Tag Archives: creativity

Andrea Schroeder on self love.

I have never met Andrea Schroeder in “real” life but maybe I have met her in my dreams.  She is the creator of the Creative Dream Incubator and the Creative Dream Circle.  A Canadian with a vision that goes beyond the usual “fluff” we so often see on social media.

She’s an artist but also someone who delves deeply into the problems of being human.  She helps you expand the possibilities of being a life artist. I was intrigued by her unique take on common problems / solutions so I promptly joined her Creative Dream Circle.

And I have had fun with it ever since! It’s full of creative courses and other awesome offerings. The yearly  membership will not be enough to go through all the material, but I look forward to a long exploration on her site.

I will offer you links to her offerings at the end of this post.  This excerpt is from her free guided journal + free coloring book.

What it is: 15 pages of journal prompts and hand-drawn mandala coloring pages to explore and color.

She writes:

It’s a beam of creativity & love, from my heart to yours.

This book is designed for people who want to lead creatively abundant lives — and do ‘impossible’ things, with ease & joy, every day.

Filled with journaling prompts, unique energy alchemy processes and hand-drawn healing mandala coloring pages, this book will lead you through the process of learning more about your (amazing!) self.

There is magic in this book.

You activate that magic by playing with it.

Play in whatever way you want to play. Use whatever art supplies are fun for you: glitter pens, crayons, collage, etc.  There are no rules here.

The journaling prompts are tiny little diving boards, for you to dive off of into your own adventure – go off on tangents and explore whatever thoughts come up in the process.  They will lead you to amazing places.

The healing power of the mandala coloring pages is activated when you color them in, lighting them up with your unique creative expression and ideas.  (If you want to explore mandalas further and draw your own, I’ve got an easy-peasy anyone-can-do.

My hope is that this book helps you to fall more deeply in love with your amazing self.

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To download this free inspirational how-to go HERE.

You don’t have to be an artist to create these mandalas.

To find a full length course of painting mandalas or to find out about the Creative Dream Circle go HERE.

All artists and LIFE artists need a shot of inspiration so I have added the link below.  It’s really worth looking into.

To give Your Dream Wings, check out this full length e-course that is FREE!!!  Click HERE.

You can also find Andrea on Facebook HERE.

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Andrea Schroeder

We all need inspiration sometimes, and she’s great at offering new views and possibilities, and I like her laid back style.

I wish you a happy, creative weekend!

xo

Maria

P.S. If you’re looking for a unique gift please check my etsy shop HERE.

 

Doubt is what holds us back.

I have no doubt that doubt holds us back from achieving our dreams.

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doubt and fear

Dreams can be elusive, and you might have a vague idea of what your dream is about. If you have an inkling that is GOOD! So many people don’t have any idea of what their dream or passion is.

Achieving a dream can be fraught with doubt and other pitfalls, but the easy part is to JUST START where you are now.  Say you want to be an accomplished painter and you know you feel great when you paint, but something holds you back.

Fear create doubts. “I’m not good enough.”  “I can’t paint well enough.” “I never went to art school so I can’t be a painter.” “People don’t approve.”

Sounds familiar?  But who cares?  When you start something, you might not have any idea of where you’re going, but buy some art supplies that appeal to you. (Most likely, you already have some dusty stuff hidden in the closet.) Dust that stuff off and bring it back out.

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Despite the doubt, just start.

Once you have started and made a commitment to pursue your desire to become a painter, you will find that the next step on the journey will reveal itself.  It’s as if starting sets off some kind of unseen magic.

You will make some ugly art and you will make some great art, and the PROCESS is what makes things interesting.  Everything you do will teach you to take the next step. Art, by the way, is an endless exploration so even if you are a painter for 60 years, you still have more to explore. That is a great thing!

Other passions might not have that longevity factor.

You will be working on yourself as you follow your passion.  Everything we dare to do helps us to discover new depths and gifts within ourselves. That is another gift that happens when we dare to step out of our comfort zone and try something new.

By all means, take some painting courses to learn technique, but know that the true creativity is inside of you. Don’t become a copy cat. Be brave enough to forge your own path even if there is lots of resistance. That might never go away, but you can make friends with it and DO IT ANYWAY.

