Style Statement: Organic Creative

Do you all remember when I blogged about Style Statement by Carrie McCarthy and Danielle LaPorte?  Back in January, I started the book with tons of enthusiasm, racing through the self-discovery exercises with the eagerness of a golden retriever puppy.  Then what happened?  Well, I got a little bit stuck on my second word, and promptly forgot about the whole thing.  That is, until last week when Project Clean and Serene Home kicked into high gear (more on that later) and I came across Style Statement while sorting through the stacks of books threatening to overtake the office Jason and I share.

For anyone who's a bit lost right now (and don't worry - I might've even lost myself there), a style statement is a two-word compass that defines who you are and how you express your authentic self to the world.  The first word represents your foundation, your 80%. The second word, your 20%, is your growth edge and motivator. As Carrie notes on her website, some people have likened a style statement to a "personal brand" or a "creative thumbprint."  Once you have defined your style statement, it can help you to make more authentic choices about almost every element of your life. This concept extends far beyond what we might typically think of as style (fashion and other aesthetic expressions) to encompass decisions about career choices, relationships, how we spend our time, and how we express our unique selves to the world.

So, after a six-month hiatus, I've been revisiting my style statement quest with renewed energy throughout this past week.  I figured out during the first go-round that my foundation word is "Organic."

(via the Style Statement book)

Organic: 
Organics are a divine dichotomy: practical but spontaneous, structured but flowing. The disposition of an Organic is like that of bamboo—light, incredibly strong, growing freely and prolifically. Organics are mindful of the connections between parts, whether in relationships, systems, or physical things. They keenly sense what’s going on (never miss a thing!) They are commonsensical, practical, and organized and adore systems and solutions that simplify or create ease and efficiency. Look & Feel: Organic’s aesthetic is based on sensuality, quality, and construction—whether structured or flowing, shape is important. Timeless or simplistic styles and handcrafted, socially responsible, or eco-friendly materials. Layered aromas, rich textures, enduring and natural fabrics and substances; hearty and sturdy; never static, always changing; free from manufacturing, overprocessing, and chemicals.

The second word - as I mentioned - was more of a challenge.  The second word should not only describe you, but inspire you to grow and possibly even push beyond your comfort zone.  I considered the following:

Grace
Harmony
Cultivation
Balance
Serenity

Yet, I didn't feel that any of these gave me the push, or, as I call it, the "oomph" that the second word should.  But then, this past week, it hit me.  Of course.  It was right there all along, just daring me to claim it (which makes total and perfect sense because I am constantly challenged to honor this aspect of myself to its fullest extent).

(via the Style Statement book)
Creative: Aesthetic, artistic, clever, crafty, cultivated, cultured, elegant, exquisite, fertile, formative, gifted, graceful, harmonious, hip, ideal, imaginative, ingenious, innovative, inspired, inventive, musical, original, ornamental, pictorial, picturesque, pleasing, poetic, productive, sensitive, skillful, stimulating, stylish, talented, tasteful, visionary.

So, there you have it!  I'm Organic Creative.  Nice to meet you!  Have any of you discovered your style statement?  If so, I'd love to hear it!

Tomorrow, I'll share some of the exercises that helped me to uncover my style statement and some of the ways that Organic Creative shows up in my life.

xo,

Things that are making me happy these days

Good afternoon lovelies!  How was your weekend?  It's been a little while since my last happy list, and I thought it was high time for another.  Here are some things - large and small - that have been making me happy in recent days.

• Recommitting to yoga.  Throughout this past year, my yoga practice has, unfortunately, taken a backseat to other activities and obligations.  With good intentions, I began a home practice but found it difficult to stay as disciplined and motivated as I was when I was taking classes at a studio.  So, this past weekend I joined a wonderful little studio near our home and renewed my commitment to yoga with a beautifully flowing vinyasa class.  It felt so amazing to return to the mat, stretching myself (physically and mentally) in ways that I haven't for a long time.  I felt a wave of openness and possibility wash over my heart...
• Getting married less in less than three weeks!  (Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on last week's wedding-themed posts.)
• Blooming periwinkle hydrangea plants.  Basil growing on our porch.  Tossing a Frisbee at the park.  Glowing pink and purple sunsets over the South River.  Long sunny days.  Juice from Wonji Juice Bar (current favorite is a blend of carrot + cucumber + apple +olive oil + basil + rose oil).  The gorgeously photographed Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods.  Exploring new and exciting opportunities.  Happy endorphins after an amazing workout.  Delicious dairy-free coconut milk ice cream (so decadent!).  Girls' nights.  Planning an action-packed whitewater rafting camping foray with good friends for later this summer.  Iced chai with almond milk.  My new Manduka Equa yoga towel.  Rereading The Red Book by the super inspiring Sera Beak.  Learning Italian phrases for our honeymoon.  Discovering my Style Statement (will share soon!).  Scheduling deep tissue massages with my favorite masseuse (have decided to invest in my well-being by making this a semi-regular indulgence).  Greening my work surroundings with plants.  Making my own salad dressing (currently obsessed with a mixture of tamari + toasted sesame oil + brown rice vinegar + minced shallot + fresh ginger which I drizzle over salads, veggies, tofu, etc.).  Good friends, old and new.  Champagne mangoes (.  Hand-crafted terrariums (how cool are these?!).  Dreaming of adopting a shelter dog (hopefully turning this into a reality in the not-too-distant future).  Taking the scenic route.  Good conversation.  Perusing local art exhibitions (can't wait to see the Yves Klein retrospective at the Hirshhorn).  Getting back into the groove with Artist Dates.  Mellow tunes (Bon Iver, The National, and Okkervil River are getting lots of playtime on my iPod these days).  Chunky turquoise jewelry.  Reading this blog.  And of course, all of you!

