Channeled Creative Energy

My writing block, which has been going on since April if you can’t tell by my lack of posts, is no longer stifling my inner artist. As Julia Cameron, author of what many artists consider their Bible, The Artists Way, taught me that being blocked doesn’t mean the creative juices have stopped flowing. Since it is everything I can do just to write my daily Morning Pages, I have been channeling my creative energy and kept my inner artist happy with painting and arts and crafts.

My first piece was inspired by a quote that always makes you smile. Bob Marley ingrained in our heads that “Every little thing is gonna be alright” and as this really hit home with the aches and pains that my writing blockage has been causing, I decided it was the perfect quote to put on my wall. Here’s how I created this piece:

1) I began by modge-podging newspaper to the canvas.

2) Because I only wanted bits and pieces of the newspaper to stick to the canvas, I waited just a few minutes for it to semi-dry before pulling it off until I was happy with the amount left on the canvas.  I felt as though this gave the canvas an older, vintage look, which seems to be the theme of my home.

3) I then freehand sketched the letters, in a font I found online, onto the canvas.

4) For the painting portion, I wanted to maintain that vintage look across the entire piece so I mixed a bright yellow with a bit of grey to create an older, worn down looking yellow. Below was the end result and I’m happy to say that my inner artist feels great about it.

My next piece was inspired by one of my favorite blogs A Beautiful Mess. I followed all of her steps, mixed in a bit of my own personal taste, and created something I’ve fallen in love with. For a quick tutorial this is what I did:

1) I bought letter stickers from Michaels, and after being inspired by my first Bob Marley piece, I decided to follow the theme and use “Don’t worry ‘bout a thing”. (Clearly I will be displaying these pieces on top of one another.)  

2) For the canvas, I used an old painting, but you can use any vintage canvas or even create your own background. You can collage images from a magazine, use an old book, or newspaper, but make sure you don’t adore what you are using because you won’t see much of the pattern when your done.

3) I then arranged the letters on the canvas in a way that fancied my taste.

 

4) Time to paint! I used acrylic paint from Michaels, and I mixed mostly green with a bit of grey to maintain that vintage feel, and went to town. I had a great time playing with the strokes to determine which one I liked best, and which showed the right amount of each color. You can’t go wrong in this step.

5) After letting the canvas dry, peel the letters off to see your almost finished piece.

Although the words aren’t flowing, (I even felt as though I struggled writing this out), I’m discovering that our first art choice doesn’t mean we aren’t great in other platforms. I encourage everyone to try an art that you might’ve never tried before. You might discover that you’re actually pretty great in other specialties.

HAPPY ARTISTRY!   

Here to Help

A fun short story inspired by the image below...

We’re here to help you with your day. If you like coffee, I like coffee, if it’s tea that your organic self is craving, then it’s tea that I will serve you. I’m your cup, your everyday cup, the cup that helps you get through the days of long working hours, stream of conscience writing, horrible bosses and no sleep. The cup that serves you your special headache tea, and the coffee that helps you wake up in the morning so that you are not a bitch to your coworkers. When it’s cold, I’ll keep your drink warm, when it’s hot I’ll do my best to keep the condensation to a minimum. Whatever it is you need for a kickstart to the day, or a wind down after a day of giving yourself to everyone around you, I’ll be here to keep your sanity. I’m here for you and only you. As your cup, I’ll be your daily reminder to do something for you everyday. Whether it’s 15 minutes of coffee time in the morning, or a simple cup of morning milk, I will not let you down.

Just maybe remember to give me a little sip every now and then and a bit of lovin, that’s all I ask and I’m here for you.

Thinking Images

I am working on an article called the Power of Thought. Until that is ready for viewing, this is a collection of images that made me think and I like sharing thoughtful things so here...enjoy!

Ages and Stages of Life

Quite frankly, I have been uninspired to write. It took me awhile to figure out why, but fortunately, last night, I came to some sort of conclusion: I am a young professional in my mid-twenties going through what has been deemed as the "Quarterlife Crisis". There are a few books and articles written on this subject all of which are an attempt at explaining to the world why this phase in human development is significant, endless, exciting, terrifying, inspirational and debilitating. I have been lost for words because I have felt all of these things throughout my Quarterlife Crisis thus far, and through its ups and downs, I have simply not felt inspired to explain my revelations on life. This post below is an excerpt of the words I was unable to find to explain what this "Stage" feels like. Therefore, until the time when I can post a better explanation of the next revelation, ENJOY!

