Core Values

2a08f-dsc00051

My friend Darrah over at Artcetera does this great thing every week called A Slice Of Life..where she posts a few photos taken from a day in her life. She inspired me to do the same at the end of my first day of school on Monday.

Today I planned to speak about my last ingredient to beginning the Creative Juicy Life: Affirmations, celebrations, and reflections…but I thought it would be best to save this juicy ingredient for the end of the week! I’ll definitely want to be doing a little celebrating and reflecting once I make my way through my first week back at school!

Instead, I feel inspired….just recently I had a very life changing and soul searching phone conversation with my dear friend Jennifer Lee. What can I say about Jennifer…she has this knack for knowing the right question to ask to prompt incredible self reflection…and she can transform the stories you tell about yourself, others, situations, or experiences into pockets to explore. She is a very soulful person, and I am grateful for our friendship. But, during our conversation, Jenn brought up an interesting thought…core values.

What are your core values in life? What is your life about? What are you taking a stand for?

Good questions, huh!?!

This really got me thinking….then I saw my photos that I posted here.

I’m all about Creativity and Art, chicas. You probably already guessed that. But for me, it goes deeper then experiencing my own Creativity and making my own Art. When I look at the photo above especially, I get it. I’m here to nurture Creativity–to share the powers of Art with others. I long to create environments where people can gather and experience their own Creativity and feel a shift in their life…no matter how minute or gigantic it may be.

A few months ago, I asked my friend Andrea if she would be interested in doing a workshop with me that would have to do with creating self portraits. But not the traditional idea of self portraits–really stretching the genre, and diving into the more spiritual, mysterious part of creating Art related to the self. She loved the idea as much as me. So we kept tossing ideas back and forth–but nothing seemed to really create magic. Then, one day in the shower it arrived….this experience I was trying to envision needed to be multi-dimensional–just like our souls. This workshop needed to dive into the different layers that make up our creativity as well as our perceptions of ourselves. That’s when it hit me…that the missing link was writing. I instantly thought of Christine at BlissChick, since both of us share similar ideas about Creativity and life. I was so excited when Christine was eager to jump on board and help form this vision.

For me, in creating this workshop, it is all about the Creative experience as a whole. There are no separate pieces here. It is not about one workshop over the other. It is not about coming to see me, or Christine, or Andrea. It is about beginning a journey, and having the freedom to travel down various roads, but still end up at your destination in the end. I’m excited about this. I’m excited to witness what happens in this type of environment where individuals are provided the opportunity to self reflect for a whole day–where they are encouraged to put paint on a brush, clay in their hands, and words on paper….all in honor of their own Creative spirit.

This is my core value. This is what I stand for. I want to wrap my arms around the world and heal it with Art. I want everyone to feel what I feel, when I’m alone here painting in the Dirty Footprints Studio. I want everyone to dig deep within themselves and find what lies as their core value in life as well. I think it’s possible through paint, clay, and word–absolutely! And I am here to help create these environments for you….that’s my mission…I gladly accept.

I look forward to the magic that is waiting at Creative Dig Workshop on September 26th.

Please visit the Creative Dig Workshop HERE for more details and to register.

Peace & Love.

Join The Paint Wisdom Newsletter!

My weekly newsletter is filled with studio updates,
announcements,& short musings intended to nourish your Artist Soul.