WE will soon be coming to the Summer Solstice. Join us for a relaxing art journey. See the Events Page for details.
TREAT YOURSELF TO A MENTAL HEALTH DAY!
Everyone needs a day to just relax and get away from it all.
Here are some ideas to consider. Pick and choose or do them all. And maybe you'll have some ideas of your own.
1. Morning Meditation and Stretching:
Start your day with a short meditation session to clear your mind and set a positive tone for the day. Follow it up with some gentle stretching to release any tension in your body.
2. Art Session:
Spend a couple of hours engaging in your favorite artistic activities. Set up a comfortable space with all your art supplies and let your creativity flow. Whether you're drawing, painting, or experimenting with different mediums, let the process be therapeutic and expressive.
3. Nature Walk or Hike:
Head outdoors for a refreshing hike or nature walk. Choose a scenic trail where you can immerse yourself in the beauty of nature. Take your time to appreciate the sights, sounds, and smells of the natural world around you. This will help clear your mind and rejuvenate your spirit.
4. Picnic Lunch with Friends:
Invite a few close friends to join you for a picnic lunch in a tranquil outdoor setting. Pack some delicious and nourishing food, and enjoy good conversation and laughter together. Spending time with loved ones can be incredibly uplifting and rejuvenating for your mental health.
5. Dance Session:
In the afternoon, indulge in a dance session to uplift your mood and energize your body. Create a playlist of your favorite songs and let yourself move freely to the music. Release your inhibitions and stressors. Dancing with a child is wonderfully enjoyable.
6. Evening Stargazing:
As the day winds down, find a quiet spot away from city lights to indulge in some stargazing. Bring a blanket and lie down under the night sky. Marvel at the beauty of the stars and constellations above. Reflect on the vastness of the universe and your place within it, finding solace and perspective in the infinite expanse.
7. Bedtime Wind Down:
Before bed, wind down with some relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, gentle yoga, or reading a book. Create a calming bedtime routine to signal to your body and mind that it's time to rest and recharge for the day ahead.
Remember, the key is to prioritize activities that bring you joy, relaxation, and a sense of inner peace. Enjoy your mental health day, and may it leave you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated!
AREN'T YOU AN ARTIST?
Are you an artist?
Of course you are!
Whether you make art for the world, or to earn your income, or just for yourself when the mood strikes, you are an artist.
Whether you are a painter, a writer, a musician, a dancer, a poet, ....
you are an artist
As human beings, we are driven to create. It's in our blood. It's literally in our DNA.
How can you tell that you are an artist?
We say...
...if you can speak, you can sing.
...if you can move, you can dance.
...if you can write, you can draw.
Every time you speak, you are making art with sound.
Every time you walk, you are dancing.
Every time you dream, you are are making a film.
The rest is technique -- methods you can learn:
How to hold a paintbrush and mix paints to make a watercolor.
How to set the aperture and the f-stop to create a photograph.
How to press the right keys to play an arpeggio..
How to dance like a graceful bird.
The important thing is that the techniques serve the expression that flows from your soul.
And that's something no one can teach you.
You are the only one who can create what you want to create.
So the next time you speak, or walk, or write, be aware of how you are doing it.
Do it with intention, with grace and with love.
See how your life changes!
Let me know in the comments below how you express your artistic self.
GRANT AWARDED!
The Mass Council on the Arts has awarded Oasis in the Storm a grant to offer four Arts & Meditation Mini-Retreats, one at or near each equinox and solstice in 2024. We will gather in the West Springfield Public Library to celebrate the changing seasons and to explore how those changes affect us.
Check back here about 2 weeks prior to each retreat for details.
THE AUTHENTIC SELF
We often hear about the "authentic self." But no one ever explains what this actually is.
Vivek Shraya, Canadian artist, says in Psychology Today (Jan/Feb 2022) "I think we need to get past the language of authenticity because, for me, it's more about the ways we're works in progress." She explains that the concept of a true self creates a problem -- it implies that who and what you were before was not true, and we have no idea who we will be in the future.
I agree that we are works in progress. Your experiences influence these changes in you and affect who you now may be. And the future is a question mark.
And as you travel along your life path, you will make many changes.
...You change from infant to child to teen to adult to wise elder.
