Day 1 of 30 - without reading/listening to books or articles

I thought it might be interesting, to keep a little bit of a note about how this process goes for me.


I am a bit of a junkie when it comes to self help/psychology, uplifting, inspiring... kinds of books and podcasts... so much so that I think I may over do it... so on the weekend when I was having a day where my head felt it might explode with the sheer volume of thoughts running amock in my head... my partner challenged me to go without reading and listening to 'my stuff' for a month!  I was slightly resistant... well a lot resistant at first, but knowing how I had avoided the week of 'reading deprivation' in the Artist Way course I am taking myself through (a bit slowly I might add) I thought there really might be something in this... for me, that I am missing by not doing it.


So... apart from keeping up with email, and a little bit of facebook * but not reading the long articles on there... I have been only listening to music today...


it felt strangely 'peaceful' in my head... I pondered... perhaps that is because every wonderful speaker I listen to... although I am inspired by what they are saying/teaching, I am constantly checking and judging whether I measure up!  Underlying all this is the constant question am I good enough?


So.... that's only day 1 mind you...... many days to go yet... and I even started a little painting... 


bye for now,
love Denise

Friday... hi..

Hi there creative souls and friends,


Well... I listened in live to SARK's call today... and I am consistently amazed by her.  For example, when she speaks about inner critics... she suggests using creative and fun ways of working with them... or 'without them' actually... like... she sent a bunch of her inner critics to Japan because there is a lot of work to do there... and just before her call today... some were popping up to say things that were not all that helpful.. like... will she be good enough for such a large call ... etc... and so she sent those ones... "down to the back overgrown garden, there is plenty of work for them to do there, and they're still down there" she said with a giggle..... i LOVE that!!!  


She's the funnest most colourful bodaciously creative inspiring soul I know of!!


I've jokingly thought of putting 'SARK' as my *religion... on facebook... because whenever I read her books or listen to her speak her words inspire me, make me feel loved, accepted and ok....just as I am... and quite frankly my experience of regular religion never did that!


*i changed it haha!

I spent a little bit of time with my chicken 'Lucy' today... she's looking very old and has gone all quiet and maybe has a little cough... I'm wondering if she might cross over to chicken heaven quite soon... so I took some photo's of her...being a Sussex, she is one of the most pretty breeds of chickens I've seen.  Not however a very good layer... so we may not buy any more like her.  I have featured her in several of my paintings, because her little black lacey collar is just special.... and I love her.

She's got her little eyes closed...

she looked like she was meditating.

"Setting off for a picnic" (c) Denise Daffara

Goodnight lovelies


love
Denise xo


I am extremely happy to be an affiliate of SARK... and she has a new session of Dream Boogie starting soon if you are interested ... www.planetsark.com  I did Dream Boogie last year and LOVED it very much!!  Especially wonderful if you are a bit lonely and in need of some colour filled inspiration and a new wonderful group of creative friends, which you'll meet online, from all over the world.  - i blogged about Dream Boogie in a previous blog. x


note.... Tuesday 19 April 2011


My lovely Lucy Lou died last night, I found her this morning


... and then the most bazaar thing happened a couple of hours later... our little dog Aura who occasionally visits the chooks; whimpered at the screen door and when I opened it... she went straight outside across the wet deck and lawn to the chook pen...(she absolutely hates getting her feet wet so I was quite puzzled) ... I took some photo's.

Who knows.... curious animal behaviour...

xo

Week 5, Recovering a Sense of Possibility

Hello there,


I'm slowing making my way through the Artist's Way.... I think some of my weeks are lasting as long as 10-15 days? hence... I'm only starting the Chapter marked Week 5...


I decided at the start it was going to take as long as it took.. so long as I stick with it til the end.  I am happy to say it's made all the difference to have a check-in buddy, my friend  Xanthe who's joined me for this adventure she's into the Dramatic Arts and a prolific writer of reviews and articles and attending performances and acting, directing and teaching... and a Mum to a dear little girl... she has her own blog http://www.xsentertainme.wordpress.com Xanthe has her creative plate very very full, and I admire her tanacity and courage to follow her dreams.


So.... how am I doing with this 12 week course?  I'm enjoying it... and well... failing a little bit too... eg. last week was meant to be 'reading deprivation' no reading... of anything!!  And while I can see that could actually be very helpful for my creative self... it seems I'm a bit too insecure in myself at this moment to rise to such a challenge, I'm addicted to my self help books and astrology newletter info, not to mention email and friends on facebook and affirmations by Louise Hay.. or any number of the various books I have surrounded myself with... and the Color Wisdom Cards... the list .. goes... on....  mmm, I may have to try it a day at a time... the thought of no reading for a week just freaked me out.


and the Artist Dates? I'm not really having much of a go at those either!  It's interesting to be telling 'the world' this... as I reread my words I am reminded to not be ripping myself off so much!  I'm doing this course for my own benefit... not to prove anything to anyone else... so when am I going to show up for myself?  


