Miracles Appear In The Strangest Of Places ~ Fancy Meeting You Here!

Sunday was an exciting day for me. I had been working on 18 paintings for my art show at Hyde Park Bar & Grill off and on for a few weeks. I was up at the crack of dawn, with not 1 but 3 very strong cups of coffee on Sunday and had the paintings hung by noon, with the help of Anne Ducote, thank you Anne. I came home and continued working on my next show, the Viva La Vida Fest 28th Annual Dia de los Muertos Celebration, Saturday, October 22, 2011. After about 30 minutes, I heard this little voice saying "Christina, it is a beautiful day. Treat yourself to a day off, go out and get out and get some sun." I closed my laptop and jumped in my car and off I went to South Congress Ave to take a stroll, do some window shopping and get some ideas for my next painting. 

My excellent parking karma on a very busy street was an indication that it was going to be a good afternoon. I walked up one side of Congress, and I do mean up.... South Congress is on a steady slope all the way then I crossed over and came back down the other side. I stopped in a really cool new book store that has one of a kind collectible books and art.  Django Reinhardt music was playing, that is always a sign. I talked to the girls behind the counter about her music selection for a little while and then discovered that she had brought the old album from home. She mentioned that she was going to playing in a marching band in the parade that takes place at the Viva La Vida Fest. It was a cool connection. I walked out of the book store and in the silence of walking alone on the crowded street. There was sort of melancholy haze had fallen over me for the afternoon. I started feeling the let down of having finished a big art project, wondering what is next.

I walked another block and experienced what could be a scene in a very heart warming movie. There on a bench, rolling an American Spirit cigarette was one of my favorite people on the planet, Billy Doss. Truly, miracles appear in the strangest of places. I had not seen Billy in at least 3 years, he lives 100 miles away down IH35 (a road neither of us like to travel) If I had had dared to dream of one thing I wanted for the day to shake the blues away, running into Billy would have been #1 on that list. This was another lesson in "When you hear a whisper from the Universe... LISTEN."

We sat on the bench for a while and talked then went to listen to some music at Guerro's and then to El Gallo for some Mexican food. I took him to my house, he immediately noticed that a piece of vintage tile work that he had given me was hanging between the kitchen and dining room and very much an inspiration for the decor of the two rooms.

Lost Without My Computer

I am still trying to figure out the significance of all of my applications crashing one by one right at the moment I read on Facebook that that Steve Jobs had passed away. I expected that my computer would start acting right after I restarted it 3 times. Nothing. So I took my computer to my  computer tech, went home and worked on a couple of projects before I realized I am broken without my Macintosh so I packed up and came over to Tony's to use his computer.

Since the weather has been so nice I finally got out and started working in my yard. I started creating and hanging my bird houses along the fence of my narrow side yard so I can see them out my kitchen and studio windows. Well, the good news and the bad news is that it is raining today.

There's a New Star Burning In Our Sky Tonigh ~ In Memory of Steve Jobs

It was 1987, I was 32 and a single mother of two children. My life as I knew it had just crumbled and as we all know that leads to serious soul searching. I had always wanted to go to college but life had gotten in the way. Now my determination wasn't just about me, it was about my children. I had no husband and I was a terrible waitress. It seemed that a higher education was the only choice I had. I knew I wanted to be a graphic designer (at the time the title was commercial artist) I looked into going to UT and Austin Community College. Then someone told me there was a really good Commercial Art Department at Texas State Technical Institute in Amarillo. They had a computer lab with Macintosh computers unlike any other. I was sold. But wait, that meant that I had to move back to a Amarillo and not just Amarillo, extreme north Amarillo. By the nuclear plant, Pantex. Well as Steve Jobs said "It is all about connecting the dots." I was going to have to go way off of my beaten path to get to where I wanted to go. Not only was I going to have to move to Amarillo, I was going to have to leave my 8 year old son with his father in Austin.

So there I was a 32 year old student, living in family housing with my 9 year old daughter. The campus was on an old army base so family housing was a duplex where the officers lived. It was a block away from the computer lab so I spent every waking hour at the computer lab.  I laugh when I think about what I was able to do on that computer now. I was determined to make use of all the fonts and colors available. Little did I know that a man my age had invented this work of artful magic in his garage just 3 years before. At that time (1984) I had a Calico computer that I had bought at Target, it was basically a word processor that the kids played games on.

So yesterday was a sad day. Oddly enough as I was multi-tasking on my Mac, working in Photoshop, sending emails, reading Twitter and chatting on Facebook I learned that Steve Jobs has gone to the big computer lab in the sky. One by one all my applications on my computer stopped working except the internet and none of them are working even now so as soon as I finish this post my computer is going to my own personal computer genius, Sammy so he can fix it for me. What would I do without my Mac all day every day?
 
