JoDee Luna's Blog, page 18

Productive New Year’s Resolutions

Productive New Year’s resolutions set achievable goals and serve as a plumb line to align our purposes.I spent part of my growing up years on a construction site. Dad built our first Leona Valley home with the help of family and friends when I was 8 years old, so I have vivid memories of my sister and I playing while people formed the wood framing. Dad used a plumb-line to make sure the vertical construction was correct. Here’s a bit of info on plumb-lines: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumb_line

“A plumb A plumb-bob or a plummet is a weight, usually with a pointed tip on the bottom, that is suspended from a string and used as a vertical reference line, or plumb-line. It is essentially the y-axis equivalent of a “water level“.

The instrument has been used since at least the time of ancient Egypt[1] to ensure that constructions are “plumb“, or vertical. It is also used in surveying to establish the nadir with respect to gravity of a point in space.”

I watched the house plans my parents designed and pored over became the home I grew up in. So with these memories of building in mind, here are a few of the materials I use to construct my New Year’s Resolutions:

Use a Divine Plumb-Line – unfortunately, the good Lord doesn’t write His plans for me in the sky with clouds as lettering, so the best I can do is ask Him to influence my desires in hopes that my ambitions will align with His purposes for me. Of course I’ve never gotten this exact so far, but at least I try to listen before I write down my resolutions. I need the help of a divine plumb-line to keep me on course
Take Baby Steps – I don’t know about you, but I get overwhelmed easily, so I try to think about goals in terms of baby steps. Every day I can inch my way towards something I want to accomplish.
Create Flexible Goals – I often underestimate the amount of time it takes to finish something, so I move toward a goal with flexibility in mind. This keeps me from getting frustrated when I don’t finish nearly what I thought I could.
Strive for Progress Not Perfection – I love this 12 Step slogan. I’m trying to learn to be gentle on myself. The only constant in life is change, and so my envisioned plans never go the way I’d hoped they would. So if I view New Year’s Resolution success in terms of progress, it relieves the pressure to perform perfectly.
Try Something New – when I self-published my book, Refrain from the Identical: Insight and Inspiration for Creative Eclectics, three years ago, my sister created all of the art work because I didn’t know how to do art. Now, I’ve got a wall full of my art. Last year I decided to learn how to acrylic paint and now painting is one of my main passions.

Here’s a few of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2014:

Body – I’m going to eat healthier and include 2 sessions of weekly weight training to increase muscle mass and bone density.
Soul – I’ve sorely neglected my writing, so I’m determined to make my writing as much of a priority as I have my art. I also want to enjoy my family and friends more, which is a soul thing.
Mind – I’m going to read more books and continue editing my other manuscripts so I can self-publish again. Time to stop sniveling about how hard it is and get going.
Spirit –I’m going to continue to pursue the Lord, be thankful for His grace and gifts, and fellowship with His people more.

I hope and pray that you will have a productive year in 2014. As you write your New Year’s Resolutions, remember this truth:

“To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

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The Art Forms of Purposeful Living

The ending of a year is a natural pause point to reflect upon the way one’s lived, loved, and created.This post is my pause point.

Although I’ve written and blogged less in 2013 than in previous years, I’ve spent more time with my family and more time developing my art than in previous years. So as the year winds to an end, I’ve decided to blog about the art forms of purposeful living that have become very precious to me:

Faith – I’m very grateful for the God who sustains and interacts with me. I’m also grateful for the people with whom I feel a kindred spirit and so can talk with about spiritual things. Together we share our vulnerabilities and pray for God’s will to become a reality in our lives and the lives of our loved ones. The good Lord has provided fellowship in many different forms from a church I’m warming up to, precious friends I’m growing closer to, and family who continue to support my spiritual journey.
Family – Cultivating family is truly an art form. From hosting events to sharing feelings, I’m grateful for a family that is committed to being together, working out differences, and sharing our lives with one another. I’m also very grateful for my first grand baby, Deanna, who lights up my life with her smile.
Not all of 2013 has been positive in regards to family. Recently, we had a scare when my father had a TIA (mini stroke). I’m grateful that he is ok and his cardiologist is running tests to find out why this happened. This health scare has, once again, made me realize how precious having my parents is.
Art – This past year I’ve felt a pull towards acrylic painting and thoroughly enjoyed trying some new mask paintings. This art form has truly captivated my heart, mind, and soul. What a joy it is to disappear into my art room and paint.
Creativity – Although I’m interested in selling my paintings and mixed media, for now they hang on the wall of my art room as a reminder of my creative journey. Each one was inspired by something I was trying to process mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The book, In My Father’s Vineyard by Wayne Jacobson inspired the mixed media “Chosen.”
Writing – I’ve spent a lot of time editing a couple of manuscripts as a way of trying to rekindle my faith and passion for writing. A devotional for creative eclectics and a book about my writing process have definitely wound their way around my heart, and so I’ve decided to work towards self-publishing them.

Lastly, I’ve been discouraged by an unrelenting amount of cyber attacks on my creativity website. As a result, I’m strongly considering the closure this website so I can rebuild it using a more protected hosting company like WordPress.com. So I’m copying all of the content with the idea of putting past posts into eBooks.

This is a daunting task that breaks my heart because I’ve worked so hard on this website for the past four years. Yet the words of Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” come to mind and encourage me whenever I consider ending and rebuilding:

 “Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools”

Ironically, watching the things I’ve given my life to break and then rebuilding them seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life.

Yes, 2013 has been a productive year and has also, in some ways, proved disappointing to me. I’m not as far along in my creative ambitions as I’d hoped I’d be, but my relatively new job, as a District Instructional Coach, has been incredible.

What a pleasure it has been to work with such a talented team committed to help our district transition into Common Core. We have also been fortunate to work with Arts for All and the Lancaster Educational Foundation to bring future opportunities for the arts into our school district.

So as I end my year in review, I encourage you to pause and reflect upon the last year before you write your New Year resolutions and plan for the future. Perhaps you will discover some of your own “art forms of purposeful living.”

 

 

 

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12 Tips for De-Stressing Christmas

Here are 12 tips for de-stressing Christmas collected from friends, family, and myself who feel like this little Santa holding a “Help Wanted” sign.They’re not in any particular order but just intended to help anyone who feels Christmas overwhelmed. I’ve categorized them by what stresses me out the most:  

Decorating – My husband and I have a Christmas house to the max so decorating takes days.

Decorate early – the earlier the better. This year I decorated over Thanksgiving break but next year I’m going to look for a weekend even earlier so I can have a break during Thanksgiving.
Decorate in an organized fashion – my husband suggested setting up plywood on saw horses in the garage so we could keep the containers there. I could see what was in each container and decorate in stages, as opposed to dragging all of them into the house and stepping over them for days on end.
Label your containers – try to pack them from specific areas of the house. One year I even took photos of the decorations while they were up so I could remember how I liked them after they went into the plastic (so you can see what’s in them) containers.

Shopping – I’m horrible at this!

Decide on a reasonable amount of money to save and spend – This has got to be the most difficult decision my husband and I make every year. Our kids are well into their twenties and some at the thirty mark and yet we struggle with lowering the amount. Maybe we subconsciously fear that giving less means loving less. We also save all year so we don’t get into debt because of Christmas gifts and hosting costs.
Shop online – I’m not a Cyber Monday shopper but my colleague, Kristi, and sister, Gina, have convinced me to shop online next year. They shared how they did the majority of their shopping online and only needed to pick up a few things here and there. I was green with envy. Gina’s favorite website is http://retailmenot.com.
Buy and create throughout the year – My sister is definitely our family’s “Gifter,” as the recent commercial titles a woman who regularly visits her favorite stores to find deals just right for each particular person. Gina picks up thoughtful gifts when she’s out and about and always has something on hand for special occasions, not just for Christmas. Next summer we are going to make Christmas decorations for gifts when we aren’t so stressed.

  Giving – Have you ever noticed how emotionally charged this is?