Resistance meets me every morning in the studio, but what the heck is new with that?  Nada.  Old record of fear keeps playing in my mind, but action takes me beyond that and into the space where magic happens, or not. I still gain experience that is valuable.

How to find your passion if you don’t know what it is.

Think back to when you were a kid. What did you do then that you enjoyed? I enjoyed crafts (paperdolls,) reading, and the outdoors.  Art making has traveled like a red thread through my life.

Think of some job you liked or had a knack for. It might have been a summer job when you were young.

What do you have a knack for?  Writing? Numbers? Decorating?  What do your friends ask you to help them with if anything?  Do they often say, “You’re so good at this.”

If you like more internal things like reading, maybe you can try writing a book.  What if you like intuition and meditation, all internal experiences? Maybe you can teach that to people.  What if you love to cook? Maybe you can specialize in some type of cooking and write a cook book?

The possibilities are endless.

Maybe you like to speak, to lead, to teach. The online world is filled with endless possibility to make your mark and help many people.

Find your passion, START doing it.  Take one step at a time, and when hurdles show up (as they will,) deal with them one at a time. You may have to do some internal work to get past feelings to inadequacy but in the long run, you will stand VICTORIOUS, and who knows, your paintings might be worth millions (once you’re dead, haha.) It’s all in the process, baby.

Kick the doubt to the curb and tell it stay the hell away!

xo

Maria

P.S. I have an art and intuition ecourse coming up. Art as Oracle 2 starts on June 7. You can read all about it HERE.

Creativity on fire.

Creativity on fire, do you feel it, or do you feel stuck most of the time?

Creativity has become a big deal these days. The word is thrown around all over Facebook and other social media.  What is creativity?  I like how Wiki defines creativity:

Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention a literary work or a painting).

In other words, it’s not just artsy stuff. I’m into artsy stuff and self development. Creative ideas can be very helpful in both.

The problem with art is that we tend to copy each other, or paint in the style that is popular now. The artists we admire have forged their own path of creativity and that’s why they are leaders.

Forging your own path can be quite difficult and challenging, especially if you’re prone to criticize yourself and your work. It is always easier to copy others.

However, all the art looks the same, and part of us approve that we follow the trend, but another part says “wait a minute” that painting is not ME.

The only way to keep creativity on fire is to explore your inner landscape, to discover more and more of who you are and how you express. That means to listen to your intuition and step lightly and slowly in a world that runs at warp speed. Are you willing to truly go deep an explore or are you just having fun copying others or the teacher of the moment?

Every moment that feels authentic has another moment following, and to keep authentic we have to listen for that moment and what it presents. It might not present anything, and then we get frustrated.

I do this all the time. I override my better deeper judgment and paint something I already know, usually something cute. As you know, cute is IN, so you can’t go wrong with cute and whimsical.

However, the practice makes me frustrated and I get stopped in my tracks. That’s no way to feel around creativity. I want to feel fresh and inspired, “on fire.”

Maybe the hardest thing is to stay present and listening, and not bulling through to the finished product.

I have a FREE mini ecourse where art-ing in the moment can be explored. Check this out: Ugly Is Ok!

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In the shadow

Join my Facebook group and share your work if you like. HERE.

Cheerio, and happy creating. Find the fire within!

xo

Maria

Your inner child.

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Your inner child is still with you, and you know that of course. I have noticed a trend lately. Well, it has been going on for some years, but people (mostly women) are taking great delight in different kinds of childlike expressions. The grown-up coloring books are the rage right now, and people love a slew of different kinds of weekly planners, in which they can be creative and record their feelings. I think it’s great!

There is a much greater openness, especially among artists to express their inner childlike joy. The “perfectionism” of art has long gone by the wayside, and it’s okay for anyone to express their art without shame. Not everyone is a Rembrandt, but everyone is an artist.

I have been feeling the joy of people expressing their creativity, be it art journaling, drawing, painting, intuitive painting, playing with clay and various styles of jewelry.

What with social media being such a great resource of pictures and tutorials, we live in a great time for expansion and acceptance.  The boundaries have been busted!

I find inspiration on every site, from Facebook to Twitter, to etsy to YouTube.  It’s like a cornucopia of art blessings! It also inspires me to try new styles.

