by jen lee

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Big Dreams, Humble Beginnings…

opening soon will be the Wishstudio Art & Creativity Co-op!  nestled in my own little artsy, downtown neighborhood we’ll be be making art and creative dreams come true (just around the corner of my friends yummy new bakery).

if you live in the greater Boston area, this is a wonderful opportunity for you to get involved in a unique, passionate and supportive community especially for creative women!

Why Co-op?

one huge lesson i’ve learned over and over throughout the last several years at the helm of Wishtudio.com has been that community and collaboration are elemental to successful and fulfilling creative living!  community is our most sustainable resource and without it we couldn’t raise a barn or our children for that matter – indeed, it takes a village.   the nuts and bolts of a great network and support system are only one part of the benefits though… community is what truly helps to nurture us.  by surrounding ourselves with like-minded women it connects us to a deep well of  dynamic and resourceful energy.  we can learn from each other by sharing what we know. we can cheer each other on. we can find inspiration as well as friendship. we can truly build things that thrive, endure and shine!

it is through community that this Co-op will be created and will ultimately have a pulse and a soul.  it is exactly how this online community has grown into the vibrant community that it is today, from the inside out.

Our Offerings

our cozy co-op studio, located in historic Newburyport, MA amidst all the great restaurants and shops, has lots of character and charm. it will be a place you will want to spend many blissful hours!

the studio will offer:

• studio time for use of tables as your own creative work space
• a little browsing library of great creative books and magazines to inspire you
• ongoing creative events… special guest workshops, RAW art nights, group creative coaching circles, book signings, monthly Craft Tastings (to name a few)
• a comfy space to sip tea, gather with friends, or to chase creative dreams
• a small help-yourself pantry stocked with nourishing and yummy treats
• free wifi for your online connecting

details about upcoming events and our open studio celebration will be coming soon.  if you would like to join our mailing list, just zip me an email to mindy(at)wishstudio(dot)com.

can’t wait to see you in the studio!

no matter where you are… in your heart you are always HOME.

and if you feel like you’ve lost your way…
here are a few breadcrumbs to find your way back

by kristin noelle

Making art and working with my hands have been lifelong loves and ones I’ve delighted in sharing with my kids (now 3 and 5). Peak in my windows almost any day and you’ll find one or more of us drawing, painting, building, taping, clipping, ripping, shaking, mixing, or baking.

The less obvious expressions of my creativity, however, have often been my lifelines in the challenges I face as a contemplative woman (read: person who thrives on quiet time alone), mothering two young, and appropriately active kids.

Here are four of my most treasured creative practices:

1. Nurturing wonder:

Like gratitude, wonder shifts my awareness away from the challenges that have accompanied life with young kids for me: fatigue, autopilot syndrome (the necessary repetitiveness of tasks sometimes turns this on in me), self pity.

I nurture wonder by trying to pay attention to both smaller and bigger details than I might otherwise see: the tenacity of the ants who search for food in our home; the way light streams through windows differently depending on the season and time of day; the colorations of flowers and leaves; the full orchestra of workers required to plan and build the house down our street.

When I look closely at any such thing, and consider the beauty or miracle inherent to it, I feel grateful and glad. I feel energized to create a life for myself and my kids where wonder is part of the air we all breathe. Is the ground by which we find ourselves supported.

2. Playing with answers:

Kids ask a lot of questions. And it’s a natural instinct to either give them an answer, to say, “I don’t know,” or to offer some version of, “Mommy needs a break from questions now, kay?”

I’ve discovered, however, that a little creativity in the midst of question-asking transforms my question fatigue into something more like wonder.

When my kids ask me a question, whether I have an answer or not, I often ask them if they have ideas about it. If they don’t, I prime the pump a little bit – either with a plausible answer, or with something that’s beyond the range of plausibility. “Do you have another idea?” I then say. We often launch into full-on brainstorm mode, where all three of us are coming up with numerous hypotheses for why there’s a dent in the car next to us, or a hole in the road, or a worker doing something with power lines overhead.

I leave sessions like this awe-struck by the human mind, and by the ways kids and adults can think creatively when pushed even gently to do so.

