You are fine without advice and suggestions.
Start playing.
- Austin Kleon
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Wednesday 28 August 2024
I walk around like everything’s fine,
but deep down, inside my shoe,
my sock is sliding off.
- Anonymous
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Monday 26 August 2024
From TEA for the Bitter Times Created by Beth Richardson ©2022
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
to purchase decks: https://thechautauquanewspaper.blogspot.com/p/products-for-sale.html
Saturday 24 August 2024
Friday 23 August 2024
Wednesday 21 August 2024
It's not about being good at gardening,
it's about gardening being good for you.
- paraphrase by Jessica Swift
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Monday 19 August 2024
From TEA for the Bitter Times Created by Beth Richardson ©2022
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
to purchase decks: https://thechautauquanewspaper.blogspot.com/p/products-for-sale.html
Friday 16 August 2024
August 16, 2024 Chautauqua
Well, I’m still
alive and still kicking! And, more
importantly, I’m still publishing this newspaper!
A very heartfelt
THANK YOU to everyone who reached out with their words of support and
encouragement. It is so nice to know how
the paper has impacted and touched your lives.
An even bigger
THANK YOU to everyone who made donations.
Your support, as well as your trust and confidence in me, means more
than I express in mere words.
While the worst of
the situation is hopefully behind me now (fingers crossed), I’m not completely
out of the woods yet. I paid to the end
of May’s printing, but still owe for June, and now July’s.
I haven’t heard yet
if I qualify for the grant or not. I did
hear back that we had to make adjustments to my application as I ended up in
the wrong category for being a sole proprietor.
Fingers crossed they accepted the changes and I’m still being considered
for it.
If you haven’t made
a donation yet, there is still time. If
you are a business or organization who is unable to donate, please consider placing
an ad in the paper. Ad rates can be
found below.
Also, I am having a “Save
the Chautauqua” Art Sale at
This sale is a
great chance for you to see what else I do with my time - when I’m not working
on, or delivering, the paper.
Again, I’d like to thank you for all your support - in the past, currently, and in the future. You are all the reason I continue to publish The Chautauqua. Thank you!
Beth
Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uNWls0nGod6TYfdnFZy0x5P_1ro8a48q/view?usp=sharing
Whether you've enjoyed reading The Chautauqua from the first issue 22+ years ago, are a brand new reader, or somewhere in between, I sincerely hope that The Chautauqua has enriched your life, as much as it has enriched mine publishing it. If you would like to help ensure it continues to enrich others like yourself, I ask you to please consider making a donation to The Chautauqua. There are three methods available:
Mail a cheque or money order (made out to Beth Richardson – Chautauqua) to Box 261 Mirror, AB T0B 3C0
E-transfer to thechautauqua@gmail.com
PayPal at https://paypal.me/thechautauqua (note: you will need to sign into PayPal first, and then specify the amount)
Your support and kindness is always greatly appreciated, and I look forward to continuing to bring joy and inspiration to you with each issue. Thank you so much and have a marvellous day!
Contact The Chautauqua via email: thechautauqua@gmail.com or via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChautauqua
Wednesday 14 August 2024
Where there are bees there are flowers,
and wherever there are flowers
there is new life and hope.
- Christy Lefteri
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Monday 12 August 2024
From TEA for the Bitter Times Created by Beth Richardson ©2022
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
to purchase decks: https://thechautauquanewspaper.blogspot.com/p/products-for-sale.html
Saturday 10 August 2024
Friday 9 August 2024
My Artist Voice #28 August 9, 2024
Welcome to my 28th Letter to you. If you would like to receive this letter directly in your email inbox, 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.
I felt ready to move on and try another technique, inspired by Miriam Schulman, though I still used the playful backgrounds and the single colour for the details. This time I carbon-copied the reference photo onto the paper and "coloured" the image with watercolours.
- Shiloh Sophia's Wild Card Oracle class - not sure if I will make more cards or not.
Top (L-R): Pink shirt - Day 1 - Feb. 19, Feb. 26, Mar. 4
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.
I am holding a "Save the Chautauqua”Art Sale in the solarium! You are invited to come check it out each weekend, 10 AM - 4:30 PM at 4910 - 47 St in Mirror, from now to the September long weekend. This is a great opportunity to see my art in person and pick up some early Christmas gifts for your family and friends.
Well, we certainly had summer this year! The days and weeks with heat warning temperatures (plus, humidity and wildfire smoke) sure sucked what little energy I did have right out of me! It's also been wreaking havoc with my garden - just the weeds seem to be growing and even they were struggling! I have never seen dandelions struggle before!