Your turn!  What are you loving right now?

xo,


Image via Planet Green.

Favela Painting

Have you guys heard about the Favela Painting project in Rio de Janeiro?

Via Flavorwire:
"Sequestered within the city of Rio de Janeiro, two men are giving the poor, compact community of Santa Marta a radiant makeover. Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn originally came to the favelas of Brazil in 2005 to film a documentary about hip hop for MTV, but after MTV left, they decided to stay. Soon after, the Dutch duo known simply as Haas&Hahn began Favela Painting, an organization dedicated to bringing “outrageous works of art to unexpected places.” And if you think they’re doing this on their own accord, they aren’t. Local youths are employed as an integral part of their various projects."

What an amazing concept - and beautiful work of art!

(P.S. I'm off to Chicago for the weekend for my final dress fitting and bridal shower!  See you next week!)

xo,


Images via Flavorwire.

Pretty porcelain by Samantha Robinson

I came across the work of porcelain artist Samantha Robinson on Anthro's site recently, and loved it so much that I decided to investigate further.  I'm glad I did because her website is a treasure trove of beauty and inspiration.  Here's a peek...

I especially love these cheerful teacups.  One of these would be so perfect for my morning cup of tea.

Pretty, isn't it?  In other news, it's almost Friday! (Woohoo!)

xo,

Sunday moodling

"So you see, imagination needs moodling - long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling, and puttering."

-Brenda Ueland

This rainy Sunday has me curled up on the couch with a big mug of chai and thinking that today would be a perfect day for some moodling. What the heck, you might ask, is moodling?

Brenda Ueland coined the term when she wrote the book, If You Want to Write: A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit in the 1930s. If you Google the term, you'll find that numerous people have tried to put "moodling" into words. Personally, I like this way of defining it: "To moodle is to engage in an act of divine laziness, that lovely inactivity that leads to moments of creativity and inspiration."

Divine laziness. What a wonderful concept that is. In this culture, we are generally taught that productivity = good and laziness = bad. But what if it's the moments of "happy idling, dawdling, and puttering" that actually enable us to be our most creative and productive selves?

As a blogger and writer, I will often sit down at the computer only to find myself staring blankly at the screen, unable to translate the current of thoughts and ideas streaming through my mind into words. So what do I do? I wander into the kitchen to chop vegetables for soup. I take a walk. I look at old photo albums or sort through my jewelry box. When I return to the computer, I find that the words flow more easily. Sometimes I'm even able to articulate some new tidbit of inspiration or glimmer of an idea that tiptoed into my awareness while I was engaged in the "non-productive" activity.

Sound familiar? This is moodling at work. But how does moodling work its magic? Engaging in pleasantly "non-productive" activities lulls your mind into a relaxed, receptive state, enabling it to synthesize and assimilate information on a sub-conscious or semi-conscious level. Judy Anne Brenneman writes:

In order to moodle we need to make space for alpha waves to operate in our brain. If we are too exhausted our mind will quickly move into theta (drowsiness) then delta (deep sleep). If we are too focused on a problem or given objective we are using beta waves (consciously focused). Alpha waves bring in that in-between, meditative state where our mind can gather together conscious thoughts and unconscious information in order to create something brand new. Inspiration occurs with a great burst of alpha waves.

The next time you find yourself at a loss for inspiration or feel resistance toward completing a task, consider that your mind might be telling you it needs some playful puttering in order to do what you're asking of it.

