Category Archives: Rebuild spirit through Art

Time with the Seniors

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“Language allows us to reach out to people…, it’s the greatest legacy you could ever leave your children or your loved ones: The history of how you felt.”
~ Simon Van Booy

On Monday, June 1st, I look forward to speaking with the Routt County Senior Citizens. Since AARP has determined that at age 50 we are “senior citizens,” we could have a wide range of ages in the group. Many would argue that age 50 is too young to be tagged as “retired.” People go on to live vibrant lives for many more decades beyond that landmark.

There can be gifts in early retirement and even forced retirement, as it provides plenty of opportunity for new beginnings and starting new life chapters. Having the gift of time and thanks to the independent publishing industry an increased number of “seniors or retirees” are taking the opportunity to share their careers, life journeys and life experiences through writing.

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On June 1st, I look forward to sharing an overview of my memoir, Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, an anthology of short stories, with the Routt County Seniors. We will also be discussing the value of memoir writing  and how to get started writing.

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This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

 

Brightening the Spirit with Color

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“Kodachrome, they give us those nice bright colors

They give us the greens of summers

Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, oh yeah.”

~ Paul Simon

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We are living in a visual world and scientists have been studying the effects color has on our psyche. Indeed, there is validity to the psychological properties of color.

I have had my own long standing argument with wearing the color black. Sometimes I feel as if I want to put it on because it looks sophisticated and more formal than many other colors. So, I think “Okay, this occasion calls for my little black dress.” I put it on, and off it comes. I can’t stand what it makes me feel like. Don’t get me wrong, people   look terrific in their little black dresses. But, its just not me unless paired with some loud contrast.

Lately, I have been doing a little merchandising at a thrift store called Lift Up. It’s creatively challenging because all items are donations, display space is limited and I have to use the resources we’ve got on hand. But that is what makes it so much fun.

I’ve been taking pictures of some of the displays I have been creating. I had to laugh at myself the other day as I went through them. Notice the  arrangement of the colors on this multi-level bookcase and what i put unintentionally on the bottom shelf.  I need to raise it’s status!

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Sometimes, it is good to face what’s been dark places in our lives. I found that out when I wrote my memoir “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.” As it’s been said, if it wasn’t for darkness, there’d be no light. There is another book related to darkness and light of spirit that you might want to add to your reading list.

Wouldn’t you agree a spectrum of colors is illuminated more beautifully when it’s been placed up against the dark?That’s the reason why after a cold dreary winter, we appreciate colorful flowers that burst forth every spring and summer.

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Enjoy spring and the coming of the bright season of summer! I know I will.

This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

Spirit Not Withstanding

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“A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition.” ~ William Arthur Ward

What’s a girl to do when she’s a bystander because she is too young to be a Junior Girl Scout? She creates her own sense of fun, and I loved it.

Look at the joy on this little girl’s face! I’m calling her the “Dazzling Earring Girl.” She went about her way finding a  creative use for the paper roses I had made and given the Girl Scouts while she was waiting for her sister to complete her craft project.

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One never knows where life will take us and “Dazzling Earring Girl” might just have the tag line “jewelry artist” under her name in the future!

You know what I like about the Girl Scouts? Please excuse my bias because I was both a Brownie and a Junior Girl Scout. In my opinion, it is an organization that endorses postive values that parents can teach their children about keeping their values straight in life.

I hope this little girl in the picture remembers to always to seek the light! The good news is on this Thirsty Thursday her joy will dazzle other people. Glad she joined us!

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For information on her memoir and book of short stories. On Sunday, May 10th I’ll be honoring Mother’s Day on All Things Fulfilling.

 

The Young Artists in Them

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Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. ~ Pablo Picasso

On Friday, a number of nine and ten year old students, who are Junior Girl Scouts, expressed their love of writing during my presentation “One Day in the Life of a Writer.” When I admitted to my weakness of rising extremely early at 5:30am to 6pm to write and record what I have often been thinking in the middle of the night, a few said they, too, wake in the wee hours of the morning with ideas to put down on paper.
GS13 croppedSo, each junior Girl Scout was given a spiral-bound notebook to embellish with reflections of their own personality, design sense and color preferences. The notebooks are bound to hold up no matter where they travel and no matter how long it takes to fill the pages with words.They’ve been given a strong foundation backed with Duck© Tape! I never realized there are so many colors and patterns of Duck© Tape now available.