Celebrations:
- My niece was here on July 16th. We fixed the fence around the raspberries (a HUGE UFO), toured the garden and identified everything I planted (that’s growing), picked rhubarb, chickweed, herbs, cherry tomatoes, and a handful of strawberries…prepared the rhubarb for juice…made a salad with the chickweed, carrots, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds and grated cheese…made the last of the carrots in the fridge into a salad and into carrot noodles (another UFO)…made grapefruit juice from some grapefruit that needed used (another UFO)…made orange mango pineapple popsicles (another UFO)…watched a movie on TV…she played with the Barbies for a bit…we played Clue - I won 1 of the 6 (?) games...we made ice cream floats. All in all, a fun day and I was able to mark some items off my list.
- My summer banner went live on the Wondercafe2 site on July 17th. This is the final commissioned banner I did for the site.
- on July 19th, I received an email that I was a winner in the World Watercolour Month draws! Honestly, I've never participated in World Watercolour Month, except to enter the draws, and I've entered the other monthly(ish) Doodlewash draws for years without winning. This time I did! My prize arrived on August 1st! These watercolours will be a massive leap up from the dollar store set I've been using! I might need to invest in some watercolour paper now!
My niece was back on August 3rd! We completely rearranged the solarium and deck sales for my "Save the Chautauqua”Art Sale in the solarium! You are invited to come check it out each weekend from now to the September long weekend. This is a great opportunity to see my art in person and pick up some early Christmas gifts.
- On August 4th I completed my 1,800th sky drawing on the ipad since April 27, 2021!
- I published two more comic strips in the paper and posted them online.
Recently Completed:
Since the last newsletter, I've completed...
A SMILE painting (watercolour pencils, acrylics, Inktense pencils, Posca paint pens, glitter glue on 9x12 mixed media paper) inspired by a process by Whitney Freya
I completed my Inner Circle Summer Solstice EXPAND mandala. It is a "wheel of reflection" in mandala form as each ring depicts (moving out from large centre circle) wins, failures, wisdoms, what I want to change, possibilities, and actions I will take.
I played with Charlotte Hamilton's 5-minute self-portraits process using the larger reference photo for these explorations. Each one sure has a different personality!
- I completed more mini collages on 4.5x6 mixed media paper
- I finished my 31st cartoon comic booklet! You can view it here: https://www.facebook.com/beth.richardson.10/videos/1134956600898476
In Beth's Kitchen:
On July 20th, I made the rhubarb juice we had started earlier in the week and ended up with 13 cups. There was less rhubarb than I expected when we picked it. Fingers crossed for a second (and possibly third) picking.
Jigsaw Puzzles:
Since my last letter, I completed a 1,000 piece puzzle
UFO (UnFinished Object) Update:
- While not a creative UFO, I did finally get a bunch of filing completed, and I sorted a year and half's worth of receipts - ones I didn't need to keep were discarded. That is one box finally off my dining room table!
- Other UFO's completed are mentioned above.
Courses and Challenges (free and paid):
- Angela Murray's 6 week Painting Happiness (free) course - I completed my canvas mandala on July 14th (acrylics, Posca pens on 13 inch round canvas). This was MORE fun than I expected (and I expected to have lots of fun)! I might get some more round canvases and paint more.
- Amanda Sophia's free mini course on Feng Shui - paused
- Amanda Sophia’s free Geomancy & Land Healing course - not started yet.
- Amanda Sophia's free mini Divine Woman Awakening course on the Celtic Wheel of the Year - we're in Lughnasadh now, the midpoint between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox known as the second harvest, that falls around August 1st for the celebration day. The Irish goddess associated with Lughnasadh is Danu, the mother of Ireland, and this is a time of abundance as we "reap what we've sown." It is also a time to let go of what is no longer needed.
- Hillary Faye's (paid) Eternal Beauty course - with the Calgary Stampede over, I was able to start this course on July 15th. I listened to the guided meditation audios for each of the 6 weeks of the course, and will go back and complete more of the suggested work for each week.
- I'm practicing my drum playing daily, and still haven't moved onto the next lesson yet.
- Recipes, Remedies, and Rituals Ayurveda course practices: eating only my personal portion size during each meal - I'm also playing around with how many meals I eat each day (in the past it's been 5-6 if you count the large snacks) and doing abdominal rubbing throughout the day to help with digestion/elimination and overall relaxation of the body.
Works in progress:
Currently, I'm working on...
- a 9x12 page of watercolour play
- seated forward bends! It's been a challenge to keep doing my practice (my daily sun salutations and Qigong have completely fallen by the wayside for now as they require just too much energy). I'm mainly doing my seated forward bend in the tub when I have my evening bath.