3. Tangibly valuing my work and self care

Young kids are appropriately needy, and I quickly and whole-heartedly…and at times with great overwhelm…accepted this reality.

Trial and error proved that complete neglect of MY needs, however, was bad for everyone involved. So I’ve made a practice of tangibly valuing my work and self care even in the midst of this intensely self-giving season.

For me, this has meant negotiating 20-30 minutes of solo meditation time in the morning while my husband watches the kids; a half hour of “room time” each afternoon for all of us, even when my kids were done needing to nap; two afternoons of babysitting so that I can write and make art not only when I’m tired in the evenings; saying “no” sometimes when an otherwise healthy, requested activity would take more from me than I feel I can freely or joyfully give.

These are all things that have taken creative thought to fit in and make habitual, and all things I consider integral to the health and happiness of me AND my kids.

4. Maintaining tension with my ego.

Sibling spats are one of my biggest triggers of anger. Recognizing my anger as an ego flare (i.e. I’m personally offended that you don’t have adult-level impulse control, kids! or Why are you making life so hard for me? or I feel so out of control of the situation when you fight like this – how dare you make me feel this way!) has led me to apply my creativity *often* to holding tension with my ego. Almost every day I’m trying to give nods of recognition to my ego in the face of sibling spats while simultaneously taking deep breaths, choosing a calm voice over the instinctual one of indignation, working to pull away from the situation in my mind and view it from the outside, at a much more cool distance.

My average of success at such things has room to improve (!), but I’m finding so much satisfaction in the efforts I expend to think creatively about how to avoid ego-traps, and how to get myself out of them once I’ve fallen in.

+++++++++

I hope that in all the art we create together, all the art I sell and make a living from, my children learn alongside of me that creating a mindful, wonder-rich life, where respect of self and others are part of the very same whole, is one of the greatest beauties we could ever hope to know.

Kristin Noelle is a writer and illustrator. Her blog, Trust Tending, uses music, words, and art to nourish Life beyond fear. She lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband, young kids, and five chickens.

in the spirit of nurturing creative moms, we are giving away 1 Free Month’s Subscription to Care4Hire.com to help you find a fabulous caregiver to support your family’s needs!  finding help and unfettered time to lean into your creative life is invaluable.  to win, simply leave a comment on this post by sunday, june 26th and one winner will be announced on this post on 6/27… good luck!

by christine mason miller

by kim mcmechan

The other day, a song chased me.

I was in my car on the way to a class, somewhere on Sutherland Avenue in the middle of roaring traffic.  I’m not sure what sparked it—maybe it was the small white house on the left that reminded me of my grandmother’s, or it could have been something a friend said earlier in the day. Maybe it was a song I’d heard on the radio the previous afternoon, or simply the fact that in a hectic day of juggling classes and kids, urgent emails and last-minute show arrangements, it was the first ten minutes I’d had where my brain wasn’t full to the brim.

It started as an image, and then the first lyrics came, one after another, almost like I was listening to a voicemail message.  I was at the chorus by the time I knew I needed to pull over; I made a sharp left into the Zellers parking lot, reached for an old receipt lying on the floor, and scribbled madly, verse, chorus, verse, bridge, until I had nothing left.

This creative river that runs in me is not mine.  I know that now.  I used to wake up worried:  what if I’ve written all the songs I’ll ever write?  What if I’ve finally run out?

In the same way that we are being breathed, in the same way that our hearts beat steadily in our chests without our conscious effort, creativity runs inside of us, sometimes a raging torrent, more often a quiet trickle that can only be heard in the silence.

Over the years, I’ve learned to honour the quiet trickling of this river—to give myself space and quiet, long walks, early mornings before the house wakes up, empty pages and a pen.  I’ve learned to sit with my guitar knowing that when I do, the tiny trickle has more of a chance of finding its way into melodies and lyrics, into verses and choruses.

But I’m thankful for those odd times when the creative flow grabs me by the collar, hollers in my ear somewhere on a long stretch of highway when there’s no pen to be found, or in the middle of doing the dishes, or early in the morning when you’d prefer to drift back to sleep.

