Letting Go of the Old You

Congratulations!  You already saw the title of the post and you're still reading!  It must be the right time for you.

As I mentioned in my post from the first of the month, transitions mean the letting go of the old way of being.   We let go of who we once were to step into what we want to be.  It can be scary, but I've got you covered.   We'll do it together.  We're keeping it simple and easy. 

Breathe in.  Relax your shoulders.  Exhale and release the old stuff.

Breathe in again.  Deeper.  Open your chest and heart and feel yourself step out into your new way of being.  Exhale and release any anxiety.

Breathe in again.  Hold it for a bit and thank your old self for all the miles and lessons and love. 

Exhale and let your old self go. 

Give yourself a big hug.  Breathe for a minute and let yourself feel free to just BE.  It's going to be a glorious adventure.

I'd like to invite you to join our Best Self facebook group where we can talk freely about becoming our best selves - and all the messy work that entails.  In addition, I have another group, The Well Balanced Artist, for creatives of all kinds and in all stages of their creative lives, who are trying to balance their art, business and personal lives. 

Watercolor for Relaxation Class!

Class: Watercolor for Relaxation

Saturday, March 24, 2018

9:00 am- noon

Location:  Robin Edmundson Studio (map)

Cost:  $65 - includes all materials

So often we sit down to creative work with the heavy expectation of creating a masterpiece...or at least something that will bring compliments from viewers. The purpose of this class is to let go of the expectation of creating something perfect and finished and replace it with the calm of simply observing what the paint and water do together. No expectations, just fun.

We will play with color, learn how different pigments react with water, experiment with salt and plastic wrap effects, play with abstract compositions and a few other surprises.

This class is appropriate for all levels of skill, including people who have never touched watercolor before. [It will probably be hardest for people who are used to trying to paint 'something' instead of just playing].

 

Register HERE.

...and if you want to stick around for more fun that day, I still have places in the Silk Dyeing Class that afternoon.

Watercolor Meditation Bonus: FLOW-ers

I hope you've been having a terrific time playing around with watercolor over the last few weeks and that these meditations brought you some peace, calm and focus during this crazy time of year.

I know the name of this last meditation is a pun, but it was a way to remember the purpose of the meditation so you won't get caught up in the stress of trying to paint perfect flowers. 

The point is to play.  Let things flow.  Just watch and see what happens. Look for the wabi-sabi.

Bonus Meditation:  FLOW-ers Remember it's all about relaxing and letting things flow. Take a deep breath and relax.  Breathe in.  Breathe out. Relax your shoulders. Relax your arms and hands. Breathe. You are going to have so much fun! The purpose of this meditation is to put a few of the previous activities together in a fun way.

Gather your materials:   You will be able to use these few materials for all of the activities in the series.   Watercolor pigments: Tubes, pans, or sets. Whatever is easy for you to get and use. Make sure you like the colors. [You can also use coffee or tea if that's all you have close by.] If you have tubes, then you'll need an old plate or lid to use as a palette.  Paper:  Any size mixed media paper or watercolor paper.   Thicker watercolor paper won't buckle if you decide to use a lot of water in one of these activities.  You'll need at least one sheet for each activity, but you'll probably have so much fun with some of these that you'll just keep playing.  6 x 6  inches or so is a nice size.  Big enough to play, but not be too intimidating.  If you have larger paper and want to cut it down, go right ahead.  [You can also use a napkin if that's all you have close by.] Brush:  Any watercolor brush will do.   Size 8 or 10 round is good for starters. [You can also use a straw, spoon, etc. if that's all you have close by.] Water jar:   To clean your brush in.  A recycled food jar is great.  Pint sized is great.  Salt: Any type, any size.

