Friday, January 17, 2014

charged up

I am feeling very charged up these days! Here's what's been happening:

My "make your own portable shrine" workshop is now listed on the Leapin' Lizards event calendar! Even though the date had been solidified last week, it didn't feel official until I saw it on the website on Monday morning. I am really looking forward to this workshop, and in preparation, I took a bin full of supplies and charged them for a few hours in the Wolf Full Moon on Wednesday night! I feel like the first full moon of the year has an extra-special quality to it, and I think that's a nice type of energy to put into a personal shrine. If you'd like to check out my workshop, here's the link to the Leapin' Lizards website: http://www.leapinlizards.biz/ ...and here's the link to the calendar listing!
http://www.leapinlizards.biz/freeport_calendar/calendar.cgi?month=2&view=Event&event_id=7023

On Wednesday, I finished my first painting of 2014! Yes, I had started this particular painting at the end of 2013, but I didn't finish and sign it until Wednesday, so technically it's from this year. I am still trying to decide on a title...stay tuned.


I also had my first Etsy sale of 2014 yesterday morning! This sale was to a repeat customer, which is great, and this person also happens to be the first customer I ever had on Etsy...and she bought on the very first day I opened my Etsy shop! Yes, that's a lot of italics, but that's how good I feel about it. 

Yesterday afternoon, I treated myself to a thirty minute Reiki session from Amanda Heath Walden in Bath. This was very easy to do, because it was free! I'd never had a Reiki session before, but I'd always been curious, and since Amanda is offering free introductory sessions during the month of January, I figured it would be a wonderful opportunity to give it a try. I am SO glad I did, because I left there feeling refreshed, relaxed, and fully charged with positive energy! If you're in the area and you're curious about Reiki, please check out Amanda and her business, Joyful Heart Reiki and Laughter Yoga. Here's a link to her Facebook page: 


I am excited about all of these positive "firsts", and I'm hopeful that 2014 will have a lot more in store! 







Thursday, January 9, 2014

potent potential

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." - Edith Lovejoy Pierce

The new year is always filled with potential and possibilities. I am excited about what is already unfolding in my life!

Last night was the opening reception for "Winter Wonderland," the Five Rivers Arts Alliance group show I am a part of at Coastal Orthopedics in Brunswick. It was the first art-related reception they've ever had there, so it was a fairly low-key event. I spent some time chatting with Jen, one of the directors at Coastal Orthopedics. She gave me a tour of the facilities...and let me tell you, that place is huge! Not only do they offer orthopedic care and sports medicine (including surgery, rehab, and massage therapy) but they offer classes (such as self-defense), they have gym facilities, they host kids' soccer matches, they have an adult dodgeball league, and they are forming an "adult recess" group, allowing people to get together and play schoolyard games like kickball and capture the flag! Even though only a small handful of people came to the opening reception last night, Jen told me that every day, there are a few hundred people who walk through their front door...and that sounds very good to me. If you're curious about what they have to offer (or if you'd like to stop by to check out the art!), here is a link to their website: www.coastalortho.com ; if you'd like more details about the show itself, here's a link to the Five Rivers Arts Alliance website: www.5raa.org

After I left Coastal Orthopedics, I went over to the Topsham Public Library to drop off my two submissions for the 6th annual Joy of Art juried group show. I was able to get in and out quickly, and since I was there fairly late in the evening, I was able to take a peek at the art that had already been dropped off. The Joy of Art show is usually a fairly conservative affair, but judging from the pieces I saw yesterday, I think this year's show is going to be very cool...and there's still another drop-off date to come. I'm looking forward to the opening on Saturday, January 18th! Here's a link to the Topsham Public Library website: www.topshamlibrary.org

Finally, the most outside-of-the-box thing I've got going on right now actually involves boxes: I'm going to be giving a "Make Your Own Portable Shrine" workshop at Leapin' Lizards in Freeport! I've been communicating with Melissa, the owner of Leapin' Lizards, for a little while now, and we just nailed down the date last night: Monday, February 3rd, 6 pm - 7:30 pm. It's so new, as of this moment, it's not even listed on their website/calendar, but I will certainly let you know when it is up! Here is a link to their website in the meantime: www.leapinlizards.biz. I will provide more details the closer we get, but I just couldn't wait to share my news!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

new year...new frontier

Last night, while I was up in my studio painting, I decided to give my dear friend Tim a call to wish him (and his husband, Rick) a very happy new year. They had just returned to New York from a post-Christmas visit with Rick's family in Ohio. Tim made a point to tell me that he put one of my magnets ("Back Yard Buddha", to be precise) in Rick's son Andrew's stocking, and that it was a very big hit. "Your magnet is on its way to Seattle right now!" he said. "Wow, I have to update my list," I said...so, without further ado, here is the list of places where my work is now living (as of December 31st, 2013):

New York                  
Connecticut             
Massachusetts                                 
New Hampshire      
Vermont                    
Virginia
Colorado                   
California                  
Washington                          
Michigan                   
Wisconsin                
Louisiana                                                              
Canada                       
England
and, of course,
Maine

Now, this got me thinking, and two thoughts immediately sprang to mind: 

1. These are just the places I know about. Who knows how many more might be on this list? I know that a lot of people have given my magnets as gifts. Some people have told me where they were sending their purchases, but some have not; plus, people are buying my magnets from places like The Mix in Brunswick and She Doesn't Like Guthrie's in Lewiston, places where I'm not standing there and overseeing each and every purchase.  

2. How many more places will be a part of this list in a year from now? Right now, I've got thirteen states and two countries besides the United States represented. I don't want to venture a guess, but I am looking forward to finding out whatever the answer will be. 

Is your state (or country, if you're not living in the US) on this list? Would you like it to be? Have you given my work as a gift? If so, I'm curious: did it end up in one of these places, or has it found a home somewhere else? Please let me know in the comments...there's always room for more on this list!