Why?  Because it reminds me that it’s not totally up to me.  Life can press in, shit can hit the fan, the traffic can roar, and somehow my true life still knows how to find me.

*Kim is happy to report that her new website, kimmcmechan.com is up and running.  To celebrate, she’s offering “Little Morning Song” as a free download this week. Listen HERE and get it free HERE.

5 week ecourse with Mindy Tsonas
summer special {$49}
begins July 11th

live the life of your dreams by loving the life you have.

there has been a life-changing shift happening in my life.  it began with what i thought was a crisis  in my own marriage, right before my 12th anniversary… or maybe it started when i committed to my dream about creating the wishstudio and life began aligning as i showed up to take hold of my dreams… or maybe it began when i became a mother, expanding my life exponentially after a long fallow season. these are some things i will share with you.

what really matters though, is what i can tell you now from where i stand in this very moment through all the twist and turns of  my journey, that none of it really matters (gasp!) yet it is all greatly significant.  with open eyes and a wide open heart i’ve come to see my life through an entirely new lens – one that is steeped in compassion, love and a deep sense of acceptance and gratitude.

THIS Moment will take you on an eye opening, heart spilling, and meaningfully creative journey!  the 5 week ecourse includes:

• daily posts (mon-thurs.) filled with images, essays, and stories from my own life, as well as from special guest who’ve shone a light for me along the way, will serve as your inspiration and guide.
• images, insight and wisdom from inspiring guest contributors
• accompanying daily downloads, which will become the pages of your very own THIS moment Workbook,  with prompts for you to scribble words, make messy and meaningful art, as well as practices and creative projects to help keep you focused on the true beauty of your life… right here, right now.
• a private space for sharing your art and thoughts with class participants. here, you can make connections while inspiring and supporting one another throughout the course.

let’s unearth each moment, together!  registration available here

“…to speak of happiness and joy when you’ve got to deal with an unsure future sounds like almost a joke, but I could not let the bad news drain every drop of happiness out of me; I still had many days to come, no matter what. THIS Moment became a mantra for me, helping me to deal with what life was serving on my plate right here and now.”  ~ merete veian

by connie hozvicka

For just a moment put your hand over your heart, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and feel.

Go ahead.  Give yourself this gift.  Feel your heartbeat.

Isn’t it incredible?  That baby is constantly beating away–doing it’s job–making music and pumping blood to all your vital organs–refreshing your mind–feeding your muscles–keeping the show on the road.

And it does it all without our control…consent…or need to worry, plan, practice, or perfect it.

Somehow, in the busy busy of our days we forget how protected and cared for we already are.  That there is a force so much greater than our silly little selves that keeps that heart a pumpin’, our livers a detoxin’, and our bellies a digestin’.

God, prana, chi, or ki. Call it what you may…but I like to think of it as Creative Source.

The same Creative Source that flows from my heart, through my arm, and all the way out my fingers to the tip of my paintbrush.  The same Creative Source that inspires me to manifest paintings I swoon over, as well as the ones that I throw in the dumpster.  The same Creative Source that makes tomatoes ripen in sunshine, clouds tumble and shower, ideas spark out of nowhere, and babies mumble their first words.

When you find yourself struggling–desperately searching for that next paragraph to write, that inspiring painting to create, that poem to fully express your emotion and truest feelings…put your hand over your heart and feel.

Contrary to what we’ve been told…creativity is never a solitary act.

Give yourself over to your heartbeat.  Surrender and let Creative Source work through you.  It’s got everything else covered…why not this too?

by jenica mckenzie

RAW photos by amy gretchen

What if I had judged a book by it’s cover? What if I had assumed that she wouldn’t want to be my friend because we didn’t appear to have much in common? The more we were together, the more commonalities surfaced, and I’m grateful every day that I have her in my life.

As we started RAW we acknowledged that we were opening our lives and friendship up to strangers, some who might come off as a little kooky, but we were open to the idea that we could find a common language through art.  And we have.  The women in our Utah group are from very different backgrounds and varied age groups, some are mothers, some aren’t, some are religious, some aren’t.  We craft in entirely different ways.  And we are learning so much from one another.  Because we all decided that when we showed up, we would only put the truth forward, we cut past the chit-chat and grew comfortable in one another.

