Somerset Studio Nov/Dec 2011
Somerset Studio, November/December 2011
Observations and inspirations from a recent trip to China.
60 Seconds With Jamie Ridler
Jamie Ridler ~ Contributor to Desire to Inspire ~ on spreading inspiration:
Sometimes I shout my “you are magic” message from the rooftops and sometimes I whisper it in your ear. Some days we need to hear a joyful message, full of celebration, energy and cheer, so I create opportunities to dance, to share, to celebrate, to explore and to experience our own delicious creative magic. And some days, when we’re tender, we may need all of our bravery just to consider the possibility that it might be okay to make a wish, to open our hearts and allow ourselves to dream. So I also create gentle spaces and loving nudges to remind our spirits we are meant to shine.
Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World will begin shipping this month. Pre-order your copy right here!
Leave a comment to be entered in today’s Bookmark-A-Day Give Away!
Congratulations Lisa! Our big winner for today. Thank you for all of the comments!
60 Seconds With Mary Anne Radmacher
Mary Anne Radmacher ~ Contributor to Desire to Inspire ~ on her unique expression of inspiration:
I use the written world and words artfully presented with my unique lettering and colorful forms and illustrations. In the years before I started my own company I used these skills while in the employment of others to inspire teamwork and promote the mission of the company. I brought my aesthetic to events, documentation, the manner in which I completed tasks.
Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World will begin shipping this month. Pre-order your copy right here!
Leave a comment to be entered in today’s Bookmark-A-Day Give Away!
Congratulations to our Give Away winner Spice!
A Typical Saturday
{And now she is about to give birth!}
Wake up, have coffee. Look forward to our wide open, no-real-plans Saturday.
In preparation for a dinner party that evening, we decide to walk to Santa Monica Seafood to pick up ingredients. At this point we’re not sure how many people are coming for dinner, but at the moment the official tally is five.
On the way, we stop by my pregnant stepdaughter’s* apartment. Her mom (yep, that would be my husband’s ex-wife) is visiting, because this is the weekend of the baby shower. While visiting, we ask, “So which one of you will be joining us tonight?” Response from pregnant stepdaughter’s mom: “Um, we’re not sure…can we wing it? Oh, but if we do come, don’t forget my sister is here on a surprise visit, and she also brought her daughter to surprise us!”
Somewhere in there my stepson lets us know his best friend wants to come too.
We head to Santa Monica Seafood, thinking about what we need for a dinner party that could be as small as five six or as large as ten. We buy enough for ten.
We come home, decide to relax. Pregnant stepdaughter’s husband comes over to drop something off, and when he comes in to say hello my husband asks him, “Are you comfortable on tall ladders?” which then leads to a marathon smoke alarm battery changing extravaganza that involved changing the battery of one particular smoke alarm (the one highest up, of course) multiple times, still hearing a warning beep, until finally the boys decide to yank the whole thing off the wall and call it a day.
Oh, and we also asked him to help us re-arrange some furniture.
Pregnant stepdaughter and her mom come over, happy to see all of us together. And then – TaDa! Pregnant stepdaughter’s aunt and cousin show up to surprise her! Mission accomplished!
By now it is close to 5:00pm, everyone happy and excited and already looking at old pictures of when pregnant stepdaughter was in her mom’s belly.
And then it was decided – everyone is coming over! Dinner for eleven! “We have swordfish!” “We’ll pick up vegetables!” “We already got desserts!” And not long after, we’re all celebrating a baby that is due to arrive on December 22nd, joyful and gleeful and grateful for this wild, unexpected band of souls that we all call our family.
* We laugh in our household about all of this “stepdaughter” “stepmom” stuff, and I use the term begrudgingly. But I also want to be explicit about those “titles” to illustrate that sometimes, these kind of “steps” become the most important connections of our lives.
60 Seconds With Christen Olivarez
Christen Olivarez ~ Contributor to Desire to Inspire ~ on being of service to others:
To be in service to others means to welcome others with open arms and help them live their own personal mission statement. To be in service means to accept others as they are, and contributing your own gifts as they walk the path of their own life. It does not involve judgment; it does not involve your own personal mission. To be in service is to put the needs of others in front of your own needs. It is to help, it is to support, it is to be selfless, and it is to give.
Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World will begin shipping this month. Pre-order your copy right here!
Leave a comment to be entered in today’s Bookmark-A-Day Give Away!
Congratulations Hobby! You are today’s big winner!!
Out + About
{Photo taken in Amsterdam in 2010.}
The first stop for the Desire to Inspire Virtual Book Tour happens today at Scoutie Girl, with a sneak peek at Chapter Two. Daily updates will be made right here with the latest book tour visits.
My latest interview for Global Inspirations is with the lovely Beth Nicholls.
The newest Across the Globe essay – with musings and images from my recent trip to China – is in the current issue of Somerset Studio.
I’m excited to be on the roster for the 2012 21 Secrets Art Journal Playground. Head over to Dirty Footprints Studio to see the extraordinary company I’m in! 21 Secrets will begin April 1, 2012, and officially goes on sale January 2, 2012.
I’m going to be interviewed on Creative Mojo this Wednesday, November 16th to discuss my involvement with Art Saves by the amazing Jenny Doh. Tune in from 3:00-5:00pm!
60 Seconds With Vineeta Nair
Vineeta Nair ~ Contributor to Desire to Inspire ~ on unexpected inspiration:
Life is beautiful, and full of instances which are filled with inspiration and meaning. If only I can see. And when I am open to see there is always a message for me. To be more specific, in moments of active meditation and dance, there are always these beautiful truths which just become so evident and simple and apparent, that they hit you sometimes with an almost physical force and sometimes, with a quiet depth that remains with you for many days to come.
Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World will begin shipping this month. Pre-order your copy right here!
Leave a comment to be entered in today’s Bookmark-A-Day Give Away!
It simply has to be done: two comments today = two Give Away winners! Yay for Tisha and Ann!!
Five Things
1. Inspiraciok.hu ~ I can’t read the language, but I still like it
2. Explore ~ I love their Live Cams
60 Seconds With Jennifer Lee
Jennifer Lee ~ Contributor to Desire to Inspire ~ on sharing her message of inspiration:
I’m grateful that what I do for a living lets me inspire people to reconnect with their own creative wisdom. I share about my own journey of following my dreams through my writing and art and I guide people on their own path of self-discovery through my coaching, courses, and products. When I’m working with people, I ask powerful questions and gently nudge them toward what their heart most longs for.
Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World will begin shipping this month. Pre-order your copy right here!
Leave a comment to be entered in today’s Bookmark-A-Day Give Away!
Congratulations to our Give Away winner Nadia!!
60 Seconds With Andrea Kreuzhage
Andrea Kreuzhage ~ Contributor to Desire to Inspire ~ on what guides her desire to inspire:
Desire to inspire is not the platform from which I begin a journey. My journeys begin with a desire to learn. I ask, “How can I understand better, and grow, as a person, as an artist?” I invite questions, I research, I experiment. I actively look for challenges and move outside the comfort zone of the known.
Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World will begin shipping this month. Pre-order your copy right here!
Leave a comment to be entered in today’s Bookmark-A-Day Give Away!
Congratulations to our give away winner Julee!
