mission monday:: make spirituality fun

japanese maple, for sale in my etsy shop

Did you know that today is nirvana day?

I didn't either until I looked in my day planner. Since my first assumption was that they named a day after the band, I decided to do some research.

It turns out that this day commemorates the Buddha's death. It is a time of contemplation, shared meals and meditation.

I am not going to suggest that you do any of those things (unless you want to).

See here's my thing on spirituality and religion: if you get too hung up on the particulars, you disconnect from the real purpose. And I believe no matter what spiritual path you follow that the real purpose is to connect with love and joy.

If meditating brings you to that, awesome.

But what came to me as I was thinking about nirvana day was celebrating the rebel part of spirituality. Jesus, buddha (and others)...they were bucking the norm. They were daring to connect to a larger energy in their own way and letting others know that they could as well.

So your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to embrace the rebellion and fun and joy and love of your particular spiritual path IN YOUR WAY.

Suggestions for spiritual rebellion:
-write a prayer in chalk on the side of the wall
-research the wisdom of your spiritual path. If you don't have a spiritual path, research one that interests you
-dance out your gratitude
-draw, paint or collage a spiritual image to evokes a feeling of joy in you

These are just a start...I know there are a million other ways to connect with love. Please share your unique ways to express spirit...I can't wait to hear them!

As a bonus mission, please share the images that mean spirit to you in the mission mondays flickr group.

Happy missioning joy rebels!

etsy, facebook and oh my god I'm tired

So we're watching nox again for a few days while his adoptive parents are out of town and last night, that dog would not calm down. He spent 20 minutes howling in his crate and when I finally got tired of it and put him in bed with me (I'm such a bad parent), he would not stop wiggling and moving around.

At one point I started seriously wondering what the puppy dosage for benadryl was. God help me when/if we have kids.

So I'm a little delirious today as you can imagine.

But not too delirious to share all the new goings-on here at the rebellion.

Firstly, joy rebel images now has a facebook fan page. Please friend me! I'll be sharing featured items and news and lots of over good stuff.

(oh my god, that last sentence was so lame and I'm so brain dead I don't even care)

Moving on.

Speaking of featured items, I've got new goodies in my etsy shop that I would love for you to check out. I have had such fun creating these new items and I've got more ideas flowing so please check out the shop often and buy to your heart's content.

And lastly, I have found real enjoyment in creating blog headers, etsy banners, ad logos and avatars and I'd like to start doing that more as part of the whole joy rebel images business. However, I don't have a large portfolio in that area (other than my stuff) so if you are a blogger in need of a custom header or ad logo and wouldn't mind letting me play around with ideas (for free of course), please let me know! offer now closed...thank you!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I'll be sleeping.

joy rebel interview:: dancing mermaid

So, ya'll know Mccabe right? Better known as the Dancing Mermaid, she is leading an art revolution that involves play and laughter and authenticity. I am so pleased to share her with you guys today on my blog!

1. Okay Chica! Please tell us a little about yourself and what you do.
i paint rocks. i take pictures. i make little movies. i encourage little girls to make art and be themselves. i write love poems. i seek magic.

2. How did you get started making art?
fingerpainting was my first love until i fingerpainted a little boy's face in preschool i had a crush and was banned from fingerpaint for the rest of the school year...

art drifted away from me around middle school and it was not until my early 20's that we reunited. i tend to dip into a myriad of mediums and believe just playing is the most productive way to make stuff. i just do it. if i don't i get sad, snarky, and snarly.



3. What are your art inspirations?
my students, topics i am passion about, my friends and favorite artists/writers, love, the ordinary, a random statement or word said at the right time, crickets and frogs chirping at the same time, fog, the way the sun hits the sea late afternoon, past lovers, a fantastic giggle, sea glass/shells, film, music, and people who dare to live outside of the lines...

4. Can you talk about your mermaid art classes for young girls and what they entail?
sure! i have had a core group of little girls for the past two years who i do art with. my number one rule (well maybe only rule?) is that the girls self-esteem and overall happiness come first. the art is secondary. we make art journals and also collaborate on canvas and film, which they love! basically they come over and make stuff and leave feeling good.

5. What about the mermaid warrior e-course?
i will be running my third mermaid warrior e-course starting february 22nd. many people have asked over the years how i do what i do, which inspired the course to begin with! through video and blogging, i will take my students with me to my own classes (i use all my actual students! which makes the videos fun to watch) so they can see our interaction and how i conduct a class. the blogging part is new. i wanted to do that so i could take it a step further and elaborate on the topics i am sharing. (and also form a supportive community) i am very excited for round three! i get so much inspiration from my online students! there are now mermaid warrior type classes all over the world. :)

6. Why is it important for you to share art in these ways?
because i was a kid that was overlooked creatively. i desperately needed it and believe my life would have been a lot easier if i had had it! we know so much more now than we did then. :) my goal is to be the teacher i always wanted to have. nobody cares if my art is good or not. what people remember is the way i help them feel. so i may not be the best artist in the world, but i do not think that is my mission. my mission is to "be the change."

7. If you had one piece of advice to give a starting artist what would it be?
look at what you are already doing. don't dismiss it as silly! do what are you most happy doing, and find a way to elaborate on it...