I believe this can happen for you as well.  As I work to bring women together in open environments I see over and over again how necessary it is for women to create. Especially in a group, each bringing their own truths, all of us learning from one another.

How can you be in a place of openness when you come to raw? How can you stay in your own energy? When you bring a group of women together it can be so easy to be swayed by someone else’s reality.  It seems that we’re born to compare our lives, but really, it doesn’t matter what anyone else’s definition of happiness is. Because, do you know what YOURS is?

What do you want to learn? make a list of things you want to learn to do. A bucket list? No, don’t put that much pressure on this list. Try writing stream of consciousness, make a list of all the things you want to try in life, things that you enjoy doing, things that make you happy, things you barely give yourself permission to dream of.  Make your list as ridiculous as you need to. Your dreams are unique to you, it’s important to get to know what makes YOU tick, what makes YOU happy, and then you’ll know whether or not you’re chasing the goals that will actually open your happiness.

For me, I thrive in groups of people, I LOVE the energy. I’d be happy to be in a group of 30 women creating together.  But that’s me.  What size of group do you thrive in?  Tailor your RAW group to your needs.  It could be just two of you, someone that you’re totally comfortable with.  What feels natural to you, where will you be the most comfortable?  This is a night that you should look forward to, not stress about.  If the idea of going out dressed up is making you anxious, then make it a pajama night. I give you permission to do what works for you. Will you feel uncomfortable in your pajamas with a bunch of people you don’t know?  Take the reigns, they’re yours.  You can have it as formal as you’d like to.  Again, I give you permission to do what works for you.  I think of the years that my babies were little and I do remember how hard it was to leave my little ones.  So have a RAW day, let the kids play, and create something with your girlfriends.  What if your spouse wants to join?  Make it a party.  RAW night is yours to create what you want with it.

When you put yourself in a position to succeed, you will.  Take courage in the idea that the right people will always come, your night will never be wasted. Because regardless of who comes, you WILL be creating something for yourself. Play music that speaks to your heart, eat foods that nourish you (and yes, this includes chocolate), put yourself in a position where you can rest your insecurities and feel as comfortable as possible.  Providing an environment that you can thrive in will allow you to use your courage for creativity.

jamie ridler has created something truly wonderful…  a way to infuse your life with an abundance of creativity in just 5 minutes a day! a host incredibly talented and creative souls will share with you wildly inspiring ideas and prompts to get your juices flowing, and i am honored to be among them!  to win a spot in Sparkles, simply leave a comment on this post and you’ll be entered to win, and  you can begin whenever you are ready add a colorful dose of creativity to your life!  all entries must be posted by wednesday, june 15th, and the winner will be announced right here on this post – embrace your creativity this summer!

*** and the winner is… beki!  congratulations! email me, and you can start sparkling ;) ***

slipping back into this space feels like putting on my favorite, old pair of jeans.

thank you so much for all of your concern and love and support while i’ve been away.  life has been a messy roller coaster ride, but it’s also been achingly sweet at times too… that’s the thing about life, you can have a moment of dire circumstance (literally life and death) and right along side it a moment of ridiculous joy.   the sun still shines.  the children still laugh.  magic still happens.

i’ve been leaning into the darker corners and dimming down the light to avoid shiny things, partly due to responsibility but partially out of need as well.  the shadows can be seductive.

but it’s time for me to lean back into the light.  i can’t really live without it.  being here is like one deep breath after another.  it is where my life speaks.  it is where i truly live.

and it’s been too quiet around here without all of you!  so i’m slowly easing back into studio life.  if i owe you an email or otherwise, know it is coming very soon.  it really means the world to me that i you’ve been here waiting for me, welcoming me back with so much unconditional kindness, patience and love – thank you for leaving each and every breadcrumb so i could find my way back here when it was time.

i’ve got so many good things to share with you… new classes, posts form our delicious and inspiring contributors, some amazing guests stopping by, and a few great giveaways.  i’ve missed you all so much and can’t wait to fill you up with all the goodness and abundance you always offer me!

it’s time.