{power year} march madness!

It sure is March Madness!  This month's assignment and challenge from Megan Quicke's Power Year came through on March Eve and already there's been a maddening amount of goal-getting!  (Read the March Message here for yourself if you'd like to play along at home.)

Megan's challenge this month is to share our plans publicly.  As I thought of possible public declarations of my intentions for my Power Year, none of which really excited me, this invitation came bounding into my email inbox:   a Salon-Style Bicycle Art Show!!!  So, see Goal #3 and #4 below. Done and done!

Madness!

My March Madness Goals:

1.  Send an email offering an introduction and explanation of my services to have friends share with their friends. (Due:  3/5)  [Update:  done!!!]
2.  Create goodies for the Power Day give-a-way happening March 11th!  Stay tuned on how to enter!
3.  Test and complete artwork to show at the Salon-Style Bicycle Art Show!!!   (Due:  3/22) [Status:  In progress]
4.  Sign up for MailChimp email service, upload all of my contacts, and send an announcement about the art show.  (Due:  3/16)
5.  Do the math on an affiliate program I will offer and send around an email announcing the program.  (Due:  3/31)

And overall, aim to do 32 hours of work that either is directly billable or will lead to income generation.  Build up to that this month.

*Bonuses that will rollover to April:  do my taxes; complete or schedule these tutorials from The Curious Pug.


A Wrap-Up of February: 

It went amazingly.  I gave myself just enough structure and just enough space to really have fun fulfilling these goals that will serve me well on the way to my dreams coming true!  It really boils down to being OK with succeeding and having compassionate expectations of myself; that's what's new for me this go-around. 

Thanks for all the support and encouragement!

xox

meet up sunday // art in nature festival

Here are details for Sunday's Art In Nature Festival happening at Oakland's Redwood Regional Park.  You may have met Laura Inserra at the CELLspace Expo for Independent Arts.  She has put together an awesome festival with 100 musicians and artists participating in this interactive day!



It  will also be home to the next Crafters  Local 415 make 'n' take gathering!  Laura's invited me to set up some  crafty supplies, share some techniques, and just enjoy making stuff with  you all.  Look for other artists from the CELLspace expo as well!



There  will be no food vending or sales that day.  It is a purely free and  interactive event.  What project are you working on now?  Can you bring  some knitting or collage materials and enjoy making art in nature?  And  pack a lunch too!





Here are more details from Laura:



A Multidisciplinary Performing Arts Festival

Art in Nature / the Nature of Art



1st annual FREE  multidisciplinary performing arts Festival conceived for the Stream Trail of Redwood Regional Park, Oakland, California.



It will be held on October 3rd, 2010 from 12pm to 4pm as a site-specific performance

organized by SAMAVESHA, an international multidisciplinary performing arts collective,

and directed by renowned Italian composer and artistic director Laura Inserra.



Stroll along the nearly 1 mile Stream Trail of Redwood Regional Park

and be entertained by nearly 100 different artists and performers

tucked among the meadows, redwoods and oaks in this brand new family friendly (and bicycles & dog friendly) Festival.



Enjoy roaming performances and 12 different areas of live music, dance, martial arts, poetry, henna tattoo,

circus arts, theater, painting, storytelling, arts, crafts and kids events put on from Noon to 4pm.



www.ArtinNatureFestival.com

tomorrow i would like to go here...

and make art!!!

are you making-a-long today?

{via leethal}

did you hear about lee's make-a-long on her blog, leethal? today is supposedly the beta test for this idea she's had since last summer, but it looks like a pretty awesome turnout to me! i just made a twitter contact list of those making and tweeting!

here are all the other ways you can connect with today's makers!

to participate, just start making something! especially something that you've been putting off. a fun project you just haven't found time to get in to. also, if you use up your existing craft stash, extra points for you!

see you around the other side!

xoxo,
rootmix

this is happening

saturday, if you're anywhere near jack london square, head on over to the handmade ho down! entry is free and there will be over 50 vendors sharing their wares. i just love that the vacant space of the old barnes and noble gets to be used in such a crafty way!

this is an evening event, starting at 5pm. here are some more event highlights of what you can expect:

*farmers market eats

*local beer and wine!

