Hi ~
Happy Friday! I send this off with sincere wishes for a good weekend and a Memorial Day rich with meaningful remembrance, in whatever way holds meaning to each of you.
Lots of news below, so dive on in!
Note that if you did NOT receive last week's newsletter on the topic of "Mindless, Magical Art", you can see it.www.artellawordsandart.com/ARTICULATION-Artic5-21.html
If your email program does not display this newsletter in its proper colorful formatting, you can view it on the Web www.artellawordsandart.com/ARTICULATION-Artic5-28.html.
Seasons of Art: A Mini-Article
I saw my first sunflower field of the summer season yesterday! Have you ever noticed how there are just certain signs that we consistently associate with the changes of the seasons? Where I live, it means the leaves begin to go technicolor for Fall; for Winter, the air starts to smell like icy dew as it is filled with geese squawking toward their southern pilgrimage; the daffodils and tiger lilies bloom by the side of the road to signal Spring, and the fields of country sunflowers stand tall at the beginning of Summer.
Right now, my husband and I planning a move to follow our bliss and live in the Southwest. (By the way, if you know someone who is interested in buying an enchanted art castle on 10 acres in New York, please send them to www.ArtellaWordsandArt.com/MagicArtHome.html!)
I am very excited about this move in our future, but I have felt sad when I have thought about leaving a region where the seasons are so tangible...so undeniably crisp and certain.
Then it occurred to me yesterday, as I lost myself in the sunflowers, that we all associate symbols with the turning of seasons and cycles. In a warmer climate, the coming of the Winter season may have nothing to do with chilly air and snow angels, but rather might be signified by happy-jagged rows of little cut-out children's hands wildly colored to look like turkeys pasted on the grocery store wall right before Thanksgiving. Just because I will not have the season's traditional symbols dancing outside my window, it does not mean that I need pass the cycles without paying attention.
In terms of our creative lives, I think there are signs and symbols everywhere that can show us that a new cycle of creativity is ending or beginning. Just as the geese feel the chilly air to know it is time to fly south, there are signals that let us know when it is time to move on from a project, or perhaps look at it in a new kind of light. We can tune in to see what there is to learn from "writer's block" and the fiery creative surges and all the steps in between. Noticing these signs and struggles helps us develop trust in the cyclical nature of creation. I'll close with a quote from Elisabeth Kubler-Ross:
Just as summer sunflowers must die before they bloom again, our creative fire must become dim from time to time so that it can return and shine in a way that sustains and supports the spreading of seeds in the wind.
"How do geese know when to fly to the sun? Who tells them the seasons? How do we, humans, know when it is time to move on? As with migrant birds, so surely with us, there is a voice within, if only we would listen to it, that tells us so certainly when to go forth into the unknown." -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
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MINI-MUSINGS- Try breaking down the last year of your creative life (or the last 2 or 5 or 10 years) into seasons. What periods or projects seem to connect with Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall?
- If you had a "chart" of your creative life over the past year, what would the chart look like? Where would the chart's rises and dips be? What kinds of patterns can you detect?
- Are there creative projects in your life that either need to take a rest, or need to wake up? What are the first signs that tell you such a cycle is coming?
- Are you afraid of allowing your creativity to rest, or to bloom? What comes to mind when you think of the extremes of the cycle?
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ARTELLA NEWS!
1. Our new Poetry Gardens of Fame have opened! The wining poems of the past six weeks of Artella Poetry contests are now displayed in our snazzy online Poetry Gardens! Please visit the Gardens at www.artellawordsandart.com/PoetryGardens.html to read these wonderful poems.
2.Brand new newsletter! Our brand new weekly "PassionPoetry Newsletter" launched last week! Are you on our list? Sign up on The Prize Van page at www.artellawordsandart.com/prizes.html to make sure you don't miss an issue! Information for submitting poetry to our contests is on the Prize Van page, as well!
2. Is The WealthcareTM calling your name? Today I've been putting together music CDs for the participants of the newest and most unconventional e-course yet, The WealthcareTM Program: Radical Reform for the Right Livelihood of Creative Spirits , a comprehensive course that combines three Artella programs: "Accounting Your Blessings", "Miracle Soup", and "Creative ManiFestival"!
