October 28, 2003
Hello, and Happy Tuesday!
I'd like to send a special greeting to all of the new people who have joined this list in the past week. We've had a very exciting growth spurt, so I am very happy to welcome newcomers to the Articulation newsletter.
While walking in my yard yesterday, a particular leaf caught my eye. I picked it up and took it home with me, and later became curious why I chose IT, of all the leaves, to place in my warm pocket. This got me thinking about the nature of individuality, in general. As creative people, we may struggle to find our unique place in the world. This week's ARTICULATION, titled One in Infinite Leaves, explores one of the ways that I feel our uniqueness is both defined and expressed: the gifts we bring to others.
To view One in Infinite Leaves, click here!
If the above link doesn't work, simply cut and paste this URL in your browser:http://www.artellawordsandart.com/artic48.html
MINI-ARTICLE: Lady in Waiting
I have good news and bad news to share. For those of you who are subscribers or have ordered Artella issue 4, the bad news is that I have not yet received the issues back from the printer. I'm hoping it will be sometime this week, but right now I'm in a waiting mode. Let's just say that I do not excel in the waiting mode. I can barely even stand to exist in the waiting mode. And, believe it or not, this is the good news.
Being intolerant of waiting is not a quality that I admire about myself. Yet, I have to admit that my impatience has worked well for me. Being fidgety is a great catalyst for action and motion. Since I don't want to wait, I make sure to create things that are immediately attainable, and I follow through to make sure that they happen. While I have visions of the kind of graceful life that I could have if I lived at a slower pace, with a slower mind, and a more meditative spirit, it does feel good to recognize that this flaw of impatience has served me well.
But, as in everything, there is a balance to be found here, and the struggle of waiting for issue 4's arrival is throwing me on a Cirque-de-Today tightrope to find it. My trusty dictionary (made famous in the June 10 Articulation offering ) offers the following as the first two definitions of "waiting": 1. To remain or rest in expectation; 2. To remain or be in readiness. I'm challenging myself to find the balance between these two definitions; to turn my ancy "expectation" into a calm and trusting "readiness".
My plan is simply to tune it a bit more when I'm waiting -- in traffic, in line, for the computer, for a phone call, and for this Artella shipment -- to find the mental posture of readiness and see if it feels better than my snippy anxiety. I suspect it will. And I also suspect I'll get pretty good at this -- I have lots of opportunities to practice, and I don't want to wait to feel better about waiting! :-)
If patience is something you struggle with on a regular basis, perhaps you'll care to join me in this challenge to use waiting moments as opportunities for new readiness and ripening.
ARTELLA NEWS!
1. Last minute opportunity! Due to some participants who are unable to attend at the last minute, there are some openings in tonight's Creative Brainstorming Bash free teleworkshop. It's tonight from 8:30-10:00pm, EST. If you're interested in attending, send an email to me at Editor@ArtellaWordsAndArt.com, and I'll get right back to you with the relevant information.
2. Swaps, swaps, and more swaps! In last week's Articulation, I announced the Artella Collage Sheet Swap project, in which participants make color copies of sheets of collage ephemera, to trade in exchange for collage sheets compiled by other participants. Remember that Friday, October 31 is the last day to sign up for this swap. For more information or to sign up, please contact the swap organizer, Arthiss Kliever, at arthiss@aol.com.
Bobby Miller announced a new Artella swap to the ArtellaVision community, yesterday: a Handmade Bead Swap! For every handmade bead that you submit, you'll receive one in return! The deadline to sign up is November 10, and the beads must be sent to Bobby by December 15. For more information or to sign up, contact Bobby at bmiller277@cox.net.
Thanks to Arthiss and Bobby for organizing these swaps! And, speaking of artful exchanges, stay tuned for the announcement of the Second Annual Artella Mystery Muse Project! Those of you who were around this time last year will remember the fun we had with this "Secret Santa"-type project for artists, writers, and creative folks. More details to come in the next week or two!
3. Artella birthday cards! It's been a lot of fun to receive birthday cards for the Birthday Card Contest! To enter the contest and celebrate Artella's first birthday, send a handmade birthday greeting postmarked by October 31 to Artella, PO Box 78, Johnson, NY 10933. We're giving away three creative prize packages (with mysterious contents that will not disappoint!) to winners in each of three areas: "Originality", "Artistic Design", and "Excellence Combining Words and Art". It's not to late to enter and join the party!
4. Artella's in the news! I'm very excited to announce that the Nov/Dec issue of Somerset Studio magazine contains a 4-page article about Artella! Sometime next week, the issue will hit the stores and stands, so if you find yourself in a bookstore (Barnes and Noble, Borders, etc.) or craft store (Michaels, AC Moore, or a rubber stamping store), take a look. We're on page 72!
I'm also excited to announce that Artella is featured in Zine of Zines ish #5, published by The Gleaner Zine (click here to email The Gleaner's Editor) as well as in The Zine Queens Redux, a WONDERFUL directory of Art Zines created by female artists, compiled and distributed by Kara Sjoblom (for more about Kara's work, see the Artful Links section, below!) I encourage you to check out these fine compilations to learn about all of the wonderful zines that are out there!
ARTFUL LINKS!
1. In addition to publishing The Zine Queens, Kara Sjoblom wears many other hats, too! The Web site for her handmade card company, Karonimo, showcases beautiful one-of-a-kind cards that will take your breath away, and her personal Web site, www.KaraSjoblom.com, contains links to her unique handmade books, photos of a journey-in-progress of a current rebinding project, and even an audio link where you can hear how to pronounce her mysteriously beautiful Swedish last name. :-) Be sure to check it out!
2. Speaking of wearing many hats, you may or may not know that one of my "millinery specialties" is Web design. I just completed a Web site for Marta Luzim, who is a creativity and healing practitioner (and also a frequent Artella contributor). One of her strengths is working with writers in a spiritual mentoring capacity, and her Web site explores other offerings, as well. I encourage you to take a visit to her new site, www.PrimalHealingAndArt.com. There is an especially juicy section on women, archetypes, and creativity in the "Wild Woman Room".
Wishing you a moment when you recognize your uniqueness and put it in your pocket...
~finding crimson magic,
Marney
Artella Editor
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