MEDITATION:  Painting FLOW-ers We're going to use the activities you played with in the other meditations to make a flower. Remember, it's all about the FLOW.  It doesn't have to match anything you see in real life.  This is just for fun. Choose two similar colors for the petals: 2 reds/pinks, 2 blues, 2 yellow/gold/oranges... Paint a circle with clear water, leaving the center dry, just as you did in the OBSTACLES meditation. Enlarge the circle with paint,  leaving the outside edges irregular, like petals.  Alternate your colors, leaving some lighter places and some darker places. Choose a color for the center:  Yellow, orange, purple, blue.  You can't choose wrong. Put some of that color into the center.  It's OK if flows into the other colors as it did in the FLOW and OPPOSITES meditations..  This is just for fun. Now sprinkle some salt into the center as you did for the RESISTANCE meditation.  Let it dry.   Play.   Try it with different colors.  In the photo at the top of this section, I used a pink and a red for the petals and yellow for the center.  You can see the puddles on the sides and how the yellow  blended right in to the side. This is what it looked like dry:   Here are some others that I've played with: Oranges & yellows with a purple center:  [The purple changes as it blends.] Reds with a dark blue center, still wet: Once they are dry, look them over and find the perfect in the imperfect as you did in the WABI SABI meditation. This is the joy of watercolor.

Thank You Thanks so very much for spending some time with me today.  I hope you've used these meditations to relax and put some calm in your day.  Please feel free to forward them to anyone who will enjoy them. If you have a question, observation or photo you want to share, I'd love to hear from you! Email me.

See all of my classes here.

The other activities in this series:

Meditation #1: Observation

Meditation #2: Flow 

Meditation #3: Resistance

Meditation #4: Obstacles

Meditation #5: Opposition

Meditation #6: Wabi Sabi

Bonus Meditation:  FLOW-ers

Meditation #6: Wabi Sabi

Are you still having fun with these? I love doing these for warm ups when I get into the studio.

One of the characteristics of watercolor as a medium is that it can be very unruly. This is code for: OMG. I can't make it do what I want it to do!!

You're not alone in that frustration. The trick is to work with the medium and to let it surprise you.

The knack of finding the perfect in the imperfect is a Japanese philosophy called wabi sabi. It's a good philosophy to have when working with watercolor.

Watercolor Meditation: WABI SABI Breathe in. Breathe out. Relax your shoulders. Relax your arms and hands. Breathe. You are going to have so much fun! The purpose of this meditation is to help look for the perfect in the imperfect.  It's easy to judge our efforts as unsatisfactory when we are learning or when things spin out of our control.  It's easy to focus on what we don't like or what didn't turn out instead of what is beautiful or what did turn out. Wabi sabi is the Japanese philosophy of finding the perfect in the imperfect. Watercolor is a perfect way to explore this idea. Take a deep breath and relax. Gather your materials: You will be able to use these few materials for all of the activities in the series. Watercolor pigments: Tubes, pans, or sets. Whatever is easy for you to get and use. Make sure you like the colors. [You can also use coffee or tea if that's all you have close by.] If you have tubes, then you'll need an old plate or lid to use as a palette.  Paper: Any size mixed media paper or watercolor paper. Thicker watercolor paper won't buckle if you decide to use a lot of water in one of these activities. You'll need at least one sheet for each activity, but you'll probably have so much fun with some of these that you'll just keep playing. 6 x 6 inches or so is a nice size. Big enough to play, but not be too intimidating. If you have larger paper and want to cut it down, go right ahead. [You can also use a napkin if that's all you have close by.]  Brush: Any watercolor brush will do. Size 8 or 10 round is good for starters. [You can also use a straw, spoon, etc. if that's all you have close by.]  Water jar: To clean your brush in. A recycled food jar is great. Pint sized is great.  Salt: Any kind, any size. MEDITATION: WABI SABI Choose four colors. Any four. It doesn't matter if they 'go together'. Remember how beautifully the Opposites worked together in the last meditation? Make puddles of each. Thick or thin - like cream or tea. Start with one color and drip it or brush it in three places [big or small, you choose] Clean your brush and do it again with another color. Three places. Touching or not touching the first color. Clean your brush and do it again with the third color. Clean your brush and do it again with the fourth color. OBSERVE how they mix and mingle. CHOOSE: Do you want to stop here and let it dry?  Do you want to drop more paint on in places?  Do you want to drop plain water on in places?  Play. Find the places that make you unhappy. Look at them closely and look for what is beautiful about them.  Look for the perfect in the imperfect.  Let it dry and look again. Watercolor can really change as it dries. Find the perfect in the imperfect. Thanks so very much for spending some time with this today.  I hope you've used this meditation to relax and put some calm in your day.  If you have a question, observation or photo you want to share, I'd love to hear from you! Email me. See all of my classes here. The other meditations in this series: Meditation #1: Observation Meditation #2: Flow  Meditation #3: Resistance Meditation #4: Obstacles Meditation #5: Opposition Meditation #6: Wabi Sabi Bonus Meditation:  FLOW-ers

Breathe

December is really beautiful here. This is a photo of a farm in Owen County.  It makes me happy to look at it.  Which is really good, because I'm kind of going out of my mind these days.