*live local bands/djs including:

-red meat

-kit and the branded men

-the goat family

-the crosstops

-dj dirti hari

*swag bags to first 200 attendees!

*raffle - proceeds to drawbridge

*bring in art supplies for drawbridge and receive free raffle tickets

*live weaving demo by the de young museum

*square dancing lessons and contest!

*picnic tables and hay bales

*creamed corn wrestling (yes, seriously)

*mechanical bull rides

meet local artisans, musicians, and farmers while at the same time supporting drawbridge, a local organization which provides art programs and classes to homeless and other vulnerable children in 7 bay area counties.

cheers,
rootmix!

a spa day for our professional minds!

wow! i showed up for a free conference at san francisco's herbst theater yesterday. even considered not going. but since i went, looks like i've had a life-changing experience.

what was it? the *dynamic adaptability conference: new thinking and new strategies for the arts*. when introduced by the director of grants for the arts at city and county of san francisco (yes, we have that), kary schulman explained how the conference planning committee decided to design the kind of conference art world professionals would pay thousands of dollars to attend... but let's make it free!

ah, the power of free!

i would have been suspicious that the conference was jenky, except for the option to reserve your own box lunch! for free also! at that point during pre-registration i felt they must have excellent funding.

turns out the wallace foundation is in the middle of a four year grant with an over $7 million budget. their charge is basically to research best practices for artists to be supported, promoted, sustained. which in turn builds and sustains our communities.

the agenda of the 9am-5pm conference covered

• the brain science behind creating and appreciating art,
  
• data and stats on the professional lives of artists and how to best engage with their audience,
  
• inspiration for creating a deeper connection between artists and their communities, and finally
  
• an overview of demographic and technological changes

{jonah lehrer and holly sidford}

the highlight of the day came for me at the beginning with johah lehrer's presentation on the science behind decision-making. the research he shared helped illustrate that there is a scientific reason behind things we do. for me, the data released some of the burden that *i should be different, better, faster...* and he also provided a solution for success: being educated on how the mind functions, accepting the mechanisms of how we work, and staying focused on harnessing the strengths of these outcomes.

in fact, the whole tone of the day was highly focused on what's *right* in our artistic worlds. there was a lot of good news. as artists, we've already accepted a life-long recession. topics of the day pointed out ways to hyper-succeed at leveraging our best practices, of engaging with our communities, of bringing excitement and joy into the lives of our audience members, making them part of the process, bringing us all together.


all in all it's pretty simple and straight-forward:
find art you like. have a better life.


*i'll be sharing more specifics of my experience at this conference over the next week, including a list of actionable take-aways! chime in if you were at the conference or have heard about the organizations or presenters who participated!

a re-imagined life - carpe diem

{via the lil bee}

dear blog,
today i worked in abundance for what i am welcoming into my new year. this included willing to be a beginner, pulling my bike out of storage and riding it, (even just for 5 feet in front of my house on the wet, rainy sidewalk), pulling out my encaustic materials which i have not set up in almost 2 years - i am showing willingness to use the tools, blog. this even led to sketching out my first piece of the year and i'm excited to get started layering on the melted wax. it was WAY easier to do then i'd spent the last year fretting about!

another thing i noticed about my approach to the day was taking immediate action. case in point: when i sat down to design aceo card #010110, first of a daily series, and found a pen was half dry (which has been the case for the last year, don't know what i was saving it for...) i made a new choice and stood up immediately to toss it in the trash! i know! it's the little things that are the most phenomenal!

{via alicia tormey}

staying focused, making intentional choices for the year, and not getting side-tracked. what i'm welcoming and including in my daily life. and the best awareness is that i get to do the exact same thing today: the attitude, the welcoming in, the choosing what's on the plate today, and the negotiating between choices that compete for time. i get to choose how i want to spend my time and practice the first *live* of *live and let live*!

blog, here are some of my first day ta-da's, since you asked!

