Tell Me How You REALLLLY Feel

My Core Desired Feelings -- in progress

I've been taking my time with The Desire Map, a program to help you make goals based on how you want to feel when you achieve them (rather than what you want in order to feel the way you want to feel). The shift in my attitude, thinking, and actions has been profound. I find that I have more faith in the Universe to provide what I need, and making decisions is much easier. I have also noticed how alike people are; we often think no one will understand our "situations".

There is an open Face Book group and a Pinterest board for The Desire Map. I wanted to share some of the posts that have touched me, and often that I have identified with.

Melissa Butcher's doggy knows!

Oh, to have the life of a dog....how often have you wished it? There's more to it than your initially realize. When I saw this picture, I realized how much our furry friends really know about how to have a life. The essence of your desire is a feeling...ultimately of love.

Another feeling I often find among Desire Mappers is Powerful, and those feelings related to "Powerful", like the desire to Change the World!  Marie Forleo's business is business. She's offering a way to scholarships in her Amazing online B-School. Desire Mapper Shauna Brandes hopes to earn a scholarship, and change the world of childbirth. She's so empowered with The Desire Map, she (and several others) is leaving her full time job to pursue her dreams and desires!

Desire Mapping in real time!

 
Desire mappers have been getting creative in their lives, whether it's Pinterest or video; here's one of my favorite creators among the Desire Mappers. Lou Niestat chronicled her day trip on the train, with her father, and it is just amazing!!!! She sketches and notates during the action and fills in colorful details afterward in journal style. This day trip is just one of her "musings". Please look at all her work; it's in action, living the life desired.

Realizing the desire to finish a project

Laura Boyd Stadig quilted her Core Desired Feelings into this amazing, hand sewn and painted piece.

Grace Quantock created a photo album that chronicled a singled day with her Desire Map and then blogged about her epiphanies, especially how she "Escaped My To-Do List."


Do lists rule your life?

Centered on the Fulcrum by MonaRAEbeads.com

And I've been creative too! Aside from writing, I've also been zentangling and creating strong image collage/poems. Most significantly, I too want to change the world; I am an Advocate, and a very very good one at that! I downloaded an awesome mind mapping program, The Brain, and I'm doing research and creating a plan to get paid for what I do well. Most recently a friend called on me to advocate for her when she found out she had breast cancer; she's having a double radical mastectomy today. In the process of working on her behalf I discovered a program that the doctors should have known about, figured out how to implement it, and shared my discoveries with the doctors who now are able to offer the program to their own patients. So, I'm getting into action on getting paid for what I do so well.

Oh, and I'm still making beads and jewelry. My birthday necklace is almost ready to show you, and it's amaaaazing!

More Than a Pretty Face

I love Pinterest! It's not just a bulletin board on which to pin pretty pictures; it is a place to communicate ideas and inspirations in all areas of creativity. I have had a need to create all my life and when I can't do it, I dream of doing it.

When I was a little girl I used to make puzzles by making a huge drawing on multiple sheets of binder paper. The only one I remember was of a nude woman; I think my grandmother found it and I got in trouble for it. I've always been fascinated by the human body, especially the mechanics of it; I guess that's why I used to dream of being an investigative coroner ala "Quincy" and why I love making goddess beads.

Teresa Laliberte is my Goddess Bead Muse

 I remember in Junior High School I would make replica drawings of the fruit that was on paper lunch sacks and my friends would ask me to make duplicates for them. I still love the bright colors and balloon shapes of fruit; maybe that's why I like beads by Heather Trimlett. I also remember learning to sew, and being pretty good at it; and I remember being the Queen of Hearts in the school fashion show/play (I wanted to keep forever my self designed and created playing card costume!)

Beads by Heather Trimlett

Courtesy How To Draw Cartoon

All along the way I liked to
save all my markers and crayons and I had a penchant for quirky ink pens; I still have scores of them! One of my favorite gifts was from a friend of my mothers, for whom I used to babysit; it was a book of geometric shapes, drawn like fractals, and I would color the designs I saw in them.

SO MANY inspirational color books on Amazon!

 For the last year I've dreamed of deviating from glass bead making and going back to seed beading/weaving. I am so inspired by Zen Tangle drawings. I've also loved the art of Mary Engelbrecht, which I was reminded of today by the following video....which I found on Pinterest!

Before I show you the video, I want to share with you my experiences of creating. More specifically, I want to show you my experiences with road blocks. This video shows me that I've been standing in my own way all along. I know what I love and how it makes me feel to do what I love. When people call me an artist, however, I shrink back from the compliment and deny any possibility of it being the truth. I am driven to create by my emotions, my passion for colors, and shapes, and details. I constantly accuse myself of not being able to control my use of those elements I love, that I don't know when to stop, when enough is enough, and in the process I ruin my "art". I know I am not alone in this feeling, so if you are with me, and you feel the same way, I'm here to tell you, I've found proof that we are so wrong about ourselves!

This video is amazing. This artist, Rach of ArtfulEvidence, is amazing. She uses a million techniques and as she creates she is fearless in her continued pursuit of what she enjoys, not being dependent on what the outcome is but only what is happening in the moment. She makes a beautiful start with color and technique and proceeds to evolve and develop and add more, more, more, and at no point is it ruined, or destroyed, or "too much". It is layer upon layer of joy and experience and giving into desire to add another color, another detail, another technique. And I kept saying, "When will she stop?! WHY will she stop?! Yes! That's the important question, Why?!" Funny, I wrote that "I've found proof" before I knew her Etsy and Blog name, "Artful Evidence"! Get it? GET IT!!!

Finding My Signature Style

This morning I keep feeling that there is something I'm SUPPOSED to be doing; then I realize I get to do what I want to do! Exciting!

I watched a documentary titled Seamless (2005) which featured "finalists in a contest to support the next generation of designers." It was interesting and inspiring. It gave me anxiety and a desire to jump into creative mode. It inspired me to clean my design space; then I told myself to just work in the space as is, just go for it and create. Then a thought related to my last blog post came: what is my "signature" style? And the answer came to me in a question: What do I love?

I love India (at least the artistic beauty of it; wish I could say I know all of India). I love the colors and patterns and dreaminess of India. And then I thought about what I want to make and what I want to learn.

I love the stringer work in glass that I'm so unskilled at.

Trey Cornette

Holly Cooper

Holly Cooper

Claudia Pagel "Glasting"

And I could see in my mind's eye a bead that looks like my favorite dress from Ustav. And the train of thought rolled on. Imagine a beautiful set of beads that represents the things I love about India. 

I get to do what I want to do today. I want to learn about applying stringer designs to beads. I want to make pink and orange and gold and red beads. Off to watch some video lessons and then to the torch I will go!

Here are some inspirations.

 

Source: utsavfashion.com via MonaRaeBeads on Pinterest

Elusive fuchsia and true vitreous orange, floral, silky elegant bright

 

Source: sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net via MonaRaeBeads on Pinterest

 Black base with Canyon de Chelly stringer

 

Source: urbanog.com via MonaRaeBeads on Pinterest

Literal stringer with bright, dragged dot feathers

Source: Uploaded by user via MonaRaeBeads on Pinterest 

Brick red background with silvered ivory stringer and a touch of white. Wonder how ivory reacts with pure gold leaf?

Light pea green with lots of dots, pink flowers (murrini), grass green stringer

Black on white stringer, combination of masked dots and stringer work

Some great stringer and masked dot patterns

A good pattern to start with

A Gazillion pattern possibilities with Mhendi and Maori/Tribal tattoos too!