You might try one of these moodling activities:

Browsing cookbooks for new recipes

Knitting, sewing or any craft that requires calm, repetitive motion

Organizing your spice cupboard

Folding laundry while listening to music

Re-organizing your closet

Sorting through a box of old photos, letters, or keepsakes

Re-arranging items on a shelf or another surface

Gardening or yardwork

Walking or jogging

Cooking a meal from scratch

Painting your nails, deep-conditioning your hair, making a homemade beauty mask

Baking bread or muffins

You can apply the same concept at work. At work, you might moodle by:

Filing papers

De-cluttering the surface of your desk

Getting up from your desk to stretch or walk around the office

Cleaning out one of your desk drawers

Re-stocking your office supplies (tape, paper clips, pens, etc.)

Sipping a mug of tea and clipping interesting articles from a publication related to your industry (like Chronicle of Philanthropy for you non-profit workers)

Moodling doesn't need to be inherently creative, although it can be. However, I find that the less conscious thought the moodling activity requires, the more effective it is. That's why activities that involve some element of physicality or repetitive movement are perfect because they don't take up too much "intellectual bandwidth." The mind is then free to wander in a relaxed, unfocused way, producing the essential "alpha waves" described above.

Do you moodle? What is your preferred moodling method?

Photo by Polly Wreford via Sarah Kaye Representation.

"My Creative Life" Interview

I'm so honored and excited to be featured on The Expressive Arts Coach blog's "My Creative Life" interview series this week. The blog is run by creativity guru Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli, who I met via twitter recently. Gabrielle is an Expressive Arts Coach, Creativity Coach, and Creativity Consultant, who uses the creative process to aid in clarity, direction, and discovery (learn more about her services here). She's also an artist (abstract paintings, mixed media, and fiber art), knitter, and belly dancer, and holds a graduate degree in Expressive Arts Therapy/Mental Health Counseling. Pretty awesome, huh? Her blog is chock full of interesting information and musings on arts advocacy, expressive arts coaching, and other art-related topics. Definitely check it out!

By the way, Gabrielle is always on the lookout for folks who are "living authentically, creatively, and making a living out of their passions" to feature in the "My Creative Life" series, so if that describes you, I'm sure she'd love to hear from you.

Thanks Gabrielle, for giving me the opportunity to talk about why I'm passionate about what I do, and for all that you do to advocate for art and creativity!

Image via Motley Photos.

Bruce Mau's Incomplete Manifesto for Growth

Do you ever come across words so electric that a little jolt of adrenaline actually rushes through your veins? I recently discovered Bruce Mau's powerful and stunningly lucid Incomplete Manifesto for Growth (via the archives of the equally electrifying Danielle LaPorte, whose brilliance deserves and will get its own post here soon).

For those unfamiliar, Bruce Mau is a world-renowned visionary designer and innovator, whose creative genius spans interdisciplinary projects as far-reaching as creating a new visual identify for MoMA; incorporating a vision for global sustainability into the culture and business of Coca-Cola; and launching The Massive Change Project, a movement to "explore the legacy and potential, the promise and power of design in improving the welfare of humanity."

In short, Bruce embodies the sort of forward-thinking creative thinker who will pretty much rule the world in the not-too-distant future, and his Incomplete Manifesto for Growth is a compendium of the principles and beliefs that fuel his approach. Whether applied to design, business, or life, his words ring true and fierce.

It's well worth reading the whole list, but here are some of my personal favorites (all taken verbatim from right here):

Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.

Forget about good.

Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you'll never have real growth.

Capture accidents. The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.

Begin anywhere. John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.

Collaborate. The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction, strife, exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential.

Take field trips. The bandwidth of the world is greater than that of your TV set, or the Internet, or even a totally immersive, interactive, dynamically rendered, object-oriented, real-time, computer graphic–simulated environment.

Coffee breaks, cab rides, green rooms. Real growth often happens outside of where we intend it to, in the interstitial spaces – what Dr. Seuss calls "the waiting place." Hans Ulrich Obrist once organized a science and art conference with all of the infrastructure of a conference – the parties, chats, lunches, airport arrivals – but with no actual conference. Apparently it was hugely successful and spawned many ongoing collaborations.

For those of you who have read the list (seriously go read it right now!), what do you think? Which are your favorites? Are there any that you disagree with or that make you uncomfortable? I'm super curious to hear your thoughts.

Image via Bruce Mau Design.

Dream Box

On Sunday, I was feeling a bit restless. Feeling like I really needed a project in which to immerse myself. Do you know the feeling?