Keep a spreadsheet of your gift giving – another Gina idea. She creates columns for each family member and enters what she buys them. Although she’s always used a Word Doc, I suggested an Excel spreadsheet. She agreed that having the automatic column totals would really help.
Try a family gift exchange – As our family got larger, we decided to only buy for the little ones and have a gift exchange for the adults. We decide on an amount and everyone brings a gift. People draw numbers and each gift can change hands a max of 3 times.
If low on cash, try a White Elephant gift exchange – This year we did a white elephant gift exchange and had the most fun ever. The idea is to bring something from your house that you don’t want. I’m still finding people’s white elephant gifts they purposefully left behind in my house. There’s the green garden gnome tucked behind one of the miniature Christmas trees, and the statue of two old ladies with sagging bodies in bikinis left on the coffee table.

Gathering – As families grow, deciding on where and when to have the various events of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day becomes so difficult and complex, especially if you have multiple divorces in the family that produces multiples set of parents.

Find days that works – My family has come to the conclusion that the greater value is getting together not necessarily getting together on the exact holiday.  Sometimes we have to set up times before or after the day so we can see everyone.
Share the hosting and help the hostess – Last year my husband wanted to host both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day because it was the first holiday in our new home. It wiped me out, and I swore I would never do it again. So we went back to sharing the hosting. When you host the event, everyone brings a couple of dishes so the hostess isn’t overwhelmed, and help the hostess clean up so she’s not left with all of the mess.
Coordinate the menu – My husband keeps a spreadsheet but next year I’m going to use http://www.punchbowl.com/, an online party planning website. You can enter your menu categories and guests can sign up for what they want to bring. You can also send out invitations and reminders for the event.

Perhaps these tips are a little late for this year, but keep them in mind as Christmas ends and the sales kick in. I’d love for you to leave a comment that includes more your tips on how to de-stress the holidays.

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Disillusionment: The Dark Mistress or Door of Opportunity

Disillusionment strangles joy and leaves us wanting more.There is a mistress of the dark. The soul’s lover and yet demise—a black widow of sorts, feasting on the lifeblood of success, poisoning purposes with perpetual pain, bleeding through best intentions.

She wheedles away contentment and illuminates questionable intentions. She unearths self-doubt, silencing resolve while winding a web of unexpected thoughts. She burns through souls, leaving gaping holes of longing for something more.

If you doubt this, then think about your greatest accomplishments. Is there one that stands pure? Unblemished by her mark of “what if?” Who can withstand this mistress of misery?

Only those willing to accept imperfections, bed down with the sublime, embrace human frailty, and cry out for divine grace.

Who can withstand her constant prodding for more?

Only those flexible enough to invite the chase and courageous enough to venture into the unknown.

Yet as uncomfortable as disillusionment’s visit is, she serves us seekers well, spurring us out of our comfort zones so we will search for what calls to our hearts.

In fact, disillusionment seems to visit before change and prepares us for change.

Disillusionment is often God’s gift of guidance, a signal to the soul that He has a different path for us to walk.

Disillusionment is an open door.

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The Gift of Hospitality

We toast and laugh and love, and moments together seem timeless, erasing the worries of the day.

Hospitality is a gift my family enjoys because of the wonderful women who host or help the hostess. Everyone brings a dish or two or three and often someone brings a little something extra for the person hosting.

This Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law, Susan, gave me candles because she knows how obsessed I am with decorating for Christmas.

“You can put these on a high shelf because they are remote-controlled.” Susan explained.

Friendships form unbreakable bonds because we take the time to celebrate life and to appreciate each other.

Hospitality requires creative expression and often siphons artistic energy, but I wouldn’t trade this privilege for anything else. What can compare to watching family and friends enjoy each other when they gather together.

Thank you, ladies, for making this holiday so very special!

 

For more holiday ideas and inspiration, visit Create with Joy.

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Creating Cozy

It’s holiday hosting time and my husband starts acting like he’s on decorating crack (no drugs here but just a frenzy of creativity).

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I hear him stirring at 5:00 am on a Saturday morning and find him in his office pinning ideas on his Pinterest boards.

