Manifesto

Kelly Rae has a manifesto, a list of what she believes. I wonder what is mine? What do I believe?

*I believe in a Loving Divine Presence that I can experience directly and that transforms me.
*I believe that my purpose is to express that Divine Love in any way I can.
*I believe that my art is one way I can express that Love, and that can nourish others as well as myself.

Sheng zhen Qi Gong

Found this while going through old files

Awakening the Soul with Master Li
is a short video with--for me--a powerful impact. I felt so alive after doing these qucik Qi Gong exercises! It's called Sheng Zhen Qi Gong.
There is another short Qi Gong video you might enjoy here.

Maki's Honest Heart Helping Japan

Dear Makiko Hastings is raising money to help one of the towns in Japan that was washed nearly away last year. She visited the town of Minamisanriku-Cho and saw the devastation for herself. She talked with the people and found that they are incredibly resilient, still trusting the sea for their livelihood, intent on rebuilding better than ever, but it is a long hard road and they still have far to go.

Maki is making delightful little birds of hope and candle holders to raise money. She will deliver the funds she raises to the town in person next month, August. We have only until Tuesday, July 31st to order and contribute, so I want to encourage you to place your order right away if this is something you want to do. I wish I had placed my order much sooner so that it would be here already, and I could show you what I got!

Find information on how to order your birds or candle holder "Light of Hope" here.

I Had a Studio Sale Today...

 I spent hours and hours and days and days cleaning and organizing the studio to get ready for it. I looked through all my paintings and sketches for the past--almost 30 years--selecting the ones that weren't too awful to offer for sale. I put out even my favorites at very low prices, so that people could afford them. I sent out emails to everyone I knew. I gave away fliers at my booth at the Saturday Market. 

I made a sign, a beautiful sign, that said Suzanna's Studio, SALE, and put it out front.

Lots of people said they would come...

And no one came but one wonderful loyal supporter, who bought two paintings for a total of $30. Thank you, Jill for your support!!

I think I need to go cry.

*&;*&;*&;*&;

OK, Now I'm ready to move on.

What did I learn/gain from this experience?

• After months of putting up with a studio in chaos, my studio is now beautiful and organized! I am proud to invite people in.

• I have a beautiful sign I can put out front to let people know my studio is open. I painted it yesterday after months of having the sandwich board ready but never "getting around to it". I finally realized that I have the materials and experience to do a nice job on paper but was feeling uncertain about painting directly on wood; so I painted on watercolor paper and sprayed it with a sealer. It might not work in a torrential raid, but it works fine in most weather.

• I looked through almost 30 years of my work and found some I still love. I got to practice letting go of pieces I've held onto for a looooong time!

• I got to nibble on chips and humus and cherries I had set out for guests, while reading an interesting book, sitting in a comfy chair, surrounded by my beautiful paintings.

• I learned that I need to plan my promotions strategicaly BEFORE I get immersed in preparing the work for a show. Like about a month ahead of time.

• I think real mailed invitations mailed about 1.5-2 weeks ahead would have been more effective than email sent a few days before the event. To accomplish this, I need to have them ready to send out about 3 weeks before the event. Plan ahead!!

• It would have been good to talk about some of the pieces or about the process of going through my work in preparation for the sale, in order to gather interest for it.

• Flyers around town, ads, and other ways of promotion would have supported a better turnout.

 

Bethamay, Art for Your Spirit

"Art for your spirit"--I LOVE that! That's Beth Reiter's tag line for her Bethamay Arts.

Happy Buddha Shrine by Bethamay

I really love her little shrines, especially this one from Beth's etsy shop!
Beth and I shared a pot of genmai tea at the local tea shop, while we looked at our etsy shops on her laptop.  etsy has been such a ...mystery to me...how to use it effectively, I mean. Beth enlightened me on how to word my descriptions and titles better and how to list items more effectively.

I have a lot of work ahead of me to fix my listings and get up to speed, but I think it will be worth it!

The Road Leads Ever On; Two loves

The road leads ever on and on....!

I'm in the middle of another life change. New Love, rethinking my work, saying Aloha (not goodbye) to past lives and loves.

Yesterday I visited the sailboat I used to own with my beloved soul mate. He is gone, a victim of lung cancer--no, not a victim. He refused to be a victim.

I fixed Bob a cup of coffee, just for rememberence sake. The smell reminded me of the mornings he would fix me breakfast and himself a cup of strong coffee, as we lay at anchor.

I will always love Bob. And now I have a new love. I have accepted the love of another True Hearted man. Bob's Love taught me so much I will use to enrich this new relationship!