I wandered the house a bit, looking for inspiration, and spied a stack of old magazines. I tend to hang onto old magazines "just in case" (in case of what, I'm not exactly sure). This tendency results in large stacks of magazines (Elle Decor, Gourmet, Domino, Food & Wine, Body & Soul, Real Simple...I could go on...) at random spots throughout the house. So, I decided to actually get some use out of my old magazines by creating a Dream Box. I have not taken Jennifer Lee's Dream Box Workshop, but I became familiar with the concept after reading about it here and here.

I cut out images and words that appealed to me on an intuitive level, without stopping to think about "why." (Although I couldn't bring myself to cut up my Gourmets and Dominos since they're now in short supply...so sad!) Using a glue stick, I pasted the images onto an old shoe box that had been collecting dust in my closet. I didn't think too much about the composition of the images; I just squeezed them in any which way they would fit.

I've been studying the finished product, and have noticed several recurring themes: natural settings, brightly colored textiles, and flowers, flowers, flowers! I'm thinking this is a sign that I should incorporate more of these things into my life.

This might be breaking slightly with the intended use of a Dream Box (not having taken the workshop, I'm not 100% sure of how it's meant to work), but I plan to use mine to store notes, plans, and pieces of info related to my goals, as well as bits of whimsical ephemera (photos, drawings, postcards, or even treasured family recipes). I'll re-visit its contents regularly for a fresh dose of inspiration. And who knows? Maybe having all of these things in a single sacred place will illuminate new ideas and connections for me.

Has anyone taken the Dream Box workshop or made your own Dream Box? If not, do you have a similar place where you put things related to your goals and dreams?

Care packages

My sister and I decided to put together care packages for each other, just because. She gave me a set of cute coasters, some origami paper, a bar of dark chocolate, oatmeal & honey soap, and some Yogi tea bags. There may have also been some cookies that already disappeared...

And this is what I gave her. Some Bach's aromatherapy spray, Mayan drinking chocolate, tea, facial cleansing pads, gluten-free fudge, incense, bath tea, autumn-scented mini-candle, and magnet.

I highly recommend exchanging care packages - just because - with a sister or friend.

Cool Creative Space

I was browsing through the Creative Spaces pool on Flickr, and found these beautiful images. Wouldn't it be neat to have a studio like this? A place to just hang out and create? And, of course, I love the turquoise.

Photos by Julochka via Flickr.

"It's not where you take things from - it's where you take them to."

I love this quote by filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, from his Golden Rules of Filmmaking. I first saw it here, and I just keep coming back to it. I love that he sees artistic inspiration everywhere - "...bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light, and shadows." What a beautiful notion.

Artist's Date at Anthropologie

I am trying to get back into a weekly artist's date habit. Many of you may already be familiar with the brilliant Julia Cameron, but for those of you who aren't, an artist's date is a concept Cameron pioneered in The Artist's Way, her classic book on discovering and recovering the innate creativity that lies within each of us.

So what is an artist's date? To quote Cameron, the artist's date is "a once-weekly, festive, solo expedition to explore something that interests you. The artist date need not be overtly 'artistic'-- think mischief more than mastery." Nothing is too silly for an artist's date. It's our silly, childlike qualities that allow us to explore and create without inhibition.

For this week's artist's date, I explored the Anthropologie store in Georgetown, taking in all its delicious visual wonders. In addition to the lovely clothes and household items, the store always has absolutely beautiful displays that really are works of art unto themselves. There was one display near their kitchen items that had a vine of tomatoes made of felt (or some other type of cloth) woven into a piece of iron lattice fence. Another featured a vintage bicycle in a sweet baby blue hue. I struck up a conversation with a sales clerk, who told me that they have some extremely talented visual merchandisers who create the displays at the Georgetown store. I'll say so! It was definitely an inspiring little outing. (To consider: a career in visual merchandising?)

Of course, I fell in love with some of the merchandise as well. I'm particularly digging the Orimono pillow and Deep End dinnerware (above).

Do you go on artist's dates? If not, would you consider it? Remember, it doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming. Here are some artist's date ideas to get you started (comment and add your ideas!):

• Wine and dine yourself… go to dinner and a movie.
• Spend some time browsing around Etsy and create a Favorites list – a list of items there that speak to you on a creative level – to refer back to and be creatively inspired by.
• Take yourself on a culinary artist date, and try a new cuisine, recipe, restaurant, fruit, vegetable, etc.
• Take a walk with someone else’s iPod. Expose yourself to new music.
• Move your body. Try Tai Chi, Pilates, yoga, bellydancing, etc.
• Write a letter to the person you plan to be in ten years.
• Check out the course offerings at a local community college or community center. See what catches your eye. A course in modern art history? Piano lessons? Cooking classes?
• Visit a farmer's market and talk to one of the farmers about his or her product.

Thanks to The Artist's Way blog for many of these ideas.