June, 2023
My #thankfulthursday shout-out this month is to Dr. Merideth Hite-Estevez of @artistsforjoy .
After years of trying, something about the free on-line Artists Way group she facilitates finally helped me flip the switch on morning pages and stick to it, to great benefit. It still astonishes me when I see the filled journals that have piled up.
I’m looking forward to a conversation with her next week to talk about how #enneagramtypes influence creative practice — look for this and other topics on her Artists for Joy Podcast. I’m an Enneagram 6, and to be honest don’t know much about the types, but when I read the basics and started to consider the questions she is posing, it feels like there is a lot of insight to be had.
June, 2023
As I write this, I’m having an amazing vacation on the Amalfi Coast. Feeling relaxed, good company, great vistas. There is a beautiful garden where I could sit quietly and keep up my practice Of course, there are also people to be with, naps to take, wandering to do. Who needs meditation at a time like this?
Based on my experience, it turns out I do. It has to do with the realization that meditation is a lot more like a vitamin than an epipen. It’s something to take day after day, even when you feel OK, to build you up for those times when something unexpected or something that could destabilize you arises. In other words, it’s not just for emergencies.
May, 2023
I’ve been wondering why these colors have been insisting on being part of the new series of mixed media paintings I’m starting. They also showed up in the collage pieces I created as part of #collagejoylove.
Today I realized it is probably because I’m just now on my way to spend some time at the lovely @villa_la_contessina in Sorrento Italy. It’s a long-delayed return visit, but apparently the colors have stayed with me all this time wanting to be seen.
If you want to know more about this beautiful villa and the other places we go along the Amalfi Coast, I’ve written up a guide that is one of my gifts to you when you sign up for my newsletter.
May, 2023
For #thankfulthursday this month, as I think about artists and art teachers I owe a lot to, I think back to COVID times, when the @theleftbrainartist podcast from @suzanneredmondart made my world bigger instead of smaller. She introuced me to many other artists that I follow and have learned from to this day.
The podcast ended in 2022 as Suzanne redirected her focus to other endeavors, including her own art. And that’s another good lesson – don’t be afraid to move on to the next great thing when it’s time. (But you can still find episodes on any podcast app)
May, 2023
There are a lot of apps now for meditation. Some are really just timers, and some are fully narrated guides with directions about breathing and managing thoughts. They can be lovely journeys, and a good way to get started . . . maybe. My personal challenge, whether meditating or not, is to get quiet enough to hear my own voice amidst all of the other noise in the world. Now timing is another thing. I wish I could say I need a time so that I don’t meditate too long, but it’s really so I don’t have an excuse to keep checking the clock. Nothing fancy, just a nice pleasant alert tone from my phone or tablet so I can come back to myself with a little grace.