We've had a bit of holiday drama this year that we are still working through.  It has given me an opportunity to stretch all of my mediation and meditation skills. 

In addition, I took a risk and made a trip to visit a few galleries that I've been interested in.  I have found one that I really love and that I would love to be a part of, but now I'm besieged with a lot of negative self talk. I know how high the quality of their art is.  I know my skills and lack thereof and I am reluctant to put myself out there for what I fear is certain rejection.  The rejection doesn't bother me as much as any judgments that might linger about my lack of skills.  What I'm really afraid of is that I fail and then when I try again, I'd be firstly recognized as not having been good enough previously.   [Does that make sense?]   Should I wait to even attempt until it's likely to be a slam dunk? [as they advise tenure applicants to do?].... Or should I just go for it and keep trying until I get it?

So much difficult thinking!   In the meantime, I do my five and a half minute meditations and I remind myself to breathe.   Just breathe.  Breathe through the conflict.  Breathe through the uncertainty.  Breathe through the disappointment.  Breathe through the anxiety.  Sometimes the breathing is all I can do to keep living my best life now.

Solstice is this next week.  I'll be doing a Letting Go ceremony here.  I do it all by myself, one quiet moment before everyone gets home.  I smudge, thank and bless the house and studio for another year.  I will release what no longer serves me to make room for what lights me up.  And I will breathe. 

Watercolor Meditation #5: Opposites

This is the time of year when our family differences really show up.   I love lots of holiday music.  One of my kids does not.   Two of us like a little tree, two of us like giant trees.   Some of us like egg nog thick and sticky sweet, some of us like it thinner and less sweet.  I like gift tags, others don't.  Some of us like surprises, some don't. 

There are a lot of opposites this time of year.   This meditation is all about how beautiful that interaction can be.

Watercolor Meditation:  OPPOSITES Take a deep breath and relax.  Breathe in.  Breathe out. Relax your shoulders. Relax your arms and hands. Breathe. You are going to have so much fun! The purpose of this meditation is to show what beautiful things happen when opposites interact.   Gather your materials:   You will be able to use these few materials for all of the activities in the series.   Watercolor pigments: Tubes, pans, or sets. Whatever is easy for you to get and use. Make sure you like the colors. [You can also use coffee or tea if that's all you have close by.] If you have tubes, then you'll need an old plate or lid to use as a palette.  Paper:  Any size mixed media paper or watercolor paper.   Thicker watercolor paper won't buckle if you decide to use a lot of water in one of these activities.  You'll need at least one sheet for each activity, but you'll probably have so much fun with some of these that you'll just keep playing.  6 x 6  inches or so is a nice size.  Big enough to play, but not be too intimidating.  If you have larger paper and want to cut it down, go right ahead.  [You can also use a napkin if that's all you have close by.] Brush:  Any watercolor brush will do.   Size 8 or 10 round is good for starters. [You can also use a straw, spoon, etc. if that's all you have close by.] Water jar:   To clean your brush in.  A recycled food jar is great.  Pint sized is great.  MEDITATION:  OPPOSITES Choose two colors that are very different, or opposite on the color wheel. Here are some good pairs: orange & blue red & green yellow & purple Make puddles of each color on your palette. Thick puddles or thin puddles - like cream or tea.   You choose. Swish your brush around in the plain water.  Get it good and clean and wet. Choose one of the colors you prepared and get some of that paint on your brush.  Don't worry about how much.  You can't do this wrong.  Brush it from one corner of the paper into the center.  Let it flow.  You can add more pigment if you like to make some areas darker.   Swish your brush to clean it and get some of the other color you prepared on your brush.  Don't worry about how much.  You can't do this wrong.  Brush it from the opposite corner of the paper into the center.  Let it flow.   You can add more pigment if you like to make some areas darker.  Let the colors mingle.   You can drop plain water in the center to encourage them to flow.  Watch the colors interact.  Some pairs might blend.  Some colors might push others aside completely.  Just watch. If you like, you can drop the colors on thick in places and watch them interact.  Or thin them with water and watch what happens. Now play. You can't do it wrong.  Put one color in one corner and the opposite color in the other corner.  Pull them toward the center and watch what happens.  Thanks so very much for spending some time with this today.  I hope you've used this meditation to relax and put some calm in your day.  If you have a question, observation or photo you want to share, I'd love to hear from you! Email me.

