Create with Spirit

Love and/or Marriage

I am so happy to share this invitation to you all blog readers!

I am involved with a great project called the Cubby Missalette, and we are looking for submissions for our next issue. The theme is Love and/or Marriage. 

Here is the invitation. Please stretch your creative wings and submit!

Dearest Cubby Lovers,

We hope this finds you head over heels in somersaults of ecstasy at the beginning of this promising New Year. Love is in the air, and oh, what a breath of freshness it is! As Bill Fisher said recently, "The zeitgeist has never felt this good, ever."

For one thing, we can not help being madly in love with our new first couple, whose palpable love for one another is truly awww-inspiring to behold. Not only are Mr. and Mrs. Obama lovers in every sense of the word, but their partnership as they start this new journey of leadership has the potential to bring about a seismic ideological shift in America that could smash the past decade's paradigm of fear, hate and misunderstanding and bring in a new era of rationalism, empathy and love.

But as the loveliest rose comes equipped with sharp thorns that prick us, so do our love affairs sometimes wound us and make our hearts bleed. Our new leadership is a dream come true and yet, in our own beloved home state of California, the same democratic process has brought about a malicious ban on marriage between loving couples of the same gender.

Love and/or Marriage:
a Cubby Missalette

Neil Young said, "only love can  break your heart."
And The Beatles professed, "love is all you need,"

Love is a promise. We are drawn to it over and over again  - driven wild by its potential, satisfied by its fruition and disappointed by its frustrations.

We feel that now is the perfect time to explore the subject of love, as well as its companion, marriage, and to explore the myriad forces, both personal and political, that come to bear upon them.

We are pleased to announce our intention to publish a brand new Cubby Missalette, where we can explore the heart's greatest emotion and society's most hallowed institution, including all the exotic terrain in between.

SO WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
We invite you to submit your lovingly wrought expressions on the subject of Love and/or Marriage.
This could be your thoughts, your feelings, your poetry, your prose, your drawings, your collages, your comics – anything that can fit into a 2-dimensional form!

And for those who are new to the Cubby, you can see past Missalette experiences here:http://cubby.net/missalette/index.html
Jol & Tristy are also overjoyed to answer any questions you may have or give further guidance in what we are looking for, for this exciting new issue!

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: FRIDAY, FEB. 20, 2009
(Honoring Cubby Saint Kurt Cobain's birthday!)

PUBLICATION DAY: FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2009
Please note this is a FAST turnaround – just three weeks to create and submit. But what better subject to rally around and create something new? What better time to birth a new vision into the world?

We so much hope you will join us on this latest endeavor! Please contact either Jol at endofreligion@gmail.com or Tristy at tristy20@gmail.com to let us know that you are on board this crazy love train!

In gratitude,
Your Missalette  co-editors for this issue,
Trismegista Taylor and Jo(e)l Perez

Interfaith

My excellent friend Dan shared this animated video with me.

It really is one of the most beautiful, accessible, simple and profound descriptions of what it means to be truly Interfaith - to honor ALL paths, no matter what they look like. I hope you can watch it and share it with others in your life.

It was made by TheraminTrees.

Fur

Just watched a film that literally took my breath away. Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus, is an imagined idea of what the inside of the photographer Diane (pronounced Dee-Ann) Arbus' mind might look like.

This film is a must-see for any artist. I am so thankful that films like this are made. It is completely unexpected in every way and is full of divine, disturbing and wildly inspiring imagery. It really captures what it is like to see the world a little differently and to have only a select few freaks in your life understand it.

The film is written by Erin Cressida Wilson, and directed by Steven Shainberg (both from the film Secretary). They wanted to capture the birth of an artist and "what you have to leave behind to become yourself." The incredible Robert Downey Jr. is in this film (as the most amazing and mesmerizing character of the entire film) and while being interviewed about what he thought the movie was about, he said, "sometimes you have to see fear and head for it and you have to do exactly what would be considered entirely inappropriate...in order to make it to where you are supposed to go." If that doesn't describe the true creative process, I don't know what does.

This film is the story of freaks, not just freaks on the outside, but those who are freaks on the inside as well. It reminded me to move through my fears and create my own vision of the world, no matter how ugly or scary or misunderstood it may be.

You can watch the preview of the film here. And you can watch the making of of the film here.

Bearded Lady

Some of you know that I have a very deep love of beards and handle-bar moustaches. I also have a deep love of craft. The two have come together in the excellent removable beards made by the amazing Erin Dollar and you can buy them in her Etsy shop.

