Artist Diary
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KNOW THYSELF AND STICK WITH IT
The other day, a friend and I were chatting about how much easier things get when you know yourself and you stick with what works. The conversation had stared about shoes and the fact that some of us need more support on our feet than others. I personally, cannot stand a shoe with too much structure. Simple ballet flats with less support is more comfortable for me than that with lots of support. My friend then mentioned that she had gotten a fashion consultation for what clothes work best for her. She said it made her shopping so much easier because she simply avoided the things she knew didn’t work for her and sought out the clothes that did.
I think in both career and business, it’s best to take some time to get to know yourself better and to figure out what solutions work best accordingly. There’s no sense in trying to force something to work when it just isn’t ideal for you. Working like this is working in resistance to who you are, rather than working to your strengths.
For instance, I learned of a typing system called Wealth Dynamics. It’s an archetypal system to figure out what methods of wealth generating is suitable based on your personality. I discovered that I am the Creator type, and that part of my challenge is learning to delegate tasks to others so that I can do more of the actual creative work. This made me realize how much I need to enlist the help of others to promote and sell my work. I’m currently in the process of creating systems in place to help me with this. But one aspect had bee missing until now: People who will help me generate buzz. This is why I have created an affiliate program for selling my work. Affiliate members will receive 20% commission on sales for helping me to reach customers. Interestingly, in the Wealth Dynamics profiles, the people whom I think are likely to do well with referral sales are the Supporter and Stars. Supporters love to connect with people and they are great at netowrking. And the Star is great at being an influence on others.
If you want to find out more about Wealth Dynamics, click here. I recommend finding out what type you are and working with it. Are you good at connecting with people, list building and generating web traffic? Maybe you’d like to join my affiliate program. I offer a great commission rate compared to other affiliate programs, and all you have to do is help me get the word out there about my work. To apply as an affiliate, go here.
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5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT USING ESSENTIAL OILS
Years ago, I worked in cosmetic retail and that was when I was introduced to aromatherapy. I was sent on a trip to Germany for product training where I learned about the many uses of essential oils.
Aromatherapy has the benefit of reaching past the blood-brain barrier to make an impact on your health and well being. It’s not just the scent that is working its magic, but the tiny molecules we absorb through inhalation that make a difference. Not only can it be used to enhance your mood, but it can also be used cosmetically to treat skin and address health issues.
But before you run out to buy oils and start using them, here are some basics you should know about using essential oils.
- Some oils are photo-sensitive; direct application of them on your skin can cause irritation when it gets exposed to sunlight. This is especially true with citrus oils.
- Some oils are safe to use directly on the skin without dilution. But many are not. Essential oils are extremely potent, so dilution for safe-use is necessary to avoid skin irritation.
- The maximum ratio you should use is 3% essential oil to carrier oil. A carrier oil can be sweet almond oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, and many more. To calculate the amount of essential oil to use, note that every 10 drops of oil is approximately 1 ml, so for 3%, use 30 drops in 97 ml of carrier oil. Do not try to dilute essential oils in water. If you have an accident and the essential oil is causing a burning sensation on your skin, apply carrier oils to the affected area immediately.
- Refer to an aromatherapy reference book or website to check for contraindications. Although essential oils are natural, they can interfere with medication and sone oils should be avoid for specific reasons, such as pregnancy.
- Essential oils have different levels of evaporating rates, resulting in what perfumers call Notes (top, middle and base notes). For example, top notes such as lemon, it’s aromatic fragrance will not last long on its own as a perfume or home fragrance. So it is necessary to anchor the top note oil with middle and base notes.
I really enjoy aromatherapy, as I have a large collection of essential oils. But I often come across unsafe practices of its use. I hope this will help you to get into aromatherapy and make the most of it. Feel free to leave comments if you have any questions I could answer for you.
Another way you can enhance your mood at home is having beautiful artwork on your walls. Check out my photography prints here.
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IT’S OK TO LIKE FLOWERS
Alain de Botton is a contemporary philosopher that recently released a book called Art As Therapy. He says that Art has many roles to play our everyday lives and it has seven distinct purposes. One of them is to help us remember things, because as humans, we are forgetful. Art acts as a reminder for us. One of the most popular postcards sold in museum gift shops is Claude Monet’s Waterlilies. Apparently, this is disturbing to sophisticated art tastemakers. Flowers are viewed as frou-frou, not serious by the art world. According to Botton, the popularity of such artworks is an indicator that people look for art to remind them of hope. Hanging beautiful artwork on your walls can brighten your mood when things don’t feel so great. Flowers, though seemingly frivolous is what offers hope and inspiration in a not-so-nice world.
Botton also talks about how Art is used to bottle something, a feeling, a thought, a concept. I definitely feel like I am bottling the essence of flowers in my photography. Flowers are so fleeting, just like life’s beautiful moments.
If you would like to learn more about Art As Therapy, check out Alain De Botton’s video on it.
