Celebrate World Art Day with us! 🎨✨ It was yesterday, oops. We can still celebrate!
On this special day, explore the beauty and creativity that art brings into our lives. Whether you're an artist or an art lover, there's something for everyone.
Art found me back in 2016, when I was deep into the dark night of the soul! Art/creativity has saved me, every day. I create something every day. Maybe it's a scribble, a mark, or some watercolors pooling around on a piece of paper. Whatever it is, it gets me out of my head and I am free.
Being creative is essential for numerous reasons, both in personal and professional contexts. Here are a few key points:
1. **Problem-Solving**: Creativity allows you to look at problems from different angles and come up with innovative solutions that might not be immediately obvious. This skill is invaluable in business where unique challenges frequently arise.
2. **Differentiation**: In a competitive market, creativity helps distinguish your brand, product, or service. By offering something unique or presenting it in a novel way, you capture attention and stand out from the crowd.
3. **Adaptability**: Creative thinking encourages flexibility and the ability to adapt. In a rapidly changing world, being able to pivot and innovate is crucial for sustainability and growth.
4. **Engagement**: Creativity peaks interest and engagement. Whether it’s a captivating social media post or a compelling sales presentation, creative content can draw in your audience and hold their attention.
5. **Inspiration**: Creativity often inspires others. By showcasing creative approaches or ideas, you can motivate your team, your audience, or even create a ripple effect within your industry.
6. **Personal Fulfillment**: On a personal level, engaging in creative activities can boost your mood, reduce stress, and provide a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.
Incorporating creativity into your life can lead to numerous benefits and, ultimately, contribute to success and innovation. Encourage yourself to think creatively, and you'll likely see positive outcomes.
Let your imagination soar! 🚀🖍️
I love this snippet about Pablo Picasso. I think we can go back and improve on whatever we want to improve on. I have a canvas waiting for me to improve just a tad and then finish it. I guess I'm resistant because I really enjoy looking at it as I enter my happy place. It's a larger piece and I want to revel in it for a while. Maybe, that's what Picasso was doing. He enjoyed visiting his masterpieces and so he touched up some of them a bit. Nothing wrong with that, or is there? Oh, and what is the criteria for a painting to be a masterpiece?
Perfectionism can get the best of us, and I know I can perseverate, thinking I could do better or add something here or there. At some point it needs to be done, finished, voila!
"In his later years Pablo Picasso wasn't allowed to roam an art gallery unattended, for he had previously been discovered in the act of trying to improve on one of his old masterpieces"
I love chocolate
it doesn’t matter what kind
as long as it’s chocolate
minus the nuts, and cherries
layers and layers of chocolate
just one chocolate cupcake
I don’t think so
I say let’s eat them all
and since it’s Easter season
let’s have a few CHOCOLATE eggs
Icing on the cake is so timely. It’s my dad’s heavenly birthday today. He’s been gone from this earthly plane for 19 years and I miss him so very much.
I will have to blame you, Dad, for my chocolate addiction. When I was growing up and when my dad was home, (his job required him to be gone during the week), we usually had dessert. Of course there was a stipulation to receiving dessert, we had to clean and I mean eat everything we had on our dinner plate. That was truly painful, at times. I’ll admit that sometimes I put the food I didn’t like , (beans), inside my napkin and crunch it up, when my mom wasn’t watching. I did this all for the sole purpose of enjoying dessert, the best part of any meal in my opinion. But not just any dessert – chocolate. Why do I blame my dad? He’s the one who would go get Oreo’s and milk, and put them on the table for the Thompson Tradition. With a glass of milk in hand and an Oreo cookie in the other, he would dunk that Oreo in the cold, luscious glass of milk, one after the other. On special occasions mom would make a chocolate cake. Once again, the tradition would begin with a slice of chocolate cake and an ice-cold glass of milk. Instead of dunking like was done with the cookies, he would put the whole slice of cake into the glass of milk, stir it just a tiny bit and voila, eat it with a spoon. The trick is to have more of the chocolate cake than milk. 69 years later and my addiction is just as strong as ever. I seriously, would eat a chocolate dessert over an entree, anytime. I have cut back some, I know it’s not healthy to eat that much sugar, consistently. But I gotta tell you, there’s still nothing better than CHOCOLATE!!
I had tears in my eyes when I was writing this post and truly didn’t know these words were coming onto the page or that this post was where I was going. I thought I was just writing about my passion for chocolate. I felt your presence Dad while I was writing, remembering, and crying. I miss you Dad and I think it's time to go have some CHOCOLATE.
Dad, you are “the icing on the cake with milk”. Happy Birthday Dad-e-o!
We all have archetypes and some you may identify with, such as the inner goddess, the wounded child, the wizard, the dreamer, to name just a few.
Archetypes have been around for centuries. You may be familiar with psychologist Carl Jung who brought archetypes out of the closet and into modern times. Jung believed that our “collective unconscious”, as he called it, is inherited rather than developed, and is a collection of archetypes and mythological figures.
As a Certified Creative Depth Coach, Soul Collage® Facilitator, JourneyCircles™ Facilitator I work with women and merge a unique blend psycho-spiritual awareness, various expressive arts as well as mindfulness, archetypal presence, experiential processes, and journey work. In our work together, I often help women with one of the archetypes that we all have, the inner critic.
Your inner critic is a universal archetype. Though it shows up differently for everyone, it is always there just waiting for you to wake it up. Viewing our inner critic from this point of view means we maintain some curiosity and understanding of our critic, but we don’t have to believe it. It is just along for the ride.
Sometimes your inner critic archetype is not very nice and can be downright nasty. Your inner critic is unconscious and is part of you. Your inner critic can be the gentle parts of yourself that want to feel safe and free from danger or vulnerability.