... with that... I think I'll sign off,


here is a few pic's of our new little family memeber, "Aura" a 2.5 year old Chihuahua x Foxy.  

Aura and her best friend

 she's very well behaved in the car

sitting on the towel after a big run around at the beach.

 bye for now creative ones,


Love,
Denise xo

... Puppy Love...

We've got puppies... well dogs on our minds at our place, we're looking into fostering a little one which will then become part of our family when we adopt it.


This is a new painting I've been working on all last week ... and I actually took some snaps of it with my iphone along the way... and you can see how much it changed... I could have painted two paintings.. but instead there are half a dozen underneath the one!  

I quite liked this chair, but it looks too much like one of those 

egg shaped ones.. in which case her head would not be 

in that position... I did't quite figure that out early enough....

 

 

It'll go into the gallery soon... once it's completely finished and varnished.

bye for now,

love Denise xo

 

sadness.... and inner critic...and sea gulls

Today I felt plain old sad... a bunch of things happened in the morning to throw my time into a bit of chaos... so after I had done the things I needed to do for others, I took myself off to sit by the seashore to write my 'later in the morning' pages.


I felt agitated and knew that if I didn't stop and write it out first I would just continue to bring my agitation throughout the day and into my painting... which I really didn't want to do.  So while having a deep chat with myself, and hearing the sound of the crashing waves and the fresh salt air.. i had a bit of a funny thought... 

"Darling Denise... how about you take those awful inner critic comments, the ones that beat you up and make you feel like a hopeless artist and write them all down.. and put them on a little raft or boat of their own and send them out to sea where the sea gulls can shit on them!"


the visual idea of this gave me a smile on my face as I thought about what that would look like, having bird sh*t all over my pieces of paper with negative self talk on them... if that's not creative then what is I thought!! 

The day actually turned out much better than how it started... I have made progress on a painting, a friend called and I met her for a chai and one of my dear daugters is cooking dinner for us tonight.

Life is good really.

love,

Denise xo

Woodford Folk Festival street friends, Dec 2010

Recovering a Sense of Power

I'm up to week 3 of The Artists Way. . .  "Recovering a Sense of Power"


 So far I'm doing morning pages most days... sometimes at all different times of the day if I didn't quite make it for the 'morning'.  I listened to the tail end of a podcast Cheryl Richardson interviewing Julia Cameron and she really does strongly encourage first thing, stream of consciousness writing in the morning before doing anything else... well... I like to go for a beach walk first thing.. so aside from getting up at 5am... I can't quite see my way around this one.  


last week I painted a lot more than I have been able to for ages, so that's a bit of a shift.  


If you'd like to hear that interview, go to "Change Your Life with Cheryl Richardson".. in itunes.  When I've got time I'll find the link... 


I love what Julia says about anger : "Sloth, apathy, and despair are the enemy. Anger is not. Anger is our friend. Not a nice friend. Not a gentle friend. But a very, very loyal friend. It will alwyas tell us when we have been betrayed. It will always tell us when we have betrayed ourselves. It will always tell us that it is time to act in our own best interests.
Anger is not the action itself. It is action's invitation." p. 62


A significant part of me has been dancing with the enemy for a bit too long (sloth, apathy and despair) it's time to harness that anger and get the hell on with it!


I'm off to see "Hereafter" , the movie with Matt Damon as a psychic, I laughed when I heard him interviewed recently and he said there are more psychics per capita in LA than anywhere else in the world, .... probably joking, but yeah. 
..... I thought the movie was 'ok' nothing, nothing like I'd expected, a bit slow in parts and quite sad.  Would totally be ok to wait for dvd in my opinion. 


bye for now,


love Denise x

clean...clear....spaciousness... not

I'm currently endeavouring to find some sense of order and clarity... so I think to be in a well organised space will be so helpful...


Maybe if I speak it out loud... I know I've told the Universe... and actually.. while I think of that I send out a prayer... I NEEEED HELP.... no, not physical help really... but that elusive inner strength and get-up-and-go stuff that makes wonders happen.

Contemplation Corner
(those are some canvas prints hanging behind)

Contemplation Corner with groovy hipstamatic app :0)

I've bravely shown you the BEST first haha... so below it's not quite so 'acceptable' but there you go.

Chaos ...

and more chaos!

I am reminded of Oprah shows with the groovy Aussie guy with the blue glasses, if he were to look into this room right now what would he say (haha, he wrote a book called "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Big?") Well, to that I'd say...no... but it does 'p' me off!

I've been working on the first week of Julia Cameron's book... 'The Artist's Way" and am uncovering some of the creative monsters that lurk in my memories and subconcious.

So ... I guess I better get back to it.. hopefully I'll bounce back on here very soon and show you the rest of the completed lovely space... what next.... a clean clear desk space is always nice.

love Denise xo