GRATITUDE REVEALED

TED TALK

Gratitude through the eyes of

Louis Schwartzberg

Founder, Blacklight Films

Introduces his "Happiness Revealed" Project

Enjoy!

OPTIMISM

INTELLIGENCE AND TALENT ARE AMAZING ATTRIBUTES,

BUT NOTHING GETS ACCOMPLISHED

WITHOUT THAT

MYSTERIOUS, AGAINST-ALL-ODDS,

ENERGY-FUELED HOPE

KNOWN AS OPTIMISM.

-Mary Engelbreit

Artist

A POSITIVE DAY

 

BOB MARLEY

Reggae's most transcendent and iconic figure.

ONE LOVE

International Tribute to Bob Marley

SUPRISE + CREATIVITY = INSPIRED FUN

FLASH MOB

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

We are the World.  Join Hands!

MASTER MUSES IN OUR FUTURE

The future belongs to those 
who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
--Eleanor Roosevelt--

Once again, we feel privileged to showcase the work of two Master Muses in our future. When we received the e-mail, from a proud Grand-Mum (herself a brilliant and talented artist we know and deeply respect), many in our Studio shed a tear of wonder and celebration. 

The photos and accompanying poems serve as a refreshing infusion of possibility.  Look into their beautiful faces.  Feel their powerful words.  Allow yourself to time-travel back to your own memories of youthful passion, your quest for identity and independence.  Feel their spontaneous gratitude and authentic joy.

Allow Kira and Sonia’s work to awaken your gene-memory. Today, ask yourself:  Who are you becoming? Our Imaginations and Creative Spirits are ageless and timeless.  It is never too late to imagine and create that which lives in your heart.  

Some of you may remember the old TV commercial which asks, "It's 11:00 .  Do you know where your children are?"   We're going to borrow this powerful advertising platform and ask, "It's 11:00 .  Have you really looked at the children in your life?  I mean REALLY LOOK AT THEM to see their unique brilliance, their boundless imagination, their uncensored creativity?  AND, even more important, have you told the children in your life how much you respect them and how proud you are of who they are becoming?

If you feel a slight twinge of hesitation, I’d like to suggest something: 

Take a deep breath.

Breathe in through your nose.

Exhale through your mouth.

Take one more slow breath.

Place your hand over your heart.

Close your eyes and go back to your own childhood. 

See in your mind’s eye, 

The person’s face who took care of you. 

Can you see them looking deeply at you 

With love in their eyes? 

Can you hear them say, 

“I am so proud of who you are becoming!” 

If you can, what a wonderful experience!  

 Pass it forward to the next generation. 

If you can’t, and this wasn’t your experience, CHANGE IT NOW. Investing a few seconds in deeply looking at a child, REALLY SEEING THEM, as you tell them you are proud of them, well, it may change their life forever.  You are more powerful than you know.

Please scroll down to read Kira’s amazing poems, Childhood and Lonely Blue, winner of The Teen Poetry Slam at the Sonoma, California Book Festival 2011.  Scroll down a bit further to read Sonia’s touching tribute to her two beloved Mothers.

  

Postscript:

Please feel free to contact us regarding any future Master Muses that have caught your attention. We would love to profile them here and will make every effort to post a sample of their work.  Our universal respect, pride, and support for the youth of today ignites our best and highest work! 

KIRA

Kira

Age 13

Childhood

I come from a rainbow family

Test-tube baby

My genes come from a man I'll never know

Home is at the Pride Parade

My dog is walked on a rainbow leash.

I come from a twisted neck

Screaming loud

Taken from my mother's womb

Thrown into life much too early.

I come from a peeling red picnic table

On the porch, slivers in my feet

Smell of bread cooking in the oven

Drum circles

Catapulting into a freezing pool

And love

So much love. 

Lonely Blue

I see it in the papers

On the news

Children crying.

It splits my heart down its seam.

Lonely Blue

Floating on the floodwaters

Being lifted by currents

By a flow of events I can't reverse.

The child who dies to save his brother.

The old man who shields his wife from a bullet.

Heartache and sacrifice.

Hope inside my kaleidoscope heart

A coming-out speech shared with thousands

Crowds pledging to change the world,

Daylight to dusk.

Si se puede.

Yes, we can.

It gets better.

Flying for the feel of the wind.

Inspire.

Bittersweet melancholy

Taking one more step for justice.

Stitching my heart back together

With purple thread.

The kids, we'll be all right.

