This is from the heart....

I am counting down the minutes to creating a show in Memphis Tennessee. It is in the town where I was born and it holds so many tales. I was moved from there when I was nine months old to Chicago.

I fell in love with Chicago from the moment they said 'go'. I started selling art on the streets at age five...instead of lemonade. It was not sticky like lemonade and I liked it ...a lot! I had a great mentor named James Swann. He gave me supplies like "mat board" to do my work. He also gave me paints and markers. He was the best!

Sometimes, it takes just one person to light the fire of creativity under one little kid's soul...

....in today's world, that would be the Art Teacher...or the Music teacher...

let's remember that when we vote ....ok?
I say that because our state is grappling with budget cuts...and guess who gets the axe?
Yep...the arts!

WELL... right after mental health that is...

Our State is making mental health cuts that would spin the head of any civil minded human who cared for anything "living".
I am interested in finding a way to help those who fall thru the cracks...any ideas?

Josie

Living Fearlessly

There are some days when life just zings along no problem and then there are the "other" days. I've had a few of those days when walking feels like pouring molasses in January. Today is one of those. It's days like today I have to remind myself of the things that I'm grateful for and of the small steps I have taken even though it feels like I'm miles from the finish line....But that's just it...there is no finish line. As long as we are breathing, there is no end to the race. So each day we get to choose the race we enter to some extent. Life sends us twists and turns and we lean from side to side so we don't tip the canoe. Living fearlessly means the river can get rough and even if we swamp...we still swim to the bank, gather our goods and start again. Tomorrow is another day...in fact, tomorrow is another month. Welcome March!
Here's to a spring with renewed life, renewed gratitude, renewed health!

Here's a song I picked for today....enjoy!
xo Josie

January 11, 2010

I have not been able to really describe what is happening and what I am feeling....it's just driving me mad. I listen to music to "soothe the soul"...so to say..... I want to share it...and yet I want to share this......happy music later.... this is my favorite movie for it's time....and the love shared here is what I want to share tonight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ-4rPxT-YI

I'm finally feeling all of this *#@! fearlessly!

When I started this blog, I imagined images of "fearless creativity". I could see the visual creativity. Well, after all that's my thing. I can also hear creativity...even louder when it's FEARLESS. I can hear it in a conversation...sometimes it's the calmest voice of the group. I didn't grow up with the "fearless" voice being the softest. No, in fact, it was quite the opposite.

My intention here was to offer ideas and incentives to be fearless in your own life. As my own interests grew larger and I had my own studio, I lost that mission along the way. I'm not downgrading my blog in any way...mind that! I think that I have shared some absolutely precious finds! There are things in the bowels of this blog that will scratch on the inside of your skull! I am proud of those and they will remain in the "older posts".

Now, I am looking to share more of my thoughts and personal ....personal...personal... geez. What is it. LIFE...that is quite personal. Ok, so...as of today, I am dealing with a scary thing. It was scary two years ago and then it was not. It was just a thing then. A yearly thing....kinda like a pap smear. Only this was an MRI of my brain. The first two years gave me the feeling like it was smooth sailing all the way to Greece (my dream after watching 'Shirley Valentine' ). Anyway, this year the MRI showed that this little growth had flowered in my brain. After all the tending of that cantaloupe in my garden that yielded nothing, and still my brain had another idea. Well, so here I am with this years growth. I wanted it to be something else...like better okra or more tomatoes or squash that didn't rot from alien bugs that came from the next yard I'm sure.

All that to say, my brain is working over time and my garden is perishing. So, I have a growth that has to be pruned on the most important bulb of my brain. It's going to happen on January 12th. I don't know about fearless "creativity" but I do know that this is fearless living. I am trusting in the kindness of friends and strangers to help me step up to the plate...so to say. In the next two weeks I will go through tests and meetings and a CT scan to prepare...and I will come back here...maybe not to lay it all out so much as to share what little thing or sound or artwork helped in that day at that time. So, if I put up a link that touches me for that day...well, I hope it touches you too!

With tears,
Josie

First Lesson: Life is Real

For those of you who enjoyed "Ayo"...you can look her up on youtube. The video was blocked eventually and I will delete this at some time. However, I heard from so many of you that I thought I might put up this notice. While I was trying to change it up and offer the link...it all disappeared. So sorry!