She Inspires Me

This is the balcony where my three and a half year old and I sit together while my younger one is napping. I sit across from her while she sketches and I read a book or write in my journal - not for long stretches of course because there are a lot of breaks to get water, pee, get more snacks, more toys...But one thing seems to be consistent with my little artist - the pencil or crayons are constantly in her hands while she sketches in her sketch book or any paper that she finds. I on the other hand have been avoiding a sketchbook and taking a 'break' from drawing and painting revisiting my books and writing. What I found amazing as I study this miraculous little being is how she draws for the pure love of it and there is no labeling, deciding, planning on her part - she is completely pure in her act of creating.

And then I remember when I was little and how much I enjoyed simply moving my hand on paper without any thoughts of selling the work or even completing it. There were no rules just total enjoyment of doing what naturally comes. With her sketchbook glued to her wherever she goes, my little one inspired me and reminded me what it was like to be a true artist without the label of any profession or planning and organizing of any business. Just the pure joy of creating... She is my little guru.


"The power of imagination makes us infinite"

John Muir

My Juice Fast and NY trip

I recently decided to do a juice fast to clean my system. I felt like my body wasn't clear and as much yoga as I did (which usually gives me that clear feeling) I felt like my inside needed to be cleaned out. It's hard to describe in words.

Anyhow, I have been researching it for a few months now looking into juicers that are silent (I have two sound sensitive girls at home!) and found one that I highly recommend to anyone. It's called the Breville Juice Fountain Plus - INCREDIBLE and really easy to use and clean. It's a silent as a juicer could be but not as loud as many that I have heard. It had the best reviews and can take a whole apple with no peeling since it is so strong and it separates the pulp and any hard components of the fruit or vegetable juiced. I'm sounding like an infomercial here but I always love to recommend things that have enhanced my life.

Anyhow, I did the juice fast for 6 days! I didn't expect to do it for that long but after the first few days it got easier so I thought why not. I dropped 5 pounds and have kept it off (three weeks later now) and even lost one or two more just by eating healthy. I'm not even that strict with myself though but I think I just cleared some toxins and got my body to declog and work better which I believe may have helped my metabolism.Another perk was energy and clear thinking which was one of the main goals for me. Energy and clear thinking can be desperately needed for any mom raising little ones. I began journaling and have been feeling a lot more alive and refreshed since.

I went to NY after and my husband surprised me by taking me to see 'Wicked'. One word - AMAZING! I'm usually known for getting edgy even at the best of shows after sitting for more than two hours but I didn't blink the whole time and could've gone the three hours with no intermission. It was a complete piece of art from the voices to the costumes to the brilliant story - I was almost in tears when the audience gave a standing ovation (myself included ofcourse).

So that is my personal news. I have been selling the winter show paintings that haven't sold to clear out space. I usually paint certain paintings for the art festivals that I do in the winter here in Florida and whatever doesn't sell later goes on ebay for cheaper to clear the way for new ones. Cleaning out - that's what it's been about for me~ Love the feeling of cleanliness and clarity...My paintings will be listed on ebay so keep an eye out for discounted prices. My ebay store link can be found on my website: http://www.mystical-artist.com/

"Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it."
-Ella Williams

Awake

This painting is my recent large piece that I will be showing in my upcoming shows in Miami Beach, Las Olas and Key Biscayne art festivals. I spoke with a few artists and collectors in the Boca Raton art festival and was inspired to try out a realistic face with earthy colors. I had the image of this type of cut-off of just one side of the face. I usually have the eyes closed in my women but have had the image of an eye open and a kaleidescope image in the eyes. I have always been intrigued by eyes in general and have seen eyes with those shapes before.
This painting came about as a result of events that got me out of my comfort zone so to speak. Even with painting this, I explored a new perspective and stretched my painting abilities to a new place that I usually don't venture. I also realized that I had more resistance than I thought and by becoming aware of it I was able to let it go. The awareness that came out of the experience is what got me to realize that I was in a slumber in my understanding of certain aspects of my life. I am still learning every day and by simply admitting to myself what 'is' I am able to wake up to more of my potential. I know that many of us can easily be sleep walking and not realize it in ourselves (it's much easier to see it in others). I want to live my life fully alive, fully awake and will do whatever it takes to achieve that - with a nice dose of patience of course...

"The unexamine life is not worth living"

-Socrates

A New Day - Blessings for the New Year

The painting I am posting is called 'A New Day'. I thought it would be appropriate on this New Year's Evening. My husband is working tonite, and my two beautiful girls are sleeping. New Year's is not what it used to be for parents of little ones - but that's ok with me, I like to use it as a time of reflection and excitement for a new time.

