5-Day Challenge + An Invitation

I've neglected painting for too long.

A PLEDGE

It's time for me to get back to the table and the best way for me to do that is to issue myself a 5-Day Challenge during which I pledge to show up at the art table and paint, five days in a row. Yesterday was Day 1:

5-Day Challenge Feb. 2012 - Day 1 results

work in progress, 9"x12" on cardboard

AN INVITATION

Join me.

Whatever your medium - film, words, melody, paint, clay, digital media - it doesn't matter. Your "art table" might be your computer screen or your dark room; mine involves paint and brushes.

It also doesn't matter how long you spend at the table; fifteen minutes spent processing photos or crafting a blog post is better than none at all. Defeating resistance by showing up five days in a row is the goal.

And remember, it's about practice and play - no perfection necessary.

I've done this a few times before and each time I'm amazed at how much easier it gets to show up after only five days and how much progress I make without even intending to!

Have I convinced you yet?

You can do this. Leave me your pledge in the comments.

You know you wanna.

Red Delicious

work in progress under the sun, 8"x8" on wood panel

I'm in the midst of transition, I feel it. For the first time in years February is being good to me, bringing no major blahs but a renewed energy.

My heart and mind are full. Thoughts, dreams, fears and ideas abound. Multiple projects exist in various states of completion. Part of me is afraid of spreading myself too thin yet another part of me refuses to let trepidation get in the way, determined to see where it all leads. Curiosity and action.

I feel an urge to reinvent - or maybe simply realign - myself in preparation for a new chapter, just like I did post-divorce (those who've been there you know what I'm talking about!).

It feels big and good and I'm up for it.

It's all-encompassing. It's red delicious.

On revisiting core beliefs...

"A decision is a conclusion based on everything you believe about yourself."

~ A Course in Miracles

~~~

I stood in a lineup outside my grade two homeroom. I wore my sister's hand-me-down faux leopard fur coat and matching hat. I felt pretty and glam!

Then one of the older boys in the line next to me looked me over with disdain and called me a showoff with my "fur coat"; another threw in that we were rich because we lived in a house made of brick, also with disdain.

Then & there I decided that dressing well and being rich - or the semblance of - meant being scorned. If I wanted to belong I was to lay low and commiserate. I was six years old.

Fast forward to this past Saturday. That's when this memory came up, 33 years later.

~~~

During the past few weeks I've been working through Barbara Stanny's Overcoming Underearning and I've encountered several similar scenes like the one above, all of them forming core beliefs related to money, how much is enough and how it's supposed to be earned (in case you're wondering, it's to be earned through toil and unhappiness).

I find this utterly fascinating. Who knew I was so impressionable?

Thankfully, when it comes to core beliefs it's entirely within our power to change them when they no longer serve us.

So one by one I am. Thirty-three years later. And it feels wonderful.

Choose Love Today

An affirmation for you on this Valentine's Day, and every day...

Choose Love. You can't go wrong.

When Work and Play Intermingle (A Post of Gratitude)

 

desk buddies Frida, Einstein and Barbabeau

they witness it all: work, play and everything in between

I never thought work and play becoming one would confuse me so.

I'm taking an online course, learning new technical information nearly every day, discovering a whole new field and supply of resources. I'm putting ideas out there and embracing feedback, eager to make their presentation better. I'm working my way through limiting core beliefs so they can limit me no more.

I'm designing, communicating, reading, reflecting, floundering, fearing, shrinking, expanding, discovering, building, wondering, scheming, planning, experimenting, producing, bemoaning, rejoicing... and loving every minute of it!

OK maybe I could do without the tears, but even they have their place and I'm grateful for their message. But really, maybe it's time to breathe a little? Play?

What if work is play?

These past several weeks I've felt like everything has morphed into one big whole that makes me feel vibrant and alive. But surely one must rest even from play to stay fresh?

This intermingling of work and play is new to me and I'm not sure how to handle it to make it - and the rest of my life - sustainable. In the meantime though, what I do know is that I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity to even ask myself the question.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's Saturday night; it's time to switch playmates and enjoy some quality time with my home peeps. D., Cassie and the couch await...