...You graduate from one school and change to the next.
...Your hairstyle changes, your style of dress changes.
...Your behaviors and opinions change.
...Your goals change...
But in each of these iterations of you, there is a core that does not change.
And that's the authentic or true self. It is the deep non-judgmental observer part of you. It gives you a sense of identity and centeredness, a grounding. It is the unchanging part of you that holds your fundamental traits, the essence of who you are.
You could see the authentic self as the conductor of an orchestra, keeping all the instruments (the other parts, or subpersonalities, of you) making beautiful music in harmony together.
But maybe one of the instruments is out of tune, throwing the whole orchestra off. Maybe the conductor has fallen asleep or withdrawn.
If you make a poor life choice, one that doesn't fit with your personal self, parts of you go out of tune.
Maybe you get a headache, or a gnawing feeling in your stomach, or you have strange dreams, or you experience depression or a number of other "mental illnesses," or a even a physical illness.
Or maybe you just have a sense of something not being right. You feel off balance, out of tune, like you are not living the expression of who you are.
Perhaps your authentic self can see it and set it right again, or perhaps you need some help figuring it out and fixing it.
If that's the case, I can help you find your conductor, and once the conductor is found and empowered, the out-of-tune instrument can be identified and fixed. You will then be able to continue on your true path into the life you want, the one that feels right to you.
THE HAIRCUT
I finally did it!
After coming out of my post-covid-vaccination fever that knocked me out for a day, I chopped off my hair like I had wanted for several months.
It took a couple of hours, and there are still a few pieces I have left to fix, but I feel so much better!
It was an emotional activity. I used the same scissors that I had used to cut my dad's hair. In his 90s, he suffered Alzheimer's and couldn't leave home for haircuts anymore.
The hair cutting and shaving moments with my dad were precious times to be together. I think he may not have known who I was anymore, but clearly he trusted me with those scissors!
Is there anything that you've done on the spur of the moment that turned out to be a reminder of something important in your life?
I'd love to hear about it in the comments!
WASSAIL! A VICTORIAN HOLIDAY DANCE CELEBRATION!
If you are in the Western Massachusetts area, you might be interested in the Victorian holiday performances given by the Small Planet Dancers, led by Josephine Sarnelli.
We are a troupe performing authentic historical and cultural dances, and cater to audiences who may be left behind, such as seniors and Veterans.
We never charge our audiences and adult classes are for everyone regardless of experience.
We believe in "No dancer left behind."
Come and join the party!
Saturday, December 10th at 1:30
Holyoke Public Library
250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA 01040
Tuesday, December 13th at 5:30
South Hadley Senior Center
45 Dayton St, South Hadley, MA 01075
Sunday, December 18th at 3:00
Southwick Village
802 College Hwy, Southwick, MA 01077
http://www.smallplanetdancers.com/gallery-2019.shtml
ALL OF US ARE ARTISTS
I saw this T-shirt recently that said:
"EARTH without ART is just "EH"
Right?
Life on this Earth would be pretty boring and uninspiring without the creative spirit, without art, that is so distinctly human.
Try to imagine a world without a painting by your favorite painter -- Van Gogh's Starry Night maybe. And where would we be without Frida Kahlo, Henri Matisse, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and so so many other painters.
Or without the music of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Beethoven, the Beatles, Jay Z, Snoop Dog, Loggins and Messina, or Freddy Mercury ...
And we would be missing so much if we didn't have the photographs of Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lang, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Diane Arbus, Carrie Mae Weems, or Gordon Parks ...
And I cannot forget to mention the world of dance, one of the oldest expressions of ritual, social and spiritual art forms. Every culture has its dances, and every human being has dance inside them, whether they are able to fully move or not. We say "if you can move, you can dance." Even if it's just your hand or finger or eyes. Like a client I had who was almost completely immobile except for his hands and face. When he heard music, his face lit up and his hands gracefully waved back and forth. It was heartwarming to all of us.
I'm leaving out many other art forms - like fiber arts, sculpture, architecture, literature, theater, digital, film, etc - but you get the idea.
We humans have been making some form of art since at least 40,000 years ago, and possibly even 52,000 years age - animals, plants, celestial bodies, humans.
