Displays of Tree-mendous Growth: The Awe-Inspiring Tree
Posted January-28-2008
2008 Calendar Photo Writing and Blogging Prompts (2 of 12)
I have been more mindful of the metaphorical lessons of trees and very aware of their inspiring influence. The leaves, bark, roots, rings, branches, sprigs, twigs of a tree are all parts of a whole. My appreciation for trees has only deepened in the last few years as I've been more tuned-in to their self-caring nature, the awe of their seasonal changes, and the knowing that their deeply rooted system underground mirrors their manifested growth above the soil. ...

Sweet! Free Printable Valentine's Day Word Search Puzzle
Posted Jan-25-2008
Word Hide 'n' Seek — Just Don't Peek!
Experts say (expert = me) that brain-stimulating puzzles such as word-find challenges are not only fun, stress-relieving, and mind-sharpening, but they get you to think differently and in multi-directions as you seek to find words embedded in a jumbled letter grid that may be spelled forward, backward, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.

That's a lot of possibilities for finding one word to circle, don't you think? This surely demonstrates that there are many possible answers out there, multitudes of solutions to problems, and penchants of perspectives that are all valid and correct in some context. Alas, for the word-find enthusiast, there is usually only one correct context answer hidden amongst a litter of letters.

SO, my latest creative tool for helping you to keep your mind sharp is in celebration of the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday on February 14. And what else could it be besides a Printable Valentine's Day Holiday Word Search Puzzle? How about an inkjet-decorated piece of paper? See, there's more than one applicable answer! •

Chris Dunmire: Official "You Can Draw Cartoony Things!"
Workshop Facilitator Posted Jan-24-2008
When the teacher is ready, the students appear.
It's official: I'm a bona-fide creativity workshop facilitator. I taught my first kid's art workshop "artshop" this past Saturday, January 19, 2008, at Womanspace in Rockford, Illinois, using the philosophy behind my exclusive creative playbook, "You Can Draw Cartoony Things!" as the artshop's foundation. ...

“We work on treating our existential depression
in at least these two ways:
by reminding ourselves that our creating matters and that therefore we must actively create;
and by reminding ourselves that
our relationships also matters,
and that therefore we must actively relate.”

Eric Maisel Interview: The Van Gogh Blues »

Lisa del Giocondo Confirmed as the Mona Lisa
Posted Jan-20-2008
Leonardo Da Vinci's Legacy
This weeks' world of art headlines included this story buzzing through the wires on Reuters on Monday, January 14, 2008: "German experts crack Mona Lisa smile."

Evidently, the age-old mystery of just who this famous painted lady is has some decidedly new light. ...

“No matter WHAT you may fervently believe
it is actually not possible to ruin a painting!
To ruin something means to utterly destroy it
and unless you have torn the painting up
and thrown it away, as long as you continue
to paint, you are not ruining anything.”

Chris Zydel: Intuitive Painting and the Wild Ride
Of Risk and Change »

A Self-Coaching Guide: Eric Maisel's "The Van Gogh Blues"
Posted Jan-10-2008
The Creative Person's Path through Depression
I first read Eric Maisel's The Van Gogh Blues in 2005, several months before I enrolled in the first of a series of his creativity coaching training programs. This book coupled with his Coaching the Artist Within and Fearless Creating influenced a huge paradigm shift in my thinking on the subjects of creativity, creative expression, and depression. ...

“We are all flawed. Everything is flawed.
I don’t believe in perfection, just beauty.
I believe in beauty.”

Interview with Deanne Fitzpatrick,
Rug Hooking Artist »

Experimenting with "Cards that Pop up, Flip & Slide" by Michael Jacobs Posted Jan-8-2008
Gathering Inspiration & Ideas for My Upcoming Collage Workshop
I'm toggling between the "gathering" and "incubation" modes of a new creative adventure, playing around with several ideas I will eventually incorporate into a "creative kids playful collage" workshop I'm facilitating in February 2008. ...

The Cincinnati Post Plugs My 'Kindness Pass-Along Cards' (December 26, 2007) Posted Jan-1-2008
And stops the presses permanently less than a week later.
Stop the presses! Literally. Here's a bitter-sweet story you'll enjoy that in a 'Forrest Gump' sort of way involves me and the now retired Cincinnati Post newspaper. ...