As Eric Morris explains, “The inner critic is there, because you have a mind that likes to problem-solve and judge everything. The trick is to consider this as just your mind doing its thing, and that you don’t have to follow it.”
Becoming aware of your inner critic is step one. Secondly, reach a place of being able to observe your critical thoughts. One you are aware of your inner critic you can then make a change.
Using your creativity, (yes, we are all creative) I invite you to name your inner critic, then I suggest you paint your inner critic and finally you will learn to love your inner critic.
Your inner critic won’t ever dissipate forever but saying I see you and I love you will make it, so your inner critic is a beautiful energy. A beautiful energy that can be right by your side instead of in hiding.
A Creative Depth Exercise for When the Inner Critic Shows Up:
- Give your inner critic a name. Any name that is feels right for you. For example, my inner critic’s name is, “hey girlie”. The more humor you use the better because it shifts the energy. Naming your inner critic archetype empowers you to identify it quickly when it shows up and using humor can help shift the shame.
- Using a piece of paper draw an image of your inner critic. You can use crayons, markers, colored pencils or whatever you have on hand. Have fun and trust that whatever lands on the paper is supposed to land on the paper.
- Paint the image of your inner critic. It’s best to use your fingers just like you did as a child. Painting with your fingers is a very sensory exercise that will lessen the power of your inner critic’s voice. If you can’t tolerate having paint on your fingers, use a paint brush. Whichever way you choose make it fun! You are literally painting the pain away!
- Whenever the energy of your inner critic archetype is super strong, create an image of your inner critic that is present at that time. The act of putting color on paper is a very freeing exercise that will immediately get you out of your head.
- Offer your inner critic a space of compassion yet let them know your soul calls the shots. Ask your inner critic what they need and to clearly explain their fears. Listen, then very gently speak to them from your soul. Assure them that they are protected. Inform them that your soul is wise, creative, and capable of handling anything.
- Honor your inner critic by placing the image you created in a predominant space.
Your inner critic wants you to reach it and it’s trying to reach you. By wrapping your inner critic in beauty, it will help you release your inner critic. Instead of pushing away your annoying inner critic, I invite you to address it as you would a close friend or neighbor.
When we ignore or push our inner critic away, it creates strain, and we tend to get into a place of scarcity instead of abundance. Instead let’s look at our inner critic and the energy and force it can provide us.
4 Ways to Enhance Inner Peace and Nurture Your Creative Soul
In this fast paced, hustle bustle world it is extremely important to create time to take care of your soul. Even when you are at home our minds can be cluttered with responsibilities, worries, and day to day life. We must be intentional about finding ways to slow down and take some time for calm and inner peace.
Here are 4 ways to create your inner peace and calm.
Choose the one that speaks to you at the time and take a few minutes for yourself.
-Set up a space just for you. Light a candle and breathe. Take 4 deep breathes and slowing exhale as you listen to calming music with your eyes closed. Put together a special play list of calming music or type in calming music to your search engine and see what comes up. It’s important to set up a space for you to cherish yourself with the calming music of your choice. All you need is 10 minutes, and you will be revived.
-Finding secret pockets of time can create inner peace. Maybe you are between errands, and you have a few minutes before you go on to the next thing on your list. Take that small amount of time and daydream, take a walk around the area you are in, or stroll through an art store. Aah and breathe.
-Tap into your creative spirit. When you have a longer segment of time, like 15 minutes, take out just 4 art supplies and a substrate you want to use with your supplies. Then move the materials around on your paper, canvas, or wood. No judgement, only calm movement of your supplies on the substrate of your choice. As an example, my 4 art supplies may be orange acrylic paint, a white gelly roll pen, an image, and a black marker.
I have chosen a piece of watercolor paper as my substrate. I set the timer for 15 minutes and play. I might start with putting some orange acrylic paint on my paper and then I take the image that I have of a sunrise and paste in on my paper. Next, I use my gelly roll pen to make some oval marks and finally I take my black marker and write a quote or a word on my paper. When your timer rings, set your art to the side, and breathe. Ta da that’s it! Limiting your supplies helps you focus and be present with what is right is in front of you. Now you will be able to move through your day with more calm and inner peace.
-Spend time with other creative souls. Whatever your chosen creative practice is, we tend to work in isolation oftentimes. While working independently can be joyful there are times that being with other creatives can be inspiring and bring you inner peace. I love to bring various art supplies to friend’s homes to create together. Or I put out supplies at my home and invite a few friends over to play. Or find an online group whereby you can create together and enjoy casual conversation. We are social animals and it’s important to sustain and foster connections with others.
With inner peace you can deliberately enter a spiritual and psychological state of calm. Inner peace allows you to participate in your life with an open mind and heart. Inner peace calms your mind and allows you to see your path and journey in a clearer way. Inner peace helps you focus and prioritize what is truly important in your life. Inner peace is the path towards happiness. Having inner peace is what will allow you to enjoy and appreciate the present, regardless of whether it’s good or bad. Gaining inner peace requires a change in your mindset. Are you going to have a state of inner peace every second of everyday, of course not; however, when you have a few tools to add to your toolbox you can change things up to create inner peace.
There are many benefits of creating inner peace and these 4 ways are simple, creative methods to foster your inner peace. Listen to your heart and know when it is time to R-E-S-T and fill up your cup of energy. And the nice thing about these 4 ways is that you don’t have to identify as a creative to reap your playful nature and the benefits of this exploration. Whether you are drawn to creative endeavors or just beginning to dabble and play, these 4 ways will bring you inner peace.
What’s most important is that you take time for you. I call it care for the caretaker. You can’t be there for others until you take time for yourself to create inner peace. Just 15 minutes a day offers you a wealth of benefits to your emotional, physical, social, and spiritual well-being