With a promise of returning to teach the Girls Scouts how to make paper roses, the group set about doing their own craft project after my presentation. The rest of today’s story will be told in photos – enjoy the colorful personal journal creations made by Girl Scout Troop #12622.

 

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Isn’t individual creativity a wonderful thing? Come back tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, I’m looking for some opinions. And on Thirsty Thursday, you’ll enjoy a post called Spirit Not Withstanding!

Happy Cinco de Mayo from Sue Batton Leonard,  the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

Stimulating-Creative-Energy

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If we look for it, there is good news every day of the week, not just on Thirsty Thursday. So the good news for today is – “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” ~ Maya Angelou

Back on December 29, 2014 I posted an article on All Things Fulfilling about Jonathan Lehrer’s book called Imagination. If you missed the blog, you can go back and read Spinning Yarns.

The blog was about my decision to take a creative writing course because I had read so much evidence including Jonathan Lehrers book, called Imagination on the importance of seeking out opportunities to use our creativity.

Everyone-Has-A-Creative-GiftIf you are a person who has never explored the creative aspect of your brain, it’s never too late to discover your creative gifts. It’s been said that creativity builds more creativity. To use some popular buzz words, our imagination is a renewable resource. I’ve noticed in myself that once the right side of the brain gets triggered, one thing leads to another as the creative energy is stimulated.

Neurologists say certain conditions are conducive to stirring the imagination. If you are interested in learning more about how creativity works, there is a minute and a half video that explains what scientists have discovered about the array of distinct mental processes that happens in the brain when we fan our flame of creativity. It’s fascinating. Listen in!

This blog is brought to you by the author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

 

Worthiness in Writing

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Friendships begun in this world will be taken up again, never to be broken off.  ~Francis de Sales 1567 – 1622

A few people have asked me how many books I’ve sold and my response is “I don’t know. I’m not paying much attention.” Truthful statement. Believe it or not.

To me sales figures are irrelevant compared to the fulfilling feelings of accomplishment that have come with knowing I completed what I set out to do – tackle writing a memoir and publishing it independently. No one can relate to the process unless they have been through the paces.

Secondly, when I get feedback from readers, it makes publishing the story all worthwhile. People that I hadn’t heard from in decades, that I thought were gone from my life a long time ago, have come climbing out of the woodwork.

education2For instance, a college math professor from my days at Johnson State College in Vermont sent me an e-mail that I will always treasure. His comments after having read my memoir made me feel that I was not just another one of his thousands of students that passed through the halls of that higher institution during his life-long career of teaching.

Here is some of what he had to say after reading Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected:

Sue, I just finished your book and “shared” it via e-mail.  Of course, it brought many tears to my eyes being exposed to your early, early years.  And, it nearly goes without saying that Fanny has made an indelible mark on my mind, having known both you and Jan.  It is a wonderful story filled with the joy of life and living.

I wish you all the best in whatever writing you undertake in the future.  It surely is not a simple task and I thought this effort very well done!

My very best to you and Terry ~ J. Davis

Since rekindling our teacher/student connection, we have had many meaningful back and forth e-mail discussions on various different blogs about life that I have posted on All Things Fulfilling.

The point of this blog is to say “the  value of writing a story is not in book sales. The true worthiness comes in what writing feels like to the author’s heart.” ~ Sue Batton Leonard

 

Creative Districts Rock

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“Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right or better.” ~John Updike

Yesterday I blogged about the Yampa Valley Choral Society. It is just one of many art organizations that abound in this town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

boettcher_report_thumbnailDid you know Steamboat Springs, Colorado was recently ranked in the Southern Methodist University’s National Center for Arts Research as #14 on the Arts Vibrancy Index?

The town also has the distinction of holding 4th place in the Small Towns to Visit in 2014 in the Smithsonian Magazine. For the small community of 10,000+ people, art and culture is important to part of everyday living yet it does not always get the attention it deserves. There are changes underway which will change all that.

Steamboat Springs has become an incubator as a Colorado Certified “Creative District.” There is an interesting full article in the Steamboat Pilot Newspaper about what it takes to become a creative district and to obtain funding and support for it.

I, like many others, have found the creatively stimulating environment refreshing. Living  life outloud is a term I associate with the people of Steamboat.

