fun-filled february

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it has turned out to be a very busy month for me! Here's a quick recap:

Last weekend, I was a part of the first-ever FebFest group art show in Freeport! I haven't shown my work in Freeport much, so I was happy to have the opportunity to do so. Traffic was a bit slow (it was cold out there!), but I'm glad I participated. I was able to sell some magnets, I was able to meet some new artists, and I was able to reconnect with some other artists who I don't see very often. Not bad at all!

my FebFest display!

Back in January, I was asked to re-design the logo for Curtis Creative Spaces, the online gallery that is run by Curtis Memorial Library! I don't want to give away too much just yet, but I can safely say that I have been hard at work, and I am hoping to have my painting finished by the end of next week! Fingers crossed...

Another "fingers crossed" event: I just sent in my entry form to have a painting considered for the Curtis Memorial Library's "Ekphrastic Poetry Cafe"! I love this idea: "Ekphrastic poetry is a poem inspired by a work of art. The writer interprets a work of visual art and then creates a narrative in verse form that represents his or her reaction to that painting, photograph, sculpture or other artistic creation." How fun is that? I hope I get in!

About a week and a half ago, I got a call from Robin at Mister Bagel in Brunswick: I sold an "El Camino" print! I've sold a few prints of "That Heavenly Coffee" through Mister Bagel, but this was the first one of the "El Camino" prints to sell there, so I was very excited. Later that same day, I received an email from a gentleman asking me how he could get his own "El Camino" print. Sure enough, he had seen my work at Mister Bagel! We met the other day, and not only did he buy a print, he may have some commission work for me...we'll see what happens there! Can I use "fingers crossed" three times in a row? I think I just did. 

Lastly, I have been having a lot of fun on Instagram this month. I've been participating in the "#dangerdiarychallenge," which is a month long, photo-a-day project I wrote about in my previous blog post. If you've been following along, thank you! If you'd like to see what you've been missing, then please follow me on Instagram! 

Thanks for reading this! I hope you've been having a fun-filled February, too! 

blog-spiration

Inspiration comes in many forms. Sometimes, it can even come in the form of a blog post (or two)! I've recently been inspired by a couple of blog posts by Veronica Varlow, and I thought I would share them with you here. To be honest, I've been inspired by a lot of Veronica's blog posts- I am a fan of her writing and her approach to life- but for the purposes of this particular post, I'll limit myself to discussing these two. I have a feeling you will likely add her Danger Diary to your "regular reading" list! Is "blog-spiration" a word? Hmm...

The first one has to do with how you start your day (http://dangerdame.com/2014/12/15/2-things-you-need-to-know-to-change-the-entire-course-of-your-day/). Yes, it's true: I love my iPhone, and for a long time, I had a major habit of starting my day by lounging in bed, playing around on my phone (Facebook, email, etc). I say "had" because I was able to break this habit, thanks to the "no electronics for the first 20 minutes of your day" challenge posed in this blog post. Now, I begin my day by writing in a dream journal, followed by heading upstairs to my studio to paint. Isn't that so much better? I've even been making the effort to get up a little bit earlier just so I can be sure to get in some early-morning studio time if I have another morning commitment. This is major, because anyone who knows me knows that I am not a morning person. I've been spending at least 30 minutes in my studio every day that I'm home for several years now, but this early-morning time slot not only allows me to start my day off right, it makes me want to try to get into my studio more than once per day. So, if this helped me, maybe it can help you, too!

The second one is the "#dangerdiarychallenge" ( http://dangerdame.com/2015/01/29/the-28-day-danger-diary-instagram-photo-challenge/). This is a photo-a-day assignment on Instagram, and it has been so much fun to participate in! Each day has a theme (a view from a window, a favorite thing in your room, etc.) and the basic premise of the challenge is something I love to explore in my art: the beauty that's all around us, finding the divine in the ordinary, and celebrating how you see/feel/experience your world. Curious? Here's a link to my Instagram page: http://instagram.com/brushstrokesbymaria/!

So, now I'll ask you: are there any blogs that inspire you? Has anyone "challenged" you to begin a new and positive habit that has made your life better? I'd love to hear about it!