See all of my classes here.

The other activities in this series:

Meditation #1: Observation

Meditation #2: Flow 

Meditation #3: Resistance

Meditation #4: Obstacles

Meditation #5: Opposition

Meditation #6: Wabi Sabi

Bonus Meditation:  FLOW-ers

Five and a half minutes

I think spiderwebs are really pretty and it's a good thing, because they are everywhere out here.  Our spiders are industrious and not put off by meddling humans who remove the webs.  The spiders just make more. 

I like that determination and focus. 

Which brings me to my meditation practice.   I had meditated many times over the years but never had a 'practice'.   By practice, I mean a regular place, method, time, etc.   When we re-did the studio this year, I finally had the place, so I set it up with a candle, incense burner and comfortable place to sit. 

And then I just didn't have time to sit and meditate.   Apparently, I liked the idea of meditation more than actually sitting and meditating.

Let's face it, on the surface, meditation looks like sitting still.   I hate that.   Seriously, I have way too much to do to sit still doing nothing for 30 minutes. 

And I was explaining that to someone who pointed out that the monks at the local Tibetan monastery only meditate for 10 minutes at a time because it's not reasonable to sustain that kind of focus for hours. 

OK then. 

And in the same conversation, we talked about how the purpose of meditation is to get centered.   When the mind starts spinning, you bring it back to center.   It wanders, you bring it back.  Doesn't matter how often.  The point is to learn to come back to center.  It takes a bit of determination and focus.

That's something I can do. 

I chose an amount of time that I know I can manage.   Five and a half minutes.    During that time, I can pray, repeat a mantra, or just focus on my breath.   Doesn't matter.   The point is that I keep coming back to center.   

I sit down, I light my sage or candle, I set the timer and I breathe.   For five and a half minutes. 

And that has made all the difference.  These five and a half minutes of quality time with myself have opened up all kinds of possibilities which are making it possible for me to live my best life now. 

What sorts of things do you practice regularly that are making it possible for you to live your best life now?

Watercolor Meditation #4: Obstacles

This year I've thought a lot about obstacles.  Things that get in my way.  Sometimes  it's other circumstances and people;  sometimes it's me and my emotions.  I like this activity because it clearly demonstrates that obstacles don't have to stop the flow.  The flow just gets redirected for a bit. And that can be a beautiful thing. 

Watercolor Meditation:  Obstacles Take a deep breath and relax.  Breathe in.  Breathe out. Relax your shoulders. Relax your arms and hands. Breathe. You are going to have so much fun! The purpose of this meditation is to show you how the water just flows around obstacles.   Watercolor is wet, so anything that is dry is an obstacle.  The paint will flow with the wet every time.  Gather your materials:   You will be able to use these few materials for all of the activities in the series.   Watercolor pigments: Tubes, pans, or sets. Whatever is easy for you to get and use. Make sure you like the colors. [You can also use coffee or tea if that's all you have close by.] If you have tubes, then you'll need an old plate or lid to use as a palette.  Paper:  Any size mixed media paper or watercolor paper.   Thicker watercolor paper won't buckle if you decide to use a lot of water in one of these activities.  You'll need at least one sheet for each activity, but you'll probably have so much fun with some of these that you'll just keep playing.  6 x 6  inches or so is a nice size.  Big enough to play, but not be too intimidating.  If you have larger paper and want to cut it down, go right ahead.  [You can also use a napkin if that's all you have close by.] Brush:  Any watercolor brush will do.   Size 8 or 10 round is good for starters. [You can also use a straw, spoon, etc. if that's all you have close by.] Water jar:   To clean your brush in.  A recycled food jar is great.  Pint sized is great.  MEDITATION:  OBSTACLES Choose a color or two and make puddles in your palette. Swish your brush around in the plain water.  Get it good and wet. Brush that plain water to make three circles on the paper.   The dry areas in the middle of those circles are your obstacles.   Keep your circles dry and paint in the areas between the circles.  Tilt the paper and watch how the color flows around the obstacles.  Add colors or water as you wish and watch them flow. That's all.  Very simple.  We'll use this process again later in the Meditation series.   Thanks so very much for spending some time with this today.  I hope you've used this meditation to relax and put some calm in your day.  If you have a question, observation or photo you want to share, I'd love to hear from you! Email me. See all of my classes here. The other activities in this series: Meditation #1: Observation Meditation #2: Flow  Meditation #3: Resistance Meditation #4: Obstacles Meditation #5: Opposition Meditation #6: Wabi Sabi Bonus Meditation:  FLOW-ers

Watercolor Meditation #3: Resistance

Hello,  Lovelies!