2nd row (L-R): Mar. 11, Mar. 18, Mar. 25
3rd row (L-R): Apr. 1, Apr. 8
4th row (L-R): Apr. 15, Apr. 22, Apr. 29
5th row (L-R): May 6, May 13, May 27
6th row (L-R): June 3, June 10
7th row (L-R): June 17, June 24, July 8
Bottom row (L-R): July 15, Aug. 5
Featured Items for Sale:
"Magical Moments in my Day Journal: for the extra special moments all around me" 6x9 lined journal (2022/2023) $15 or from Amazon https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CJLKZ3KB
Please contact me at thechautauqua@gmail.com or phone 403-352-3837 to make a purchase.
Upcoming Projects:
"Save the Chautauqua”Art Sale in the solarium! You are invited to come check it out each weekend from now to the September long weekend. This is a great opportunity to see my art in person and pick up some early Christmas gifts.
- I offer Pay-What-You-Can Distance Reiki/Energy Healing sessions. Energy healing works great from any distance and I've sent Reiki healing as far away as Queensland, Australia. Please, contact me to set up your healing session.
"I have been suffering with Long COVID for over a year and have tried every healing modality in the book to get my energy back. Beth has been gifting me with healing Reiki energy for quite some time now and I have, for the first time in over a year, started to feel like myself again. Much of my weakness has dissipated, and the dark cloud that I have been stewing under has lifted. Thank you Beth. ♥️" - Carla, Esthetician, Nova Scotia
Thanks for reading, and as always, feel free to share with anyone you think might enjoy it.
Beth
~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~
Thank you so much for your support, and again, if you would like to receive this newsletter directly via email please email: thechautauqua@gmail.com and ask to be added to the mailing list. Thank you!
Back issues of this newsletter can be found here: https://thechautauquanewspaper.blogspot.com/ under the category "Artist Newsletter"
If you would like to support my artistic journey, please consider purchasing my artwork, items available in person at 4910-47 St, Mirror, AB
or by making a donation via
Mail a cheque or money order (made out to Beth Richardson – Chautauqua) to Box 261 Mirror, AB T0B 3C0
E-transfer to thechautauqua@gmail.com
PayPal at https://paypal.me/thechautauqua (note: you will need to sign into PayPal first, and then specify the amount)
Your support and kindness are always greatly appreciated, and I look forward to continuing to bring joy and inspiration! Thank you so much and have a marvellous day!
Wednesday 7 August 2024
Monday 5 August 2024
From TEA for the Bitter Times Created by Beth Richardson ©2022
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
to purchase decks: https://thechautauquanewspaper.blogspot.com/p/products-for-sale.html
Friday 2 August 2024
August 2, 2024 Chautauqua
Sigh…………………………………..
It has been an
intense couple of weeks for me. Between
the heat warnings, humidity and wildfire smoke, my poor body has been pretty
stressed. Thankfully, I have been doing
better than the previous two summers when I spent the heat warning days in
extreme pain and was unable to even get out of bed. Thank goodness for ice cream - the ONLY
reason I’m still going.
In addition, I
faced some difficult choices regarding this paper.
In the past, I have
always been able to keep my expenses paid in full, and on time. Last year, when the printing increases
started, I made adjustments so I was able to keep things going as I’d always
done.
Then this year! Increases continued across the board, not
just the printing, even as I struggled to cut costs to keep my expenses
manageable. Added to that, Canada Post
service has dramatically gone downhill. For
example, it took a MONTH for a cheque mailed in Alix to reach me here in Mirror! And, some payments still haven’t arrived!
One advantage of
these two very anxious weeks, when I had NO idea if I was going to be able to
continue The Chautauqua in print form as the press threatened to stop printing
till my arrears are paid, is that I have looked at other options (I still have
the best press and printing price!), I’ve connected with new people, and am
looking at alternate forms of funding (there “may” be a grant I qualify for?
Fingers crossed)
I will continue to publish in print as long as I can, and I thank you all for your loyalty, support and patience as I navigate this rocky patch.
Beth
Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14AfIX2EpnHOYt51dSGSiIre5AoGG9vKc/view?usp=sharing
Whether you've enjoyed reading The Chautauqua from the first issue 22+ years ago, are a brand new reader, or somewhere in between, I sincerely hope that The Chautauqua has enriched your life, as much as it has enriched mine publishing it. If you would like to help ensure it continues to enrich others like yourself, I ask you to please consider making a donation to The Chautauqua. There are three methods available:
Mail a cheque or money order (made out to Beth Richardson – Chautauqua) to Box 261 Mirror, AB T0B 3C0
E-transfer to thechautauqua@gmail.com
PayPal at https://paypal.me/thechautauqua (note: you will need to sign into PayPal first, and then specify the amount)
Your support and kindness is always greatly appreciated, and I look forward to continuing to bring joy and inspiration to you with each issue. Thank you so much and have a marvellous day!
Contact The Chautauqua via email: thechautauqua@gmail.com or via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChautauqua
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