Artful Musings
Plagued by Self-Doubt?
When it comes to doing your most important work, you will be plagued by self-doubt throughout the journey. It’s normal. Sometimes the doubt stops us in our tracks or sends us to bed in our pajamas for a day. Sometimes the doubt is just a blip, a brief thought that dissipates like the morning fog.…
The Principles of Design: What are they, and why do they matter?
If you’ve been around any sort of creative industry or practice, you’ve probably heard about the “Principles of Design” and their importance to every piece of art. For some, these principles are hard rules to be followed to a tee (though this is a highly ethnocentric stance) while others, like experts at the Getty Museum,…
My first ever psychic reading
When I was 25, my mom gifted me a reading with a psychic in Austin, TX where I was living at the time. I can still see her clearly in my mind’s eye, sitting in a rocking chair, eyes closed, her gray hair long and loose around her shoulders. She was a lovely, gentle woman,…
SoulCollage: Making friends with my Monsters
SoulCollage®: Making friends with my Monsters If you have been following my blog for a while, you will know that I am passionate about art, collage and personal development. I love using SoulCollage® and intuitive art practices to tame some gremlins and make friends with my personal monsters. SoulCollage® is a powerful tool for pulling…
How do you practice the art of appreciation?
Core Values in Action: How do you practice the art of appreciation? We can talk about our core values all day long, we can make a list and hang it on our fridge (I did) but if we don’t understand how to put that value into action, we are not genuinely embracing or honoring that…
Intuitive Collage and Spring Cleaning for a Woman’s Spirit
Spring cleaning for your Spirit! by Dr. Minette Riordan If you are anything like me you are experiencing a bit of spring fever! Spring is my favorite time of year. At the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, our minister commented that “Spring in Santa Barbara is like icing on the cake.” What a great…
Deep Necessity: The Secret of Success for Artists and Creatives?
I’ve been cleaning out my studio and office this week in preparation for a few girlfriends who are coming for art camp next week. And in one of the piles of paper I came across an article written by Brendon Burchard for Success magazine on the topic of Deep Necessity. Brendon Burchard is a high…
Make Time For Your Art
Do you wonder how to make time for your art? How much time are you willing to invest? What else are you willing to let go of to make space for your art? I found this mandala I drew in 2011 – 10 years ago. That’s how long I’ve been on my creative journey to…
Painting to Heal
There are many, many paths to healing the wounds, doubts and stories we hold in our hearts and bodies around creativity. The one that has transformed my own life most dramatically is painting. I love painting to heal stories and create wholeness out of the fragmented sense of self I often feel. On the canvas…
Free Magazines for Making Collage
As a SoulCollage® and JourneyCircles™ facilitator, I often get asked where people can find free magazines or images to use in their collage work. Finding free magazines for making collage is easier than you think as often people would rather gift them than put them in the trash or recycling. Here are a few of…
7 Essential Creative Lifestyle Principles: Play
When my friend Andrea from A Work of Heart Studio and I get together to brainstorm, magic happens! Earlier this year we launched a new program called The Creative Stretch with the intention of supporting artists and creatives to commit to their practice and shift their habits to make art-making a priority. We knew we…
Your Burning Questions: Who am I?
What are your burning questions? I often have questions rolling around in my head like, who am I or what’s my purpose? Most days I have a pretty good sense of who I am and that my purpose is to help others see their own brilliance and beauty. Sometimes I find it hard to put…
Creating in a Series: 100 days of collage
Have you ever committed to doing a hundred day project? It’s daunting. I have half committed a few times and then found myself getting bored or distracted by some bright new shiny idea. And here I am again, committing to 100 days of collage. I’m noticing a few things about this particular journey that are…
Creative work means deep work
Creative work means deep work for me. Using intuitive and expressive arts practices like collage, art journaling and painting leads to healing and transformation for me and my creative clients. I had an email this week from a client who asked: what can I do about this raging case of imposter syndrome? When those inner…
Day 2 – My relationship with Prayer
For day 2 of 21 days of courageous creativity I’ve chosen the prompt prayer. My relationship with prayer started young I have an interesting relationship with prayer. Being raised Catholic, I found many aspects of the prayers, songs and rituals that were wonderful and magical. I lost sight of these aspects on my own spiritual…
Day 1 of Courageous Creativity – Celebrate
Have you noticed how much is happening this month, well every month but I personally am very present to what’s in front of me today. It takes courage to say no to them! This includes my own 21 Day Courageous Creativity program which I decided at the last minute to run live. What was I…
What if you didn’t judge…
What if you didn’t judge where you are on your journey right now? One of my mentors asked this question in a group coaching call last week and it made me pause, go hmmm, where am I judging myself for where I am right now? As creative business owners and artists, judgment is an old…
Feeling buried under the weight of unfinished projects?
If you are a creative business owner and chaser of bright, shiny ideas like I am, you might have lots of unfinished projects around your home and in your business. You probably have stacks of books you say you are going to read and boxes of art supplies, craft kits and folders full of diy…