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THE BEGINNING OF SPRING
I’m so excited that the official beginning of Spring is here! Finally, the flowers come back in bloom. I expect to be going out on shoots more often. I’ve started putting up my limited edition works for sale in the Shop. I’d like to raise funds for travel to do more shoots elsewhere. Hopefully some gardens in Europe. Fingers crossed!
Here are some photos from a recent visit to Allan Gardens in Toronto. The Easter show is starting, so I’ll be there again soon to see what new blooms they’ve planted.
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COLOR INSPIRATION: SPRING PALETTE
Whether you are a graphic designer, interior decorator, or fashion designer, choosing colors can seem like an arbitrary process. However, it doesn’t have to be. Choosing colors through inspirational images can take the guesswork out of whether or not the chosen color combinations are going to be harmonious. These color charts created from my Spring photography collection shows you how you can select colors directly from an image to create your color palette. Kudos to Lauren Wager, I was inspired by her blog, Color Collective.
I am excited to announce that I have released an ebook full of color scheme palettes created from my photographs. The ebook includes the color codes for RGB, HEX and Pantone, so that you can recreate the exact color schemes. I hope this will help those of you out there to feel inspired when you’re working with color for your next design project.Details here.
or more color inspiration, check out my new ebook here. -
LUSH GREEN PARADISE
I love that in the winter time, I can down those cold weather sorrows in warmth and sunlight at a conservatory. Here’s my collection of photos from a recent visit To Allan Gardens in Toronto.
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STOP CHASING YOUR DREAMS AND START MAKING THEM A REALITY
Have you ever thought about trying something new in your career? Did you stop yourself because it just didn’t seem like a logical career move? But your heart is still calling you to it?
When I started my intuitive consulting business, I seriously thought that I had arrived. You see, I’ve always had different jobs or businesses, and I’ve never stayed in one place for a very long time. My resume is a patchwork quilt of different experiences. To a hiring professional, I would probably appear very flaky on paper.
So when I thought that I had arrived at some place that I could stay in for a long time to come, I was quite happy. I trained as a life skills coach, and it was such a rewarding feeling to be working with people to change their lives. To grow spiritually and offer wisdom to others is amazing.
But then my interests shifted again and I started doing other stuff. I got into photography and video making. And I loved it.
The process of creating images and moving pictures was fulfilling a different side of me that wasn’t being fulfilled. It was allowing me to express myself in a way that I couldn’t before.
I wondered if I should pursue this more seriously. My heart was saying YES! My head was saying, are you sure about this? It’s going off path, AGAIN!
After some serious consideration, I decided to go for it. I was starting to realize how ungrounded I was becoming in my work offering personal development and spiritual guidance. Don’t get me wrong, I love this stuff. But too much of it isn’t a good thing. We need to have balance in life. It can’t just be all about the touchy-feel-good stuff they talk about in self-help books and Super Soul Sunday. We have to participate in life itself. And that means getting outside of our heads and taking action. Too many words of encouragement, too much looking for the deeper meaning in everything can really just be an excuse for procrastination. To truly live our dreams, we have to create it into reality, instead of chasing them with mere wishful thinking.
I decided that what l needed a vehicle for more real life experience. A way to get back to reality. And photography was going to be the way forward, because it puts me in front of reality itself. I wanted to get in touch with what’s around me and create something tangible from it.
The interesting thing about photography is that it has allowed me to merge two worlds together; the seen and the unseen. I work from an intuitive place, but I create with the reality around me. I am legally blind, so I often have to trust my gut feeling that I got the shot I wanted, and that everything is lining up for me in the photo. I don’t question so much, I rely on my instincts to guide me.
And so I believe, this is what they would call “inspired action”. This career move wasn’t planned, it wasn’t a strategy. It just happened, I let go and I followed my heart. And I couldn’t be happier.
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THE BOARDWALK IN QUINGDAO
On the first day in Qingdao, the tour guide took us to the boardwalk in Quondam. It is where the Olympic torch was passed on when the game were happening in Beijing. All along the boardwalk, there were these vendors selling all kinds of trinkets, such as seashells and jewelry.
#China #Olympics #seaside #boardwalk #tourism #peoplewatching
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WALK INTO THE SUNSET
I was quite stunned by this place that the tour guide took us to. This is a shopping arcade in Quingdao. The ceilings are painted like a sunset and the place is made to look like an outdoor village. The experience of walking through is surreal because you get the impression that the colours in the sky are changing. But the fact is that it is not– you are just changing perspective. It felt like I was walking into a Van Gogh painting!
#surreal #China #painting #mural #sunset #fauxfinish #painting
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THE FOG OF QUINGDAO
In Quingdao, we went to the seaside and walked on the pier. It had rained that morning and by afternoon, it was misty and foggy. We considered it lucky that throughout the trip we only had one day of rain. Sometimes I think the unusual weather makes for the most interesting of photos. I really enjoyed the people watching at the pier. There were so many swarms of seagulls flying everywhere. The fog felt somewhat magical.
#seaside #China #peoplewatching #seagulls #fog #rain #mist
