+ I'm Back!

I'm back! So the question is, where have i been? Ah, the black hole that is motherhood for me. Well, maybe not a black hole....but sometimes I feel "lost in space." Now it is July 3!!!

I spent most of the Spring wondering which aspect of my business I should focus on - art, teaching classes, creating unique products or my intuitive business. Being new to the area and to motherhood seems to escape my awareness, so I am often hard on myself for "not making it all happen". First step - take a step back and assess the situation. I have had to acknowledge that I have more ambition than I have time for. So, my second step was to get a babysitter and set a schedule that I can rely on. I have that now (thank the goddess!!!) The third thing I had to do was pick a focus. This is always hard for me because I love so many things. Again, stepping into the reality of "what is"....I asked the question, what would give me the most stability now? The answer for me, is to build up my intuitive practice from 2-4 clients/week up to 6 clients a week. I've got a good timeline set and a plan of action. With a little help from my people, the universe and the unseen forces, I'll have a good time with this one.

This spring, I opened my art studio (phase 1) at the beginning of May with The Spring Transformational Retreat. It was awesome seeing 22 people painting in the new studio!!! After that, I hosted a series of Friday morning open studios, offering process painting to current students. For the summer, I am focusing on my own art practice & building out the studio. As we love recycling and reusing, we are looking for a few windows and a slop sink.

As my darling daughter was stopped nursing (a self-weener at 1.5 years) I feel I can finally put more energy towards HEALTH! My dear friend Anne Marie Sebastiani (http://www.goalsfortheweek.com) is going to help me recover my long-neglected competitive athlete. We had our first intro-meeting yesterday and I am excited to see what kind of goals we come up with. I will keep you posted!

+ Need I say more?

+ Make Art

"I was out walking the dear dog and I saw 500 things that made me want to make art." - Maira Kalman

Art & Motherhood Documentary

Who Does She Think She IS Documentary

+ Happy Valentines Day

I don't know why exactly, but I love this picture.



More pics

+ Cool Words

From Rev. Joseph Lowery's benediction at the Inauguration of President Obama

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.

+ home loving

We moved into our house in Petaluma Nov. 1, 2008. At first, I was incredibly stressed out because it was not the way I wanted it to look. All I could see were the changes I wanted to make. 

The first thing I set up was my studio. I love having my own room. It is an amazing place I like to call Vegas (more on that later.) After Vegas was set up, I moved on to the basics - emptying boxes and going through the treasures we had accumulated in "storage" for the last 7 years - while living in a tiny cabin in the woods. This has been a long process. But now, we are seeing the end of it (4 months later!) Our new storage is almost complete - organized and beautiful - and our house is in good shape. Soon we will announce the date of our fabulous garage sale of treasures. 

Once I calmed myself down after accepting that this adventure was a process, I started to enjoy getting to know my house. I have lots of questions about how things came to pass here, who lived in this space, why did they make the choices they made? I am slowly entering into each space/room and asking what wants to happen here. 

We started in the smallest room - the downstairs bathroom. We painted it 2 weekends ago, an eco-friendly (Yolo) beautiful robin's egg blue. This is my Virgin of Guadalupe bathroom. It sits in the wealth corner of the house, so I think it is appropriate to dedicate it to my favorite goddess. My husband was/is a little "concerned" with what I might create in this bathroom, but I feel confident the form will reveal itself in perfect timing and beauty. 

Everyday I get to remember that this is MY HOUSE and I get to decorate it however I want. When I get overwhelmed, I remind myself that this is a giant, glorious art project of my own design. Right now, I am learning how to take care of it. I highly recommend FLYLADY! She breaks it down into very small steps. Even though I am a huge advocate for this type of movement, I never thought to apply "baby steps" to home maintenance....or as she likes to call it, Home Blessings. This weekend, we are painting the bedroom for valentines day - oh la la!