“Hey, you’re right. This Pinterest thing is great. I’m collecting ideas for house projects.” As if he didn’t already have enough home improvement projects.

“Look at all of these patio enclosures.” Hubby.

“Can I wake up first and drink my coffee?” Me.

“You liked my idea of putting glass shelves in that awkward enclave.” Hubby ignores me and goes right on talking. He’s concerned about football seats for the guys, and I find myself pouring coffee while thinking about the ladies in our living room circle (we gather in another room to talk while they watch football).

“We don’t have enough comfortable seating for Thanksgiving, so let’s go out and buy more living room furniture.

Creating cozy is contagious, and I get sucked into the vortex of his obsession. “Do you need any more serving ware? Look at these drink dispensers.” He continues.

Weekend days consist of driving around the valley where we live and then down to Santa Clarita to find just the right fit of furniture, an accent table, and even an ice bucket.

On my way to work the following Monday, I almost drive through a red light because I’m counting people coming to Thanksgiving and wondering whether we’ve got enough chairs, even after we’ve ordered more.

Although I hassle my husband, I’m glad he gets so into creating cozy. He motivates me to think about our home, our kids, and our guests. He has a knack for taking something as bold as two red chairs to add color that makes the family room pop.

The bench seat with a granite top was also his idea. As was using backsplash for the fireplace and travertine for the mantel, which is still under construction. Did I forget to mention that if you have a husband who likes to create cozy, you will ALWAYS have a project under construction?

He insisted on leather reclining coaches, which I thoroughly resisted but now thoroughly love. Yes, creating cozy has fully overcome me and even though it’s not Thanksgiving yet, I’m tucking tiny snow people next to spindly pine trees and setting miniature houses onto twinkling snow. I’m texting family to complete his menu spreadsheet (That’s right, all you women out there, my husband creates a spreadsheet for keeping track of holiday meals.)

As I ponder our compulsion to create a family atmosphere, I wonder whether we’re experiencing what the character, Robert DeNiro, did in the movie Everybody’s Fine. The father has this desire to reconnect with his kids by “getting everyone around the table,” so he decides to host the holidays and recreate the nostalgic feelings once shared when their mother, his wife, was alive.

This Thursday our home will fill with family and friends who will enjoy our created cozy. Now that’s a positive creative contribution, and I’m thankful for a husband who makes it happen!

Visit http://www.create-with-joy.com/ for more creative inspiration


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Warrior Princess, New Mask Painting in Process

I’ve been working on a new acrylic painting, Warrior Princess, inspired by a mask my daughter, Elya, made and a poem and post I wrote.

Far from finished, this painting has truly been a delight, as I explored contrasts of black and white and the use of bold colors, such as orange and red.

Here’s a few photos and tips of what I have done so far:

First, I printed out the photo, placed tracing paper between the photo and the canvas, and then traced the image onto the canvas.

Next, I used the photo on my computer to guide my attempts to capture the essence of the photo.

I tried to see shades and colors, hues and tones, instead of the photos obvious parts, such as an eye.

Sometimes I rotated the image and canvas upside down to help me focus on shapes instead of my preconceived ideas of the image.

I also took artistic liberties to change the original look.

Far from finished, warrior princess is challenging me to develop my painting techniques.

I will post follow-up photos of the finished mask.

Here’s the link, again, to the post that featured the story behind the mask and poem, Warrior Princess.

For more inspiration, visit http://create-with-joy.com.

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How to Paint a Masquerade Mask

Here’s 5 helpful hints on how to paint a masquerade mask.

I’m finally finished with an acrylic painting I’ve been working on for weeks and thought I’d pass on some tips on how to paint a masquerade mask. My daughter, Andrea, recently delighted me with the news that she’s taken up acrylic painting. She asked me for some tips so this post is dedicated to her. Enjoy sweetie!

Step 1 Get Inspired

Find a photo that calls to you. My inspiration was a photo my husband, Justin, took of our daughter, Andrea, her friends, and I.

