kristenjfagan

If you are in the northern hemisphere, Monday was the shortest day of the year. The Winter Solstice is the moment on Earth when darkness reaches its peak, just before the return of the light. We are reminded that the old must end in order to begin anew. It is a time of stillness, reflection, re-birth and transformation.

I celebrated by beginning the Woman Unleashed online retreat, a free event, with Amber Kuileimailani Bonnici to help me awaken my power, passion and purpose for 2016. Visit www.womanunleashedretreat.com to learn more.

One of my desires this coming year is to truly pause and celebrate the changing of seasons. Being a desert dweller our season changes are subtle and the days flow into months without realizing how much time as passed. I’d like to fully honor the season changes with a small ritual.

Here are a few ways to celebrate the Winter Solstice:

• Spend time with loved ones with a feast representing the season.
• Light a candle. Reflect on your aspirations for the coming months.
• Visit a place outdoors that’s special to you. Consider watching the sun rise or set from your little patch of the world.
• Hold a fire ceremony. Write what you’d like to release and throw the paper into the fire as a symbol of letting go.
• Reflect the stillness of the day by cultivating stillness in yourself. Consider a meditation or hour of silence.
• Build a shrine (or mandala) of nature’s found objects.
• Give to others by donating food or clothing to those less fortunate.

As you light the fire and candles for your celebration, do so with the intention of bringing more light into the world.

How about you? How do you celebrate the changing of the seasons?

Monthly yoga art desktop calendar from Eliza Lynn Tobin.

This July, I started a practice of “morning pages” or in my case, “afternoon pages” and “evening pages” too since doing anything at a specific time or even on a daily basis seems to be a mental block for me. My inner rebel against conformity, maybe? Anyhoo, the idea is to journal 3 pages long hand in the morning everyday. Letting whatever needs to flow onto the pages. House cleaning for your mind and soul. This concept was created by author and creativity guru Julia Cameron in her wildly popular book “The Artists Way”. True to my nature, I have not been consistent with doing this everyday but, I am trying to keep up with it even if I have stretches between entries.

The writing is done as a stream of consciousness and because of this it has helped me work through challenges, calm anxieties, see hidden pockets of gratitude and been a catalyst for “a-ha” moments. One crucial point is that these writings are private. Julia Cameron goes so far as to say if you need to burn the journal afterwards so be it. Having disposed of an entire journal of deep writing once before, I can tell you it’s a liberating experience to let that all go.

Earlier this week my frustration with how I felt and my unhealthy eating habits finally came to a tipping point. I have my morning pages to thank for finally taking a step this week to remove flour/gluten from my diet for the ten thousandth time. After a particularly glutenous weekend I felt awful and after putting down on paper just how awful I felt, I realized how silly I was being. Each time I remove flour/gluten from my diet I feel instantly better. This week was no exception. I went from ranting that I have no energy, my joints ache, my eyes blurred, my mind was foggy and I had a looming feeling of despair to waking up refreshed, energized throughout the day and feeling motivated and positive in a super short period of time. I think it’s one part intention to take care of me and one part actually doing it that has me feeling good again. I have to honor my body and listen to what it is clearly telling me to doesn’t want instead of allowing the instant gratification of a pastry or the ease of making a sandwich cloud my judgment.

Do you have a writing practice? I admit I’m inconsistent but, that aside it is a wonderful way to check in with yourself and see what kinds of feelings and thoughts are swirling around in your head. The idea to just write whatever pops up in the moment has really helped me to tap into those areas that I tend to close off and ignore. I encourage you to give it a try.

This was over a month ago (kinda tells you how fast my August has flown by) but, I didn’t want to let sharing about my experience of July’s third Friday artwalk go. It was such a great date with myself. I had plans to go with a friend and our kids, that fell through so I was going to go with just my kids but, Bert ended up being home from work early and the kids didn’t want to go with me. I was a little sad at first and thought for a second I would skip it however, I really wanted to the see the She Deck exhibit before it closed. Not seeing it would have been a big bummer so, I decided to go on my own. It was an awesome time. I forget that I like being in my own company. I like to move at my own pace and wander. I like lingering when it feels good. Couple that with my love for viewing and experiencing art and that makes for a perfect date. I spoke to a few artists and a gallery owner while there which I wouldn’t have done if I had company with me. It was a great reminder to go out, even if no one wants to go out with me and maybe especially if no one wants to go out with me.

Pieces by women artists will abound along Grand Avenue on Third Friday, as {9} The Gallery also presents a “Summer Solstice” exhibition, plus a “She Deck” exhibition of skateboard decks, at the Frontal Lobe Gallery at Bragg’s Pie Factory.

Top: Exhibit at {9) Gallery, Artist Brenda Edwards

Middle: Mural on the side of {9} Gallery, Artist Amanda Adkins

Bottom: Summer Solstice Exhibit at Frontal Lobe Gallery, Artists Lisa Von Hoffer and Lauren Lee

 She Deck Exhibit at Frontal Lobe Gallery featuring over 50 female artists showing their skateboard deck creations.

I happen to have my art on exhibit at the Fair Trade Cafe during third Friday also. I was blessed to sell two artworks during my time being featured! Heartfelt thank you to Fair Trade Cafe and those who enjoyed and purchased my art.

I have been struggling to find a rug for a couple years now. Since I regularly change the artwork hanging in our living room, I felt like keeping it neutral would be best. However, as a family with two boys and a dog I have come to accept that a light beige rug is not the right fit for us. After two failed attempts at trying a light colored rug only to have it destroyed shortly after bringing it home, I decided I needed to change it up and add a pop of color. We checked out a clearance section of the furniture warehouse and ended up with this bold beauty! (Rug modeled by Hudson, he loves how soft it is).

We took it home and right away I knew a DIY project in store for me. Our weathered coffee table was no longer a match and had seen netter days so, it was time for a facelift. (Below Ethan and Hudson are modeling the new rug with our current coffee table, notice Hudson is once again laying on it because it’s so soft and Ethan was told to please remove his shoes right after I snapped the picture, haha)

The sanding begins, and continues, and goes on some more. I had envisioned a natural wood top with white sides and natural drawers. Well this table top was stubborn and the previous two layers of paint just would not fully come off. After about 4-5 hours of sanding in the hot summer heat I threw in the towel and decided to paint the entire table white leaving just the drawers natural.

I was pretty unsure about a white coffee table. But the results turned beautifully! The new white table and bold rug transformed the whole feel of the room. It is now so much brighter, more lively and I love it so much. We keep the lights low and the window blinds barely open so, this room could be quite dark before. On a side note, this table has been in our home for about 14 years! It started out all natural, then blue/green, then white top and green sides and now white! One of the many reasons I love wood furniture is that it can be transformed again and again. I think the simple updates made a huge difference. Total cost for the rug and paint for this transformation was just $120. Now, I’m thinking I need a few more new pillows! So, what do you think?

Artist creations: Silhouette Pillow of my kids made custom by Desert Baby, Dreamcatcher by Rachael Rice Art, Beach art pillow and Fireflies art pillow available in my Etsy shop, Phoenix painting by me.