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Beginning again.

Sweet friend, I’m beginning again.

Do you ever feel like you start the same things over and over. I’m over here like huh, I’m here starting over again?! It’s the beginning the hardest part? Why do I insist on repeating it over and over? It’s akin to the ocean, waves begin, grow, crash and begin again. The next wave may look similar to the first but, it’s not the same. That is how we have to look at it, it’s another beginning and even though it feels similar, it’s not the same. We have new experiences and lessons this time around that we  didn’t have before. It’s not an error that you are beginning again, it’s the practice of getting closer and closer to your truth.

My inner truth has been guiding me to show up, inspire and uplift. I started a creativity circle on Facebook to connect, get inspired, motivate and support one another through your self discovery through creativity. If interested, click here to join.

Tutorial Tuesday: Aloe Vera Pendant

I created a quick video tutorial to share how I made the Aloe Vera jewelry design pendant with Soft Flex beading wire, Jesse James Beads focal bead and Superduos from my beading book, Seed Bead Revolution.

P.S. I love how much this jewelry design mimics a dreamcatcher! 🙂

Catching Dreams Art Workshop

I teamed up with intuitive life coach Kerry Burki to help launch her upcoming membership site The Dreamcatcher Circle with a Catching Dreams: Intentional Creative Workshop.

Some believe feathers hanging from a dreamcatcher are a soft ladder for good vibes to glide down.

In this intentional creativity workshop, we tuned into our dreams, our desires, and our intuition.  We began the workshop with breathwork and dream intention setting. Each woman used essential oils and their intuition to pick a card to help guide them during the workshop. Kristen guides you to create your own dreamcatcher artwork that will hold magical power for your journey ahead and provided some sound healing and poetry reading while everyone painted, creating space for art as a mindful practice.
This class is available to take online! See details here.

We had such a great day! Each time I facilitate a workshop I’m reminded of how blessed I am to do this work, to have brave creative hearts sign up to journey with me and to have friends in my life like Kerry to collaborate with. It fills me with joy to help others discover their creative magic.

The Spiral is a sacred symbol that represents the journey and change of life as it unfolds; taking a labyrinth-like passage that leads to Source. The spiral symbol can represent the consciousness of nature beginning from its center expanding outwardly. Spirals have been linked to nature, the seasons, and the path of life: birth, growth, death and reincarnation.

Spirals are a powerful symbol to open the door to our biggest desires and summon them into being!

Creating with intention is more then painting a picture, it’s painting through the lens of self discovery and possibility. It’s listening to what shows up and how those colors and symbols can communicate to you. It’s a journey into self.
This class is available to take online! See details here.

The Dreamcatcher Circle is a nurturing online monthly membership community created by Kerry Burki where busy souls like you can slow down, tune in, discover just how powerful you are, & manifest your dreams. Visit www.thedreamcatchercircle.com.

True Unconditional Love is Within You

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha

I know the term SELF-LOVE gets tossed around a lot and honestly, I think it’s for good reason. We are starved for compassion towards ourselves. Being okay with who you are, just as you are – imperfections and all is what it all boils down to. It’s those imperfections that make you, well, YOU.

We are not taught to love ourselves unconditionally. “I will be able to love myself when …” is an all too common loop that happens inside our heads. I know growing up if you thought too highly of yourself you were called names like conceited or arrogant. So, I would knock myself down a notch. But, over time, knocking myself down became quite the nasty habit. You then look for love outside of yourself when what you really need is to LOVE YOUR WHOLE SELF.

This is a great excerpt about self-love from Whitney Freya’s book Rise Above:

“The only source of true unconditional love is within YOU.

No one else can possibly love you EXACTLY, 100% of the time, the way you really, really want them to. Only you can do this.

Until you rediscover this unconditional love you have for yourself, you will continue to look to others to provide this energy, this feeling, for you.

And when they let you down, because they don’t love you perfectly, your love for them becomes conditional. Then, their love for you becomes conditional. Or it feels that way. And you feel like you’ve been cheated or robbed, or somehow left out. You become the victim.”

Wow! Do you see how the act of not fully loving yourself ultimately puts you in place where you put conditions on your love and give others permission not to love you unconditionally either.

I saw this prickly pear cactus heart on my walk this morning. Seeing a heart out in the wild is a message of unconditional love and support from the universe. It all starts with you. The more you practice being loving, to yourself as well as others, the more love shows up in your life. Love is all around you.

Have you seen hearts around? What do their messages mean to you?


My Buddha painting shown above was painted live during the Phoenix Festival of the Arts. If you are interested in purchasing this Buddha painting (mural #9) or any of the murals that were created during the festival, please contact the Phoenix Center for the Arts at info@phoenixcenterforthearts.org. All murals are $300 + shipping.

Sacred Word of the Year: Light

Be the LIGHT – A message from my muse:

Rise up towards the light, rising sun, shining moon, illuminate and birth ones self. Smile. Notice the beauty that surrounds. Make more art. Let your inner radiance show. When you are in love with life, you naturally radiate that love.

