No, I did not pack my suitcase in the courtyard below my apartment.

Peek a boo! 

No, I did not pack my suitcase in the courtyard below my apartment.   I just wanted to show my new suitcase to a friend.  I'm quite a hands on person and like to use the real thing when I have it available.  So, I'm a little eccentric...

I'm all excited about my new suitcase.  After packing it with the colorful tops I need for filming my promotions in Chicago next week the inside looks like a box of candy.  There's no way I'll let you see the creative mess I've made figuring out what to wear, but I'll be super organized now.

It does look like a box of candy...

This all started when I went to lunch with my friend Meredith.  I was getting some administrative work done at home and was going to make the big mistake of working through lunch.  I ended up getting a call from a friend who was headed to the sandwich shop downstairs from my apartment, so I took a break.

 Meredith is interested in buying a new suitcase so I ran upstairs after we ate to get my freshly packed bag and went downstairs to do my show and tell.  Even I am not weird enough to randomly take my suitcase to lunch.

Boy we have fun!  Meredith was in tears as
I convinced Kristin to leave me with her
contact info:)

While I was giving my impromptu demonstration another friend came by.  She's moving on campus and may be interested in getting a little extra income....I'll be talking to her when I get home about the great business opportunity I have to offer.  We all went away shaking our heads with smiles on our faces.  

In the meantime I have the mundane task of taxes to finish.  I'll leave you with this.  I'll be back in a week and who knows what I'll have to report on then.  I really do love my life.  If I get bored with one thing I move to the other.  When I'm tired of dealing with all of it I always return to my art and head for the hills.  Adios!

Find me here: www.gigihillbags.com/mary-gailking

The "Marie" is featured in April's Oprah magazine and we have it for 20% off.  You can order straight from the link above.  Talk about win/win.  

Notes:

I noticed something last year when I collected thirty-seven years worth of journals. First of all I was shocked that I've journaled since I was fifteen.  I actually burned the diaries from my teenage years.  That decade was documented in battered, spiral bound notebooks which were quite ordinary to the point of being painful.  They weren't good "memoir" material and I couldn't keep carrying all that baggage!

Me at around 11 1/2 at St. Michael's Catholic School in West St. Paul, MN

In this very examined life I've noticed a few tendencies.  I'm incredibly consistent, goal oriented and passionate about the people I love and the things I do.  (I didn't realize how consistent until I looked at five crates of handwritten diaries!)  I haven't always appreciated my life and it's taken me three and a half decades to realize that there is no benefit in beating myself up over imagined failures.  I'm actually very successful and I'm good at pretty much anything I put my mind to.  My life is rich and complex, simple and delicious.  I have no regrets and don't plan on having any!  One of my new goals is to spend the next fifty years celebrating my successes.  I'm sure my tomorrow self will do some phenomenal things and she'll appreciate the ease and joy I bring to my life now.

At this point I'll loop back and imagine my eleven and a half year old self looking into the future.  She thinks she has to do big, important things.  Now I know that it's the little things that become the big ones.  Perfection is just one mistake away.  (That can be a bit of a nemesis but my present day self knows that nothing is ever perfect! Nor would I want it to be.) She can be messy on occasion but is good at creating beauty.  She realizes that mistakes mean she's doing something. She reads and writes, draws, paints, runs barefoot on the beach.  Hmmm, she's looking very familiar.  I think she also likes iceskating and snow forts.  She's certainly managed to be true to herself!

I've underestimated the power of a lifetime of following through on a compulsion to create.  I often slow down to write in my journals.

One of my students in a Studio Channel
Islands Journaling workshop in 2012

As a teacher and artist I'm ready to share some of this with other people.  I have developed a course in Art Journaling that incorporates creative writing, multi-sensory prompts and mixed media art techniques to help you start your own journaling practice.

My next workshop is April 20 from 9 AM- 4PM at Studio Channel Islands Art Center in Camarillo, CA.  There are multiple hotels in walking distance from the Studios and we're three blocks from the Amtrak station so it's easy to get here and there are great places to visit while you're here.  I'm also in the process of booking an East Coast venue in Raleigh/ Durham North Carolina.  The full day intensive workshop will include materials, a continental breakfast and lunch.  I'll update my web registrations this weekend and you can register online or contact me directly at mgking@mac.com.  Pricing is $195.

