Harmony Mural and An Artful Life

The Harmony Mural: A Community Project

From the very beginning, I visualized this project withPB&J Family Servicesto be all about fostering creativity and community and that is just what happened. I cannot express enough gratitude for the opportunity to have worked with such an amazing organization and group of people. It was an honor to work with the administration and clients in creating this mural for their playground in the SE Heights of Albuquerque, NM. Many thanks to Tashi Swierkosz of PB&J, and Nan Masland, and Cliff Youngblood of Bernalillo County for making this project possible.

I started the actual painting of the mural by layering the concrete block wall with white gesso and then drew out the design with a carpenters pencil. Measuring and mapping out the design correctly was the hardest part. After that, I outlined everything in violet acrylic paint and then started blocking in all of the colors and areas I wanted to have finished before the community paint day. Creating a contained, safe space for people to play with paint in was my number one priority.

Having never done anything like this before, everything was a new experience. I was nervous every time I left my house to drive there, because I had no idea how I was actually going to do anything or how it was going to turn out. There were so many unknowns and ways I saw myself failing, but I learned how to trust myself a little more each day I showed up and kept plugging away at it. My big push each day was to get everything done I wanted to get done for the Community Paint Day. Of all the things I thought of that could possibly go wrong on that day, it didn't occur to me that the whole facility(and area for that matter) would go on lock down an hour after we started painting because of a DEA raid on a hotel located on the same block. An unforeseen circumstance! We all got called inside and had to wait out the raid for a few of hours. No one was allowed in or out. We all took it in stride and eventually got to go back outside and continue painting. It turned out to be a wonderful day with a beautiful sense of shared community and creativity. And a good story to boot!

An Artful Life

Art doesn't have to be something you do that produces a product or object of any kind. It can be a way of living that promotes peace of mind, a healthy body and spirit, and creative thinking and problem solving. A artful life, in my estimation, is one that sees and respects the interconnection of all beings and life and acts with wisdom and compassion to promote wellbeing and harmony within and without. Something beautiful is always the result of such activity.

I came home from a run one day and saw this beautiful little snake curled up gracefully by my front door. I have learned over the years that, for me, when Snake shows itself to me I am being ushered into a period of intense transformation. An initiation into the deeper mysteries and magic of life. And that's exactly what happened. It's rarely comfortable, sometimes painful, but always clearing and uplifting once I have journeyed through it. I come out of it stronger and more centered-more distilled to my essence-than I was previously.

Learning how to navigate through these times has become an art form in itself. We all go through them. Difficult periods where it feels like our lives are falling apart or our hearts are getting torn out of our chests. It's easy to fall into the same old ways of dealing with hurts that don't really serve our highest good anymore. Choosing another way to move through the pain or upset that channels the difficult energy into something positive is the beginning of transformation. Creativity and the desire for positive change are at the heart transformation.

Think about something that normally sends you grabbing a beer or smoke or comfort carb of your choice and then consider what another option might be to short circuit that hard wired response to stress and choose something beneficial for yourself. EFT orEmotional Freedom Techniqueis a wonderful and easy way to re-pattern your habitual responses to stress and begin to take control of your life rather than being hijacked by compulsions. EFT is just one way to do this, but there are myriad ways of caring for your bodymindspirit creatively. For me it's running, writing, meditating, stretching, etc...Don't get me wrong. I love wine and chocolate, brownies, and other tasty things I could easily eat a ton of in one sitting, but transforming compulsions into conscious choices can be the beginning of living a thoughtful and artful life.

May you be surrounded by magic and love,

Amy