And who knows about abstract art -- which might have been some lines and curves drawn in the sand with a stick simply for the joy of it, or a "purposeless" movement to the rhythm of ocean waves, or a rock pounded rhythmically on a log. The website www.visual-arts-cork.com even mentions some petroglyphs dating back possibly as far as 290,000 - 700,000 BCE. I can't even!
So now you're wondering "where do I fit in?"
If you're already making a great living from your art, fantastic! Kudos to you!
Or you're making art simply because it relaxes you.
Or maybe you're at the other end of the spectrum and have just some undefinable stirrings within you that need to get out, but you have no idea how to do that.
Maybe you're struggling with something stopping you from exploring or immersing yourself fully in your art.
A day job with the boss from hell
A relationship at loggerheads 3 times a week
Anxiety or depression - or both
Your life is just "EH" -- or worse.
Did you know you can use the arts to
get through your toughest blocks that keep you from making your best, most mind-blowing art yet?
discover what secrets your art is telling you about yourself?
get your depression, anxiety and buried anger out in a safe way and conquer them too?
systematically explore different art forms to discover your particular mode of expression?
All of these are true!
LIVING IN THE ROUND: MANDALAS
What is a mandala? It is the ancient Sanskrit word for circle or disc. Simple enough.
But wait ... there's more!
A mandala is the perfect symbol, physically and spiritually, of equality and stability. It is equidistant from center to edge on every single point. Every point is equal to every other point, nothing takes precedence, nothing is favored, nothing is left out.
It is also in constant cyclic transformation. The spiral is a circle in time, a connection of concentric circles rising or sinking.
Swiss psychiatrist Carl G. Jung noted that a mandala is created when a spiritual idea or thought can't be adequately explained and must be sought, or when the psychological balance within a group is disturbed. In the first case, it expresses something new and unique, and in the second to restore order. Mandalas restore order in a transformed way, creating a spiral, with the pattern of the old order appearing in a new way on a higher level.
Movement yet stillness.
…Transformation.
In Nature we find the tiny sphere of an acorn, bearing within it the mighty oak. The trunk, branches, stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds all come from its center. Everything is unified yet divergent at the same time.
…Transformation.
You may know of mandalas as a form of spiritual practice. In this way, they date to at least 2500 years ago, in Europe, the Middle East, and India. They are designed, or meditatively traced with the eyes, or walked along a path such as a labyrinth to create a ...
... Transformation.
Mandalas are everywhere - just look around.
Rose windows, flowers, volcano craters, the chemical benzine ring, a cat's paw, the moon, your lover's face and eyes...
A mandala can be danced, made from ground semi-precious stones, laid as a carpet of flowers, woven from fibers, dreamed, painted, composed in music or poems.
You may spontaneously be drawn to create your own mandala. Perhaps there was one in a dream, or you just felt compelled to create one.
Let's say you're going to draw or paint it.
Begin by sitting in a still place and breathing mindfully for a few breaths while focusing on the image in your mind.
Choose a color. Your unconscious will do the rest. As you create your mandala, don't plan a design. It may be altogether different from what you saw.
When your mandala feels complete, hang it on a wall and step back and take a look.
Grab your journal and immediately write your first impression. Whatever it may be.
Objectively describe what you see.
What feelings are evoked?
How does it relate to your original idea?
How did it develop?
What changed?
Do you feel a transformation?
Share your mandala in the comments -- I'd love to see!
And if you get in touch with me we can explore it in depth -- I'm sure we can uncover a lot!
STAYING MOTIVATED WHEN CREATIVE PEOPLE HIT THE WALL
Have you ever found yourself not being able to or not wanting to work on your art that you were so excited about at first? Maybe you have just too much to think about, which is entirely understandable these days of COVID, war, record high inflation and sky-high food and gas prices, low wages, heat waves and fires from climate change, so many of our fundamental rights being taken away... Coping with all the fall-out can really keep you up at night.
And when you've lost a lot of sleep, you can barely function, never mind thinking straight, never mind getting back to making art, dance, music, or whatever your chosen mode of expression. The creative block looms large.
It gets hard to do even the mundane daily things like the dishes, picking up the kids' toys, vacuuming .....
Getting out of bed...
