Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Color Play: A Study in Orange, Red, and Pink

The work of an artist is often more like play. It could be said that all those who enjoy their right livelihood are playful on the job! I am playing with the cheerful colors of orange, red and pink today, with a touch of yellow for fun. Some of these images are my own and some are inspirational touchstones for me.

Traditional furniture with zesty colors creates a youthful space at home.

Silk fusion is a playful fiber art technique I enjoy. This piece is now ready for embellishment.

The pinks and coppery oranges in the wool pile today are an obvious favorite of mine!

I believe this feather has been overlaid on an orange and pink backdrop. Fun!

What colors are you playing with today?

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Colorful, Young, Around-the-World Inspiration

How are you inspired? Do you seek out inspiring activities and people, making new friends and traveling to distant lands? (You would be my hero.) Is inspiration something that just happens for you, hitting you like a bolt of lightening from out of the blue? (Meaning it probably doesn't happen very often, but if it does, you are my hero.) Perhaps inspiration comes to you in the same way it comes to me...by my sitting in a particular chair. I actively seek out the unique and sublime from the office chair I've had for 25 years. I have not had the Wonderful Worldwide Web for that long, but this chair has seen me through a lot of inspiring moments!

Being only an aspiring traveler and occasional dinner party guest, it is important to my creative life that I find other ways to bring refreshing news and ideas to me. I have made it a habit to spend 30 minutes every day taking an online trip around the world, where I feast upon the latest resources and uplifting inventions I find there. How do you bring inspirational ideas into your daily life?

Three Inspirations from my recent Travels

The Blue Marble Project

Rock stars, presidents, kids, scientists, artists, explorers, and eco-celebrities...even the Dalai Lama and the Pope, have received blue marbles.

In 2009, the wildly popular, absurdly simple, neuroscience-based initiative of marine biologist Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, has shared blue marbles around the world with millions of people in celebration of our beautiful, fragile, planet.

Now, The Blue Marbles Project has set out to pass a blue marble through every person's hand on earth, with a simple message of gratitude along with it.

So, the "rules" remain pure and simple.
1. The marble must be blue (any shade, preferably glass).
2. When you get one, give it away to someone as a token of gratitude (whenever you like).
3. Share your story with the world (however you like).

Just play the Blue Marble game! Don't over think it. You'll love it.
Contact Julie Starke to get some blue marbles for yourself, your classroom or event, and start spreading blue gratitude.


The Creative Embroidery resource of Stef Francis

Do you get excited by the needle arts in Europe? My research, and perhaps someday my personal experience, has shown me a huge needle art community throughout Europe. One of the new-to-me favorite magazines to read is Embroidery, The Textile Art Magazine (the Embroiderer's Guild magazine). Through this resource, while firmly planted in my office chair, I have learned of  Stef Francis. If I were in Great Britain today, I would visit the "World of Space-Dyed Threads and Fabrics" run by Stef Francis. On her website, you will find a huge range of hand-dyed yarns, threads, fabrics, and fibers. I am told that most are dyed by Stef in her unique range of colors, which I just love! Doesn't her fiber and textile kit look like fun? I believe that in another life, I was a royal or aristocratic lady with my retinue, creating famous embroideries. Please let me know when it is teatime.


The Amazing World of Richard Clarkson

My final inspirational person today is a young designer I have found from my other fantasy life...the world of Twitter.  It is there that through the help of another hip young man, the charming Brett of IAmLab (my new favorite blog and resource for #handmade love) I found Richard Clarkson (see how this armchair friend-making is fruitful: and young and hip). Truly, these things wouldn't happen to me in real life.

What Richard makes will just astound you, if napping on your sofa while a gentle, non-wet thunder burst in your dining room seems like fun to you. Right? I love the romance of a light show on a cloudy night, and Richard has designed a way to bring that into your home! Watch this little video to see what I mean, and then imagine having this light fixture be the conversation piece at your next dinner party. I would attend that party!

There are so many ways that inspiration can happen. If a bolt from the blue happens to you today, I hope you will drop me a note and let me hear about it.

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne





Monday, February 10, 2014

Building Bridges between Artists and Consumers

Hello Fred!
Have you ever wanted to be a patron of the arts? Perhaps you already are, or perhaps you think that this activity sounds a bit stuffy? I have always thought that I need to uplift and support Creatives of all types. I once paid a nickle for my friend's art fair entry. She was devastated, devastated I tell you, that no one wanted to buy her lovely sketch of Fred, the family dog. We were in kindergarten, and even then, I knew that being an art patron was something I'd enjoy!

