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Time to find your joy.

May 2, 2020 Comments Off on Time to find your joy. Inspiration

time to find joy as the dancing in the home continues. Normalcy of life. Dancing couples.

Your Home is your Place for Delight.

Is it time to find your joy? What delight are you finding in your home? What are the things around you that is bringing you pleasure? A comfortable chair, an old photo of your family, or looking out the window with the greening of the outside from the burst of the spring. These things can have a great impact on your psyche.

The concept that the tangible object- the soft pink blanket that you wrap around yourself to escape the day, the vase of fresh tulips on your dining room table with its call to spring, or the painting you look at everyday are intangible objects that give us a sensation of escape, or enjoyment.

There is a deep desire for a moment of rapture- a glimmer of the lightness and beauty in an item around you. Not necesarily “happiness” which can be defined as how we feel about our work, the people in our lives or the meaning we may embed into our daily life. Joy is more of a moment. A flash of the good. The focus upon a brief second of pleasure.

Register the Sad to find the Joy

Most importantly, recognizing the depth of sadness, frustration and loss in our times of today is part of this. However, by doing so, does not mean that the grasping onto the beauty of a moment is irrelevant. There is a contrast. Understand the feelings of sadness, and take this in stride in order to search for the moment of pleasure.

As the time of The Great Pause continues, there is an avoidance of  reality. A sense of being numb to the news, the avoidance of connecting to reality seems to be happening the longer this continues. However, numbness also denies the celebration of  beauty. As Spring blooms, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the air feels warm. Registering this is a form of healing. A place in which our  mind goes into a space of a high. Savouring the beauty, understanding that there are short moments of sadness, and then there are the highs of enjoying the beauty. Both experiences are part of maintaining a balance.

Gratification makes us more Resilient

By understanding this balance we become more resilient. Registering the moments of gratitude, and joy, gives us a deeper engagement and meaning to the events today. By knowing this, we are enabling ourselves, and gives us the permission to enjoy the good that surrounds us.

And of course, to see a way to celebrate the good have a look at my online store on my website!

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Know your history to know yourself.

August 20, 2019 Comments Off on Know your history to know yourself. Inspiration

Know your history by looking at old photos. This couple walking beside a cafe in paris

Know your History

Learning about ourselves, to know your history,  gives us deeper understanding of who we are. Knowing ourselves with the knowledge of our past, with the understanding of where we come from, can enable our lives to grow. Looking back at our ancestors, the people in our lives who made us, give us a clearer assessment of where we are today.

This should go without saying. However, too many times we often forget where we came from. At least, in my life, I always seem to push forward. To keep setting goals. To keep moving forward. Yet sometimes, it is just good to stop and look back. To look at where it all started.

When I was a Child

My father was an artist. I grew up with the creating, selling and constant marketing of art. It was a a childhood of setting up shows, and watching my family survive from the art made by my father. Today, I am not far from this childhood. Although I create my own art now, my goal is to market and send out information about my creativity everyday. Social media has come a long way from distributing thousands of postcards door to door which my father did.

The value of Stories

Some say holding onto the past means not looking towards the future. I don’t believe this. In fact, I truly believe learning the stories of our families gives us a starting point for the present and future;

“The goal of yesterday will be our starting point to-morrow” Thomas Carlyle

As we look at images of our past, like old photos of your parents walking or weddings or family gatherings,  or little pieces of paper of birth announcements, or postcards written and saved, the life lived becomes apparent. The lives before you, from where you came from inform your present. It should’t be underestimated the value of these stories.

What would we be without knowing about the challenges and courage of our ancestors? We would be floating through life without an anchor. Without an understanding of who we are today.

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Commission a Painting and Preserve a Memory

August 15, 2018 Comments Off on Commission a Painting and Preserve a Memory Inspiration

Commissioning of a painting of young girls eating cotton candy. Vintage photos creates the story.

Commissioning a painting creates a family heirloom.

Commissioning a painting from me preserves a special memory. The client often realizes the importance of their family, and the experiences they had as they were growing up. The question becomes how do they represent these past moments?  Of course, a wall of photos or a mantel piece with special images recalls memories. But does this give them an emotional sensation that can be read by those who haven’t been there?

By selecting special photos clients are being proactive in preserving fleeting moments of their past. The result? Anyone who was not part of the “memory” can experience the identity and moment cherished by the one who commissioned it. A family hierloom is created and can be passed down through the generations.

Memory recall is also a “creative re-imagination”

Summer has always been my favourite time of year because of its preciousness. Since being a child I have celebrated this season and tried to create memories that will be with me for a lifetime. I am an avid sailor, as is my family,  and our time on the water are moments that I try to imprint upon my mind. In fact, through my life I have taken moments and consciously imprinted them. So I can revisit them. But this isn’t enough.

In fact, studies have shown that every time a memory is recalled the event changes. In the article titled The Human Memory, the act of remembering changes the event. Different contexts are added to the memory and new information gets incorporated into the original memory. One way to register the fleeting moments is by commissioning a piece of art that uses materials and images from family experiences and adventures.

Preciousness of memories can be preserved with a commission.

As an artist, I have the ability to create, interpret and preserve a memory of a precious time. As our children, or alternatively our parents age, there is a loss of what was.   Collecting old photos of my young children takes me into the time when their world was full of discovery and adventure. Compiling these pieces I look back at these memories and remind my self of the moment.

Collage of photos can recreate a special memory of family.

In the piece highlighted, Fun Adventures, there is a collage of old photos found in a family albums. The placement of these images together with a focus point upon one image of the two sisters puts the life of these girls in a context. A piece that reminds us of their journey together. The found photos are of children posing and the car reminds us of the family vacations. Each piece of this painting puts together a story that was momentary and beautiful.

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