So you've already pulled out all the tiles for that new mosaic you had recently gotten ideas for, but then you remembered you had the kids' laundry to do, the dishes to do, pick up the toys, vacuum. IF you can get yourself out of bed.
Finally you get into the studio ready to work, but now you find yourself making all sorts of new excuses -- the studio needs to be cleaned up. Or out. You don't have that exact color you really want to use. You have to sharpen those pencils you might need for your next project....
I've been there. Fooling myself with excuse after excuse. No energy. And when I was finally ready to start my work, I just stood there in front of the drawing table and stared off into space. I imagined I had a headache... a stomach ache... I fantasized about my last hike in the woods ... and now I had back pain and needed to lie down.
Well, eventually I did finish my project, but I had to get over those hurdles. Here's how I did it.
First, I went to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of cool refreshing water. Sometimes people get dehydrated and don't even know it, but they have brain fog, feel sluggish, know they're not functioning at their peak. Once they've had some water, or tea or juice, they feel so much better. Who knew?
Then I opened my laptop and made a couple of lists.
List A. Why do I need to make art so badly?
I grew up in a creative family -- drawing/design, music, singing, dance, fiber arts
it's an innate drive
to move my ideas out of my head and onto paper or into other modalities (I am a photographer, poet and dancer, as well as a painter)
to improve my skills
for personal freedom of expression
to share my art with others
to receive positive and constructive feedback
to not have to go to an office and push papers from 9 to 5 or 8.
no boss, no one to tell me what to do and when to do it
List B. What are my goals in art making?
Right now:
Global: have enough steady income from my art to drop my day job
More specific: create 5 mosaics over the next 3 months
Exact: first mosaic to be 20 by 30 depicting a fanciful underwater scene with my favorite undersea creatures. I will work on this Monday Tuesday Wednesday and Friday from 9am to 1pm.
A little bit later, but keeping them in the back of my mind:
Find a gallery to represent me sell my mosaics and other art
Create an online portfolio and/or website to gain more sales
Choose one of my dusty unfinished pieces in the back of my closet and finish it
Complete these goals and build new ones
Then I created a schedule to structure my day and get things done. I am a night person, and my energy peaks around mid- to late afternoon, so I got all the silliness (housework, business maintenance, etc) out of the way in the morning. I gave myself little rewards whenever I completed a task on time, especially the ones I really don't like.
Some ideas for you:
Track your activity and brain power levels for a few days if you're not sure about your optimum times
Get up and go to bed at same time every day. Use your phone alarm to set reminders if you need to
Visualize yourself making/performing your art
Put in a few of hours of studio work. Setting a time limit can really put a cramp into the flow of your creativity, but allow for some flexibility.
Find a reasonable time to take short breaks to make phone calls, check emails, etc.
Take a 1/2 hour lunch break (Yes! You must not run out of fuel!)
Do a couple of pieces of housework every day, a few smaller things or one bigger thing
Get back into the studio and dust off an old unfinished piece for a little while to see how you can revive it. Don't overdo it
Another couple of hours to start a new piece or finish your current one
Make dinner (or pull out a meal from the freezer that you previously prepared) and take time to fully enjoy it. Notice flavors, smells, textures. Be in the moment! Don't forget to clean up!
Visualize yourself making your art
Have some downtime at the end of the day when you can do yoga, read, talk with a friend, relax... Your brain needs decluttering and time for processing and to let new ideas arise.
And here are some more ideas you can try for getting you back to doing what you love to do:
Make sure you stay hydrated
Make sure you're getting enough sleep
Make sure you are getting enough nutritious food, and not too much "junk food," although a little snack here and there is fine.
Visualize yourself making your art
Turn off your electronic devices, including the tv and radio, to prevent overstimulation. Your mind needs to be totally with itself for the creation to develop
Take a few minutes to relive your last really creative time and how alive and excited you felt. Tell a supportive person about it
Get dressed in clothes you associate with being in the studio or in the field. Wear a costume or use a special prop as inspiration for a dance
Share your ideas with fellow artists, mentors, family, friends. Consider someone working in a different creative field or who knows nothing about your art, to get different perspectives
Visualize yourself making your art
If you don't have dedicated space for your art-making, see if you can create something. Clear a bunch of stuff from part of a room or even reconfigure an entire room, depending on your type of creative work and your overall space. Let this clearing be an artwork in itself.
