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)

My image, “Gabriel’s Horn” (30″ x 40″ – Oil/Canvas – Sold/Private Collection) is on the cover of Dream Network Journal.

Yes, I’m shamelessly happy and wanted to blog about it. I often write about the creative process, post the end results and let you know how I’m feeling!  So, it’s only appropriate to share my glee here, also!

What makes this so exciting is that this painting, marked my ten years of being a professional artist! Much of my work has been derived from dream experiences.

So, this weekend, I’m doing the thankful happy dance, anyone want to twirl around with me in thankfulness and happiness?

Have a fantastic weekend, mine is off to a great start!

Peace to you and yours!

P.S. The quarterly magazine is sold at Barnes & Nobles – $7.00

©2001-2012 Indigene Theresa Gaskin– Image: “Brave Warrior”)

This year my intention is Courage. I did not come to this intent quickly or lightly, but through…the power of daily meditation, prayer, silence and deep listening.

So what does this mean?

This means I will not wait for fear to go away before I move forward with new ideas and dreams that need to be realized. The only way I can dissolve fear is to begin to move with it.

I have heard, that the thing that stands in the way of us creating the life we want, will only go away, if we start creating it. Yet, this is the most fearful aspect of beginning that life!

So like a brave warrior, I am empowered by my first step…setting my intention. Intent needs to have action to follow it…so I have posted my intent, in various place in my home, in my studio and I have found a visual for my intent. (See image). So by blogging this, my intent is in the world!

These are the steps for me to build a foundation grounding myself in this intent.

These baby steps of intent and action, will give me more courage to take many more steps, as I give myself time and space to experience the voices of my fears, moving with purpose, while staying aligned with my intention and fiercely committed as each day poses its challenges and rewards.

I haven’t forgotten my blog readers! I’m just in a contemplative mood…thinking about my intention for the new year, setting goals, looking over the year…the great losses and the abundance that kept me going…

Take some time to separate yourself and sink into the peace that’s yours by going inward.

In peace to you and yours.

(©2011 Indigene Theresa Gaskin – Journal Time)

Breakout, the wine, food, flowers, music and love! I’m celebrating!!!

I have a brigade (the Home Love Brigade), aka “My peeps, my tribe, my love buckets, my family” and the nick names go on and on. No matter how I’m feeling or who I’m yelling at, my brigade is my stronghold.  They love me fiercely and I them! :)

The last few weeks were extremely busy, holiday stuff, school work, household junk, workshops, sales, art fair preparations, holiday studio tour preparation, marketing and creating (my only grip on sanity)!!

My brigade has been there through the thick (which is me) and the thin (my patience)! But, they still love and support me! So this is my special way of giving them a shout out and absolutely begging them to continue…:)

(c. Indigene T. Gaskin – “Food Celebration” – 10″x10″, Mixed Media/Paper)

So meet the Home Love Brigade:

Jon: Commando, BBQ-Meister, Security, Confidante, Framer, Baker,  Kindest man in the whole world and my Go-To Snuggler!

No. 1 – Radical Son: Web Meister, Great Cook, Creative Buddy, Listening Ear, I have to beg to snuggle him and who now can say no to me, with no repercussions (except Mom-guilt, it still works)!!!

The Baby:  The Love Bucket, Assistant Baker, Chief Eye-roller to certain demands of mine; Major Art Fair Helper; aka: “messy-haired girl” and a sweet snuggler!

I love and have absolutely the best brigade in the world!!! (Uh, love brigade, you are going to be helping at the next two events, right?!) :)

Loving your people, makes life pretty spectacular!

In peace to you and yours!

P.S. I am so in the dog house for putting their pixs on my blog! It’s holiday time, maybe they’ll forgive me…again?!

This is an extremely busy time for many people, running round with end-of-year activities and holiday stuff, me included!  So, I’m happy to offer some beauty and words to live by.

Here is the first of (18) inspirational card series, I’m launching:

Dream Sequence #7  - Inside Text: “You soar above life’s chaos“ ©Indigene Theresa Gaskin

Price: $5 per card – 5″ x 7″ Card

Shipping is Free in the U.S.A. and Canada

I will be featuring all (18) cards through my blog posts, Facebook and Twitter.  All cards are $5 each, the messages are inspirational and the art is frame-able, they’re great as a keepsake or as a gift.

