process

Current Reality

Written on October 7, 2011 by Cindy in paintings on display, process Leave a Comment

State of the studio as of October 7, 2011

Ahem. Yep, there’s a lot of work to be done before my studio is ready for the Western Wake Artists Studio Tour on November 12th & 13th!

This situation could be discouraging, but not when I remember that REALLY knowing your current reality is essential to creating. I agree with Robert Fritz: when you’re very clear about both your desired outcome AND your current reality, the structural tension between the two energizes your creation. In other words, it’s great to know you want to get to New York City, but how you get there will differ radically depending on whether you’re leaving from Atlanta or Chicago! So it helps to know that this is my starting point for the clean, organized and welcoming studio I plan to create by November 11th. I hope you’ll drop by to see the results!

Shows and events you won’t want to miss:

This Saturday, October 8th, be sure to catch Works of Heart: The Triangle’s Art Auction Against AIDS, at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh. Here’s the schedule:
Free Public Preview of available artwork, 11 am – 4 pm
Silent Auction, 6 pm – 7:45 pm
Live Auction, 8 pm – 10 pm

While you’re at the Progress Energy Center, you can also check out the Regional Artist Showcase in the Betty Ray McCain Gallery, which includes three of my Reservoir paintings. Or join us for the closing reception on Tuesday, October 18, from 5:30 – 7:00 pm. Either way, you’re sure to see a lot of great art in a beautiful space.

SPARKcon!

It was such a great experience to participate in SPARKcon this year (September 15th-18th)! I will definitely mark my calendar early next year so I can make it to more of the events. I enjoyed seeing so many of you at the artSPARK gallery, and of course it was extra fun that one of my paintings won first prize! Thanks for celebrating with all of us.

Tags: creating, process, Progress Energy Center, Robert Fritz, SPARKcon, studio, Works of Heart

Paint. Root. Shine. Relax.

Written on June 24, 2011 by Cindy in process 7 Comments

Hiro Boga, one of my favorite online teachers, recently invited her readers to share stories of how they rule their worlds.
(If you respond, you’re entered in a lovely giveaway – there’s still time if you want to join in!)

So I’ve been pondering her questions:
What matters most to you? How do you cultivate your central values in your life? In your business? How do you serve your world?
Here’s what it came down to for me:

Paint. Root. Shine. Relax.

That little mantra actually popped into my head a few years ago, and little did I know then what treasure it held! Last week while going through some of the exercises from Jennifer Lee’s Right Brain Business Plan, I realized that it neatly sums up my core values, and how I cultivate those values in my life and business:

Paint – Create. Love something enough to bring it into being. Get your hands in it. Collaborate with reality. Experiment and play.

Root — Get under the surface. Intuitively connect with nourishment and support. Break rocks over time. Walk in the woods. Develop structures for flow.

Shine — Trust what you see. Share what you know. Tend the fire of envisioned desires.

Relax – Acknowledge abundance. Revel in beauty. Cultivate ease and balance.

I am passionate about creating to connect, and connecting to create. I serve my world by showing up, warts and all. By becoming more lovingly present. By creating works of art through which people can connect to their own well-being. By collaborating with creators to help them connect with and master their creating process.

Thank you, Hiro, for this invitation and challenge, and for helping me along the path toward ruling my world through love, service and blessing.

Tags: flow, Hiro Boga, Jennifer Lee, process, RBBP

Masking film is my friend

Written on June 17, 2011 by Cindy in process 2 Comments

I first used Frisket Film last year while working on Eclipse 7. It was the perfect solution to mask out the small upper left sphere while lightening up the surrounding area.

drip painting in progress w/ masking film

Next use: the new series of drip paintings on paper. It can be re-used at least once, so I was able to redistribute the circles of masking film for a second layer of drips. You can see the first layer in this image.
(You’ll see more of the progression of this piece in next month’s Work in Progress newsletter – sign up here!)

masking circles as window decor

Now those same circles of masking film are enjoying a third re-use as funky window decorations!

Tags: drip paintings, Eclipse series, technique, works on paper

Systems for Flow

Written on June 10, 2011 by Cindy in paintings in progress, process 1 Comment

Reservoir 7 in progress, with my high-tech image tracking system!

As you may remember, my “word of the year” for 2011 is Flow. One way to increase flow is to set up structures to contain and direct it, like channels or pipes for water, or wiring for electricity. The cool thing is, the smallest tweaks in a structure can really up the flow factor. Believe or not, the photo above is an example!

