The next phase of my liberation!!!

Below, my recent horoscope. I think I loved this because of the phrase about my liberation, plus, I am so tired of seeing didactically.

It's time to think comprehensively, not defensively...to see futuristically, not didactically...to fantasize fantastically, not diplomatically. Your assignment is to stop reacting to every little blip that leaps into your field of vision, and start surveying the long-term cycles of your life from an expansive vista. Be a proactive visionary, Libra. Be a high-minded explorer. Weave all the disparate threads into a tapestry that reveals the big picture. The next phase of your liberation requires you to slough off petty concerns and trivial details.

This year.

Pick one word.

Another year. gone.
Along with 35 extra pounds.
And one husband. (and his recliner).
And a heap of emotional baggage.
I only accomplished goal number one on my list of 7 from last year, but somehow I still feel as though I achieved a great deal -- perhaps because goal number one was such a big one:

To be healthy and strong- both mentally and physically.That was it.

And I am.
Words are powerful. Declarations. Goals. Intentions.Whatever you call them, when you say them, or write them down with conviction, and take the slightest step toward them, they materialize.

With that said, my big goal for this year is to get my financial house in order. My house. My last name (Stabile, by the way). My life.
Last year, I discovered the blog of Christine Kane, who suggested picking just one word as your touchstone for the year. I did make a list of goals as well, but I liked the simplicity of just one word and how it could be so powerful in guiding one's intentions. Last year, I chose the word health. And it worked.

My word for this year is WEALTH. I am not just referring to financial wealth, although right now that would be refreshing -- but wealth as it relates to friends, neighbors, love, family, opportunity, and abundance...not just money but the real richness of life. But if I am to be completely honest, then also money, as it relates to security and the ability live a richer, fuller life.

Beyond that, I will also revisit some of the other goals I listed last year.

(Atwork featured are sections of two acrylic and mixed media paintings in progress.)

My January Ta Da List...

I am continually reminded that the creative flow is a fickle process. Sometimes I have so many ideas for blog topics and art in general that I have to stop what I'm doing to write them all down so the don't forget them....this month has been the opposite. I think that my list of resolutions posted last month left me a bit paralyzed. I was struck with a sudden feeling of regret for having declared so much so publicly...oh no, now I actually have to try to DO all of those things --- otherwise I'm not the only one who will know that I've failed.

The purpose of my "declarations" is not to set myself up for failure, but to motivate myself by making my ideas more concrete and real. I blog a lot about this because I believe it so strongly. So why, then, am I regretting my ambitious new year's resolutions? Because some these resolutions, I've already discovered, are actually a lot of hard work, and that always strikes fear in my heart. Do I really want to work that hard? Isn't my full-time job, and home ownership, and teaching classes, and writing articles enough? Why do I want to add more to that? Maybe I don't. But I think I do...and I know I will not be happy with myself if the next eleven months flies by and I have not at least taken steps in the direction of my ambitions -- there, I said it. I am ambitious. And then I feel guilty that my ambitions are not all more altruistic.

But then I teach an art class, or make something with my own two hands and some paper and paint, and I am reminded once again, that even if what I do is not heroic, it matters.

Art matters.
Creativity matters.
to me, and to those in my classes. I see it in their eyes, and the expressions on their faces as they engage in the creative process.

So, on the creative front this month, I...
taught three "inchies" classes at Stampassion, and they indeed energized me and reminded me why I make art;
I had an artist date with my friend Debbie, which is also always a powerful reminder of how sharing the creative process makes it even better;
I participated in a monthly ATC swap, which is always a fun way to share art;
I had my first session (of three) for 2008 with my creative coach, Sheri Gaynor, and my focus was mainly the children's book I want to write and illustrate this year (which is the main reason for all of my paralysis -- this is major hard work!!!!
...and I worked with my friend (and event planner) Lori on a number of freelance design projects. Lori and I always work so well together, that this too is another really great reminder of why I do what I do.


I will leave you with a picture of Sammy the squirrel, a daily visitor to my back porch. He began visiting when I hung a bird feeder (that my dad made), and originally, I was annoyed because I would find Sammy swinging with wild abandon from the feeder, while my hungry little birds chattered noisily in nearby shrubs. But I also figured he's probably hungry too, so now I leave extra seeds scattered around my deck, and he hasn't needed to cimb into the feeder since. And talk about an ambitious, goal-oriented creature. You have to admire that!

Shout, shout it out...

shout, shout, shout,
shout it out!