If you are intrigued by the idea of using words, art, and music to forever change the way you think about dollars, art, and life, details about The WealthcareTM Program are at www.artellawordsandart.com/workshops.html. I would be so honored to work/play with you in this community of creative folks who are making radical changes!
3.Join Focus Groups and get 10 gifts! Participants in the first session of Create Your Own YOUniversity (aka YOU * U) are presenting focus groups to test out samples of the e-courses, eBooks, and teleworkshops that they are creating in this course. I am very excited to invite you to the opportunity to participate in these groups! It's free to participate and you'll get TEN thank-you gifts, AND be entered in multiple drawings from which the winners of ten MORE great prizes will be selected! These are truly wonderful individuals, and I'm really excited about the work they are bringing forth. Please support them in their fine work! See which Focus Groups you'd like to join, and read about the goodies you'll get at www.artellawordsandart.com/focusgroups.html.
4. YOU * U filling up fast! Speaking of YOU * U, the next session begins July 5, and is filling up quickly. If you would like to learn everything you need to know to develop, write, facilitate, and market your own e-courses, eBooks, and virtual workshops, this course takes you through the whole process. After 16 weeks, you'll end up with "turn-key" products ready to share and sell to your ideal audience. Enroll now at a $100 discount! More information about YOU * U is at www.artellawordsandart.com/workshops.html.
5. Keep Hunting! The e-Artella #e-5 Scavenger Hunt is still going on. N one has found all the hidden items yet, so three prizes are still wide open for the claiming! The first THREE people to return all the correct answers will receive a copy of Holy Moly Mackeroly by Gloria Page, enrollment in any Artella e-course* (*except YOU * U and The Wealthcare Program), THREE months complimentary Artella membership, and either a free entry fee to enter three poems in Artella's Quarterly Poetic Idol Contest OR a free listing of one item for sale in The Shoppes of Artella. See the details about the Scavenger Hunt at www.artellawordsandart.com/ScavengerHunt.html! Happy hunting!
6. Pre-order Artella issues! You can pre-order issues of both e-Artella #e-6 and Artella 7, Theatre & Cinema: Beyond Make-Believe, at www.ArtellaWordsAndArt.com/ZineIssues.html. Our super-special price of $10 for 1 issues, or 2 for $15 is good on both Artella 6 and 7, so go ahead, try us out!Or subscribe to Artella and save over $20 on the price of individual issues.
7. ArticuLiaison Quarterly #3 is coming! Four times a year, I release a special Articulation edition called "ArticuLiaison", which connects you with my very favorite resources for creative living. Stay tuned for the next edition in the coming weeks! And be sure to read up on all my favorite things in the past two ArticuLiaison Quarterlies, which you can find at www.artellawordsandart.com/archives.html. |
SHOPPES' CORNER
Our featured artist this week is Lani Gerity, whose beautiful handmade puppets are full of soul and succulence, and her puppetmaking 'zine (now on sale!) is a delight for young spirits everywhere!
Take a browse at hundreds of handmade items at The Shoppes of Artella, or make a quick stop to our Specials page for a list of all our current sales.
My favorite discount?: You can save 40%on Dave Powell's powerful hypnosis CDs, including a brand new series on public speaking!
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ART TIP OF THE WEEK!
Want a simple, inexpensive way to add color and design to your projects? Create interesting backgrounds for collages, art journals, and mixed media work by peeling the top layer off of decorative napkins and gluing it down on the surface with gel medium. For a textured look, you can pinch areas of the napkin for further depth. Some of the most decorative inspiration you have laying around may right in your kitchen or dining room!
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WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK!
Take a break from your pen or keyboard and try "writing" into a tape recorder. What happens when you "write" a poem, article, essay, or story with your mouth? Take notice of what parts of this process feel restricting or expansive. This technique can potentially open you to new layers of finding your authentic "writing voice".
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ARTFUL LINKS!
1.Artcyclopedia.com is a "fine art search engine" that is an invaluable resource for finding information on just about any fine art topic. I was wonderfully impressed with this site.
2. Metaphorical.net is called "a collection of interactive studies and strange thoughts" that is definitely worth a visit.
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Sending you the courage to face the sun and not blink...
~sighing in the cycles,
Marney
Artella Founder/Editor
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