I started out playing with (and drawing) paper dolls when I was a kid. Making clothes for them was my first foray into art. I never tired of it. I had a shoe box full under the kitchen bench we had. I would pull it out and go through my stash of dolls every day, spread them out on the kitchen table.  I also loved coloring books. I was careful not to color outside the lines, lol.

These days I do nothing but color outside the lines…

Later I got really into drawing and painting with whatever tools I had. My parents weren’t very forthcoming with artist tools, but I made do. When the desire is there you only need a paper and a  pencil.

I had some oil pastels and watercolors, but I could never get the watercolors right. You can’t really fix the mistakes, so it was frustrating.

These days I prefer acrylic paints and mixed media. Acrylics dry so fast and I love that. I also love the flexibility of the paint.

My biggest obstacle to creating every day is to actually sit down and DO it. I know I share that boat with many. The only way to overcome it is to go back to the page or canvas, slap some paint on. When all fails I glue a picture or two on the page to get started.

It is all about commitment. If we really want to do something we have to commit to it, no matter what it takes. It’s the only way to see results, but also to feel the joy along the way. No one said it would be easy… There are many peaks and valleys.

What is your passion?

I’m into intuitive painting a lot these days. I have two e-courses on offer that address art and intuition and intuition itself. Check it out on THIS LINK.

Want some more news?  Sign up for my newsletter HERE.

xo

Maria

Discover your inner fire.

Discover your inner fire.  It’s not that hard, but we tend to live in the lies we tell ourselves.  We all have Ph.Ds. in excuses, like family and other things we have to attend to in this 3D-existence.  But there is always time if we make it.  We also tend to not listen to the inner urges, labeling them as woo-woo or generally uncomfortable or ridiculous, like dreams at night.  Ninety percent of all the women I meet live for and through their families, but what about THEM?  What is their own outlet of happiness?  Nothing wrong with being focused on family, but not to a point where that’s all there is.

I feel kind of blah today, not very fired up, but I know what makes me happy.  Every day I sit down to listen within and every time I find my true north.  Then it’s all about will to make stuff happen in accordance to my inner direction.

How do you tame your will?  You don’t.  Will is like a cat, contrary at best, or outright belligerent at worst. Cats know how to be motivated, especially at meal times, lol.  Cats are also super lazy and they don’t give a sh*t.  Sometimes I wish I was more like them because they truly act from supreme indifference and detachment.  That doesn’t mean they have no feelings, but everything is on their terms.  You know immediately about your transgression  when you take a wrong step, like taking them to the vet.

So basically, you have a cat in your head.

There is a way to tame cats, sort of.  You have to coax them along with something alluring, like tuna treats.  When you love something, it has a kind of golden allure.  Your passion is like that; that thing you keep putting off.   Throw some treats at it!

Once you allow yourself (with some coaxing) to attend to that passion, you feel great.  That feeling is the tuna treat.  Basically, the more you allow yourself to experience that special feeling, the easier it gets to choose to be a participant, not a sideline observer.

Step away from the sideline.  When you don’t feel like it, apply some discipline (which is also an acquired skill) to push yourself forward.  One whiff of that tuna will get your right in the mood to pursue.  I know it works for me.

For me the tuna is the joy of creativity.  Writing this fires me up, and seeing a pile of painting brushes in my studio gives me an inner smile.  If you don’t know what yours is, do some digging for gold inside that murky mine of yours.  “I can’t find it,” you say??  Frigging BS.  Don’t be lazy, dig deeper.

Just accept that there is a special path waiting for you; the one only you can find.  Don’t you want to go on adventure?  Don’t you want to find out?  Live your life as an adventurer, not like a predictable hamster running on its wheel.  I have to say I prefer cats to hamsters.

Don’t you want to have your tombstone say you lived with passion, that you inspired others?

The habits can get so ingrained it can be hard to break out of them, and most people don’t even try.  I speak to YOU who wants to find out, who knows there is no other way to live.

That the same ole, same ole is not good enough.

My inspiration today: take positive action, no matter how much the resistance says no.  Engage will and discipline and get into your life.  You won’t look back because you know it’s true.

I’m doing the action right beside you, so let’s go!

Because life happens NOW!

xo

Maria

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Google images captainkyso.com

P.S.  My e-course Visionary Art Journaling offers many exercises to go within to discover your inner truth.  We will be working with art and the six senses.  It’s a self paced e-course.  The link is HERE.

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