• capturing video footage of market street
• running into a dear friend
• visiting a hipster coffee shop and
• blogging a timely entry (!!!)
• reaching out and connecting with friends
• meeting up with other peeps
• crocheting and troubleshooting granny squares!
• chatting with my housemate
• eating healthy food, including lucky lentils & kale
• meeting up with a good friend to walk in nature
• drinking 10 glasses of water!!!
• being in the moment and negotiating through my day
• practicing gratitude, meditation, being willing
• walking outside with my passport to welcome international travel this year
• (this was inspired by my sister's interpretation of walking out of the house with a suitcase on the first day of the year to invite travel for the new year)

i'm blessed with an early start to the day. i'll be working on that encaustic piece, getting my second aceo of the year done, and drafting the steps to my first requested tutorial. stay tuned blog and precious readers! let me know what you're up to, too!

xoxo,
rootmix

p.s. woooohooo!!!

here's to twenty-ten!!!

happy new year precious readers! there's a rainbow-like ring around the full moon tonight, a blue moon at that! what a spectacular way to enter the new year.

earlier tonight i met with friends at ocean beach and we created are own ceremony to shed the old year and welcome in the new year. (as some folks burned christmas trees on the beach and others followed a rio de janeiro custom.) i realized how diabolical it is that not only am i invited to something like this, but that I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE INTO THIS TYPE OF THING TO BEGIN WITH!!! i love it! i love them!


we had noise makers, we meditated, we shared what we wanted to leave behind, we spritzed with yummy smelling essence, we embraced what we wished to welcome into our lives, we hooted and hollered. a bit like a wild rumpus! we burned our lists in a huge bonfire pit while being sage-smudged. super-awesome.

i left with a sense of an open heart, possessing the courage to move through obstacles, embracing being a beginner and the stumbling that goes along with that. twenty-ten is going to be so much fun. i feel so blessed to be able to share it with you!

in honor of new year's customs, i made sure to sweep out my home, empty all trash, recycling, and compost, along with the old vacuum bag and filter, before the new year. i will incorporate activities into new year's day that i welcome in abundance for 2010. note: this does not include doing dishes, cleaning, lending, being in debt, um, and cutting my hair (?). not until the 5th of the year.

a couple years ago i heard on an etsy forum that leaving your house with a suitcase and entering your home again will attract travel! walk in and out as many times as you want to travel, or more, just to make sure it sticks! it totally worked for me. that was my year with the most travel to date! it even carried over to this year. oh, and the suitcase doesn't even have to be packed!

i'm not aiming at a lot of travel this year, though i've got two cousins getting married on the other side of the country, but i AM aiming to create something everyday. i will share more about that in the next post.

let me know how your new year's eve went and what you're looking forward to doing in the new year. if you need some help, check out this resolution generator here!!! monina velarde has hooked us all up!

xoxo,
rootmix

flickr just became a better friend to me...

dear blog,
ok, call me late to the party, but i just discovered that the little *browse* text between the two arrows on the flickr photostream search ACTUALLY HAS A FUNCTION!!! i know. why didn't you tell me? i don't usually admit these things, but i was so not a super-fan of flickr cuz of how un-user-friendly it sometimes was. like, why wasn't i able to easily go back to the big layout of photos in a photostream in one easy click? huh?


well, it's cuz i never tried clicking on *browse*. i guess i needed one of those mouse/mice that vibrate when it rolls over a viable link. my friend's son had one of those when he was 2. i mean, i might have stumbled across the browse function earlier with one of 'em, eh? just maybe.

what has taken you longer than usual to clue in on???

swak,
rootmix

and, p.s., i like flickr a lot more now. but what else am i missing!?!?!?!?

indie crafting shopping alert!

have you made a commitment to buying handmade this year? find all those unique, joyful, and hand-crafted goods this weekend at the bazaar bizarre! i'll be walking around checking out the stuffs on saturday. maybe i'll see you there!!!

oooh, and check out a special limited edition poster by jaime zollars that will be available at the event!!! i love the mini positive messages throughout!


xoxo,
rootmix

p.s. get chur blog puffs on!!! (with a yoyo maker or without!)