(Sorry, that was just a brief flashback to my cheerleading days, before my reindeer jump became a bunny hop.)

I have been waiting to post my annual list of things I hope to accomplish in the coming 12 months -- call them resolutions, intentions, goals -- my buddy Cindy prefers goals, and I think I agree. It's an action word - like "Dave Beckham scores another goal!!" Anyway, I digress.

I wanted to give some real thought to where I hope to see myself at this time next year.

First and foremost, I am setting a goal to be healthy and strong- both mentally and physically. I did not take the best care of myself in 2007, and at 43 years old, this neglect is beginning to take its toll on me. And let's face it, if we don't feel well, the rest of what we set out to do suffers. (Okay, it's January 4, and everyone in the world has made this a resolution, but I mean it.)

Second is my main creative goal for 2008. I plan to write and illustrate a children's book, for which I already have a story concept and ideas for the illustrations, which will be hand-drawn but with a cool digital twist. I have a lot of research to do regarding the children's book market, and how to get published, so I do foresee this project taking a good chunk of time. I hope simply to have a refined draft to present to a publisher by the end of 2008.

Beyond those two goals:
I will continue to develop and teach classes at Stampassion in Latham, NY;
I will treat myself to one good creative art class of some kind this year.
I will continue to seek magazine publishing opportunities that fit my schedule and whims;
I will create some mixed media collage pieces for sale and open an Etsy store on my blog;
I will develop a proposal for a class at a new venue - possibly something in the Troy, NY area, which has some wonderful alternative art opportunities - I am thinking of an art doll class of some kind, specifically.

...and that's it.
My creative coach, with whom I am looking forward to some new sessions in the new year, taught me not to make this list too long, because then, instead of focusing on the things that I did achieve, I might focus on the others that I did not, and feel failure when in fact I was actually quite successful. That is too true -- she is wise and knows me well (many of us, actually). This list of just seven things is probably already way too much, because some of these things are rather large projects, but I have listed them in order of their priority, so if something at the bottom finds its way into 2009, that's just fine with me!!

So if you have not already done so, declare a goal, an intention - something more than a wish - and work to make it happen this year! Just by bringing it into the open, forces start working to help you reach your goals!

My last ta da list for 2007

Holy crap, it's January 2008.

Why do I attach so much expectation to the turning of the calendar from Dec. 31 to January 1? It's just another day, another "x" on the calendar, another 24 hours in a lifetime of thousands, but I always hope to feel differently -- to be filled with more hope and promise and energy than I had the day before. And in some ways I do. Even if it is just another day, the dawn of a new year is a strong reminder of the passage of time, and the importance of using it wisely.

And I feel better about hanging up a new calendar this year than I often do, because I declared out loud (and on my blog - in writing) my goals and intentions for 2007, and I achieved many of them. Among them were getting my work published, and as of this month, my work has appeared in six different magazines: Somerset Studio, Somerset Home, Somerset Life, Take Ten, Artful Blogging, and Crafts & Things.

I will be declaring my intentions out loud again this year, but today, I am going to start with my December Ta Da list, which is modest, as the holidays took just about all of my time an energy. Still, here is a list of the ways in which I spent my life creatively in December...

I prepared for the holidays by decorating, cooking, and making handmade cards for a very long list of friends and family;
I planned a new class to teach at Stampassion in January this month - called Intriguing Inchies;
I made handmade holiday ornaments for the "stamper chicks" (which I have yet to share with them, as our holiday gathering was postponed to mid-January due to and ice/snow storm)
I made gift baskets for friends;
and I made ATCs for a swap - the theme was Portals (very fun)!
...I also took almost a dozen books out of the library - not one of which I opened this month -- why did I think I'd have time to read?
And an article that I wrote back in Dec. 2007 was finally published in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Crafts & Things magazine. I write this announcement with mixed emotions, as I had submitted the article to The Rubber Stamper magazine, but the magazine was sold to the publisher of Crafts & Things while I waited for actual publication. While this magazine has made improvements to its content in recent months, I was a bit disappointed with the photography that accompanied my article, which was small and did not highlight my samples as well as I had hoped. Also, I have been teaching classes at Stampassion for many years, and the Rubber Stamper would have been a better venue in which to highlight this article and project. Still, it was goal achieved, and I was even paid for my efforts, so that was quite rewarding.
As I write this, some of my work is also in the newest issue of Somerset Life, but I have not received my copy yet, so I haven't actually seen it. I will post a picture and a big whooptie-doo when I get my copy.

I wish you all a happy, healthy, creatively inspired new year.