Sometimes it seems that bright stars burn fast and bright for a shorter time than most and then move on. I am hoping that Steve will be sending us ideas from the beyond. Thank you Steve for sharing your genius with us and I would also like to thank my computer lab professor Steve Cost for sharing his genius as well.

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Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

"If today was the last day of your life would you being doing what you are doing today?

We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will."

 

~ Steve Jobs     Feb 24, 1955 - October 5, 2011

 

Sometimes you have done all you can do....

I thought that blogging often would be an easy thing to do ... not so much ... for so many reasons. I discovered my laptop is not allowing me to upload photos. Bad timing... I was getting ready for my art show at Hyde Park Bar & Grill starting this Sunday. I had so many wonderful moments to share along the way, painting, waiting for paint to dry, putting on another layer. Each stage of the process is always magical. This time I surprised myself, I actually had all 18 of my paintings ready by Wednesday! Deborah came over and helped put hangers on them yesterday and I was done! In that process I had moments of perfection and moments of happiness and I believe that is all I can ask for.

As for being able to share visuals .... I think I need to buy a new iPhone that has a better camera than my present camera phone. For now, I don't feel I have it in me to write anything wonderful. I am feeling grateful for all my online artist friends who have supported me along this journey and I am going to share the first thing I read this morning from "The Brave Girls Club." I don't even have to ask how the Universe knew I needed to read this first thing this morning.

A message from your friends at the Brave Girls Club - www.bravegirlsclub.com

 Dear Thoughtful Girl,

Sometimes all that you can do is wait for it to feel better, wait for a bad day to be over, wait for things to work themselves out. Sometimes you have done all that you can possibly do, and then you just have to wait.

Patience teaches us tremendous lessons and rewards us with tremendous gifts. Patience makes us grow in ways that nothing else could. Patience is hard to embrace, and practicing patience is hard to do. Most things that have lasting value come through doing difficult things.

If you are in a time, beautiful friend, where you have done all that you can do and now you must just wait, take heart. Don't give up. Don't give in to the hopelessness, sorrow or bitterness that could and does consume some. Keep your heart open, keep believing what you believe. Keep your thoughts toward where you are headed, and how you WANT to feel, toward what is ahead. Do you best to learn in the moment. Do your very best. Things will turn around, just like they always do. Life will work out, just like it always does. You will be through this before you know it.

You are so very loved.
xoxo

Arrival? Nope... still on the journey.

Last Saturday was the last day of my 5 week e-coarse with Kelly Rae Roberts. Here it is a week later and I am still reeling from all the information I gathered and am processing at light speed. Thank you Kelly Rae for being the hub to the wheel of so many beautiful women brought together from all over the world by your extremely enlightening e-coarse. I believe that everything happens in perfect timing and as usual, the Universe opened door after door for the past 5 weeks. You know what they say about being careful what your ask for. I took the class thinking I was going to learn how to get my art licensed. Ha! I really have to laugh at myself. What I got was bombarded with extremely powerful spiritual lessons in life that would lead to some day being ready to be licensed. 

I opened my computer daily to a message from a beautifully, powerful, positive woman who gave step by step instructions to accomplish my goals. I hit the ground running and at about week 3, after redesigning my website, blog and twitter pages, I realized I wasn't close to being ready to be licensed. The cool thing is that everything she taught me was stuff I already knew. It is just going to require turning up the energy and tweaking what I have already been doing. 

She affirmed all those spiritual beliefs I live by. She teaches that a dream team is required.

T.E.A.M.–Together Everyone Achieves More

I knew that but somehow felt defeated because I don't have a life partner who shares my goals. But I learned that I don't have to be business with or married to my dream team, in fact, my dream team doesn't even have to live in the same city with me. As soon as that wall went down I realized that there is a community of women across the country that support each other in their artwork. They teach online art classes, have weekend retreats and they chat daily about ART daily! What a concept. You mean I have been doing this all alone for and I could have had a dream team all along? I got an email from a friend in New Mexico with a great idea for my Luna Chicks.

The other day I read this post on chat from one of my artist friends, Lori. I have heard this concept a million times but I am finally starting to pay very close attention:

If you are trying to reach certain goals, consider creating a mastermind group that consists of 4 or 5 people. Meet once a month to discuss goals and progress. Try to choose people that include ones that are one to two levels above what ever it is you are trying to achieve. This could revolve around higher income, charity work, creating an art business etc. This allows you to move forward faster with less complications, have a community and create accountability.

