTbundance™ Coaching Session! You can get all the exciting details and sign up for your complimentary session, here!
If you think you might be interested in applying for the Fall 2011 session of the ARTbundance™ Certification Training (ACT), note that applications are being accepted through September 12, 2011, including those applying for a Lonnie D. Kliever Scholarship, through the fund we created in memory of my father. You can get full details about ACT and request an application at: http://www.artellaland.com/ACT.html
 4. NEW! "Choosing Joy" Tele-summit! I'm so delighted to be part of the Choosing Joy Tele-summit, taking place September 9-11. Never before has it been so critical to see the possibility in the challenges you are facing, to see that you can move through them in a way that brings growth, and yes, even joy to you. My presentation is called "The ARTbundance Approach: How to Turn Pain into Deep Creativity" and it's just one of nine inspiring presentations hosted by Cathleen Spacil, who you can read more about in the "In the Studio" interview, below. I'm so happy to be part of this event and invite you to learn more about the Choosing Joy Tele-summit, 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 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 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 Cathleen Spacil, the organizer of the Choosing Joy Tele-summit that I'll be participating in this weekend. Cathleen is a soon-to-be Certified ARTbundance™ Coach and Practitioner, and her personal story is so inspiring, I knew her interview would be a natural tie-in to the theme of "story" in this Artellagram.
Enjoy getting to know Cathleen!
Artella: How has your ARTbundance™ training affected your work and/or life?
Cathleen: It has become a way of life for me. As I was going through ARTbundance™ Certification, my intuition became very strong and each week I knew exactly what it was that I was supposed to do and where it was that I was supposed to be taking my business and what steps I needed to take. Then all of the sudden one morning, I ran into my husband and said, “I need to do a tele-summit and I need to do it soon”. I think he thought I was crazy, but I just knew that I needed to get my story out, that there were other people who had stories to share, and that I had a program I created while working through my ARTbundance™ Certification that I wanted to share with the world and this was the venue where I could achieve all of this. I believe that I have been divinely guided throughout this whole process and ARTbundance™ has given me the tools I have needed to accomplish my goals and my dreams.
Artella: ARTbundance™ Coaching is based on nine ARTbundance™ Principles. Do you have a favorite Principle, or one that you really enjoy activating in other people? Which one, and why?
Cathleen: I would have to say Choice. I like to help people to see that they do have choices. I have chosen to feel Joy. And life is all about choices. To everything there is an opposite. I work with a lot of people who have mental illness and some people who are depressed because they have a brain injury. But I like to remind all of them that this is life. In life there are always going to be challenges – for everyone. I believe that everyone was put here on this earth for a purpose. We made an agreement, and one of the agreements was to endure to the end. How you endure to the end is your choice. It’s a lot easier to endure to the end with a smile on your face than a frown. So I try to teach as many people as I can that Happiness and Joy and Laughter are the way – but in the end, it is a Choice.
You can read the rest of Cathleen's interview, here
Applications for the Fall session of the ARTbundance™ Certification Training Program (ACT) are being accepted through Monday, September 12. You can get the full program details here.
Cathleen's Choosing Joy Tele-Summit will taking place September 9-11, and Marney is one of the nine inspiring speakers sharing their stories. You can get more info about the free Choosing Joy Tele-Summit, here. |
 One of my first "books" as a child was called "Lov is Flafey and Spots" and not long ago, I created a "sequel" as a gift for my mother.
The most enjoyable part of the project was trying to copy my own childhood drawings, and get the style just right.
It was such a freeing and spontaneous exercise, and I encourage you to give it a try. If you don't have access to your own childhood drawings, you can easily find other drawings to work with. Ask a child in your life to draw a picture for you, or simply Google the words "child art". Once you find a picture you'd like to emulate, grab your crayons or markers and try to mimic the style. Focus on shapes, color, lines, and form. Imagine that you are copying a fine-art masterpiece and try to get each part "just right". After you've completed your copy, then allow yourself to create a new, free-form drawing in the "child style". If your experience is like mine, you'll find that after studying the childhood drawing so intently, the free-form act now becomes more intuitive and alive. Continue to play with your "child style" and develop it in ways that delight you. Think of art projects where you can put this new "voice" to use! Have fun and let that wild child inside you draw to her heart's content!
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This Quotz Crystal is a high-resolution jpeg image, suitable for printing. I invite you to print it out and remind you to live the story you are meant to live, and to tell the stories that are deep inside of you!
~enjoying the page-turner of's life,
 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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