Wow, I've graduated from mangled spiral notebooks written to the background of American Pie to teaching my very own class.  Cool.

Now go back and read this while you listen to:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMlzfpwJZuc
Good God I love that song!  It was the theme song for the spiral bound notebooks.

From the Heart

Some things need few words.  Language only captures a minute fraction of our experience.  I want to say more but it's rather pointless.  This is why I paint.

Fire Eyes, 9"x12" oil on canvas

Defying Gravity

I saved this link to Idina Menzel's song from Wicked a couple of weeks ago.  Defying Gravity makes me cry EVERY time I hear it.  It expresses where I am in my life right now and helps me remember just how much I'm capable of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_390681&feature=iv&src_vid=0eF06fNK3Ng&v=39gpaDnjW4I

You see I believe God has created each of us as a unique expression of herself.  I am a specific manifestation of creation that is here for a blink of an eye and I'm fortunate to have an awareness of who I am.  I'm also fortunate that I can choose what to do with this blink.

At this point I am in the process of reassessing my life's work.  I have a unique set of experiences and talents that I bring to the table.

I am an artist to the depths of my being.  I am an empathetic woman who can see multiple sides to most situations.  I am very good at living in the moment.  I observe for a long time before I take decisive action.  I'm not afraid to make mistakes.  I am a good communicator.  I am a natural teacher and am good at helping others recognize their own strengths.  I connect quickly and deeply with others.  I am a master at creating a sense of place and can transform any space into one of comfort and beauty.  I'm good at analysis.  I like to talk!  I have to move.

Two weeks ago I went to Joshua Tree National Park for a workshop called Enlightened Warrior Training Camp.  I went looking for clarity and focus.  I pushed myself physically and mentally and realized I've had both all along.  I just need to shed the habits of thought and action that no longer serve me and focus on the considerable strengths I've developed over my lifetime.

Now I'm pulling separate areas of my life into a streamlined whole.  (again....) My art and some of my basic habits are the underpinning of the whole thing.  But the swirl of possibilities I've been investigating has started to come together.  It includes creating art, teaching and sales. I'm developing some products and workshops related to living a creative life and am in training to become a public speaker.  I'm selling purses for Gigi Hill Handbags.  I love this motto from Gigi:  "We're changing women's lives one handbag at a time."  That kind of stated mission is very much in line with what I am doing and I'm making money right away.  Love it!

Oh, by the way,  developing my personal life is right up there!  I need to play more!

Here's the "to do" list that doesn't change from day to day:

eat well
rest well
exercise
meditate
do positive affirmations
track "points" or action steps towards my short and long term goals
celebrate my successes!
Gotta add PLAY!

Of course there are days where some or all of these things don't happen.  But over time those habits have developed who I am.  I keep this quote from the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu in mind:

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”   Lao Tzu

Here are the lyrics for  

"Defying Gravity."  No doubt they will resonate with my fellow Enlightened Warriors.  AHO!

Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes and leap!

It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you won't bring me down

I'm through accepting limits
'Cuz someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!

I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you won't bring me down

Unlimited (Unlimited)
My future is unlimited (unlimited)
And I've just had a vision
Almost like a prophecy
I know - it sounds truly crazy
And true, the vision's hazy
But I swear, someday I'll be...

Flying so high! (Defying gravity)
Kiss me goodbye! (Defying gravity)

So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
"Everyone deserves the chance to fly!"

I'm defying gravity!
And you won't bring me down!
Bring me down!
Bring me down!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_390681&feature=iv&src_vid=0eF06fNK3Ng&v=39gpaDnjW4I

Conceptual Work- Mixed Media

Caul, Detail                                                      Mixed Media

With all of the focus on business it's time to get back to the proverbial drawing board.  To the right is a detail of a very complex mixed media piece I finished a little over a year ago.  The "mistakes" that lead to its existence are buried in the archives of this blog.  It took months to do because both the process and the concept of the piece took a while to unfold.  I ended up naming it Caul.  