I am so grateful for people who make things like this in the world.

Hambox Advent!

I am very proud to say that I was invited to participate in the most fantastic Hambox Advent 2008! Every year Lady Hambox gives us 31 days of Holiday Inspiration. There truly is no way to describe it. You must see it for yourself.

Be sure to click on all the days (so far) and check back every day for a new treat. The day I contributed to is December 11th, by the way!

Article in San Francisco Medicine Journal

I am very happy to say that I have a short article in the November issue of San Francisco Medicine: Journal of the San Francisco Medicine Society. This month's theme is "Art, Design, and Medicine." It's an excellent issue, full of great articles. 

In my article I highlight the amazing projects we showcase on the Arts & Healing Network, where I have worked for the past two years.

Download the PDF and enjoy! And please note the this PDF is a download of the WHOLE issue, which is worth reading, as it is chock-full of articles about art and healing in the health care industry.

Artella Sale!

As you know, I have not added any ads to this blog. If I am going to participate in shameless commerce, it has to at least be for something I believe in and Artella is most definitely one of those creative companies that I can really get behind.

So in full disclosure, I do get a commission on anything you buy at Artella, if you click through my blog. Check out the site and see if you like anything - it's so crafty and inspiring!

Stop Shopping

Oh my Lordy, it's Holiday Time again. I am here to remind you that in this particularly difficult economic time, it is not only O.K. but joyfully wonderful to make your own gifts this year. In fact, why not start a new trend of making gifts for all the future holidays that will come upon us?

To inspire you, watch the latest video from Rev. Billy & The Stop Shopping Gospel Choir. They have some wonderful ideas, including some gifts that the "non-creative" can give (although I believe everyone can make something!).

And remember, now is the time to start those projects, so they are ready for the holidays!

Smallest Knitter in the World

In February 2009, the first hand-made, stop-motion, 3D film will hit our movie theaters. It is Coraline, based on Neil Gaiman's novella of the same name. None other than the amazing Tim Burton is making it, so you know it will be creepy and beautiful.

I read the novella Coraline and it actually creeped me out and made me really angry at the same time. Those black, button eyes...ugh. But regardless of how I felt about the story, I am most definitely going to see this amazing movie.

I want to direct you to the site to watch an incredible little clip showcasing some of the world's tiniest knitting (that's what I'm claiming in my complete ignorance, anyway). Some of her needles are as small as a strand of human hair!!! Can you imagine?

Of course the styling and advertising for this film is super crafty and mysterious so you have to do something special in order to see the clip. Never fear my dear readers, for I am in the know (thanks Drawn!) and I can tell you what to do:

Go here.

Click your cursor into the first box and type in the word "sweaterxxs".

Enjoy the tiniest and craftiest knitting you have ever seen.

Then, if you want to see more, here are some other "magic" words:

buttoneyes
stopmotion
moustachio
puppetlove
armpithair

Thank God for the crafty geniuses of the world. They keep me alive, I swear!

Believe

This current economic state has really been traumatizing both to my own heart and soul and to the heart and soul of my business (and really, is there much of a difference?).

Thankfully, I have many allies on my journey - fellow ministers, healers and wonderful friends and family who are supporting me every step of the way on this complicated path of crafting a private practice of ministry and creativity coaching.

I am taking part in an excellent program hosted by the divine Amy Brucker called Growing Somewhere. The very first step in this wonderful program is creating a collage exploring our "dream life, practice, and clientelle."

In speaking with my friend Heather Furby, I had a kind of epiphany about a new direction my ministry can go and this is the collage that came out of both talking to Heather and to Amy:

Usually my collages are not this simple, but I think this piece reflects my new understanding of following my bliss and realizing that it can be SIMPLE. It doesn't have to be a struggle. What a concept!

I attached the word BELIEVE at the bottom to be a grounding force through this journey. I like that the letters are lopsided - it reminds me of the realness and truthfulness of walking a path of an authentic life.

Now I have a visual image to inspire me as I explore this new path in my life and practice. It is such a simple act, to make a collage - and yet I rarely allow myself the time to do it. I finally had to schedule it into my day, because I always obey my calendar!

I encourage you to make an inspiration collage today! Give yourself an hour or two of uninterrupted time. Cut out inspiring images from magazines, catalogs, etc. and paste down the images. It's that easy! And if you don't have an hour, you can do it in stages. Pull out pages from magazines for 15 minutes and put them aside. The next time you have "play time," sit down and cut out the images. The next time, paste them down.

It's fun, easy and inspiring. BELIEVE IT!