My wishes for the world are that we awaken to more compassion for one another and begin working together as a unite rather than separately. I think as humans we haven't scratched the surface of our potential. I also speak about myself as I am on this road of discovery every day and learning moment by moment as I venture through my life's journey. I wish for the world true peace. The kind of peace that is contagious and uplifting. I am going to meditate on that tonite - may we all reach our ultimate and highest potentials and learn to communicate from a place of love and kindness.

"The little dissatisfaction which every artist feels at the completion of a work forms the germ of a new work"

-Berthold Auerbach

My Vipassana Meditation Practice

I thought that I would start blogging more of my personal life that is so intertwined with the art that comes through me. I have always just written about the art and found it hard and choppy to do and I realize that there's a reason why. I find that the easiest thing to do is just write from the heart and speak my absolute truth. I want to write my story and mix my art in there - so that it's a full picture, a more holistic perspective.

I titled this entry regarding my Vipassana meditation practice since that has been a topic of interest and a personal inspiration in my life. I have been meditating since shortly after my first daughter's birth - she was born in August of 2005. After she was born it took me a lot of energy to adjust since I am not the best person to be sleep deprived! I was exhausted and full of uncertainty. But what I did know was that I wanted to be a calm mother. So I began to meditate and continued a more active regimen of yoga as I started to practice Bikram yoga religiously.

Meditating was great, but I found that a lot of times I would be sitting still and thinking and daydreaming rather than focusing on one object as many types of meditation encourage. I recently (a few months ago) learned of a type of meditation called 'Vipassana'. This is the type of meditation that Buddha practiced which had ultimately awoken him to realizing his true essence. I for one am a big fan of the truth! I think that there are so many perspectives to our understanding of life yet there is a truth that is hard for us to see if we internalize and personalize our stories and beliefs - so in order to see this we need to step back from ourselves and our identifications and allow ourselves to be truly objective.

So I began Vipassana and it opened a whole new can of worms...Wow! All of a sudden I had become aware of my insanity by simply observing it. It was unbelievable to me to witness what was happening to my body simply in response to thoughts and feelings. I was starting to recognize that feelings and physical sensations were almost immediately in sync - they actually were in sync, they danced together. I began to recognize my reactions and found that my identification with certain thoughts convinced me that those thoughts weren't there and that they were reality. weird? crazy! I am starting to understand more of what Eckhart Tolle says in his books.

So at first it was really hard for me to do, but I liken it to having a lot of junk to sort through in your house. It sucks to go through but you feel so much clearer and your home functions much easier as a result. What I found was compassion for myself and then compassion for others. A realization that we all struggle to find peace in our worlds, we all have turbulence and when I see people being miserable to the world, I know that they are reflecting their ten times worse misery in their own worlds.

I want to note that what got me turned on to this meditation was hearing Jenny Phillips on Oprah's soul series. She was a vipassana meditation teacher who began teaching in prisons and found incredible effects on the inmates who practiced this type of meditation. I then revisited a book that I bought years ago in Amsterdam called 'Mindfulness in Plain English' by Henepola Gunaratana. I remember the book being hard to read at the time that I bought it (before my first daughter was conceived) and now totally getting something from it. So if anyone is looking to learn to meditate I highly recommend this book.

So with that, I would like to share this beautiful qoute:

"We convince by our presence"

-Walt Whitman

The Way

This painting 'The Way' told me a story after finishing it. The story is of a woman who was shattered and unwhole in her life. As she got older and walked into her sadness, doubt, uncertainty, fear and many more unpleasant states - she found her true self and realized that she had been buying into the collective pain that women have gone through and are still going through in the world.

Through this she became whole, leaving the pieces and fragments from her past behind as you can see in the center image of the woman being solid moving away from the pieces around her. As she did this, she caught the attention of women everywhere who are young and haven't yet found the way that this woman found. But somehow her wholeness made clear to them of their identification with being unfragmented and torn inside - literally seen in their 'holes' within regardless of their youth and beauty.

So this painting showed me how all you need is one person to change the world - just one person to evoke the curiousity in others. The top of the painting shows a spiral and that spiral to me was a view from above of the procession coming in from all walks of life to realize their greatness and come home to themselves. The truth is, that truth just always rings true.

Realization: I know that no matter what I do in my life, if it comes from the heart it will always lead me to the best possible path.

"The best way out is always through"

-Robert Frost

Check out the December 2008 Yoga Magazine Issue:

There is an article in there about my affirmation series.