8. What does joy mean to you and how do you stay connected to it?
i love joy! to me, joy is finding the beauty even when everything else sucks. without joy, i would surely be a cynic and an unhappy person. joy is a practice and a celebration of things that remind you of your best self.

i stay connected to it by intention. joy does not always fall in my lap. it is often a decision to be love no matter WHAT life hands you. its a feeling inside that no one else can crap on. it is YOURS and yours only!

9. Anything coming up that you'd like to share?
my warrior class! come join in if you feel a calling to help empower little girls, or have your own little girl, or want to heal the little girl inside of you.

THANK YOU brandi! this was so fun! i am honored to be a joy rebel.
:)

Thank you Mac! I am so glad you stopped by. I know I was so inspired by your answers and appreciate how you share art with the world.

all photos credit Mccabe Russell

mission monday:: celebrate your light

So I just happened to notice on my calendar that today (or tomorrow, depending on who you talk to) is imbolc-an earth based spirituality celebration. The day is now more widely known as the feast of St. Brigid, patron saint of the hearth and home, of poetry and of smithwork. In either case, the day is all about celebrating the light returning in lengthening days with hearth fires and candles and art and special meals.

Then I did some more research and found other celebrations that were all about celebrating light. Of course, there’s groundhog day here in the US and Canada where we hope a chubby rodent sees light instead of shadow, signifying the end of winter. Also, a great movie. Then there’s candlemas, a time of celebrating the light of Christ’s spirit.

What I took away from the myriad of cultural and spiritual traditions for celebrating spiritual and/or physical light was motivation to celebrate and cultivate my own light.

This week’s mission is to invite you to do the same. How can you acknowledge the ways in which you shine that light that only you have? How can you cultivate that and help that unique light grow? The ways in which to celebrate light in your life are varied and endless but here are a few suggestions:

-Write a poem
-Do sun salutations as the sun rises
-Toast the sunrise or sunset
-Give lots of kisses
-Make a wonderful meal and share it with others
-Have ice cream for dinner
-Send someone a card. Or that poem you wrote. Or a card with that poem you wrote.
-Call your mother. Or favorite aunt. Or your brother’s best friend’s roommate if you want. Tell them they rock.
-Spell out ‘I’m awesome’ in refrigerator magnets
-Say a prayer
-Wear that dress or those boots or that necklace that makes you feel smokin’
-give yourself a pedicure
-give yourself a day off
-Have a funny movie marathon and laugh your ass off

How will you celebrate-I would love to know! As a bonus mission, I would love to see your photos of light-any sort of light-in the Mission Monday flickr group.

Happy missioning joy rebels!

nox.

Now don't get all excited...he's not staying here permanently. :-)

However, the local german shorthair pointer rescue found him in a shelter but couldn't get him pulled from it for a few days so we got him and we're keeping him until he can go to his adoptive parents.

I know, he's so stinkin' cute I can't stand it.

I write this post not just to share the extreme cuteness but also to share the work of rescues and shelters.

Many people think that getting a dog from a rescue or shelter means getting a problem dog or a sick dog or a mutt or an older dog. And there are plenty of those type of dogs in shelters and rescues. Keely is an unfortunate example of that. Believe me when I say I understand the exhausting commitment a problem or sick dog requires and that not everyone can take on.

However, there are plenty of normal, healthy, purebred and adorable puppies that end up in rescues and shelters too. So if you want a furchild and maybe have your heart set on a certain breed or a puppy, please consider looking into your local shelters and rescues instead of breeders. It is very possible to get a purebred dog for considerably less than you would pay a breeder and you are literally saving a life.

Okay, soapbox back under the couch now. :-)

Nox and I thank you for listening.

inside...and outside

when the outside looks like this...



the perfect response is...

your husband's slippers


a warm bowl of something yummy


and staying as close as possible to a sleeping dog


the pasta recipe (if you can call it that):
this is all for a single serving as I'm the only one in the house that eats vegetables
cook a single serving of pasta in salted water, drain (I prefer spaghetti, but linguine works too)
saute about a cup to a cup and a half of chopped mushrooms, black olives and spinach in extra light olive oil for about 3-5 minutes
(I season with basil, garlic powder, onion salt and sea salt but feel free to experiment with your fave flavors)
toss with warm pasta
sprinkle (or, if you are like me...coat) pasta mix with grated parmesan cheese
ENJOY

How's your friday?

it was when I got excited about the fungi that I realized my hope of being cool would never come to fruition.EVER.

Ya'll probably know by now that I just have this innate NEED to get out in the world with my camera. This need can strike at any time.

Which is why today, I found myself kneeling in the dirt in a bit of woods that I may or may not have been trespassing on to get a shot of some fungi on a fallen log. This was also the moment I remembered why I did my lunchtime adventures on friday-which is casual attire day at the office-because tromping around in the woods in heels and dress (really) is a little bizarre even for me.

I think I have wanted to be part of the cool crowd for...oh...only my whole life.

I don't know if this happened for anyone else but now that I am in my 30's....and rapidly approaching MID THIRTIES, I am less interested in fitting in with others and more interested in being comfortable in my own skin.

And I guess I will always be the little girl that was fascinated by the puffball mushrooms and dragonflies she saw on walks with her daddy.