Grateful for the Gift of YOU

I've been in the art biz for over 25 years. I was always willing to share what I know with other artists but I was afraid to get my work too far out in the world because I have had my art copied many times and it didn't feel good. When the web came into being I was afraid to get a website because it felt really vulnerable to be in cyberspace...I realized several years ago that the mindset of "being afraid" was not good...it was not really the way I lived my life and it certainly wasn't what my art was about....I stepped past my fear and jumped into cyberspace and only wish I had done it years prior....Facebook has been a great joy... I love...LOVE....the openness of the artist community....the sharing and the cheer leading we do for each other is so amazing. We celebrate each others successes and share our challenges...so many people that haven't met each other but truly care for one another....I posted the above picture on facebook and received so many "likes" and comments it warmed my heart in a big way....I want to say a sincere thank you to all of you...I am so grateful for the gift of YOU....big hugs and all good things, e'layne
and a p.s....so grateful for the gift of Somerset, too....I have art and articles in Somerset Studio and Somerset Apprentice this month...the March/April issues...doing the happy dance :)

How did the 2010 Momentum Happen???

I realize so often I am looking forward in my life and more specifically my business... at the endless "to do" list...and it occurred to me last week I need to look back over the year at my accomplishments and give thanks for having the health, creativity and support to do what I do...When I say my accomplishments I must exclaim in the business of 3 Hip Chics I could never do what I do without my partner, Lora. We work really well together and in the gratitude list...wow...she is at the top...she is such a friend to my mom who has Alzheimer's and Lora even makes that journey rich...Because Lora has taken on all the wholesale production work this year it freed me up to make more original art and to focus on the whole "e" world. I sent my first submission to Somerset Studio this year and was published...big big smile...This year I have had four articles and artwork accepted...the above on newsstands today...two will be published in 2011. I love the craft of writing almost as much as making art so this accomplishment has been so fulfilling...I have combed the pages of Stampington publications for ten years with excitement and awe...as I'm typing this I'm realizing my biggest accomplishment this year...I have found "my art"...people laugh at me when I say this because I've had a successful art business for over 25 years...but something is different...and I know how it happened....it happened when I took the submission suggestion of "vogue" for the July Somerset issue...by taking a prompt that wasn't from my brain...it took me to a different place...I should have known this would happen...I wrote with a group of awesome women for years and I would make up prompts for us to write from...and all of our writings were so rich, fresh and original.

Of all the achievements in 2010...two blogs...three facebook pages...constant contact...newsletters...mailing lists...talking with licensing consultant... five new lines of work... taking a prompt and running with it has so much to do with the momentum that is happening now...that and the constant attempt to get more organized...so join me in a creative challenge if you would like... http://getridofa1000thingschallenge.blogspot.com/

My hypothesis is when we lighten our load it frees up more space for creativity...looking forward to what that will bring in 2011...many blessings to all of you in this new year...may your wildest longings be recognized and fulfilled...
p e a c e and l o v e

Get Rid of a 1000 Things Challenge

I must say hearing about the 100 Thing Challenge... http://www.guynameddave.com/100-thing-challenge.html ...really got my attention. Here is the gist of it:

The goal of the 100 Thing Challenge is to break free from the confining habits of American-style consumerism. A lot of people around the world feel "stuck in stuff." They feel like their closets and garages are too full of things that don't really make their lives much better. But how to get unstuck?

Reduce (get rid of some of your stuff) Refuse (to get more new stuff) Rejigger (your priorities)

When I read Dave's list of his remaining 100 things, I know I wasn't going to streamline my possessions that drastically. I decided to make a little game out of getting rid of stuff...get rid of 100 things in 100 minutes. I set the timer and in about 85 minutes I had purged 135 belongings. The experience was liberating and actually quite emotional. I went through books from decades past and found a long forgotten journal about crisscrossing the country....life in a spiritual community...silent retreats...mime school in Boulder...(no mime jokes!!!) meeting awesome people all along the way.....the teary part was reading an entry about a trip home after a few years away and realizing how many people I went to visit then have since passed away....family and friends....yes, while I was working to make money to buy stuff and then laundering stuff and cleaning stuff and sorting stuff...life marches on. And that brings me back to the Rejigger phase of the 100 Thing Challenge...what are my priorities...and how does managing my "stuff" effect my quality of life and minimize time spend on what I truly value.

And so...I will continue my self imposed challenge....get rid of 1,000 things....i'll give you a window into my journey and invite you to follow along...or better yet...join me!!! only 865 things to go....

Who's Toulouse?

I received a call last month from a lovely woman at the charming gallery "A Little Room for Art" on St Pete Beach...the town I grew up in. Little Room is a ten year old art co-op that I've been a part of for almost that long. Mary asked me if I'd like to be the featured artist for October to display original art...and excited "sure" came out of my mouth...words not attached to my brain...not grocking how much work it was going to be to create at least 12 pieces of new art in a very short period of time...so now you know why I haven't had a blog entry for a month!!! I love the Little Room. When you get out of the car your eyes meet the Gulf of Mexico in a stones throw from the entrance and your lungs are filled with the smell of clean, salt air. Upon entering the gallery you are met by Toulouse, the resident cockatiel. He is always ready for a ride on your shoulder. Since it's a co-op you never know which member will greet you. It's always fun to find out what art belongs to which co-op member. If you stretch your arms out wide you can almost touch both walls of the gallery...just a slight exaggeration ...the long thin space has three rooms and then an adorable outdoor patio...and although small in stature...the gallery is big on visual delights....If you are ever in the Tampa Bay area take the time to go to Pass-a-Grille and visit A Little Room for Art...you can even take a sunset cruise at the end of the 8th street block...it is certainly one of my favorite ways to spend a day.