There are many legitimate reasons to support artists, especially if you are one yourself. I believe that the arts are part of any society that wants to experience true prosperity. The work of artists inspire me to be better: a better person, a better businesswoman, and a better artist. Art helps us express our values. It also helps build bridges between cultures. For example, there are many differences between mothering in Colorado and Nigeria, but there are also huge similarities, and those communion experiences can be celebrated in art. That is a true gift.

www.artizanmade.com
I also believe that art and creativity are an important worldwide industry. I know that some artists don't like to be told they are making a consumer product, but I do know that nonprofit arts organizations in the US generate over $160 billion in economic activity annually, supporting 5.7 million jobs and investing in the passionate work of artists in American life. That my friends, is a lot of nickels.

I would like to build a bridge between you and a wonderful new artisan-loving organization on the scene today! ArtizanMade.com is a referral site that showcases curated shops of handmade goods, like the gorgeous pottery made by Niki Crosby of Happy Clay in Richmond, Virginia. The focus of ArtizanMade is on eco-fashion and home decor, and many of the members in this new endeavor are also members of the popular TAFA organization [Textile and Fiber Arts List].

Behind each product on the ArtizanMade website is a story. There are so many loving and powerful stories of creativity in the midst of adversity, or transformational experiences that take an artistic soul and guide them into new experiences with small business dreams. I love being part of these success stories...don't you?

www.happyclay.com
Happy Clay by Niki Crosby, my new favorite artist!
Instead of using my consumer purchasing power to profit a big-box store in 2014, my plan is to find again the sheer joy of supporting my fellow creatives, one Pencil Sketch of Fred at a time! Yes, there is truly joy in being a patron of the arts. I hope that you will join me in this delightful lifestyle via your own computer dial up. In fact, I have decided to become a member of ArtizanMade and add my dreams of artistic living to the chorus.

As ArtizanMade reminds us, "Together we can shape our world into something that makes sense, which is sustainable, beautiful and handmade." Amen


Thanks for stopping by, 

Georgianne 

Monday, February 3, 2014

Taking Care of Your 95-year-old Self

Some of us have had the privilege and the responsibility of taking care of a loved one in their old age. Whether or not anyone is prepared for being the caretaker or the elderly in this precious life situation, elder care is going to become a significant life passage experience for almost everyone.

If you reflect for a moment how you feel about being taken care of in your own old age, there are probably a few adrenaline rushes and worries that flood your system. I know this is my immediate reaction. I am an independent woman who likes to live My Way. I love my home, my community and my lifestyle. Will these cherished elements of My Life be taken away from me in old age?

Here's my thought: Vitality in your 90s and later begins today!!

Did you know that you can join me in the Self-loving Lifestyle that lets you be your own caretaker in the last decade of your life? The way you take care of yourself this very day honors your later years. Here's a few things for you to think about: know that I am here to support you.

  • Did you feed yourself today to create longevity?
  • Did you exercise your body today to create and maintain balance, strength, vital operating systems, and to minimize pain?
  • Have you ever learned how your vital lifestyle adds to your social lifetime?
  • Do you use your passions and interests to create meaningful experiences at every life stage?
  • We can join forces with others to safeguard the future vitality of our Planet! It is important to have a place to live.
  • Are you supported by relationships that withstand the test of time?
  • Would you like to take one financial action today on behalf of your 95-year-old self?

I am 54 years old. I have attended seven funerals in the past five months. Some of these delightful friends, family, and neighbors died in unexpected ways, and others suffered months or years of decline. All of this has truly empowered me to reflect on how I can care for myself during the next 40+ years so that my final months are filled with sacred moments of loving connection and enlivened experiences. It's my life and my choice. I can make powerful efforts today to safeguard that choice for myself and my loved ones.

You may be 20 years old, or perhaps you are already raising grandkids and downsizing -- there is never a wrong time to begin caring for your one, true, precious self!

Will you join me? I would love to hear from you and we can begin brainstorming together your options for being your own primary caretaker. My work as a health coach is centered on hearing your ideas and helping you move in the direction of your choice.

Comment to this post and I promise, I will be in touch! Follow this blog and learn many ways you can create a Self-loving Lifestyle.

Until then, thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne Holland
Nestle And Soar!
Creative Health Coaching