My rituals and spirituality keep me nurtured. My family keeps me cocooned, safe and loved. As always in the dark nights of the soul,  the light comes through, reminding me that there is balance and that fears will always be there, but it is the moving forward in those fears that the courage comes.

Love is the strongest engine of survival, life’s calling and I’m moving forward with the light of courage.

Peace to you and yours.

(“Life’s Calling” Collage/Paper-5″x7″ - ©2012 Indigene Theresa Gaskin)

The Highs and Lows of my 2011 year:

1.) I RESOLVE TO PROMOTE MYSELF SHAMELESSLY.  (Those of you who read my blogs, encountered me on Facebook and Twitter know this is true! :) I also handed out many business cards and postcards during 2011.

2.) I RESOLVE TO CULTIVATE A GREAT WEBSITE. Well, it’s great website to me! My wonderful webmaster son and I spent an enormous amount of time on it, updating it!

(© 2011 Indigene Theresa Gaskin – Frontview of my 2011 journals).

3.) I RESOLVE TO CONTINUE OPERATING WITH COMPLETE INTEGRITY.  This was done a 100% of the time and gave me great satisfaction, since this is one of my values, to act and serve with integrity!

4.) I RESOLVE TO CONTINUE EDUCATING MYSELF IN THE BUSINESS OF ART. I did this through workshops on and off-line! I made it through 9 workshops this year and in the midst of completing the last one now! I’ve read over (120) books this year, with thirty (30) of them being about art business and marketing (My bookstore receipts state I’ve purchased about 250 books, I still haven’t read them all yet)!

5.) I RESOLVE TO CONTINUE CONNECTING WITH OTHERS AND SHARE INFORMATION. I joined a guild and participated in meetings and continue to mentor others.  This was really big for me, since I am incredibly introverted and enjoy my solitude greatly!  These were all the resolutions I made in the new year of 2011 : (See http://indigeneart.com/happy-new-year-happy-birthday-to-me/)

Additional highlights included winning an award in arts and culture and participating in (2) Art Fairs!

So I feel so incredibly wonderful that I accomplished all my resolutions and lived in true abundance that I gained this year.

(© 2011 Indigene Theresa Gaskin – sideview of all my journals completed in from 2011)

Wonderful highs, also come with lows. The lowest points of 2011 and which will make 2011, unforgettable is that I lost my Mom (August 22) and my sister, Renee (June 27). I can honestly say that I have been in the abyss and on the mountaintop in 2011. I was blessed with the abundance of kindness from strangers and family. The outpouring of love from my internet friends still continue to overwhelm me and kept me held in the abundance of hope and warmth.  I learned so much from this heartbreaking ordeal and I still continue to learn from it. I realized what true friendship meant during this time.

So, 2011 brought me a fire of grief, a rainstorm of love and true growth and will never, ever be forgotten by me.

So with the old year, only a few hours left, I wish you all a very, wonderful, peaceful, spectacular, loving, prosperous, healthy and loving New Year!

I will see you in the New Year, with my intentions and resolutions and I hope to see yours as well! :) Peace to you and yours.

Attending workshops, creating new work, gearing up for my  Holiday Studio Tour, conference calls, video summits and taking care of my daily business routines!

I’ve also spent some incredible time with new friends and old friends, (Thank you, awesome goddesses, you know who you are); which always fills me with love and adrenaline…:)

My thoughts have been scattered, but focused…is that possible, you ask? Yes, because these scattered thoughts and actions are an abundance of energy, that I believe are coming together, to bring another dimension to my life, creating richer experiences for me. They are only scattered, in the sense that I’m snatching time from here and there, because I want it all (insert, Vincent Price loud laugh here)!

I want to do so much and every waking moment is filled with something I love and need to get done, but at the same time, I’m savoring every nano-second and loving it! Now, how’s that for scattered thoughts and feelings?! :)

Every day, I miss my Mom and my sister, Renee, but I remember their beautiful spirits and then I live…in all my moments!

Savor your scattered moments, they have a place in your life, too.