I’m really excited to be able to offer my art and words that I live by to you at an affordable price.  For now, the cards can be purchased directly from me.  Purchase can be made through me with PayPal, credit card and/or with check by approval first.

Email: indigene (at) indigeneart.com    (Write in subject line: Card Purchase Only)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indigeneart

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Indigene1

All (18) cards will be available, plus many other beautiful items at the Holiday Open Studio Tour – 212 Wakefield Road,  Rosemont, PA  - December 9 – 11, 2011. Please stop by can view my art and the art of five other amazing artists/artisans. You can pick up a map from the aforementioned location to all the other studios involved as well!

So let me get back around to my chaos and remember to breathe, life is good and you’re alive!

In peace to you and yours.

]]> http://indigeneart.com/soaring-round/feed/ 12 http://indigeneart.com/vanity-or-confidence/ http://indigeneart.com/vanity-or-confidence/#comments Sun, 20 Nov 2011 04:43:34 +0000 Indigene http://indigeneart.com/?p=2307 Illustration Friday‘s prompt for creating this week is vanity. It got me to pondering whether confidence is sometimes mistaken for vanity.

Of course, I know the definition of vanity, but there have been times when I’ve mistaken someone for being vain, and after getting to know them, I realized that they had a confidence of self, that was enviable. Which brings me to my next pondering…do we see vanity because we envy the confidence of an individual?

The lesson learned for me, is not to judge, since it is only when I get to know the person, do I begin to see the true self, and there have been times, when I would have missed out on knowing a wonderfully confident and loving individual.

(Image: “Da Bronx” – 9″x12″ Mixed Media/Paper)

I captured this beauty sitting on a stoop in the Bronx. My first thought was “what a vain young woman.”  She exuded confidence, beauty, which many took as being vain. I glad I got to know her, she had a mighty story, where vanity had no play in it.

How do you know when you’re dealing with vanity or confidence?

How do you know the difference? Have you ever mistaken one for the other?

Does culture play a role in your viewpoint of vanity of another?

Have you ever dismiss a vain individual without getting to know them?

Love to hear what you think!

Peace to you and yours.

I remember as a child, being asked to stop talking in class, a few minutes later, when the teacher turned away from the board, she asked me, “Are you still talking?” I remember looking at her perplexed and then replied, “Yes, because you’re asking me a question, and I need to talk to answer you.” Hmmm…I was sent home with a note from school that day! :)

(Image:  ©2011 Indigene – Title: “Dream Sequence 11“)

We are told to question everything, yet we are sometimes ostracized as being too inquisitive, attention-wanting, time-suckers, with a rolling of eyes, etc. There were times in my life when I didn’t want to ask the question, but I needed to know why I’m asked to do things without reason or question. It’s my way of making sense of the world. I know that there are some questions that cannot be answered, but the search for the answer is a response to a life worth living.

Silence is great for meditation, but not as a response to life. Art making for me is answering a call/question from within me. I do this to explore every stripe, star and to make a mark as an answer or to question my spirit’s leanings.

If you are from the 50+ age crowd, you may have had to curb your questioning as a child, because it was better to be seen and not heard, back then! Can you imagine?

How do you respond to questions? As an adult are you embarrassed to ask questions? Do you fear the answers? Do you fear asking questions?

I love hearing from you.

In peace to you and yours.

I wake up in the morning, grateful for another day and I get to start all over again.

The days, when I’m stumped or can’t get the creative flow going, I look to my fuel packets…my art journals! :)  I either create pages in my art journal or I look through art journals, I’ve created in the past and that usually gets me going.

It’s good to revisit my art journals from time-to-time.  I especially look through all of them, at the end of the year. This year will be more meaningful to me, than ever. There is a lot of emotions in this year’s collection.

Art Journaling  is the best fuel for me and it’s accessible at any time.

What fuels your creativity, your peace and/or happiness? I would love to know, leave me a comment(s).

Have a great weekend and fill up on the things that make you happy and at peace with yourself.

(Photo Image:  On-going 2011 Art Journal Collection – ©2011 Indigene)

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!)