Yesterday I was completing a three month internship with Jamie Ridler of Jamie Ridler Studios.  Working with Jamie and Kim and Kelly was so much fun and I hated to see this time together come to an end. Jamie asked each of us what was next for us.  What projects or things were we going to do.  My answer was not very concrete. I told them I wanted to capture the sparkle and magic in each day.  About an hour later my husband and I were on our way to Home Depot (lots of sparkle and magic for him but not so much for me) when we experienced a magical moment.  Spring in Atlanta can be beautiful. Yesterday was unusual.  It was 45 degrees but really windy which made it feel so much colder.  The sun was shining and the Bradford Pear trees looked beautiful.  Because of the wind there had been lots of blossoms swirling around and on the ground.  As I looked out the window, I mentioned that if the wind didn't stop soon there would be no blossoms left.  And that is when we realized it was not the beautiful flowers of the Bradford Pears that were landing on the windshield but snow.  What an incredible moment.  Blue skies, wind, cold, sun, flowers, and snow.  It didn't last long but just those few minutes reminded me of what I had just said an hour ago.  I wanted to find magic and sparkle in each day.  We can't predict when or where that special moment will show up.  But we can be ready to receive it when it does.  I can't wait to see what magical moments appear today.

Wednesday's Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching Tip - Exploring your creativity can be filled with many surprises and special moments.  Taking time to notice and enjoy those moments can lead to a world filled with wonder and joy.  Notice where your creativity takes you today.

                   When you share your gifts and talents with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin!
                                                                                                                                       Ginny

                                                                            Build
My word for this year is build.  My focus is on three areas, my work, my connections with people who share the same interests, and my health.  Towards the end of the month I take some time to reflect upon what I have accomplished.  It is so easy to get caught up in the every day drama of life that we forget where we are going.  So this year I promised myself that I would not forget what I wanted to accomplish but actually celebrate each step along the way.  This month was again focused on health.  I have been building upon the foundation I started years ago. I am more conscious of the choices I make and the way that I am taking care of myself.  I am building and keeping a healthier lifestyle one choice at a time.  What I have noticed is that people are so willing to share what works for them.  Sara, from A Sharing Connection wrote that she keeps a pretty pitcher of water on her countertop.  Since I have never been able to make myself drink enough water, I thought I would see if this makes a difference for me too.  It does.  Having the water in a pretty pitcher reminds me to take a glass.  Thank you so much Sara for not only reading my blog for taking the time to make a suggestion that makes a big difference.

Self-care is an important part of leading a creative life.  When we eat right, get enough sleep, and exercise it is easier to create and build the life we want to live. I hope that you will take the time to take care of yourself.  And if you have any tips that will help me continue to build my healthier lifestyle, I would love to hear them.

               When you share your gifts and your talent with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin!
                                                                                                                                                   Ginny

I was painting today and just could not complete anything that felt right.  So I decided to look back on things I had painted in the past to see what would inspire me and I found this pastel.  When I saw it I knew immediately that it felt right to me and it made me happy.  So today rather than worry about what I couldn't create I decided to celebrate something that I still like and that inspires me to keep on painting.  Inspiration comes from many places.  It can come from the work of others, from nature, from a class, or a great teacher.  Now, I am finding that it can come from something that I have created.  Is there something that you would like to celebrate?  Is there a piece of work that reminds you exactly why you paint or write, sketch or compose?  It's fun to look at our work and to celebrate not only what we have done but what we might produce in the future.  Won't you take a minute to celebrate with me?

     "The art of art, the glory of the expression and the sunshine of the light of letters,
                                                                    is  simplicity."                 Walt Whitman
                                                                                                                    

What does simplicity mean to you?  Just like every other concept simplicity means different things to different people.  I am finding that it means different things at different stages of my life.  Right now, in this minute, simplicity means a quiet day with nowhere to go and nothing to do.  It means solitude and peacefulness.  It means taking time to paint with my watercolor pencils.  It means writing from the heart and breathing from deep within the soul.  It means looking out the windows at the trees that are blooming and appreciating the sounds of the rain on the roof.  It means a hot cup of tea or a cold glass of water.  It means fresh fish served with lemon and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Nothing fancy but perfect for an almost spring Sunday afternoon.  What does simplicity look or feel like to you?  If you close your eyes for just a minute what do you see?  What do you hear?  Beginning to visual what we want is one of the first steps we can take towards making it happen.  If simplicity is something that you yearn for, what step can you take towards creating a day or a life filled with simple but special moments that fill you with both a sense of peace and a sense of accomplishment?  It is amazing how when we take the first tiny step the other tiny steps begin to get easier and easier and then one day what was once a vision has now become reality.  