Let me explain. I like to photograph my work at each stage of development, so I can show you the whole creation process. You can see these nifty slide shows every month in my newsletter, Work In Progress (sign up here!).

Anyway, the panel paintings have oodles of layers, so that’s oodles of photographs, which take oodles of time to download, organize and crop. What’s more, these pieces look very similar in the early stages, so it’s very easy to lose track of what’s what.

I started labeling the pieces with a post-it note each time I took a photo. That kept me from losing track of which was which, but didn’t do much to speed the organizing process, because I couldn’t read the post-it note labels from thumbnail-size icons. I tweaked the system a bit more: made the numbers much bolder and used different color post-its. Now I can tell which piece I’m looking at right from the download screen! Image processing is much faster, which means I’m more likely to actually get the images up where you can see them – here or on Facebook or Flickr. Less resistance = increased flow!

How have you tweaked your systems to reduce friction and increase flow? Tell us your tricks in the comments!

Tags: flow, in progress, panel paintings, Reservoir, systems

out of hibernation

Written on April 27, 2011 by Cindy in inspiration, paintings in progress, process 3 Comments

new drip paintings in progress

winter into spring

The last several months have been a time of hibernation for me (as you may have guessed, considering the lack of activity here on the blog!) Hibernation = quiet time at home, sinking down into the roots of my creativity, giving new ideas space and time to germinate underground. But now spring energy is here, the sap is flowing (flow!) and new creations are starting to poke their heads up through the soil. It’s an exciting time – reminds me why spring is my favorite season, even when we’re blanketed in tree pollen!

fueling creation

This month I’ve mostly been focused on creating my new coaching program, CreateStrong, which I’ll be launching in a few days. Very excited about it! (for first dibs on the deets, sign up here) But I’ve also been painting (new work in progress in the photo above) and working on my Thriving Artist Expedition Guide (i.e., business plan).

In order to keep the well filled up in the midst of all this creating, I’ve been taking advantage of the gorgeous spring weather by going on lots of hikes in the woods. I’ve also been devouring Barbara Hambly fantasy novels! I find that each creation, or season of creating, seems to want its own fuel – sometimes particular music or food, or a particular activity. This time around it’s definitely hiking and fantasy novels. And home-made gluten-free granola. Hey, whatever works!

in the news!

Today I was very pleased to learn that I’m featured in an article in my home town arts magazine, A! Magazine for the Arts. Couldn’t have had better synchronicity with the coming out of hibernation theme if I’d planned it! In Angela Wampler’s series “Where Are They Now?” she talked to four people from the Bristol TN/VA region, including yours truly, who are pursuing arts-related careers elsewhere in the U.S. It’s very cool to have my roots in a place that really values the arts!
Read the article here.

and you?

Are there new things blooming for you this spring? I’d love to hear about your experience with hibernation and creation in the comments!

Tags: A! Magazine, Bristol TN/VA, CreateStrong, creative fuel, news

a word for 2011

Written on January 20, 2011 by Cindy in process 7 Comments

painting with drips - a study in flow

It’s been years since I’ve made new year’s resolutions, but the beginning of a fresh year still brings the urge to plan, set goals, clarify intentions, whatever. Several years ago I remember that Laura began choosing a word or theme to organize her yearly goals, and while I admired how it worked for her, for some reason I didn’t pick up on it myself then. Late in 2009, however, I ran across the “word of the year” concept again on Christine Kane’s blog, and the timing was right. I chose AMPLIFY to be my word for 2010 (more about that in another post).

But now here we are in 2011, and time for a new “word of the year.” I think this year’s word has been sneaking up on me since October. I’ve played and investigated, and now the verdict is in — this year’s word is FLOW. As in ease, consistency, liquidity. I’m also drawn to visuals and concepts around what facilitates flow — channels, pathways, wiring, capacity, boundaries, containment, structure, energy, intention, focus. But also flexibility, dynamism, adaptibility. Adaptable structures for flow. Yes! I will certainly continue playing around with these words, but for now they seem to be coalescing into three sub-themes: Structure, Simplicity, and Sovereignty.

I’m still discovering the ways Amplify shaped 2010, and looking forward to how Flow will shape 2011.

Do you choose a word (or words) for the year? I’d love to read your stories in the comments.

If these stories fascinate you, hop over to Christine Kane’s blog for a series of guest posts by folks who chose a word for 2010. Inspiring stuff!

Tags: flow, word of the year