I decided to title my painting The Pretender because I often wear a mask to hide what’s going on inside of me. I think this is true of most people. We all pretend at times. The poem came as I began the painting.

Step 2 Cheat—Use Tracing Paper

That’s right. Make the process easier by printing the photo and then placing tracing paper between the photo and the canvas. Use a stylus or pencil to trace the photo onto the canvas. This will help you to get the proportions accurate.

Step 3 Use the Photo

Place the photo next to the canvas and try to capture colors, tones, shadows, and highlights. I like to use the photo on my computer because the resolution is better so I can see more of the details.

Step 4 Focus on Sections

Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed with all you have to do. Instead, work one section of the painting at a time. Eventually, the parts will come together to form the whole.

Step 5 Push Away

Push back from the painting and you will gain fresh perspective as to what you need to improve. I like my studio chair with its wheels because I can roll back and forth as I work on a painting. I also find it helpful to walk away from the painting and return later when your mind is rested.

Here’s a post that will show you photos of the process:

The Pretender Mask Painting in Process

This post features the painting: Does Painting Cause Wordlessness?

For more inspiration visit http://www.create-with-joy.com/


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Writing for the Right Reasons

This morning while searching for a possible post, I came across a comment I’d written to a dear writing friend, Christine Grote, in response to her post, One thing’s clear — re-evaluating blogging.

We both self-published around the same time and often shared ideas and information. Although different genres, her’s memoir and mine a book about creativity, her writing touched me deeply then and still does now. Christine’s honest prose has a way of helping writers to cut through the cultural values of fame and fortune and write for reasons not always marketable.

The quote she posts on the front page of her blog is a perfect example of her liberating perspective:

 

“And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.” ~William Shakespeare

 

I’d sure like to reword this quote for us writers:

And this, our writing, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.

So I share my comment for those feeling drawn towards the pen and yet struggling with the reasons you write. May you never stop writing regardless of how successful you see yourself as defined by a culture where bigger is better. I hope Christine’s and my experiences help you to define yours:

Christine,

I read your post and your wrestlings resonated in my soul. I so highly respect you and have experienced similar struggles to build a platform to sell a book. In fact, I had just written similar thoughts down in my journal right before I read your post.

I find it so ironic that the contemplative people of this world are forced into a lifestyle of marketing in order to promote book sales. Doesn’t it seem like a backwards system? The marketing craze is anything but contemplative, the very quality needed for good writing.

We’ve both worked so hard to do all that the experts told us to do; and yet for me, the platform building path took me further and further from the reasons I wrote my book in the first place. The writing in my book resulted from honest attempts to sort through my creative life and to return to my artistic roots.

Then last year, I left the classroom and took a job as an instructional support specialist, training teachers, planning professional development, and overseeing and expanding high-tech literacy programs I know will help hundreds of kids. God had other plans for my creative energy, and I had to embrace a left turn in my imagined path.

With all of this said, I’ve come to the conclusion that I will continue to blog and share my thoughts and artistry with the world, whether that ends up being for only 1, 1,000, or 100,000. Writing is good for my soul and sharing with others expands my spirit.

You have a gift of putting the human experience into words. Please continue with your writing, blogging, and sharing with others. You have inspired me along my self-publishing path, and I can’t bear to think that you might not be in the blogosphere.

Thank you, friend, for the gift of inspiration you are to me.

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The Pretender, Masquerade Mask Painting in Process

Here’s my current masquerade mask painting project in process that I titled, The Pretender.

I’m working on the top parts of the mask now and thoroughly enjoying the challenge. Today I realized how far the project has come. Here’s a photo of the painting when I first started.

I find acrylic painting a fun and fascinating art form. I work on a piece of the painting, trying to create colorful details, and forget about the overall effect. When I get to a certain point with the section, I prop the painting up and push away so I can take in the overall progress so far. Then I can see what I need to add or change.

I’m always amazed at how the details of each part join together to create the whole. Sounds kind of like life to me. We work so hard at the minutia of whatever comes next, but need those push away times when we can gain a fresh perspective.

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