                When you share your dreams and talent with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin! 
                                                                                                                                                       Ginny

                    "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." 
                                                                                                                 William Arthur Ward

Things have been a little off for a while but I am really feeling the pull of getting back to some of the practices that make a difference in my life.  For over two years my Friday post has included a quick painting and what I was most grateful for that week.  For several weeks I did not do either and today I realized that I missed both.  Taking the time to paint just for the fun of it and then taking a minute to reflect back upon the week is something that helps me remember and appreciate all that I have to be grateful for.  This week I am grateful for all of the wonderful conversations I have had with people from all parts of the world. I love hearing about their creative lives and the projects that they are working on.  I love hearing about their challenges and what inspires them to move forward.  It is nice to know that although we may live in different places and be of entirely different generations that we are all there to support each other through the challenges as well as to celebrate the good times. I remember when I was first starting this creative journey how hard I looked for people who understood what I was doing.  Now, seven years later it is nice to say that I have found that support and that I can offer it to others as well.  Without taking this five minutes to reflect upon my past week I might have not really appreciated the fact that what I was once searching for, I now have.  Gratitude is a wonderful gift that I want to again give to myself and others each week.

What are you most grateful this week? 

             When you share your dreams and your talent with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin!
                                                                                                                                  Ginny

Today I am linking with Paint Party Friday.  It is their 3 year Blogoversary.  Congratulations to Eva and Kristen and to all of the artists who have participated each week.  If you haven't visited, today would be a great day to stop by and say, "Hello!"

            "Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin.  Beginning makes the conditions perfect." 
                                                                                                                                     Alan Cohan

This is the perfect quote for me today.  The conditions at my house are not perfect. We are having the floors sanded and everything is topsy-turvey.  My first inclination was not to write today.  The conditions are not perfect for anything, I have to meet with my DIL soon and I feel rushed to be ready.  But then I took a deep breath and asked my self this question, "Would you feel better if you wrote just a little or nothing at all?"  And the answer was loud and clear.  Take a minute.  Write.  It doesn't have to be perfect.  You don't have to say a lot.  Just write.  So I am taking just a minute to write.  I am writing for myself because I love to.  I am writing for those who might stop by to say, "Thank you.  Your visits and your comments mean a great deal to me.  More than you know."  I am writing so that I don't break the practice which for me is important. It's is not that easy to build a practice but oh so easy to break away from it even if it is very important to you.  So won't you join me today?  Even if you don't have a lot of time, spend at least 5 minutes doing something you love.  It feels good. 

PS  I hope you won't find a lot of errors today.  Not much time to proofread.  But it felt good to write even if it is not perfect!

            When you share your dreams and your talent with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin!

No, we didn't go on a Caribbean vacation.  This picture was taken several years ago and when I was looking through my pictures today it yelled out, "Pick me. Pick me."  It reminds me of a wonderful cruise we went on.  But what I love most of all when I look at this picture are the colors.  The pretty blues and the deep greens.  It is wonderful to go away and to be in an environment that is lush and beautiful but what thrills me even more is to know that I can look out my window every single day and see a beautiful sky or a tree that is offering its beauty whenever I need a creative break. Nature continues to be such an inspiration to me.  It excites me, it calms me down, and it inspires me to paint.  It is always there yet it is always changing. I never get tired of looking at a flower or the clouds or especially the ocean.

Lately, I have been moving in slow motion.  I started to have some health issues and I wanted to find out why.  The process took a lot longer than I thought it would but the results are all positive so the information was worth the wait.  Now, I just need to implement some healthier habits into my lifestyle and in true Kaizen-Muse form I am going to do it one small step at a time.  Because this method has worked so well in so many aspects of my life, I know it will work in this area as well.  I think of this as another thing I am doing to build a well-balanced creative life. Eating healthier, drinking more water, and exercising are not things I have to do but rather are things I get to do so that I not only feel better but enjoy life more.  Lots of people have told me that I should build in rewards along the way for changing some of my habits.  That is a good technique.  But I really believe that feeling better and having more energy will be the best reward I can give myself.

Something else that I have learned during the past two months is that while I was learning more about my health my painting and writing were not number one on my list of things to do.  It wasn't that there weren't on my mind each day but they weren't my number one priority.  Yet today when all of the puzzle pieces came together, I couldn't wait to get back to my blog and I already have time to paint set aside for later in the week.  Although my creative energy took a backseat for a while, it came back as soon as I was ready.  It was nice to know that even though I went through a dry spell the excitement I have for my blog came back as soon as my life shifted back into balance.  

During this whole process I used several of the Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching techniques.  As is my practice on Wednesday, I love to share those techniques with you. 

Awareness is always number one.  Recognizing that I didn't feel as good as I could and then taking the steps to see what was wrong helped me to find a solution to my problem.

Giving myself time to gather the information and then coming up with a plan of action has helped tremendously.

Asking myself, "What worked in the past?" always helps. In the past not having junk food in the house made eating much healthier and simpler for me.

Recognizing that my creative outlets were on hold for awhile but not worrying about it relieved stress.  We all have times when we need to sit back and take a break.  If we know our own energy and creative cycle, we will know that these times happen and can in the long run provide lots of information which can lead to growth.  

It's been an interesting two months.  I feel ready for spring and for all the bright colors and excitement and energy that comes with it.  I am excited about what I am about to create and can't wait to see what happens next.  I haven't exactly been hibernating this winter but it almost feels like it. I'm ready to open the windows and let the warm breezes and sunshine in.  How about you?  When you think of spring what comes to mind? What would you like to do to next?  What small step can you take to start?  I would love to know what you are thinking about and dreaming of as we are about to enter the next season of the year.

            When you share your dreams and your talent with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin!
                                                                                                                      Ginny