Take a walk in the woods (go "forest bathing"). Explore and appreciate the sights, smells, sounds, and textures of what's around you. Without thinking about your art. Your unconscious will absorb what you need.
In your journal, write about your walk in the woods. Write a poem
Prepare a week's worth of meals at a time to have more time to make your art -- slow cooker, pressure cooker, oven, microwave, ...
Visualize yourself making your art
Go to a museum. Spend time contemplating a piece that catches your eye
Look at your favorite art online or in books at the library
Call yourself an artist if you don't already. Go ahead. You have my permission
Hang some of your favorite art reproductions where you can see them often (On your fridge? Above your desk? Bathroom mirror? Laundry room!)
Make an "altar" to place a few of your favorite objects, and often look at them consciously with an eye toward design elements or meaning or how they can inspire you
Visualize yourself making your art
Play with a different style or process in your chosen modality
Develop clear and specific goals (see above)
Try out different times of day to see what works best for you. Everyone has their own natural rhythm, times when they are more alert and productive, times when they are more laid back. Some people are early birds, some are night owls. Some are neither, some are both (if that's you, you may have some extra teasing out to do)
Then develop a schedule. Stick to your schedule. This will help your art-making become habit and integrate it into your life as just part of what you do.
You may not always feel awesomely inspired, but you may be able to try out new materials or a new technique. Just play, experiment, have fun with it. Abandon yourself to it
Make a picture of your creative block as it looms large over you. Talk to it, find out what it wants
Find a different art-making modality (e.g. design a garden instead of sculpting, dance instead of playing keyboard).
Do 3 sets of 20 jumping jacks, go swimming for half an hour, play hopscotch in the street, play catch with your friend or your kid (or some similar exercise to get your blood flowing, and that wakes up your brain)
Refresh yourself with a shower
Take an art class at the museum or online
Take a dance class at a good studio, or online
Learn to play the flute, or the violin, or finger cymbals, or the tuba, or make your own instrument out of normal household objects
Do yoga or tai chi
Meditate. Join my online group
Join an arts or music tour group
Choose a color (oil pastel, paint, pencil, etc) and make a mark on some piece of paper, or even the business page of a newspaper. See what develops
Put a rectangle around something that catches your eye with your phone camera and make a picture.
Work outside your comfort zone. Ask yourself what that means to you
Start a group for like-minded artists to work together and share studio space and ideas
Visualize yourself making your art (What?! Again?! Yes yes yes! Your brain is heavily influenced by repetition and works to make your into what you see yourself being)
Involve your kids / family members / a neighbor or friend. One idea: attach a large sheet of paper onto an easel or a wall. Make a line down the middle, one side for them, one side for you. Draw or paint an object or scene in front of you. Alternately, you can work together on a single image, taking turns to add elements. You can start with a silly scribble. Of course you can create a dance or poem or song etc in the same way.
While you may visualize the final product, don't be surprised if it ends up entirely different from your original idea. That's your soul making itself known
Remember -- cleaning up your studio / work area does not count as art-making and should be scheduled separately
Remember -- "piddling around" does not count as art-making and should be scheduled separately
Trust the process. Don't stress over the outcome or finished piece. Your art will tell you what it needs. And doesn't need.
And keep visualizing yourself making your art!I have to stop now before I get even more ideas!
You'll notice that I like lists. Easier for my brain to process, more space in my brain to let new art float up. You'll also notice that I have added a lot of suggestions and I am sure that some will help you get and stay motivated in your creative process. Of course you don't have to do everything, but you can try using different ideas at different times.
And you've noticed (if I haven't cluttered up your brain yet) many of these ideas don't directly get you motivated to make your art, but lifestyle changes, even tiny ones, can make a huge difference. The point is: if you give your brain something else to think about for a while, or nothing to think about (meditation, anyone?), and a break from stressing over your art-making, you'll find that your creative juices start flowing again. And once that gets going, you'll be so excited to get back to it tomorrow!
Let me know how it works for you. And also what doesn't work, so we can figure it out together.
So experiment, change it up, take a break, have fun!
Happy creating!