In peace to you and yours.

(Image: collaged page from my “Creative Entrepreneur Business Journal”, Date: Friday, Oct.14, 2011)

P.S. I didn’t have time to edit this, so pardon any typos or scattered thought processes (insert more Vincent Price laughter!)

When Linda Hensley, sent me this, I thought it was a good time to do something fun and show my appreciation of these artists.

First, I want to thank Linda Hensley, for giving me this award. Linda writes and blogs over at: http://lindahensley.blogspot.com. She’s a thoughtful and informative writer and an amazing illustrator. Linda adds value to the blog world! So this wonderful artist has given me an award! Yeah, thank you, Linda!

There were some rules for picking up the award, why, Linda, why? Rules…ugh! :)
The rules for receiving the award:
- Thank the person who gave you the award.
- Write a post about it.
- Answer the questions below.
- Pass it on to 10 bloggers who you think really deserve it and send them a message to let them know.

So here’s some miscellaneous stuff you didn’t want to know about me! :)

Q & A:
01. My favorite color: Orange & Turquoise – never could choose between them!
02. My favorite animal: I should say my daughter’s cat, Oscar, but we have a love/hate relationship! So I have to say my German Shepard, Keisha, who has gone to doggy heaven!
03. My favorite number: 3
04. My favorite non-alcoholic drink? Limeade
05. I’m a member of Facebook and Twitter
06. My passion: I’m not sure there’s enough time to list them all! I’m fanatical about My family, Women and Children Issues/Advocacy; The Elderly, The Environment, and Art, which is not last or least!
07. Getting or giving presents? I love both equally!
08. My favorite pattern? I don’t have a favorite.
09. My favorite day of the week? Friday.
10. My favorite flower? Sunflowers, because when I see them the make me smile, no, matter the mood, there’s something about their brown faces and bright yellow/gold flower hair, that brings out the best in me.

10 Favorite Bloggers:
I hate choosing just 10, because I love so many, but here goes this time around:

1) Vanessa Brantley Newton – http://oohlaladesignstudio.blogspot.com. Her joy and enthusiasm, and pure madness always keeps me laughing!

2) Valerie Walsh - http://www.valgalart.com/blog. Valerie thoughtfulness and beautiful aesthetic always gives me food for thought.

3) Bella Sinclair -http://bellasinclair.blogspot.com. Bella’s art is wonderful and Bella has enough warmth and love for the whole world, and I’m so happy she give me some of it!

4) Jack Foster - http://jacktoon.blogspot.com. Jack’s expressive illustrations are always fun, warm and so easy to relate to.

5) Josh Pincus -http://blog.marshotelonline.com. He is always over the top, and his posts has me laughing out loud with memories and amazed at his knowledge and research!

6) Paula Kuitenbrouwer – http://mindfuldrawing.com - Paula’s posts are always calming and meditative with a smile factor, proving life is in the moment.

7) Ellen Byrne – http://ellenbyrne.blogspot.com. Her blog always has a nostalgic feel and sparkles with her personality.

8) Laurel Gaylord – http://www.studiololo.blogspot.com. Who for the longest time, I only knew her by “Lolo”. She’s an amazing talent with several wonderful blogs!!!

9) Roberta Baird -http://www.robertabaird.com/blog. She is the only illustrator who can get me to look at a mouse, longer then two seconds! Her illustrations makes the child in you dream.

Last, but never least:

10) Sharon Wagner -http://sharonrwagner.blogspot.com. Sharon’s color and designs always jumps off the page, in a fun and whimsical manner.

Sharon has given me a beautiful award, which I want to acknowledge here, also so that you can see her beautiful style and of course to end this blog post in vivid color as well. Thank you Sharon!

I’m truly blessed to know so many talented, amazing, fun-loving and caring artists. It makes life bearable and memorable!

Appreciate your friends, they are your extended family.

In peace to you and yours.

I have something very special to share, so stay-tuned for my wonderful unveiling on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 AM!

I’m excited!

Ciao, until then!

