Jump For Joy!

Enjoy this free printable! 

The Power To Empower

 The idea to start a Woman's Circle has been strumming deep in me for a while. I want to make a difference in my community. And I want to start with my sisters.  The idea that right now in this time of political uprising,   Women are one of the most vocally and physically attacked beings on the planet- bothers the shit out of me. The strong, independent, powerful, mother/sister/friend/goddess is becoming an endangered species one power at a time. They will start with stripping away our rights- and end with convincing us that we have NO power. WE are the mothers of this earth. We are the POWER. We give BIRTH. To ideas, children, LIFE. We are strong, and we have to ban together and not allow any one to convince our sisters that they are not special, powerful.

 YOU- WOMAN-YOU ARE AMAZING- remember that you hold power, remember how to harness that inner strength and energy- it's been with you since the beginning of time.

We ban together, we teach our daughters, we never forget.

We have the Power to Empower

The Reason I'm a Bartender...for now...

 This is my awesome friend Xaine (Go to her site-NOW, you will be astounded by her talent)- an amazing Fiber Artist, super creative and talented in everyway; and-she's having a bad day today...ie: "I can't make it financially, I'm not good enough, I should just give up now,  I'll never make it" etc...

 I have these days A LOT. They're scary, debilitating  and sometimes brings on such a strong wave of depression, I won't even go into the Studio for days. WHY? What happens in our head that makes us do so well for so long and then in the blink of an eye we are so depressed we decide we'll never do anything with our lives and we may as well quit now. I know that when I have a bad night bar-tending or my bills are due, I  start thinking " If I wasn't such a crappy artist I wouldn't have to work at the bar" which continues into," I'll never make money, I'm not a real artist, I should quit now, I don't try hard enough"... which sends me into an even further decline of looking online and comparing my work to others work and getting jealous, and wishing and wanting, and not be as good as...which wastes DAYS. At the time I don't see that, but what I SHOULD be doing is CREATING THROUGH IT ALL!
 When I start feeling 'less than'- I need to get off my arse and get paint on my hands, or a pencil to some paper, and work through my pain, and self doubts. I have to force my way through that cloud of funk.

As for comparing myself to others- that should be a NO NO in all artists lives. I'm an orange your an apple- hell, usually i'm a cactus...not comparable- yet I do. Finding inspiration from other artists is awesome- being inspired to the point of jealousy or competition is CRAZY. I'll never make art like you- my soul is like a snowflake, a thumbprint...it's unique to me and even if I painted the same picture it would still not look exactly the same because it would have my art soul all over it.

 Yeah, so I'm not self employed yet, and I have to work another job to help out...but that should fuel me into wanting to work harder and prove to myself that I AM AN ARTIST! Sometime, part-time, quiet time, all the time... doesn't matter, I'm an Artist and as an ARTIST I have to MAKE. ART is MAKING AND DOING, not the done...not the product, and the more I make, the more options for others there are out there for some one to fall in love with, and want to purchase. I will forever more try to work through my depression instead of marinating in self loathing!!! That's a promise I'm making to me and you!

My new Girl

I've been working with a series of girls that all sorta look like her for a bit, and I'm really happy with her. Sometimes they're acrylic, sometimes ink, this time watercolor. Now on to the body!

Goddess Girl Power

 I have been blessed with four beautiful children, two girls and two boys. My girls are ages 2 and 10 and the 2 year old is fierce and dynamic, never afraid to be herself, she hasn't yet learned shame, fear, or pressure, And I hope I can shield her from that knowledge of childhood cruelty forever...or at least until she's confident enough to not care. But my dear sweet 10 year old is so much like my young self it makes my heart ache. She's so good...so willing to please...and so unbelieving of herself it makes me want to cry and yell at the same time.
 We have this practice in the family that if you say something negative, about anyone in the family-yourself included- you have to say three positive things to make up for it. I have to force her to say nice things about herself with the threat of time out or no TV...she says she doesn't want to sound too proud.


WHY ON EARTH NOT?!? 

Who is going to love her if she doesn't think she deserves it? Who is going to see her full potential, and convince her it's there if she never believes?
I don't want my beautiful girl, who is so GOOD, to waste her childhood believing untruths. I am trying to help her become empowered, become strong, become sure, BECOME. It took me 35 years to START to believe in myself. And I know, looking back, all of the joy I could have found in life had I believed in myself. I can't stand the thought of it taking her that long. My mama bear comes out full force when anything happens with my babes, and it comes out with they are mean to themselves as well.

Last night we rolled the windows down and yelled at the top of our lungs-
I AM GOOD ENOUGH!
I AM BEAUTIFUL.
I AM SMART!!!
I AM WOMAN!!!
She hated it...
And the newest (embarrassing to her)project, is saying to our reflection in the mirror how much we love ourselves, everyday...every time we brush our teeth. I'm sure she thinks I'm a nut case. But it's worth it because (hopefully) one day, she will believe in herself as much as I believe in her.