Thursday, May 27, 2010

5 years old

My baby girl is 5 today.  Here is a piece that I created this morning to celebrate her in this coming of age.
Love you always baby girl.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Faith

Part of creating a Legacy is showing future generations who you are.  Who I am.  Most of us don't put enough time in to putting down our values, thoughts, feelings and emotions in to a tangible form that can be read and understood by those that love us and come after us. It's hard to commit yourself to paper - knowing that it will be read - potentially judged.  As humans, we have a hard time being judged and perhaps found wanting. Of course, that is just perception. Because at the end, the only opinion of ourselves that matters, is our own. I have been following the thoughts and journaling prompts on Your Life Spelled Out. Though I am never (or rarely) at a loss for what to write about or create, I have found having somewhere to focus my (occasionally) scattered thoughts has been very helpful.  Her gentle suggestions guide me to think about different aspects of my thoughts and life. So today, I put down my thoughts on Faith. As always - this is hard for me to share deep inner goo, but I am learning to be gentle. To put myself out there and to trust in the process of creativity that flows from it.  That is Faith in itself.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Authenticity

Mmmmm....I had the space to hang with my little girl this morning and have some snuggle time. And later, while she played in the family room, I snuggled with my laptop and some French Vanilla coffee.  I had some semi-uninterrupted time to blog-hop and do some discovery. It was wonderful! There are so many amazingly talented people out there and I love that they are sharing their work, passion and souls with the rest of us. On Brene Brown's site, I found some delightful discoveries. Her work on authenticity touched the very part of me that is exploring that currently.  She has created a lovely piece with a lovely message. 
It (along with a different version) can be downloaded here. I will be putting it around me, doing somejournalling with it.  It sums up so nicely what I have been stumbling around trying to express.
Enjoy the rest of the long weekend my lovelies!
xo
9er

Thursday, May 20, 2010

My Own Connection

Connection comes in so many ways.  Connection is the energy between people.  It is emotions felt, expressed and left crackling. It is light and love and sensitivity. I know that the root of my images is connection. And yet - I keep my own connections pretty deep.  You get glimpses of it in my photography and in talking to me.  But I am very conscious of crossing the professional line to allow the deeper glimpses of my rock star underneath. And in session today with my amazing business coach, Laura Watson I/we realized that in reining it/her in, I haven't been true to my art, to myself and most importantly, to my soul. I thought - this is a blog for my business, and though I have deviated slightly, it hasn't strayed far. And yet, my photography is art.  And art comes from the soul. If I can't show my soul as an artist - what do I have?

So - Laura challenged me to cross that line.  To smash it.  And bare my soul.  To share who I am.  I thought I would do this in a separate blog.  It felt safer and potentially less alienating. But no. It needs to be here.  Because we never know when the words we share make a difference for someone else. So here she/we are. Her name is 9er and she has come to represent the better/crazier/more interesting/ligther/artsy parts of me. I am unleashing her in hopes that people will connect with my story, emotions and more. I welcome comments and interaction.  Pass it along if you like.  I am reaching out without (in theory) fear and I hope you enjoy the ride. 
Grace and ease (below) isn't done yet. It took me 3 months to journal over the background because I was in love with the marks. I know there will be more on the other side, but wanted to share the process.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Never Give Up

It is so easy to think that life is hard.  To sit in sadness and misery. To be in a dark twisty place because of what you feel surrounds your life. This week I made a choice.  To be happy. To live a life of grace and ease.  And I repeat that choice consciously throughout every day.  Because I have sat in the dark twisty place for awhile now - and it isn't serving me anymore. I love the feeling of sunshine on my face and the joy I see in my daughters eyes.  And I have realized that this is my life.  The one that I have been given.  And while that may sound cliche, like something that we have heard a zillion times; we have heard it because it is true. So when I saw the link to Nick's video and watched it, I cried.  Cried because I was so touched by the true heart of this man.  He has the sunshine on his face, always.  And I strive to be as joyous as he is.


Saturday, May 15, 2010

Funding Cuts to Calgary Schools

PETITION TO SAVE ARTS PROGRAMMING IN CALGARY SCHOOLS

URGENT NOTICE FROM SAVE OUR FINE ARTS

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) announced they will have to cut up to 165 teachers as a result of a significant funding shortfall. To read the announcement, check out the front page of the May 5th edition of the Calgary Herald. You can also read the article on the Calgary Herald’s online website – http://www.calgaryherald.com/.

SOFA has learned from a very reliable source this will mean the layoff of approximately 3 – 4 teachers per school. We have also learned this will definitely have a negative impact on the CBE’s ability to provide funding for a number of locally developed courses, including a number of fine arts programs.

It is clear because of the Alberta Government’s cutback in education funding; this will not just affect the Calgary Board of Education. In fact, it will negatively affect every school district in the Province.

Without substantial increases in education funding, we will potentially lose many fine arts programs across Alberta. Further, students currently in the school system will not be equipped with the necessary skills (creativity, critical thinking, communication, innovation, etc.) to compete in an ever changing world (read the articles on Dr. Stephen Murgatroyd in previous posts on our website at http://www.saveourfinearts.ca/).

Now is the time for every parent, student, teacher, business owner, and concerned citizen to stand up, be counted, and make a difference:
Please read and sign the PETITION at: http://www.gopetition.com/online/35101.html.

Please ask ALL your family members, neighbours, friends, co-workers, and anyone else you know to sign the petition as well. There is no age restriction to sign.

If you are an educator, please make sure your students are aware of the announcement by photocopying this note and handing it out.

Please send an email note to your Premier, Minister of Education, and School Board Officials/Trustees expressing your concern about education funding cutbacks. For a listing of contact information please check out our SOFA website at: http://saveourfinearts.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/SOFA-Education-Advocacy-Contacts.pdf.

For those of you in Calgary, you can write to your Calgary Board of Education Trustee by checking out the following website: http://www.cbe.ab.ca/trustees/trustees.asp

Please register on our SOFA website at www.saveourfinearts.ca and click on the red registration button.

There comes a time for each of us to stand up and support what we believe in. If you believe in the value of education, in particular fine arts education - NOW IS THE TIME.
Please check back to our www.saveourfinearts.ca website regularly for future updates. If you have any questions regarding SOFA, please email us at saveourfinearts@gmail.com.



Your truly,
SOFA Organizing Committee