P.S. Once again, THANK YOU and an amazing and heartfelt hug to all of you for your cards, comments, thoughts, support and time.

It’s not something that I can articulate well at this point, and maybe I never will.

(“Mind Body & Spirit” – Mixed Media/Paper)

My sweet little sister, Renee is in hospice, that is really all I can say now. My dreams are filled with surrender, an outpouring of love and a deep hole of sadness. So on these midsummer nights, I try to understand, believe and sustain faith. May the God you believe in, give you the peace of mind, that can surround the body, so that the soul may be released. Blessings to you and yours.

]]> http://indigeneart.com/midsummer-nights-of-mind-body-spirit/feed/ 16 http://indigeneart.com/shadow-of-her-former-self/ http://indigeneart.com/shadow-of-her-former-self/#comments Sat, 04 Jun 2011 16:01:29 +0000 Indigene http://indigeneart.com/?p=1956

Soaking up this beautiful weather, communing with nature, chatting with friends, loving family, laughing, being shamelessly silly and truly understanding how life is so precious, always puts me in a pondering mode.

(Work In Progress- April 25, 2011-SEE COMPLETED PAINTING BELOW)

I’m currently pondering on…

Creating starts  with shadows, some darker than others, with more and more substance added and once the shadows have become a thing of substance, color invades it from all angles.

Like our earth.

Maybe that’s really the big bang theory, or is it what God created from the shadows, what is now our earth; no matter what you believe,  something started it off.

Is that what it will take to save the earth from the onslaught of humankind’s continual draining of her resources? An intervention is inevitable. She is a shadow of her former self…Save her…save us.

(COMPLETED WORK)

“Saving Me, Saves Us“

(24″ x 18″ – Mixed Media/Paper)

Enjoy what has been given freely…the earth.

Peace to you and yours.

]]> http://indigeneart.com/shadow-of-her-former-self/feed/ 12 http://indigeneart.com/honor-the-women-in-your-life/ http://indigeneart.com/honor-the-women-in-your-life/#comments Sat, 23 Apr 2011 04:13:04 +0000 Indigene http://indigeneart.com/?p=1918 For those of you who are blessed to have your mother, May 8th, is a day that is recognized to honor her. if you are like most, you honor this woman every day of her life, by living your life in a way, that she would want you to.

For those of us, whose mothers have transitioned out of this life, this can be a bittersweet day. We remember her with love, and then remember, that she is no longer with us. We continue her legacy by living our lives with integrity and the lessons she taught us.

Some of us may not have any of those memories above. You may be one of those courageous women, who did it alone, then you are to be celebrated too!

Maybe your memories are not tempered with love, maybe that mother figure was not what you would have liked; hopefully, there is a woman, that gave you some semblance of a Mom.

Hopefully, in most of our lives, we have met a woman, who has embodied that “mother” figure. She has nurtured us, cheered us on, when we needed it most, told us about ourselves when we were acting less than we were, she may be your best friend, a girl friend at work who taught you something that one else could or would take the time to!

I don’t think of Mother’s Day as the only day to honor my mother or the other women in my life, but it is a day, that can be used to remember all the other women in my life who have given me their “mothering ways”; the ones, that I might forget in the hectic thing, I call my life, it is these women, I honor on Mother’s Day, because, my Mom tells me I honor her everyday, so she would prefer that I honor all the women in my life who have been there for me as well!

So I encourage you to do that on this upcoming Mother’s Day. Honor the Women in Your Life. A special call, a card, take her out to breakfast, a gift, an “I love you for who you are”. Give her a token of your love. As women, we treasure those things, because the words and the action are important.

May you continue to honor the women in your life, wherever they are.

My art work is created and based on honoring all women, from various cultures, traditions, myths and spirituality.

For prints or cards, order by April 30th the latest for Mother’s Day at:

indigene-theresa-gaskin.fineartamerica.com

In peace from me to you.

Make all your journeys count, because in life, destination always looms big before you.

May all your journeys lead you to your ultimate self actualization.

Peace to you and yours.

Happy New Year & Peace to everyone!