Product of love.

Messenger of peace.

I throw every last caution to the wind.

 

SONIA

Sonia

10 years old

 

My Wonderful Moms...!!!

My moms are like cats, 

Taking care of my sister and me.

Teaching me to cross the street, 

and not to talk to strangers, 

Holding me tight when I am feeling sad.

Feeding me right to grow.

Most of all letting me be me.

My moms are like cheetahs giving me food,

Washing my clothes,

Helping me with homework if I get stuck,

and never letting me give up!!

 My moms are as sweet as a bowl of ice cream,

Sweet and exciting!!!!!!!

THE AMAZING POWER OF BABY STEPS

 

 Rue Paula Davis

Her First Baby Steps

1931

Oh! And what a life she led!

The MUSEologies Studio needed this reminder today.

Thank you Mike Dooley !

The real reason so many have trouble with Baby Steps,

Doing all they can,

With what they've got,

From where they are,

No matter how humble or seemingly futile...

Is because they haven't yet grasped

That Baby Steps 

Trigger unforeseen forces 

That throw wide the floodgates of 

Unstoppable momentum, 

Infinite abundance,

and Eternal life.

Just some TINY STEPS,

-The Universe 

KINDNESS, BEAUTY & TRUTH

The ideals which have lighted my way,

And, time after time, 

have given me new courage

To face life cheerfully,

Have been 

Kindness, Beauty and Truth.

-ALBERT EINSTEIN

YOUR WORK BEGS YOUR EXPRESSION

 Robert Genn with Emily 
By Robert Genn

ROBERT GENN has, once again, captured a compelling topic through his impressive style of “painting with words.” Discovering Robert’s wonderful Twice-Weekly Letter in the Studio  in-box elevates our mood, energy and motivation to create!  Thank you Robert.

Here are a few  of today's favorite Robert Genn word combos: 

noble dependency

creative catatonia

more brilliant than Voltaire at the dinner party

serendipitous bumping

half-finished works conspire to attract your attention

creative exhibitionism 

and the piece de resistance:

Your work needs you as much as you need it.

Your work begs your expression!

Think of all the great work you have left to do!

A noble dependency

By Robert Genn

November 1, 2011

Dear Royce,

Recent studies of teenagers' use of cellphones and other electronic devices have revealed some interesting results. Apparently, if you deprive kids of social networking for a week or so, a high percentage become significantly depressed. They also lose efficiency, will, enthusiasm and sleep. Their marks go down and their lassitude goes up.

For many artists, something similar happens when "the work quotient" is taken from their lives. A couple of unproductive days can send some creative folks into the dumps. They may not even be aware of what's happening to them. "Fear of restart" and permanent creative catatonia can set in after long-term abstinence.

Fact is, good easel time is a noble dependency that makes you a happier, more generous person--better able to enjoy an enriched family and social life. Here are a few ways to promote these glad tidings:

Self control. While spontaneity is vital in the studio, monitoring easel time and work zones is also valuable. Work periods can be restarted with a gong or the change of a radio program. The "four o'clock reboot," where you begin something new in the late afternoon (normally a slower time of day), accumulates bonus points, tops up the psyche and makes you more brilliant than Voltaire at the dinner party.

Serendipitous bumping. When you put in significant time in the work area, work automatically emerges. Creative tools, studio clutter and half-finished works conspire to attract your attention. Ideas breed and things need to be done. Rather than making a decision to get on with something, merely bump into opportunities.

Creative exhibitionism. Just as the boy and girl get their thrills texting across a classroom, connecting your work with others is good for art and life. I'm not talking about dealer action or green feedback. The work itself, in progress or completed, in exchange or not, can be sent by jpeg to global friends in nanoseconds. A critique or approval may be forthcoming, but more often than not it's just the simple human joy of sharing. "Electronic interdependence," famously said Marshall McLuhan, "recreates the world in the image of a global village." While we may operate as independent workers, we are not islands unto ourselves. The Brotherhood and Sisterhood is alive and well and living in cyberspace.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "It's a great time to be alive." (George Lucas)

Esoterica: Another way of thinking of art dependency is in co-dependency. Your work needs you as much as you need it. Your work begs your expression. You need to materialize it on a daily basis, from your enriched life--the better side of your nature. Without your personal focus and action, your magic cannot and never will exist. Think of all the great work you have left to do. Think of how necessary it is for people to see good work. 

"Work," said Kahlil Gibran, "is love made visible."