Tomorrow is DECEMBER, which I can't really even begin to believe.  This year has been so crazy full of things that I still feel upside down.   Isn't July 4th next week?  I'm not ready for deep winter!

I'm feeling some resistance to the whole idea of the roller coaster ride that is the holidays around here.  Soooo - I have a fun watercolor meditation all about resistance.

Resistance is futile, but resistance can also be beautiful!

Watercolor Meditation:  Resistance Take a deep breath and relax.  Breathe in.  Breathe out. Relax your shoulders. Relax your arms and hands. Breathe.  You are going to have so much fun! The purpose of this meditation is examine the patterns created by things that resist or disrupt the flow.  We're going to use salt as a resist. Gather your materials:   You will be able to use these few materials for all of the activities in the series.   Watercolor pigments: Tubes, pans, or sets. Whatever is easy for you to get and use. Make sure you like the colors. [You can also use coffee or tea if that's all you have close by.] If you have tubes, then you'll need an old plate or lid to use as a palette.  Paper:  Any size mixed media paper or watercolor paper.   Thicker watercolor paper won't buckle if you decide to use a lot of water in one of these activities.  You'll need at least one sheet for each activity, but you'll probably have so much fun with some of these that you'll just keep playing.  6 x 6  inches or so is a nice size.  Big enough to play, but not be too intimidating.  If you have larger paper and want to cut it down, go right ahead.  [You can also use a napkin if that's all you have close by.] Brush:  Any watercolor brush will do.   Size 8 or 10 round is good for starters. [You can also use a straw, spoon, etc. if that's all you have close by.] Water jar:   To clean your brush in.  A recycled food jar is great.  Pint sized is great.  And for this activity, you'll need: Salt:  Any kind, any size.   Table salt, epsom salts, sea salt, rock salt.  MEDITATION:   RESISTANCE Swish your brush around in the plain water.  Get it nice and wet. Choose your favorite color and make a puddle of that color in your palette.  Light or dark, doesn't matter.   Lay some of that color on your paper. Now make another puddle of a color you love.   Lay some of that color next to the first color on your paper.   Doesn't matter how.  Watch them mingle and FLOW. OBSERVE how shiny the paper is when it's really wet and how the shine begins to dull as the water soaks into the paper. Pull out your salt and sprinkle a bit on the dull wet areas and on the shiny areas.   Set it aside flat and in a few minutes come back to see the patterns forming.   Let it dry completely, then brush off the salt to see the results.   Use your imagination - Do the patterns remind you of frost, or flowers, or leaves, or feathers...? Now play. You can't do it wrong.  Lay down the colors and drop the salt in the damp areas.   What's happening on the paper?   Two things:  As the salt dissolves, it creates a resist which pushes the pigment away. In addition, salt draws the water to it, creating little puddles which make patterns as they dry [more on that below]. One more thing... Other things can disrupt the flow of watercolor also.   This is a picture of a backflow, or bloom.   This type of resist happens when there is a very wet puddle surrounded by damp, but much less wet areas.   As the surrounding areas dry, the water is pulled [wicked] back into them from the puddle. The water from the puddle re-wets the paint and pushes it aside as it soaks into those areas.  Blooms make beautiful patterns. Look back on your previous watercolor meditations and see if there are any blooms. Thanks so very much for spending some time with this today.  I hope you've used this meditation to relax and put some calm in your day.  If you have a question, observation or photo you want to share, I'd love to hear from you! Email me.

See all of my classes here.

The other activities in this series:

Meditation #1: Observation

Meditation #2: Flow 

Meditation #3: Resistance

Meditation #4: Obstacles

Meditation #5: Opposition

Meditation #6: Wabi Sabi

Bonus Meditation:  FLOW-ers