Happy new year! (plus: my holiday art project)
“Know yourself fearlessly (even quietly) for all the things you are” Aberjhani
Happy January, friends!
I hope that you’ve entered the new year feeling great, or at the very least, rested. 2016 was an intense year for so many (also: wild, turbulent, joyful, emotional, expansive, and over the brim with lessons to be learned, then learned again).
I’ve expanded so much this year and sometimes even joyful growth felt miles outside of my comfort zone. I tried to keep my eyes wide open about what it would be like to care for a new baby full time and also run a business from home, but of course I also hoped for a semi-manageable transition.
Naturally, the transition has been soul-transforming and also breathtakingly hard in lots of ways. Passion, stubborn determination, and an amazing support system have gotten me through the past seven months.
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Thank you for being (plus: finished paintings, an upcoming sale, and more!)
“The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach” Seneca
I hope this week’s blog post brings you a little color and joy, especially this week when life has felt so very intense around the world.
Isaac and I were out walking in the neighborhood the other day when we discovered this sign:
LOVE! I’ve carried this message around with me since.
I'd like to read more, please»5 ways to fill your well (plus, painting progress!)
“The wound is the place where the light enters you” Rumi
How do you fill your well?
This week I’ve been thinking about how to fill back up our wells when we’re feeling depleted / tired / stressed.
Ive been stumbling through my days lately as Isaac is going through a growth spurt and has been waking up many times throughout the night. I know we’ll get to the other side of this but in the meantime I’ve been seeking ways to keep my spirits up.
I’ve made progress on my stickers, which always makes me happy, and so that’s the first way I’ve found to fill the well: carve out even a few minutes here and there to do the thing you most enjoy doing.
Here’s month 11, which I finished last week:
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The animal collection is LIVE! plus, other updates
“Why is patience so important? Because it makes us pay attention” Paulo Coelho
Happy October!
Here we are in one of my favorite months of the year as the temperatures begin to drop and the leaves change color. Is anyone else breathing a sigh of relief now that the last waves of summer heat are over? I love warmer clothes, hot drinks, and excuses to snuggle up. Here’s a recent picture of Isaac and I enjoying some weekend cuddle time:
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Freedom, art, and the magic of beginnings
“And suddenly you know: It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings” Meister Eckhart
I love the shifting seasons (hello, fresh start and cooler weather!), and always use the season markers as an excuse to reflect back. I was happy then to receive the most beautiful reminder of what it is to take a journey right before the equinox.
Here was my reminder, via Facebook:
Love.
There are days when I feel like I’ve been on this path forever, others when I feel like I’ve just begun. Thank you Universe for the reminder that at the core of everything we’re all simply seeking joy and freedom.
I’m feeling major gratitude for my younger self and the decision three years ago to just begin. What followed that beginning has set my heart and life in motion in so many unexpected ways.
Trust the magic of beginnings.
I'd like to read more, please»Monthly stickers progress and life around here lately
“The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us” Ashley Montagu
Surprise happiness.
Have you ever realized, while in the midst of an experience, that you can tangibly feel your happiness? That you just know you’re in the middle of making a lasting memory? It’s like the laughter and smiles and conversations create an afterglow like the sun’s warmth against your skin.
As life has felt so overwhelming this summer, I’ve held onto the moments that feel this pure in love and joy.
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My second year: a business review
“Who could be so lucky? Who comes to a lake for water and sees the reflection of moon” Rumi
I feel like it was just yesterday that I wrote this post about lessons learned in my first year of business. Now here I am at the end of year 2 for another business review, feeling the accumulation of more months and more lessons of all kinds. So much that’s happened this year has felt like stumbling across the moon’s reflection on the water: unexpected but beautiful.
Artwork
Scroll down for a snapshot of all the paintings I’ve done this business year (June 2015 – June 2016):
I love seeing sections of all of the paintings together, especially as patterns start to emerge when they’re side by side.
The patterns I see right away: my favorite colors to paint with are variations of blue and turquoise. Every painting I’ve done this year features an animal. Most of the recent paintings have no words included, which is a shift from last year. My artwork is becoming even more child-friendly.
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When small actions add up (plus, a birthday giveaway and new paintings!)
“We can always choose to perceive things differently. We can focus on what’s wrong in our lives, or we can focus on what’s right” Marianne Williamson
Today is my 33rd birthday.
I began my creative journey not long before I turned 30. Turning 30 didn’t scare me, but I was determined to enter a new decade feeling excited about the direction of my life. Having zero clues about where to begin, I started simply dreaming about what I’d like to offer the world.
I didn’t open my art shop / website to the public until late June after my 31st birthday – that’s how long it took me to discover my path, research the steps, and paint a first collection. I remember that year of discovery felt endless as I so badly wanted to begin my new life, but what I couldn’t see at the time were the wheels I’d already set in motion.
I couldn’t see that the late nights of slowly learning how to paint, the lunch breaks at my 9-5 job spent researching shipping restrictions and packaging, the daily to-dos that always seemed to multiply – all of it proved that my new life had already begun.
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