"Mastermind group" sounds a little scary so I prefer "dream team." It sounds a little more relaxed and less L. Ron Hubbard.

I thought that by this time in my life, I would have reached a magical, peaceful destination. Instead I have come to the realization on a very deep level that it really isn't about reaching the destination. It really is about the journey. And I am going to pass through a lot of situations that look very similar until I learn that lesson. There is still so much healing to do. Here is my lesson for the day.

On that note, you should crawl up in your favorite chair (or bed) with a cup of tea and click below and watch this video. I think it may change my life... and Brene Brown is funny.

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability

Believe

Believe Card 2, a photo by christina_fajardo on Flickr.

Thoughts become things... Therefore I am choosing the good ones! I have an alarm on my computer that goes off every morning to remind me to light a candle, say a prayer and commit to my dream. 

My mother's Virgen de Guadalupe, who now lives in my living room.

Before my mom passed away, she told me that she wanted me to have her Virgen de Guadalupe because of her four children that were still alive, I was the one who had many health issues. She worried about me constantly and she thought I would need the saint to watch over me. Needless to say, I feel the presence of my mother watching over me so I was thinking who needs a statue in the house? I thought it was cool but had no idea where I would put it. Then my brother became very ill with a brain tumor. I don't remember ever praying with such intent, even when I was sick. I constructed an alter in my living room just to remind myself to pray and my mother's Virgen de Guadalupe became the focal point of my living room. I sort of laugh at myself now because the statue has become an such an important part of my daily ritual. I love the response when someone new walks into my house and does a double take of my little blue Catholic lady standing tall above all the family photos on the alter. I can see that look on there face of "Wow! I didn't realize Christina was so religious!" Then after I tell them the story, they sort of check out the photos to see if the little lady is watching over them. The photos change from time to time and there are other special nick nacks that are special to me on the alter. But mainly, there is a presence of peace around my alter that is a constant reminder that there are those that have gone before us who watch over us. I am glad to have the spirit of my momma with me always.

Day Dreaming

These are words to "May This Be Love" one of my favorite Jimi Hendrix songs. I request the song every time I go see my friend Marvin plays because this song takes me to that place that is only felt when I am creating art or listening to my favorite music. This one line in the song sort of goes along with what I have been feeling for the last couple of weeks about my art and my livelihood.

More often than not I feel that I don't have someone completely believe in my dream or more to the point, I don't have a dream team. I keep hearing this term over and over by all the successful people that I am paying close attention to and learning from. There is an enormous problem that keeps occurring to me... if I don't have a partner who is in it for the long haul, if I don't have artist friends, if my two children live out of town, where do I turn?  This is a question I am just beginning to feel comfortable even asking. I am sure that is why I keep hearing it over and over. I have heard it said on Oprah, I listening to a CD set called "Cracking The Millionaire Code,"  and the said it, then last week Kelly Rae said it in her e-coarse and then tonight I heard Marcia Weider from Dream University say it. I am starting feel comfortable in knowing that I am deserving of a dream team. I am deserving of being supported. I have identified the limiting belief that I have been living with since 1986 and I am turning it around and shifting my behavior. I am becoming very clear about what I want and I am really starting to believe in myself on a level that is very new to me. Instead of filling my days with helping others with their dreams, which is what I have been doing for YEARS, I am scheduling activities that will move ME towards my dream. What a concept. Here is what I have learned... My dream team doesn't have to be in the same town or even the same state. In fact most of the support that I receive is out of state. So what? Dah! Email, cell phones, blogs, facebook, Etsy... what else do I need?

So back to the song.... it takes me to a serene place. A place of being in love and feeling loved. I was reminded after going to see my friends Danny and Marvin play two nights in a row that women go to hear music to dream. We want to hear love songs even if we don't have a lover, we dream of one or have fond memories of lovers in our past. Men on the other hand like to go hear the best guitar players. Lyrics are just lyrics. It is a reminder of why we may need dream teams. We need good lyrics and a great guitar player on every team.

I ordered the movie "Who Does She Think She Is" because in the first week of my e-coarse with Kelly Rae, she posted a film clip. I will have to say, the movie made me a little sad because it told my story of being a woman, a mother and a struggling artist. Struggling... why? Because I am a woman and just for starters 82% of the student population in art school are women but only 40% of the artists in galleries are women. I may have to come back to this later when it doesn't stir so much emotion.

Working On My Blog.... All Weekend... Really?

