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Good morning friends, This makes me want to write one for myself… do you have one? I shared the link to an interview in another blog post in January, but having listened again in the car this week to Jamie's and Tami's chat I heard again his 'Creativity Manifesto' and I wanted to keep it, read if often, and share it with all & sundry. As I begin February, and the Year of the Wooden Horse, this realllly spoke to me, I have had a shit time this past week dealing with my hyper vigilant perfectionist, mild anxiety associated with my creativity resulting in feeling frozen and not painting, it's a new month, I'll be addressing it for sure, and this kind of truth telling (Jamie Catto's creativity manifesto shared below) goes a long way towards helping me release the crappola and move into some kind of grace, a space for self forgiveness and self love.  Insights at the Edge. From a podcast called: Breaking the Approval Addiction and Expressing Our Creative Gifts Tami Simon: " OK, here we go. So this is from Jamie Catto’s "Creativity Manifesto:"
Jamie Catto: "I’m in. I love hearing you say it." full transcript of the interview can be found here: http://www.soundstrue.com/podcast/transcripts/jamie-catto.php?camefromhome=camefromhome with love,
Denise. 
As some of you know.. SARK is one of my favourite inspiring people in the world… and I listended to an 'unplugged' interview she shared this week, I've listened to it twice already I loved it so much and there was so much upliftment to be gathered. (I'm doing some stencil work as part of a commission and my inner perfectionist critic would have me get all flustered if I let it.. so I distract her with great talks on podcast, or interviews like this one.) I was particularly taken with a gorgeous notion she shared … when she said "What I enjoy, are Rituals that are born out of the Moment." that alone was so comforting to me. I transcribed as much as possible word for word… I didn't want to leave anything out… earlier in her chat she had shared that she is scared about lots of things, but doesn't let that stop her from doing what she wants/needs to do. One of which was being audited by the tax dept (which actually happened) she gave a FABULOUS account of how that went, including reference to her Wise Self, and the Wise Self of the IRS agent. So, I go walking with my partner John on the beach almost everyday . . . and we will get into subjects sometimes that start being less than;… nourishing, let's put it that way, we're repetiviely talking, or we're getting into scarcity, or we're going into fear … whatever, one of both of us are, and so we started this Spontaneous Ritual … I tried it this morning with a piece of pumice at Pt Cartwright beach... it helped me shift my focus, and on our walk yesterday afternoon I told my husband about it .. and he's a love… he tried it out too, with a stray leaf on the path in front of him.
that's it for now.. I just really wanted to share that simple, yet powerful idea with you.. in case.. you might need help sometime to shift your focus…. and like me… you enjoy fun.. unusual.. yet simple ways of doing so. love Denise xo p.s. if you'd reeeeaaaallly like to hear that interview.. email me and I can forward you the link, it's inside an email. It could also be available on her fb page, I'm not sure. .. “Out beyond ideas of wrong doing and right doing there is a field. I'll meet you there” Rumi As I embark on the newest little part of my creative ventures... mixed media works on wood and paper ... I hear 'those' voices... "Oh this isn't real art.. you should be painting every bit of it" ... "What... you're using cut out pictures in there" ... "this is crap... this really will not do" .... "grow up" .... Oh the list could go onnnnn and on. But with the strengthening of my Muse voice... or my listening to her... I'm hearing other whispers too... really quickly.... following on from the mean bitch voice... like, "This is a new adventure"... "we're here to have fun"... "if it's bringing you joy... then... hello... do.. it" ... "this little piece of art you're making.. is not going to hurt anyone.. and if you're filling it with such enjoyment then maybe someone else might actually love it too" ... "try it and see" ... "experiment" ... I'm taking a new bunch to the framer this week... and they'll make their debut up at the gorgeous gallery that has my work.. and if anyone has a critical comment to make about them... well... let them say it to my face and hear about the 2 years of being blocked and depressed about it.. hahaha.. that'll learn them! I'll post pics of the new ones once they've been revealed at the gallery. ... I can maybe show some snippets . . . 
I am returning to a place of play as much as I can when making these pieces... and that feels like a really good place to start.
with love, Denise xo ps. They'll be on display at Tiffany Jones Fine Art Gallery later this month. 
This was the scene in the spare room of my parents home this time last year... I set this up to be like an alter right next to where I'd be art journaling for the month.. Mum had one of my prints hanging on the wall... and a picture of Mary.. or more than one in every room actually. I felt somewhat comforted by this Mary picture with her bunch of angels hanging out... so I gave her pride of place overlooking my artful adventure... little did I know... I would be joining the likes of Shiloh Sophia McCloud and Jenafer Joy, and Stella Mac and Effy Wild... and be part of a wild and wonderful bunch called the Cosmic Cowgirls ... and just over one year later I will be meeting many of them in California! and Helllloooo... running a "Paint Mary with me" retreat/workshop this month too 
Today... my Muse must have been with me.. along with my daughter.. I found this gorgeous luggage tag that has so many visual messages that have meaning for me... The colour 'limoncello' is a favourite of my dear mentor/teacher/inspirer Shiloh... I feel like I'm flying from a cage... that's metaphorical.. I did a mixed media piece a couple of years ago..and it's been profound the many layers of crappola I've been leaving behind sometimes daily.. but you know.. on the whole.. I'm in a much better place :)... and the crown!!! well Sovereign.. and I painted Queen of My Own Heart this year.. so that's a gorgeous little addition... this trip is an adventure... a loooong adventure.. and the crossing of the San Francisco... Golden Gate Bridge is part of it too. That's about it..a short sweet post for tonight.. there are only 2 spaces left for the Paint Mary with Me retreat.. so if you are wanting to come... register at your earliest convenience. bye for now, love Denise.. 
find out more about my Paint Mary with me retreat xo
Oh my goodness... I just hit send... if you're on my newsletter list you'll be the first to receive the invitation to join me on a very special one day retreat/workshop. It's less than 2 weeks away... and I can't believe I'm offering it before I head off overseas on 18th July ... but these paintings have quite a mind of their own.. and I felt so moved by the creation of my Magdalene.. that I wanted to share that with a creativitea class as soon as I could. Below is a picture of the flyer... but if you'd like more information visit the webpage here. 
