fizzle... fizzle...

I started off 2011 feeling pretty peppy, and my enthusiasm led me to an online class called Blast Off! a class for artists from Art Biz Coach Alyson B Stanfield. The class is a lesson packed, inspiring guide for setting forth a concrete plan for your professional artist self.  Through gratitude, commitment, vision, organization, planning and a number of very concrete valuable assignments artists are guided to create better relationships with money, and learn to create a Plan for strengthening themselves as the professionals they truly are, freeing themselves for more time in the studio to create.  After all, that's what we all want, isn't it?

The class began January 5th, and our first assignment was to begin a gratitude journal.  Great start - check.  Assignment two, create a vision board - figure out what your dream life is - picture it.  Can you?!  Write it down and then collage it.

Okay, now my juices are flowing, bubbling, giggling and glad, and I write and write and begin to cut and collect.  The next day my hands are barely able to open and shut, so I know I need to take a break, but we get a new assignment that looks like a lot of fun - creating affirmation cards for ourselves.  I can at least write some affirmations down... but not really - just holding the pen is difficult, and I find myself feeling defeated when I try to do my gratitude journal daily.  I find myself feeling ungrateful and whiny, to be honest.

Pain colors everything.

I know many of you out there dealing with chronic pain and conditions, and I bow to your strength and endurance, grace and positive attitudes, because you inspire me and help to keep me moving along!  But here I hit a patch that threw me off course for a bit.  The domino effect was set off - pain, the weather, stressors from the construction zone and a few other factors, and I felt my body slipping away.  I needed rest, and all I could do was sleep...

and the class moved on without me.  I downloaded each day's assignment, and read them or listened in iTunes, I wrote my daily gratitude, but mostly I ended up in bed!  It's often hard to remember there is still a whole lot of recovery going on inside of me, as different toxins and drugs work their way out, and hormones do their whacky dance through my system, and I try to cleanse and wait it all out!!
But little by little, every day, I'd drag out my vision board, and spread it out on my bed (my make shift studio for the time being!) and I'd dream...

and it nearly took a month, but I finished it yesterday, so I may just Blast Off yet!!

the healing body
of my flesh, energy, and spirit

studio bound!!!

Healed hands...

taking chances!!

my wish list!!

 So 2011, off we go!!

now on to those affirmation cards...