Fully Engaged

Hello All!

As some of you may have noticed, I have been absent from my glass blog for a number of months now. My artistic direction has taken a turn to a new path, which I am exploring. I will tell you that I have not and can not completely abandon working with glass. Yet, there have been so many signs for me that are showing me to follow a path into Art Jewelry and working with metal. I hope you will follow me on my other blog, Mystical Mythical Metalwork, and share my journey there. I will post here from time to time as I feel it is relevant, like today. However, more of my artistic journal will occur over on Mystical Mythical Metalwork.

At the end of 2009, I shared with you my 'word' for the year 2010, which was Aspire.  Another blog that I follow is Christine Kane's and I discovered her writing about The Word of the Year.  I have links here that will help you to find Christine's writing and why I chose the word Aspire for my artistic journey in 2010.

Now 2011, approaches and I have a new word for the coming year. This time I tried several and knew I needed two words to propel me forward in my journey. The words I chose are the title of this post, Fully Engaged.

In my heart, I know I must be Fully Engaged in everything I do. Yes, that may be exhausting and I may need to pull back a bit. However, the point of being Fully Engaged in anything I do is that will help me to be focused in the moment. Too many times I find myself working on something and thinking about something else. Loss of focus. Not being Fully Engaged. In order to channel creativity effectively, I need to be Fully Engaged. In the zone. Living in the present moment. Put all other thoughts and distractions aside, and just become immersed in what I am doing. This is why those two words resonate with me.

In 2011 you will see that I am Fully Engaged in life, work, my art, my passions. I would love to hear if you have that word or phrase that will center and ground you in your goals for the coming year.

May each of you have a joyous and prosperous 2011. Please come see what I'm doing over at my other blog, Mystical Mythical Metalwork.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person. (I love that phrase and it's become my signature sign off on my blogs, so I can't give that up either!)

My Discoveries in 2009

During this year, I have discovered many things that have truly changed my life forever. Those of you who follow my blog know what an impact Lexi Erickson has had on my life both personally and artistically.

I follow a lot of blogs and have had an opportunity to get to know some of my fellow artists and bloggers through their works, their words, and even their Facebook pages. I want you to know that I value the friendships that we have established. I have learned so much from your generosity; sharing your artistic journeys, your growth, your trials and tribulations. I thank all of you for helping me to grow as a person and an artist. Those of you, who have left comments about my work and my artistic journey, I want you to know that you have helped me more than you may realize. Thank you.

As 2009 comes to a close, I thought I would share one of my discoveries. Another blogger, Christine Kane, has what I feel are tremendous insights. Her writing speaks to me and I hope it will speak to you too. She has such a positive way at looking at life's challenges. In 2007, she wrote about the Resolutions Revolution. She described a different approach to making positive changes in your life in the coming year. I would encourage you to visit her post on Resolutions Revolution and I hope that you will find her take on the subject of New Year's Resolutions beneficial. I have.

After you read Christine's post on New Year's Resolutions, this will make more sense, however I want to share that my touchstone word for 2010 is Aspire. I've already started to use it and I can tell you it works!

May 2010 hold wonderful opportunities and successes for all of you.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person. I am.