Here's a brief quote from Wikipedia.  I developed the piece before finding the word but the concept was perfect: 

Caul, History and tradition

In medieval times the appearance of a caul on a newborn baby was seen as a sign of good luck.^[6] It was considered an omen that the child was destined for greatness. Gathering the caul onto paper was considered an important tradition of childbirth: the midwife would rub a sheet of paper across the baby's head and face, pressing the material of the caul onto the paper. The caul would then be presented to the mother, to be kept as an heirloom. Some Early Modern European traditions linked caul birth to the ability to defend fertility and the harvest against the forces of evil, particularly witches and sorcerers.^[7]

A legend developed suggesting that possession of a baby's caul would give its bearer good luck and protect that person from death by drowning. Cauls were therefore highly prized by sailors. Medieval women often sold these cauls to sailors for large sums of money; a caul was regarded as a valuable talisman.^[8]

In modern times those born with the caul claim to possess preternatural abilities.^[9][10]

Today I had the pleasure of getting lost in the world of creation.  Below some bits and pieces of the new series I'm creating. I've strewn it across my worktable in the studio.    I've been pouring paint and matte medium, manipulating photos, sketching and cranking the music to see where this birthing thing takes me.  Time and dedication are required.  When I finally find time, it disappears.  It's life that seems to take the dedication!

Work in progress, Reference photos and painting 

supports on top of translucent Yupo (polypropelene) paper

Reference:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caul#History_and_tradition

Here's Another Fine Mess I've Gotten Myself Into!

Mg and Gigi

Me

Ok, here's the latest.  Life continues to evolve.   I've been working as an artist for twelve years.  I have a lot of experience and have achieved some great successes with it.  It is an ongoing act of love to continue painting and teaching but I've been looking for some ways to expand my career and supplement that income! As I've looked at various opportunities, I've known that I need to be my own boss.  I like setting my own goals and schedule.  I also need to partner with a progressive, successful company that sells a high quality product. To do that I'm going back to my roots in direct sales.

The company I've found is called Gigi Hill.  It's a handbag company founded in 2009 by two women in the Los Angeles area and is designed with a busy modern lifestyle in mind.  

The bags are practical and beautiful.
You can find my page at:
 www.gigihill.com/mary-gailking.  

It caught the eye of the venture capital firm Maveron as well. Maveron recently invested $3 Million to become a minority shareholder in Gigi Hill.  Maveron was co-founded by Jason Stoffer and Howard Schultz.  Schultz is CEO of Starbucks. There's no other direct sales company like Gigi Hill in the  $9 Billion handbag market so the company fills a niche with huge potential.  To quote the article from Direct Selling News that I link below: 

 "Maveron looks for the brightest entrepreneurs who are in the early to middle stages of developing strong and highly differentiated brands. Other major aspects important to the firm include sound operations, good financial results, and of course, great products."

If you're interested in joining me on this adventure and creating extra income, a fun social outlet, working with fashion forward accessories or all of the above, you can get started for only $79 today!  Just contact me and I'll  show you how.  

I'd also love to come do a show for you.  I'm ready to travel with my new bags so if you can get a show or two scheduled in any part of the country let me know and I'll be there!  ROAD TRIP!

Find my page at:  www.gigihill.com/mary-gailking.  

http://directsellingnews.com/index.php/view/maveron_invests_in_gigi_hill#.UO5zoKVAs21  

Photo:  Candace Biggerstaff  http://www.candacebiggerstaff.com

Yoga and the Power of Commitment

This won't be long because I'm tired, it's late and even though I haven't finished everything I set out to do today (like post next month's class schedule) I need some sleep tonight!  I snuck in late to a yoga class this afternoon where Audrey Waltzer, owner of the Camarillo Yoga Studio was teaching.  It was a bit tricky going straight from the car to a warrior two series of asanas but I was careful and by the end of class I received a beautiful gift from Audrey in the form of the quote below. After hearing it I understood why I was meant to be in the class. 

I've been evaluating goals and setting plans in place for the next year throughout the month of December.  It's exhausting!  I've felt as if I have to push hard to achieve my goals when what I need to do is breathe and trust in the process.  I'm making good choices.  Everything will fall into place at its appointed time. Here's my intention for 2013.  

"But when I said that nothing had been done I erred in one important matter. We had definitely committed ourselves and were halfway out of our ruts. We had put down our passage money — booked a sailing to Bombay. This may sound too simple, but is great in consequence. Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!"

William Hutchison Murray, The Scottish Himalaya Expedition (1951)

Photography copyright Steve Gallup