My Artist Voice #10 February 10, 2023

   Welcome to my tenth Artist Newsletter.  Thank you so much to everyone who has subscribed to date.  If you would like to receive this newsletter via email subscription, please contact thechautauqua@gmail.com and ask to be added to the mailing list.  Please share this with friends who may also be interested.  Thank you so much for your support.  

   This has been a wild month as my health has been on a real rollercoaster ride, as our winter weather has also been a bit of a rollercoaster too.  It seems I've had more sick days - or as I'm starting to call them "rest" days - than not.  

   As humans - and especially women - when life gets out of control, we need to have something (anything!) we CAN control so we feel safe and secure.  

   Of late, that has been my current rose mandala.  Every day I've added another flower, and then a leaf, and then a bee.  Now I'm adding colour to the image with my Derwent Inktense crayons.

   I am not someone who can sit and meditate for hours, but I find that I can totally and intensely focus for up to 5 minutes at a time - part of the reason why my 1-5 minute create practices are so important, and why I can accomplish so much.  As well, women tend to focus and meditate more effectively when we are moving or doing something with our hands.  

 

   For me, 5 minutes of focussed, mindful concentration on my creativity is better than hours of haphazard meditation.  I feel relaxed and safe, and more importantly, in control as my world spins out of control.

   Now, I could have sat down and completed this whole drawing in a couple of hours.  But I'm using the practice - as well as the watercolour play pages I do - as more than just an opportunity to create.  They are my daily self-care practices, my meditation, and how I balance my mental/emotional health.  So, for that reason, I won't rush to finish this drawing, but will let it continue to unfold each day at its own pace.

   In my last newsletter, I mentioned that my 2023 theme is "joyful energetic ease."  While I'm still not entirely sure what that means or how it will look through the year, the first phase seems to be practising the yoga mantras as I wash dishes each day and do other household tasks.

Celebrations: 

-  January 14th was my 1,000th DAILY creative post in the Inner Circle Facebook group!!!!  Now, that I created every day is not the real celebration as daily creating in some form or another is a given as it's as vital to my health as breathing.  No, the real celebration is that I put myself out and shared consistently in the group for 1,000 CONSECUTIVE days - the good, the bad, the ugly, the unfinished, the completed, and everything in between.  And some days, one had to look very, very closely to see that I even did anything as the baby step I took was so small.

- On January 14 &15 I did Sue Crites' Level 1 Qigong class.  Qigong is something that I've wanted to do for years.  I did borrow a VHS tape from the library once but it was so advanced, and didn't explain anything, that I gave up.  I was quite happy with this class, offered through Spring Forest Qigong, as it was a great introduction to Qigong and now I have a small practice I can do each day - we were encouraged to do 100 days of Qigong after completing the course so I've been doing that - though it's been more challenging fitting it into my life than I expected so I'm only on day 16 of 100!

- On January 11th I had my first 1:1 with Hillary Faye and did my Kundalini Reiki Level 1 attunement.  I practiced the different techniques for two weeks - especially the distance healing - and on January 24th I had my second 1:1 with Hillary and was attuned for Kundalini Reiki Level 2!  I really like Kundalini Reiki as it is so simple and there are no "rules" one has to follow. :) I have one more 1:1 session with Hillary and I'll be receiving the Masters attunement - hopefully on February 21st.

Recently Completed:

Since the last newsletter, I've completed...Watercolour play (9x12 mixed media paper)

- I had a couple of bought pie shells (had planned to make apple pies and that wasn't happening) and made a couple of quiches.  As it worked better than I expected I'll make more in the future.

- I finished converting the rest of my previous patterns to silhouettes - some worked really good, and some just made neat looking shapes/medallions.  Then I started to make a purple background version for each pattern, and I'm still working on that.

- I (finally) completed the journal I made during Amber's 12-hr Create-a-thon on October 10, 2022.  Each session was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed creating the various pages.  You can see the finished journal here: https://www.facebook.com/beth.richardson.10/videos/1817935848576552

Works in progress:

Currently, I'm working on... 

- a 9x12 page of watercolour play 

- an 8x10 acrylic painting  

- mandala on 9x12 mixed media paper 

- crochet chocolates and candy for my crochet food project [on hold again - grrr]

- In May 2021, I signed up for Shiloh Sophia's Wild Card Oracle class.  I started it the end of May and then "life happened" and I didn't finish it, or start making my cards.  I decided it would be a good project for February, as I continue to heal my body (mind & spirit too), and figure out what is causing my symptoms and issues.  I have a few cards started and I just see what emerges when I sit down to create.

- The online Awaken Love Yoga Teacher Training course has been royally kicking my butt since Christmas as the intensity has increased and my health hasn't cooperated.  Hard to believe that I used to be able to do yoga with relative ease.  I keep breathing and doing what I can, but there have been a few classes where I've just had to sit out and watch - my mind thinks I should be able to do anything, but my body says No!

- I am still working (slowly) on my pages in the self-paced online art course called "Painting with Words" 

- I'm making progress through the Recipes, Remedies, and Rituals Ayurveda course - on the skin care unit now.

- I am almost through the Morgan Le Fay Summer Moon course - the second course in the bundle I purchased last year.  Once I complete the 4-week cycle, I'll do another 4-week cycle.

- Anne's Atelier pattern design membership: I'm starting to get to know the other ladies and their pattern styles 

- I have completed Weeks 2 & 3 of Hillary Faye's 8-week Abundant Heart Kundalini yoga course

Upcoming Projects: 

- Apply for Calgary Stampede Dream Home Artist contest in February (exact date the contest opens is unknown at this time)

- Yoga Teacher Training practicum March 26th.

Thanks for reading,

Beth 

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As a life-long creative, and recently self-taught artist, I endeavour to weave my varied interests and wisdom together in an enlightening and entertaining manner, to make people think, but above all else, bring a smile to their faces and hearts, as my style is almost childlike in its simplicity and playfulness.  While bedridden for much of 2017, I developed 5 – 10 minute practices which allowed me to commit to them daily. I’ve been called the “Queen of Small Steps” because my simple practices – though they may seem small individually – have added up to quite a body of work in a relatively short time period. 

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