Ages and Stages of Life
-Unknown

From crawling, walking and babbling to
the angst and rebellion of the tween and
teen years, children go through a predictable
set of developmental stages. But
stages aren’t just a kid thing. In fact, every
decade poses its own predictable set of
“normative tasks,” says Dr. Diane Finley, a
developmental psychologist at Prince
George’s Community College in Largo, Md.,
and spokesperson for the American Psychological
Association. That’s psychology
speak for adult milestones.
But this isn’t your mother’s straightforward
life track. In the past, you got married
and had all your kids by your late 20s, spent
your 30s raising them and began seeing
them off to college by the time you hit your
40s, which paved the way for the empty
nest. Now, it’s more of a zigzag. You may be
spending your 20s and 30s laying the
groundwork for your career and not getting
married and starting a family until your
mid-30s or 40s or even later. That timing
can shift your personal course of development
and the life issues you’re dealing with,
so can divorce and the fact that we’re living
longer.
Whatever your situation, are you on
track to living your life to the fullest? Take
charge of your fate with this decade-bydecade
guide to maximizing your personal
sense of fulfillment.
Your 20s: The “Who Am I?” Years
Your 20s are a time of self-exploration,
confidence and skill building as you learn
how to exist in the workforce. This decade
is most forgiving because you’re young and
expectations among employers (and your
parents) are lower, especially if you’re supporting
yourself and therefore paying your
own tab. If you get married in your 20s and
have kids right away, you’ll have less leeway
to explore different aspects of your personality
because your life won’t be just about
you anymore. But whether your priorities
are centered around career or family, you
spend your 20s trying to answer the central
question: Who am I?
Success Rx
Have a plan. Your 20s can be an exciting
and tumultuous time, but don’t wing
them entirely. Formulate a basic plan about
what you’d like to accomplish personally
and professionally and where you’d like to
be at the end of the decade. But stay flexible.
“So many people bum themselves out
when they don’t live according to the
timetable they’ve got in their head,” says
Dr. Beth Erickson, a developmental psychologist
in Minnetonka, Minn.
If, for example, you don’t get married at
age 27 like you thought you would because
Mr. Right hasn’t come along yet, don’t panic
or blame yourself.
“There’s a difference between having a
basic plan and trying to control the universe
to meet that plan,” Erickson says.
Keep trying to accomplish your goals or
feel free to change them along the way and
shift your timing, if necessary. Better to do
that than, say, marry Mr. Not Right just because
he came along at the”right” time, or
to ditch Mr. Right just because you didn’t
plan on getting married until your 30s.
Go ahead: Move about the cabin.
While you’re living your plan, feel free to
deviate from it. Your 20s are perfect for trying
out various jobs, cities and partners, so
give yourself permission to test your
boundaries.
“There will never be a better time to experiment
with different life experiences
and discover facets of your personality,” Erickson
says.
In your 20s, it’s okay to quit your smalltown
accounting position or try your hand
at acting in Los Angeles or go to law school.
And if it doesn’t work out, don’t feel bad.
“Lots of things we think of as mistakes in
our 20s really aren’t,” says Erickson.
“They’re just experiences and choices that
didn’t fit us.”
Give yourself points for trying and for the
invaluable lessons you’ll learn about yourself
along the way.
Seek support. If you get married and
have kids in your 20s, “get emotional support
from other moms-to-be,” says Shellie
Fidell, a psychotherapist in private practice
at Women’s Healthcare Partnership in St.
Louis, Mo. Connecting with other moms
online is a great way to get parenting tips,
dissolve the isolation of taking care of a
newborn and feel part of a like-minded
community. Also, get a babysitter at least
once a month so you can forge an identity
as a couple. No matter what your age,
“don’t make your kids the center of your
life,” says Erickson. “It’s not good for you,
your marriage or your children.”

Creative Stories through Words, Fashion, Photography, and Nature

Eloquent Simplicity and Evocative Quality

Accented life can mean whatever you want it to mean. It can be the way you choose to live your life, or literally life accentuated. The blogs posted here will be as open minded as possible. I have recently discovered that I am not as open minded as I’d like to be. I call myself liberal minded, and believe to be open to new ideas and accepting of lifestyles I may not understand. But yet, I found that as time went on I only seemed to be open minded about the things that didn’t directly affect me. But when it came down to it, if people close to me, ie: those that directly affected me, were doing things that I strongly disagreed with, I was my own arch nemesis, I was close minded. I was unwilling to accept the way the people I loved most were choosing to live their life.

The bottom line there, or the silver lining I guess we could say is really that their life, is not my life to live. I can only control the decisions I make, the beliefs I have. When I feel strongly enough about those opinions, I can by all means express them through freedom of speech; however, I’m going to be more open to hearing what others have to say.

I wanted to create this blog as a way to express all things beautiful, imperfect, boundless, spiritual, philosophical and more. I would like this to simply be revelations I’ve had about life, and possibly help others grasp some understanding because of them.

Eating clouds through love that is forever boundless while finding the center of your own being so all else can be pure and mystical like a spiritual act of sex, or the way sex should be, and the natural physical beingness so that letting go of what you thought was real can be a little easier than the hardest thing - thus the travel along the voyage of accented life.