Work sent to Art House Coop

Hope everyone had a lovely Labor Day weekend...I fell off the blog wagon...Kelly Rae's class was so intense that I think I had to balance all that left brain stuff with and equal dose of right brain activity...actually I jumped right into Claudine's class and that has been really low key...I haven't been doing all the tasks in the class but I've been incorporating techniques learned in my work and just adore her little videos and style. Some time ago I received info on the Art House Coop.... http://www.arthousecoop.com ...it's a great coop with many different projects in which to participate....I just finish work for The Canvas Project 3. Art House sent folks 3 words and 3 - 4X4 canvases...you make art that is your interpretation of the words...my words were oriental, triplets and stunted...I know I don't have to tell you which canvas is what word interpretation..lol... Art House has an art opening with the work of the over 400 people who participated...then they make an encyclopedia out of the art work...such a cool idea...wish I didn't have an art show December 3..it would be a blast to go to Brooklyn for the opening...
wishing you all good things!!!

It takes a village

The saying goes...it takes a village to raise a child...I think I knew that instinctively when I moved to an intentional community 20 years ago...our community isn't founded on religious beliefs or common dogma...we are diverse in many ways. Our community is based on love for our families and respect for others...at least that is my take on it after all these years. This community is 37 years old and many of our children have chosen to come back here after exploring the wide world to raise their children. The wheel of life keeps on turning...we cook for our neighbors when they are sick...and yes, dying...and we dance wildly and celebrate at our weddings and holiday celebrations...thanks to our friend Ruthie some of us dressed up in "Where the Wild Things Are" costumes and danced to Sly's "I Want to Take You Higher" at our New Years celebration...I have the video to prove it....and our love spills over to our neighbors across the street. There is a home teeming with children...I would be hard pressed to tell you how many. And my loving community gives so much to these children...love and clothes and friendship. One of the older girls, Johnnie Mae, wanted to take guitar lessons. Our phone tree lit up...before you know it a young couple donated a lovely guitar...another neighbor volunteered to pay for lessons...no need for that...another neighbor volunteered to teach Johnnie Mae guitar. The former 3rd Hip Chic, Julie, spends countless hours volunteering at one of the children's schools...takes flocks of kids to the pool...makes their holidays special..my partner turns into a child herself when we have the kids over...she does science projects with them and takes them on scooter rides..I love that I chose to live in community...I love that we choose to do what people did in small towns so long ago...look after one another...we are actually on our best behavior when there is the biggest need...but in the craziness of modern life...that in itself is amazing...a shout out to all my beautiful neighbors..the ones going to Haiti to help, the one helping hurt and homeless animals, the ones fighting to save our environment, the ones adding on to our community building and repairing our boardwalks, the ones loving our children, the ones holding the hands of our sick and dying...it takes a village and I'm blessed to live in an awesome one!!!!

What is beyond this disorganization?????

My reoccurring theme for personal growth and happiness lies in the practice of simplicity…dare I call it my current “issue”..no…how about growth opportunity….as the decades unfold there has become a poignancy…almost an urgency…to live life fully….to the edges and depths…to peal away the superfluous…to get to the heart of the matter…in love, in communication, in right livelihood and right relationships…I remember a cosmic moment around my 40th birthday. I wrote on my studio wall, “what is beyond this disorganization,” and I knew in that moment those words were a key to happiness and personal and professional success. More than a decade and a half later I am getting to the place where disorganization screams louder, demanding vigilance for it to be overcome or at least tamed (not an easy task for a wild woman).

I recently took Kelly Rae’s class, Flying Lessons: Tips & Tricks to Help Your Creative Business Soar. The class is” creative buz thriving fuel on steroids” and totally exploded my mind and continues to push me into all new places…Kelly is generous beyond belief…a brilliant and beautiful woman sharing her wisdom and gifts. I wish I’d “met” Kelly when I was a fledgling business woman and yet there were still volumes to learn from her richly designed course. What I have learned is helping me so much to prioritize my creative business and stay true to my creative spirit.

The day Kelly’s class finished, on a whim I signed up for Home with Claudine Hellmuth. Claudine is sweet, angelic and all around precious. The introduction of her cat, Stanley, won me over. I didn’t look at the curriculum before I signed up...the decision was intuition lead….as was Kelly’s class now that I think about it. If I had read the curriculum what I’m learning wouldn’t have been listed in the syllabus. In addition to the great techniques presented, I am learning simplicity from Claudine. She operates joyfully and efficiently in one small room. She has her modest collection of scrapbook papers zip-locked bagged and arranged by color. Claudine buys books of scrapbook paper one reason being they are cheaper than individual sheets. She says maybe they aren’t the prettiest…but they work. I thirst for this simplicity. In sprawling spaces I have a tendency to collect and collect. I think many of us artists are actually junk collectors and hoarder…lol… (come on...admit not wanting to use that last piece of your favorite scrapbook paper). My homework from Claudine’s class is to use what I have…to remember that more is MORE…more to spend money on, more to organize, more to confuse my mind and give me so many creative choices I design a million lines of product and only produce seven…o.k….I need to go back to Kelly’s class and remember to rejoice in what is already accomplished and take time to smell the roses.