You are here to light up the world. Take time to listen to your inner voice, that is all you need to inspire. Shine with the purest intentions. Show up as the shining light that you are and the best qualities of being human will continue to flow and circulate throughout the world. 

This little light of mine … I’m going to let it shine!

My heart has chosen LIGHT as my sacred word for 2018.

Choosing a sacred word of the year is one of my favorite New Year rituals. I love how it weaves it’s way through my year. It usually shows up in unexpected ways and always prove to be a guiding light. This is my 6th year choosing a word – I have chosen ABUNDANCE, CONNECTION, NOURISH, DEVOTED and PRESENCE. Some words served me better then others, but they all had something to teach me.

In sharing my word of the year, I believe that it creates a sacred energy that nourishes it’s intention.

I “tried on” a few word variations of light such as shine, illuminate, radiant and vibrant but, LIGHT felt right. Light brings visions of sunlight, moonlight, starlight that literally enables vision guiding us on our path. My 2017 word presence helped me to focus and re-focus on the now and with 2018 my desire is to focus and refocus on the light that surrounds. Allow it illuminate the dark places and bring forth goodness.

“We never really see the world exactly as it is. We see it as we hope it will be or we fear it might be.” ~Maria Popova on the podcast On Being with Krista Tippett

I’m tired of seeing the fear it might be and want to see it as I hope it will be.

Ways I wish to embody LIGHT

  • to seek the light while acknowledging and honoring the dark
  • to be the light; focus on what lights me up and share that with the world
  • to literally FEEL and BE lighter
  • to be a lightworker who chooses actions that raise the vibration of the planet
  • to have a lightness of being; to connect with my authentic joy
  • to be light-hearted, take control of anxiety and laugh more
  • to light a fire under my ass and take positive action

Why Choose a Sacred Word for the Year?

ONE WORD deepens change. It relieves the pressure of having to make too many changes all at once and provides a laser focus on one significant change. Most of us forget our long list of intentions. It is easier to remember one word.

Tips to Choosing your Sacred Word

➳ Ask, “What word do I want to embody into in 2018?”
➳ Intuitively choose a magazine.
➳ Flip until you find a word that surprises or delights you, cut it out.
➳ Research and contemplate what your word means to you.
➳ Let your word pick you. If you “think” it’s not right but, you can’t shake it – honor it.
➳ Create artwork to celebrate and illustrate your word.

This month, in my  private Facebook community I’m sharing about choosing a word of the year.

I talk about how to find your word and then walk you how I created a word of the year visual intention collage as a reminder to amplify your intention. If you would like join, click here: Discover Your Creative Magic Community

Welcome 2018.

Do you get excited about the new year and a fresh start? I absolutely love it! 

I have been musing over my word of the year LIGHT, de-cluttering and re-arranging my studio space and dreaming about all the possibilities that 2018 holds.I love the Unravel your Year Workbook by Susannah Conway and use it at the beginning of year to look back and look ahead.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lazo Tzu

One single step I have made this month is that I created a private Facebook Group where you can hang out with me and other like-minded amazing creative hearts!

I wanted a little spot on the world-wide-web where I can show up, meet, connect, discuss, get inspired, motivate and support each others self discovery through creativity experience.

I will be hosting monthly themes and doing free live video check-ins.

This month, I’m sharing about your one word of the year. Choosing a word of the year is my favorite New Year ritual! I talk about how to find your word and then walk you through creating a visual reminder to amplify your intention. I’m super excited about it and would love for you to join us.

Join here >>> Discover Your Creative Magic Community

It is with great love that I wish you a year full of creativity and an abundance of joyful moments in 2018. Love and light xo

Phoenix Festival of the Arts 2017 Recap

Painting outside, among other artists, and getting the chance to chat with with people in my community about art is right up there with my best. day. ever. This was my third year participating in the Phoenix Festival of the Arts  event, held every December, and I love it more and more each time.

Check out this quick video walk around the artists mural area at the beginning of day 3.

This year I was called to create the Buddha below and had the pleasure of collaborating with each of the artists on ether side of my mural.

Here is a flipagram of my work in progress on the Buddha mural.

This painting was a collaboration with Carlos Mendoza during the Phoenix Festival of the Arts and it was SOLD! Hooray! It was a privilege to work with Carlos, as you can see here he’s a very talented artist.

If you are interested in purchasing the Buddha (mural #9), the Eagle (mural #8/9), or any of the murals that were created during the festival, please contact the Phoenix Center for the Arts at info@phoenixcenterforthearts.org. All murals are $300.

A Simple Way to Get Yourself Unstuck.

I have been bogged down with all the “should’s” lately that I have been having a hard time doing anything! I find that overwhelm is the quickest way to stop me in my tracks.

As I was reflecting on the root of my stuck-iness I was pretty frustrated with my apparent lack of motivation (ego’s words) because the reality of it was that this year has been FULL.

