The most important thing is that you stay safe

I’ve been away on a lovely vacation with my husband, and we got back late on Sunday evening. It was a wonderful trip, starting with a stay in Rome and then a cruise of the western Mediterranean that stopped in Cannes and Corsica, France, Barcelona and Mallorca, Spain, and Sardinia, Italy. And we loved every minute we were away. The photo below is from our visit to Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, still under construction for the next 8 years or so.

Oh, the light and air inside this space was just magical!

And now we are home, and preparing for the Pitman Craft Show this Saturday (assuming it takes place). But mostly, we are worrying about everyone in the path of Hurricane Florence as the storm heads toward the East Coast. Please take this storm seriously and take care of yourself, if it’s coming anywhere near you. And it seems only right to defer any further discussion of things like my vacation or the craft show, given the coming storm. Because as it says at the top of this post, the most important thing is that you stay safe.

Five ways to help clear the energy in your home for Summer Solstice

The Summer Solstice will occur this Thursday, June 21st. It's the day of the year with the most daylight here in the Northern Hemisphere, and for many of us there are reasons to celebrate. It's the official start of summer here in the United States, despite this week's preemptive heatwave. 

A 6" square canvas with a mixed media sunflower.

One of the things I've been doing to prepare for the summer/solstice is to clear the energy in my house. Given the amount of disheartening news these days (which is a massive understatement, and doesn't convey how gutted I've been by recent events at the southern US border), clearing the energy and raising the vibration has merged into self-care for me, and is keeping our house a bit of a haven, even though we allow the news in daily.

5 ways to clear the energy in your home:

• Set an intention to clear any "stuck" or negative energy
• Open windows (if you can), turn on fans (ditto), turn on all the lights, and blare some happy music to encourage energy to start moving
• Open the doors to any closets in the room your in, then clap your hands or, if you prefer, ring a chime or bell, into each of the corners in the room and closet so the vibrations will start to move any stuck energy
• Light sandalwood incense or burn sage (a smudge stick) in order to burn off any negativity and encourage energy to flow. If you cannot tolerate the scent of either of those choices, light an unscented candle with the intention that it burn off any negativity.
• Bring in houseplants to clear the air (literally) and add living energy to your space.

This Saturday, September 23rd, I'll be one of the vendors at Solstice Soul Fest at Sunset Auditorium in Pitman, New Jersey. The event will occur from 9 am to noon, and will include free yoga, live music, and a variety of vendors. Come on out and celebrate solstice!

In the merry merry month of May

Before jumping into May, I should probably update you a bit on the April that was! I had a great time at the Williamstown Arts Festival, although (truth be told) it was all about fun and not profit. But it was one of the first truly nice days of the year, there was a DJ across the street playing happy tunes, and my friend Rita (owner of Jularee, for which she hand makes gorgeous gem stone and silver (or copper) jewelry) was right next door, so all was (mostly) right with the world.

About May:

It's gonna be a super busy month for me, which partially explains how it's already been about three weeks since my last blog post. (For shame!) Also, on a personal note, I've been having a flare with my rheumatoid arthritis and and just starting a new medication, so that's been a bit of a drag, and has made me a bit foggy fairly often, so I'm a bit slower than usual. BUT I DIGRESS.

At the start of the month, I learned that I had been selected for an amazing grant opportunity by the South Jersey Cultural Alliance, the New Jersey Arts Council, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. And so it was that on Saturday, May 5th, I attended a Creative Capital workshop in Hammonton, NJ, to learn more about how to create and run a successful arts business. It was super detailed and amazing and great, and I got a lot out of it, with lots of homework and further opportunities for learning over the next few months.

Meanwhile, I've been planning and making additional art for upcoming events. You can check out the full list here, but I will for sure be at the Pitman Spring Craft Show on Saturday, May 19th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. In fact, I will be in space X151, at the corner of Theatre Avenue and Broadway, where I'll be sharing my tent with Rita Mitchell and her jewelry business, Jularee. (It will be two days after my second IV infusion for my RA, so I'm hoping I won't be too out of it. Maybe stop by just to find out!) 

Four new tambourines, ready for their ribbons!

The following weekend, I'm heading south for a visit with my parents in South Carolina, where I'm also going to spend a bit of time with my older daughter, who will be joining me at a workshop with Australian artist Tracy Verdugo in St. Petersburg, Florida the last week in May. I'm really excited about studying with Tracy in person, since I've done several online courses with her.

Then it's a quick (well, as quick as I can make it) trip back north so I can kick of June in style with the uplifting energy of The Day of the Goddess event at Lavender Koi Yoga in Berlin, NJ, on Sunday, June 3rd from noon to 6 p.m.

Strange but true: I currently have THREE EVENTS scheduled for the month of June. What even is my life these days? It's nothing but artwork and magic.

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