I keep bringing up the e-course I am taking but I am feeling much like I imagine my grandson is feeling today on his first day of high school. Meeting new friends, discovering all the things they have in common as well as the diversity and mostly discovering a world you never imagine existed.This blogging thing is very new to me and that is odd because I have had a bog forever but is is sort of like having the bass guitar I have setting in my living room that I never play. I have had several friends ask how to subscribe and here it is. Very simple:  At the TOP LEFT CORNER of the page you can click on "Follow" and it will take you to a stand alone page, click "Follow." That seems to be the easiest way to follow. Or ...On the right side of the page it says  "Follow me by email." Type your email address there and it will send you a confirmation email. Or....You can click on the little orange RSS Feed button on the right Under the heading of "Follow My Blog" that says "Posts" and you sort of have to wait a second and a menu comes up to subscribe by RSS. This is for folks who follow lots of blogs and have them sent to their RSS feed.

Synchronicity

Synchronicity— n
	an apparently meaningful coincidence in time of two or more similar or identical events that are causally unrelated

"Flying Lessons" With Kelly Rae Roberts this week has been fun and informative. No, I'm not learning how to fly a plane, I'm learning how to soar with my art biz. I'm amazed that I had become so well versed in how to connect my musician friends in the online world but clueless as to how to do the same for myself in the artist world. That' a well trained woman for ya. I would insert a LOL here but I am realizing that putting myself on the back burner for a solid 56 years has not served me.
Okay, so timing is everything. I don't think I was ready to soar before now. The synchronicity involved in my decision to sign up for "Flying Lessons" is more than perfect. I read somewhere that when you are on target, synchronicity happens. I have been somewhat focused on my art my whole life, but I sensed that this year was time for me to soar in my art biz. This transformation didn't come without growing pains. My new "Luna Chick Series" evolved from a place of deep healing and that, my friends, is another blog.

Rene's Red Guitar By Christina

Painting by Christian Ethridge

I have been a mixed media artist since the 90s. For four years I had been creating mixed media pieces with the focus on music and vintage nudes. Thank you Rene for sending me in the direction of music. I wanted to go there, I just didn't know how. I have lived in and around the Austin music scene for the better part of 30 years. My friends Rene and Danny had just bought a new house twice the size as the one they had been living in and had to buy all new everything. They needed art. Rene saw a painting of a guitar in a furniture store that she liked but the guitar was brown and she wanted a red guitar to match her lamps. She asked me to paint one as a gift for her husband. I had NEVER painted a large canvas painting, not even in art school. It was scary and fun all at the same time. My son was staying with me at the time so I asked him to join in on the fun, well actually I asked him to draw a large guitar so I could paint it and I came home from work and he had gone off in a whole new direction with the painting. So I bought another canvas and did it myself. Our paintings turned out vastly different but equally wonderful and Rene bought them both for her new house.

Red Guitar Butterfly Blues - SOLD

Shortly after that I started dating, Tony, a Gypsy Jazz guitar player. I started listening to lots of Django" Reinhardt music and as usual, my art seemed to have followed the music. Naturally, I painted and sold lots of guitar paintings, mostly RED guitars.. Because Gypsy Jazz music originated in Paris, France, I became very interested in the art of that time and at the same time was exploring the idea of selling art on ebay and discovered ACEOs. I started creating collage art with vintage nudes and music. I thought this would be a great way to break into selling on the internet without hurting myself. ACEOs would be easy to create and cheap and easy to mail. That was four years ago and I am still selling my ACEOs on ebay and Etsy.

ACEO By Christina

Then after a very rough few months, my artwork took a turn to being a muse to dive deep into some old wounds. I ended up with my Luna Chick Series, paintings that looked much like myself as a teenager but more angelic. I had a  article written about me in a New Mexico newspaper it opened all kinds of doors.  After seeing the paintings on Facebook a friend approached me to create "Angel Greeting Cards." That same day I got a package in the mail from another friend with a Kelly Rae Roberts "Create" angel ornaments and a crystal as a gift. It felt like a message from the Universe saying "Yes! Create Angels!" My friend and I continued to throw ideas around, we painted a few angels then she backed out after realizing there wasn't much money to be made selling cards at local stores but the wheels kept turning in my head, I already had product in stores and online so I continued on track. That very week another friend of mine invited me to hang some of my art in a new flower shop. I went to the flower shop to meet with the owner and she had a Kelly Rae Roberts skins on her Mac. Later that day I went to a gift shop where I have my art and two booths down was a booth full of Kelly Rae Roberts art. The messages on Kelly Rae's art were the same messages I had been painting and she was obviously doing very well financially doing her art.

Luna Chick By Christina

So, long story longer, I am learning from the best and taking notes. The message, dream big and work with a team!

Pay Attention To What Your Heart Is Drawn To

Video By Goose42

dream whirling... from goose42 on Vimeo.