How does one “live life out loud?” Here is an interesting article about what that truly means.

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That is all for now. See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling!

This blog is brought to you by the author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

Nature’s Spring Ritual

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“Daffodils,” an image by artist Nancy Guzik is a promise of spring that I look to so often throughout the winter. As we transition into warmer days and brighter colors nature heralds in her ritual of budding and blossoming flowers displaying “an adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday life.” Akin to how people describe the Japanese ceremony of tea making.

I’m fortunate. I don’t have to look beyond the walls of my home to see Guzik’s beautiful image, and although I don’t own the original painting, the fine art lithograph has given me as much pleasure over the years.

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Guzik says of art “Somewhere within all of us we long for a certain truth, each searching in our own way, possibly to know and feel who we are and why we are here on earth. At times there is a yearning to express that. Perhaps that is why I paint.”

As we move another day into the season of rebirth, I know as my truth that one of the best reasons to be on this earth is to witness the season of miraculous renewal in nature. Happy Spring and “bloom where you are planted!”

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

 

A New Year – Life’s Puzzle Pin

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“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” ~ Brad Paisley

The summer before last I had seen a few intriquing and thought-provoking pieces of jewelry that peaked my interest  at the Dorchester Art Center gift shop. This fall when I spoke to the Bayshore Bookies, a book group from Dorchester County, Maryland about my newly released memoir, Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected I stopped in once again.  I was hoping they still carried the objets d’art so I could get a second peak. Sure ‘nuf, they did.

The artisan, Joyce from  “Back in Tyme,” handcrafts the pins which I think are symbolic of what a New Year is all about. Take a look at the image of this pin. Creative, isn’t it?

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To my way of looking at things,  each element crafted into the bauble represents a part of life:

Puzzle pieces. What’s to come in our futures is a mystery. Sometimes befuddling,  isn’t it?

Old clock (watch) pieces. Time passes by quickly. Sometimes we aren’t quite geared up for all that happens. Sometimes we lose track if we aren’t fully dialed in. Makes life interesting.

Feathers! We hope there is some “fluffy stuff” in our lives. That’s what makes it worthwhile living! Agree? As they say “when feathers appear, angels are near!” What a divine thought.

Sea glass. Like people, each particle has it’s own journey and it’s own story from tossing and tumbling.

A crescent moon-shaped object. We go through many “phases” in our lifetime from birth to death. The crescent moon has appeared in art throughout the ages because as Debbie Keil-Leavitt says, “it inspires us to think that it might be a cradle for our newly-born dreams.”

If you wish to read more about what Debbie Keil-Leavitt says about the power of the crescent moon, here is an interesting article, full of mysticism. http://bit.ly/1AYu7s9.

On this day before the New Year, I’d like to remind you to tune in and be grateful for each minute, each new hour and each new phase of your life. Embrace life’s surprises. Find fulfilling, positive things even in the difficult. Often times the little mysteries of life are gifts to be explored and discovered just like this inspirational piece of jewelry.

What are your dreams for the New Year? I hope you’ll actively pursue them.

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Advent Day #23 – Graceful Anticipation

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God’s plan for us is always that of grace. ~ Unknown

On this 23rd day of Advent, I have a question for our readers.

Have you seen the painting Kissing the Face of God by Morgan Weistling? He is an outstanding artist who paints historical stories from a different time and era. Many of his paintings are of settlers to the West.

Kissing the Face of God is an exquisite painting that is so appropriate to share on this 23rd Day of Advent as we await the celebration of the birth of Jesus. When you see the image and read the artist’s statement about the painting, you will better appreciate the sentiment behind it.

http://www.morganweistling.com/galleries/gallery03/kissingfacegod.html

miracle of christmasAs my husband and I await the coming of our son from far reaches, we gratefully remember the day of his advent that changed our world forever!

My own personal story of the miracles in my life are recounted in Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.  The award-winning book makes a great present to share with loved ones in your life for Christmas, at the start of a New Year, in celebration of a birthday or for “just because.”

Audio Book  http://amzn.to/1trrTl9
Paperback  http://amzn.to/1qmcEHI
e-Book  http://amzn.to/1lx7oRh

Please return tomorrow and celebrate the 24th Day of Advent with us on All Things Fulfilling.