I'm excited.. and even a little nervous.. this is leaping out in faith in a direction I've never gone before... but it feels like a warm summer day to me... perfect.
love Denise xo When I set the date for a full day 'Creativitea' I didn't actually realise it was 'Good Friday'.. and therefore a public holiday.. but this allowed for three beautiful lady's to come along who might not have been able to had it been a work day. I am sometimes finding it's not always suitable for people to come on the dates I set, so please be aware, that if you have at least two friends who would like to come to an artclass/tea party hosted by me, then you can always contact me to see if we can make a date that will suit you. I am looking at doing an evening class on Friday night 12th April - 6pm til 9'ish. ... so be quick if you'd love to come along to that one. 
The idea of these current 'Creativitea' classes is really quite free... you're free to play and explore, and I am there to assist you in whatever way I can. It's been described as very relaxing, and many women express the joy of having given themselves time out to do something creative. I will be introducing a more structured workshop/retreat style class in the not too distant future, so keep in touch if you'd like to hear more about that. You can join my mailing list here. 
www.denisedaffara.com.au
I love the diversity of these artworks... all fabulous... and all so very different from eachother. Magic happens!
with love Denise. Paint Mojo with Tracy Verdugo!I have declared this year is all about learning new art techniques, as much as I can.. so going to Tracy's workshop was part of that ... I wanted to see in person what all this dripping and colour and creatures was all about!!! Wow, what FUN, it was hands down the best workshop I have been to so far... I have learned along the way that I am a kinaesthetic learner, I need to DO ... not just sit and listen to someone 'talk' about doing... in fact.. those kinds of classes make me want to hit my head on the desk really hard. 
I was so thrilled to be painting and plain happy to be there, that grin was plastered to my face for much of the weekend... apart from when I was freaking out about covering up half of the canvas with white paint! 
little frames within my large canvas
I was lucky enough to have several friends also booked in to do this workshop, that made it ever so much more special for me. 
Lisa and I, Vicki, Katrina, Lisa Katrina and Lara discussing, Lara, Lisa & Paulette.
Tracy's beautiful canvas... the one on the right is the almost finished piece. 
my collage/colourful board headed towards Mr and Mrs Chicken.. while Tracy's became a very gorgeous cat!
Tracy and Me (it's very exciting to hug a Shero)
My canvas with all the 'unexpected' little windows.
So, that's a bit of a snap shot of the weekend, having two days together was really great, and allowed for us to work on 2-3 pieces, I loved it very much, and learned a bit more about .. letting go, surprises within a painting, colour, and freedom and joy to play with a whole new technique. YUMM.
bye for now, love Denise xo Tracy Verdugo : http://artoftracyverdugo.blogspot.com.au Katrina Woodland : teaches art classes in Indooroopilly, Brisbane - red door art studio I've been learning some wonderful art journaling lessons from Effy Wild, in fact... I've been meaning to share with you all the A M A Z I N G news of a GIVEAWAY prize package we all have the chance to enter. O M G I have never been so excited about an online prize pack such as this before. Click the link below to find out all about it. GIVEAWAY FROM WILD SOUL ARTS! FREE SEAT IN LIFE BOOK 2013 and FIVE OTHER PRIZE PACKAGES! http://effywild.com/2012/10/03/huge-mahoosive-giveaway/ I thought I'd share a few fun pics I've been taking of my art journal pages whilst in process/progress . . . a recent page was quite heart wrenching for me, but with some patience, self kindness and understanding friends... I got through the anguish and created a page I feel really proud of.  It's deeply personal, but not a new story . . . and the words I've used jumped out from some random pages I took from two different old books... I was in a vulnerable place ... and just had to trust that process, that if I stayed with my feelings I would come through the other side. It was such a gift to allow myself this time, and the peace came eventually too.  Having trouble uploading two more pics... :0( dammmmmitttt
I might just share them on my fb page... and see if weebly will let me add them another time. I'm toooo tired for this... I spent 4 hours learning about Golden paints for my second time (there is so much to learn, and so much is new to me, and I'm so freakin excited about them I chose to go to another demo by the amazing art educator Nancy) night night, lovelies Denise xo Yesterday I made my first little video... I had a bunch of photo's from my second solo show back in 2008, that were waiting for me to get to them. As I worked my way through it's creation I was moved by the smiles on the faces of my family and friends and visitors to the opening, it was an incredibly celebratory day for me, and the gallery in which my work is represented shines beautifully thoughout the pictures. On a more personal note... I felt like I was making a movie about someone else... someone I actually love and admire, but have not been so in tune with for the last 18 months or more, with the global financial crisis in late 2009 came a bit of a jolt and a personal artist/life crisis as well. Various things have contributed to bouts of depression and the fact I had allowed myself to become anemic once again, have brought me to a big check point where I am taking a long hard look at my life and health and wanting very much to clear out the rubbish and embrace my true self once again... with renewed strength and clarity. I’m not quite there... I’m somewhat confused about my work... but more ok about that lately than I have been these last months... after all, beating up on myself for not doing enough, not being enough, and not having enough is really the most unhelpful I can be for any kind of progress to come out of that same scenario. This little video actually made me feel genuinely happy, the music by Frou Frou is such a gorgeous accompaniment to the feeling I had for the artwork. It is my pleasure to bring something joyful into the world. Love Denise xo  |
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