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"Find the Drop, Stop the Talk": A Mini-Article
First, an announcement: Articulationwill now be coming out every other week, instead of every week. It will still be delivered in the same format, with all of your favorite features, but will be coming out bi-weekly.Our featured artists in The Shoppes of Artella will also move to a revolving bi-monthly schedule, as will the Free Poetry Contests. Thanks for supporting this change and for remaining activeand eager readers!
Moving on to today's article, I'd like to preface it by saying that there is nothing you have not already heard in this article, I promise. And it's nothing you don't already know.But we never know when something will hit us at just the right time, in just the right way. Just like a single drop of water causes a cup to overflow, a singleword or anecdote we hear has the potential to push us forward to the point of no return. So I'm sharing...
Think fast...what is the thing you are always talking about and planning to do but not actually doing?
For most people, the answer will come up quickly. It may be a creative project that you haven't started yet.It may be starting a hobby. It may be taking a bold new direction in your career. It may be submitting a piece of yourwork to an art show, magazine, or book publisher. It may be trying a sport, or forgiving someone, or decorating your home, or learning new recipies. My point is that most of have something that we love to talk about but can't get ourselves to actually doing. An empty promise to ourselves.
For me, the empty promise was leading a more balanced life. For close to two years, I have joyfully thrown myself into Artella andhave loved every minute of it. I've never felt happier or more on track with my life, and experienced more joy as I have had the privilege of connecting with so many of you.It has been work of the most blissful kind. Work has felt far more like play than work, and I am incredibly blessed for this. Yet the flip side is my life had became way off balance, in terms of sheer amount of hours and energy that I have devoted to Artella, while neglecting other important areas of my life. I have beentalking about being more balanced and taking better care of myself for months, ever since I started to get some really clear signals that life was out of whack. I knew I needed to do something, and I kept talking about it to my friends, my husband, and my family, yet every week seemed like the "wrong" week to actually take steps toward doing it.
Last week, the drop of water finally splashed into my glass for me to finally take action, and so I've made some drastic changes in my schedule and priorities to create more balance in my life.After less than two weeks of invoking my new schedule, I'm already getting some instant gratification to see the difference in all aspects of my life. My big, and rather irrational, fear that Artella would just dissolve away if I took away any time from it could not be any more false. I know that the changes I'm making will only strengthen what I have to offer everyone in the Artella community, as well as ensure that Artella will be here for a long, long time!
It took me a long time, but I stopped talking about it and finally did it by taking some big steps. I usually am a proponent of working in small steps (that's what the Goalar Energy Program is all about) but this time I had to take some big steps to make it happen.
I'll turn this back to you, now...
What do you talk about but never act on?
What big step can you take to stop talking and do it?
What's the drop that fills your cup to the point of inevitable action?
"If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."
- Vincent Van Gogh
"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
- Eleanor Roosevelt
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ARTELLA NEWS!
1. Artella Retreat...there's nothing like it! The descriptions and events our "Creative Manifestival" Retreat, to be held in Connecticut on November 11-14, can be found at www.ArtellaWordsAndArt.com/creative-retreat.html.In addition to a delightfully eclectic schedule packed with inspiring events, we are thrilled to announce that Jill Badonsky, author of "Nine Modern Day Muses (And a Bodyguard)", will be presenting the keynote presentation and will also be available for private creativity consulations throughout the weekend.
PLEASE CHECK IN!: If you are interested in attending, please let me know by this Monday, September 13. If you are not able to make the first payment, just send me an email so we can discuss arrangements. We want to make it possiblefor as many people to participate in this event as possible!
2.Announcing brand new Artella eCards!There's a new from toy in The Wonderful World of Artella...it's a collection of free eCards, using 20 favorite Articulation Art-Splashes.Artella eCards are thought-provoking greetings for any occasion! Send a card at www.artellawordsandart.com/free-ecards.html.
3. What are your favorite books? In preparation for the Artella Community Book Store, I'd like to invite you to share your favorite books with us, and get some great gifts in exchange! It only takes a minute and it's fun! Go towww.artellawordsandart.com/favoritebooks.html for all the details.
4.Update on Artella 7... Our print house in Florida is finally catching up from lost work time due to the hurricanes that hit them. They tell us we should have the issue the week of September 20 and we will send them out immediately. You have beenamazingly patient in waiting -- I really, really, REALLY appreciate it! And our thoughts go out to all of the people in the Artella community who have suffered difficulties from the hurricanes. Thoughts and prayers are with you all.
5.Weekly Poetry Contest Winners!Here are our top poets from last week's contest are...
1st Place - Denise Mihalik for "Chakra"
2nd Place - Lori Minick for "Reflections of the Dance"
3rd Place - Chelsea Rose for "Wanderlust"
4th Place - Julie Peterson for "My Purple Friend"
Look for their poems in Poetry Gardens of Fame over the weekend!
6. Remember September...enter this weekThere is still time to submit your Mail Art to the Remember September Project.The guidelines and full information are atwww.artellawordsandart.com/RememberSeptember.html. Please join me in participating in this meaningful project!
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SHOPPES' CORNER
Our featured artist this week is Beth Burke, whose breathtakingly beautiful quilts offer something for everyone! I received one as a gift and am in awe at the beauty of her work!
Check out all of the weekly specials by clicking the sunflower on our home page.
I also wanted to share a few really neat items that I've had the joy of seeing up close and personal. KJoy! has a new line of Pink Power Jewelry that is just bursting with energy. I have a Pink Power bracelet myself and I love the boost of energy I feel whenever I wear it! I also have seen the beautiful handmade journals and wedding guestbooks by Teresa Stebbins, and WOW, was I impressed! Nice job, Teresa |
ART TIP OF THE WEEK!
If you love altering books but would like to try something different, try altering a magazine cover using only images or words found within the magazine, itself.
(Note: Because of copyright issues, this is one of those activities that is best done for your own enjoyment, rather than to share ona commercial basis. Some of you may remember my Mom's wonderful altered New Yorker covers that were strongly opposed by Conde Naste. And speaking of copyright questions, the next issue of e-Artella will feature an article on copyright issues for artists, written by Lori Musser.)
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WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK!
To add a new dimension to a current writing project, try switching genres as an exploratory exercise. For example...
-What would your poem look like as a journalism article?
-What if your short story was a documentary voiceover script?
-What if your screenplay was a poem?
-What if your nonfiction essay was a romance novel?
Play with this idea and see if it opens up any new insights or ideas. |
ARTFUL LINKS!
1. HelloFromMyHeart.com is a heart-warming project that turns the anniversary of September 11 into something beautiful. It's not too late to participate in this wonderful community call.
2. In remembrance of 9/11, take just a moment and visit www.Gratefulness.org to light a virtual candle to honor the memory of lives lost, and express gratitude for what you hold dear. |
Have a great week!
~shaking hands with the Future,
Marney
Artella Founder/Editor
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