I took on a number of big projects like co-authoring and designing the beading book Seed Bead Revolution and diving into a Creativity Coaching program for the last 6 months. In addition to these two huge projects, I took part in two creative challenges – the 100 Day Project and 30 Days of Painting, had my first podcast interview with Cracking Creativity, my first solo artist reception at Alis Living Boutique, and next week I will be making my first television appearance on Jewel School – say what?! It has been an expansive year and for that I am REALLY grateful. When I stopped beating myself up and acknowledged what I have done, I felt immense gratitude for all that has transpired.

So why was I so stuck and cranky? Two reasons: I took too long of a break from creative practice and I needed to make time in my life to LIVE.

Everything in my life has been on an upswing. After an emotionally stressful year things are brighter now then they have been in a long time and instead of celebrating, I was feeling timid about allowing myself to feel the joy of this abundance. I was acutely aware that everything could be taken away in a moments notice and that held me paralyzed in that fear.

I was fed up with my attitude and knew it was time to move some color around.

Below is the simple way I used color and words to express my emotions, process my feelings and get myself unstuck.

I used my art journal/sketchbook or you can use any paper you have on hand. I used a watercolor set, one brush and water for the coloring. You can easily substitute crayons, marker or whatever you have on hand. Watercolor paint allows my words to peek through underneath, if you don’t want your words to be read you can use acrylic paint, markers or collage over the pages instead.

On the left side, I wrote how I was feeling. The words came pouring out. On top of the words I painted colors that felt as heavy as I did in that moment. On the right side, I wrote out my desired feelings and painted colors that felt light and joyful. When I was done, I looked it over. It was all there, so clearly, and in that moment things shifted. When you look at the pages above, there is nothing super exciting about them really – except for how they made me FEEL. Such is the power of tapping into your own wisdom and creativity.

That same week, I visited with a soul sister and we had a deep nourishing conversation followed by a family road trip to my favorite place for inspiration; Sedona. I started to re-fill my cup and ideas started pouring out of me on how to step into a new role as a “creative guide and inspirationalist”. Excitement returned!

And while it’s true, everything could change in a moment, I asked myself how will I be able to cope during hard times if I do not embrace the joy this present moment has to offer?

So, my message to you if you’re stuck, the antidote is to get out into the world – LIVE and CREATE! Make sure your cup is full and inspiration will pour out of you.

From Danielle LaPorte: “Do less of what you don’t like to do, and more of what you love. That’s it. Every self-help book ever written, mine included, can be summed up in that simple direction. Less heavy, more Light. Less drama, more calm. Less “should”, more shine. MORE PLEASURE.”

Doing more of what you love and makes you come alive is a sure way to get you unstuck and bring you back to joy.

Art On Exhibit

I finally got around to updating my exhibition page and realized I have been showing my art publicly for over 5 years! WOW. I remember when I would see other artists putting themselves out there and wonder when I would be ready. I longed to share my heart and art with the world. To fill the world with delightful color and pattern and meaning and possibility.
You know what? 5 years later, I’m still not ready. I still question myself and my art ALL the time. I don’t know that I’d ever be 100% ready or have it all figured out and I’m not sure I will ever stop questioning myself, my art and my worth.
What I do know is that I will take small steps to get where I want to go, I will lose my way, I will be kind to myself when things don’t go as expected, I will put myself out there even when I worry and I will be brave and say yes to things that scare the crap out of me and excite me to no end. Life is mine (and yours) to CREATE. Get out there and create your own kind of magic!
I am thrilled to be featured artist at Alis Living Lifestyle Boutique in Scottsdale through the end of November. Be sure to stop in and browse my birds, butterflies & mandala collection. Take home the piece that calls your spirit.
6938 E. 1st Street
Scottsdale, Arizona 85251
Boutique is open Tuesday – Saturday

Live Like the Lotus, At Ease in Muddy Water

“Emerge”
Original sold
Prints are available in my shop, here

I have always been drawn to lotus flowers, not only for their beauty but also for their symbolism. I painted this at a time when I was feeling the pull to create art intuitively. My life, as all lives, is full of challenges and opportunities to rise above those challenges.

The journey of the lotus flower is a wonderful analogy for the human experience and journey of enlightenment. In challenging conditions, the stem begins growing in muddy, murky water and slowly rises above the surface, just as we also rise above our challenges. As the petals unfold, we too unfold and bloom into something beautiful. According to a traditional story, the more muddy the water, the more beautiful the lotus flower when it emerges.

Its open blossom stands for enlightenment and beauty. Its flexible stem symbolizes resilience. At night the lotus closes and emerges again with the sunlight of a new day. Each day is a new life, a new rebirth for the flower.

The lotus is considered a sacred and divine flower in many religions, most notably Hinduism and Buddhism.  The life cycles of the Lotus evokes how the human spirit unfolds: from humble beginnings in the mud to the blossoming of the soul in the light.

May we live like the lotus, at ease in muddy water.

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