BE TRUE - Full moon dreamboard

It’s been a rough summer for me personally for reasons I can’t go into right here.  (Not a great way to start a blog post, I know.)   As the cliché goes, experiencing a difficult time forces you to discover what’s really important to you.   I’ve been thinking A LOT about this.  A simple mantra keeps flowing through my mind lately: CREATE WHAT YOU NEED.  (I first heard this either from Jen Lemen or Andrea  Scher as part of a Mondo Beyondo class.)

Meanwhile I’ve been wanting to participate in Jamie Ridler’s Full Moon Dreamboard.  I’ve done dreamboards and vision boards before, but not at such a trying time.  Dreamboards are an easy way to concretely display what I want to create, what I need.

This month’s full moon is called the Buck Moon.  Sounded strange until I looked up its meaning.  “July is normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, for the reason that thunderstorms are most frequent during this time” (Farmers’ Almanac).

Yeah, you could say I’ve experienced some storms.  And yes, I’m ready for something new in my life.

Jamie asked, “what do you want to step into and create this month?”  I sat down to work or would it be play?  This time it did feel a bit like work.  I struggled at times.  In the past when I’ve done this activity I’ve been drawn to images.  Not this time.  Words and more words.  But then I was wanting images.  And I just couldn’t quite find the right ones.

To me it all boils down to BE TRUE.  Being true to myself.  Before I made the dreamboard I was surfing the net and saw the famous Shakespearean line, To Thine Own Self Be True.  Somehow this all fits together for me.

To thine own self be true.

Create what you need.

Beyond the storms are rainbows.

Promises of new beginnings.

Be true.

When Art and Play Bring You to Tears

Sunday afternoon I reread the chapter, Guidepost #7: Cultivating Play and Rest: Letting Go of Exhaustion as a Status Symbol and Productivity as Self-Worth, in Brene Brown's book, The Gifts of Imperfection.  (I thought for once I'd be ready for this week's topic for MondoBeyondo's Dream Lab, the class I'm taking.)

Then I immediately took a nap where I dreamed about my friend Heather who is moving away next week back to her home state of Utah.  In my dream she had already moved and had taken pictures of some sort of Play initiative that the state of Utah was doing. (Not really happening, but that's my dream.)  So the pictures consisted of reminders to play that were found on things like stoplights and street signs.

When I awoke from this nap I felt the strangest emotions and sensations.  In an attempt to shake it off, I went to Google Reader to catch up on my blog reading.  I immediately saw this post from my sister where she shares the picture at the left and describes its meaning.  If you don't actually read it and I think you should, I'll just tell you that the hearts represent members of our family (wonder which one I am) and she explains her gratitude for each one of us.  By now I have tears streaming down my face.  You must know that she lives in another state, in Texas, and I don't see her very often.

Meanwhile, Miles is busy sitting at the kitchen table (my computer is in our dining room) and playing around with art materials.  Then he proceeds to hand me the little flower below and says it's for me.  Major tears now.

I am reminded again just how meaningful art and play are in our lives.  And how, while they can be solitary activities, they are best meant to be shared.




I should leave my post where it is but it's Valentine's Day.  On Friday I received the following tweet:

For those of you who are new to Twitterland, this was a tweet from Michael Douglas Jones who happens to be an artist.  He had spent the evening choosing sayings from candy hearts for those he follows on Twitter.  He chose TEACH ME for yours truly, playcrane.  The hashtag #FF stands for Friday Follow.  It's where you recommend people for others to follow on Twitter.  I am honored but also awed by this man's creativity with this series of tweets.

While watching the Grammys I sifted through 24 oz. of candy hearts to find these two.  Pics taken on iphone.

Happy Valentine's Day! 

I appreciate each and every one of you who take time to read my blog. 

It fills my heart.

About those buttons

Inspired

I'm sure you've noticed the buttons on the left side of this blog. (It's like flair for your blog.) They are some of the blogs I read on a regular basis: artists, photographers, authors--all around creative people. Most of these women are a tribe of really great friends who call themselves the Lovebombers. I encourage you to check them out if you haven't already. They inspire me.

Mondo Beyondo: An on-line class about dreaming BIG by
Andrea Scher
http://www.superherodesigns.com/
   and
Jen Lemen
http://www.jenlemen.com/

Shutter Sisters
http://www.shuttersisters.com/

Katherine Center
http://www.katherinecenter.com/

Brene Brown
http://www.ordinarycourage.com/

Karen Walrond
http://www.chookooloonks.com/

Rachelle Mee-Chapman
http://www.magpie-girl.com/
The Small is Beautiful Manifesto
http://www.magpie-girl.com/small-is-beautiful-bloggers-manifesto/

Mati Rose
http://www.matirose.com/

Kelly Rae Roberts
http://www.kellyraeroberts.com/

Mindy Tsongas
http://www.wishstudio.com/

Monday's Sentiment 2



need more fun--in chalk, July 2010



Hard to get into the swing of the work week when the weekend doesn't seem long enough, and my kids are on Fall Break from school.  (Yeah, I know some of you are thinking, we didn't have Fall Break when I was in school.)  So I'll try to think of some fun things for us to do this week.  Got any ideas?

The above drawing was made as part of the Mondo Beyondo Dream Lab course I took this past summer that focused on rest, play and kindness.  I enjoyed it so much I am signed up for their fall class focusing on courage, gratitude, and tribe.  You can still sign up as well by clicking on the link on the left on my blog.

How big can a little girl dream?

I absolutely love children's picture books.  I'll probably still buy them even after my youngest has passed the age of reading them. 

My latest acquisition is My Name is Not Isabella: Just How Big Can a Little Girl Dream by Jennifer Fosberry and illustrated by Mike Litwin.  This book makes me smile.

This is a story of a little girl who dreams of becoming various famous women throughout history such as Sally Ride, Rosa Parks, and Marie Curie. The final pages include biographical information about the women described in the book. 

This book reminds me of my fellow Mondo Beyondoers. Mondo Beyondo is an on-line class about dreaming BIG. This class's facilitators are the lovely and inspring Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen. This past summer I participated in their Dream Lab course which focused on play and being kind to yourself. My kinda stuff.

When I was little I used to pretend I was a teacher, mom, and doctor when I played.  I remember that I wanted to be a scientist.  In early grade school my mother, who was a teacher, brought home some old science textbooks.  I had a freestanding chalkboard and a small table and chairs. I would set my dolls in those chairs with these textbooks and play teacher.  My students were the best: they listened attentively, did their homework, turned it in on time, and never once sent text-messages in class.  Of course, there were no cell phones back then.  I'll say more about the relationship between our childhood play and career choices in a future post.

For now, what did you want to be when you were little?  What was your dream?