Art Journaling Workshop in Phoenix, AZ

Art Journaling Workshop, Create a Portable Vision Board 

Immerse yourself in a day filled with art and self-expression with California artist Mary-Gail King.

Saturday, November 16, 2013 from 9-3

Phoenix/ Gilbert area

Tuition is $197 payable on PayPal.  Receive a 25% discount and bonus mini portable paint kit when you register by November 9.

Lunch and some materials are provided.  Mary-Gail will send a list of what you need to bring to   personalize your journal as soon as you register.      

Additional location in Camarillo, CA on November 23!  Same discount as below if registered by November 15.


Imagine a place where only you can go. A place where you can dream great big, amazing dreams.  Journaling is a powerful way to center yourself on a day to day basis and it will give you a place to create a working vision board.  Experts like Dr. James Pennebaker of the University of Texas have found significant health benefits from journaling in their research.  It’s commonly accepted that simply writing down what you eat helps you lose weight.  Art journaling taps into a deep place in our psyche that helps us lead more joyful, productive lives.

Learn the power of non-verbal, visual language and how it can reveal your innermost desires.  Begin to create a new reality in your own private book.  It’s a great way to begin the holiday season.  The combination of a day away and the inspiration of new techniques to use in your journaling is a special gift just for you!

Directions on how to make this mini painting kit from an Altoid
tin will be in my next blog post. It's free with your registration for
the Phoenix workshop by November 9!

Mary-Gail will help you use mixed media techniques such as collage, watercolor, stamping and other processes she uses in her own work with step by step instructions.  

An award winning California artist, Mary-Gail King has been painting, sketching and journaling most of her life.  She has actually journaled regularly for forty years!  “My dreams, desires and the mundane things I have done over a lifetime have changed and morphed.  It’s been revealing to peek back into my fifteen or thirty-two or forty-six year old mind.  I’ve even started talking to my future self. I’m able to virtually slip back and forth across time and have learned what my life can become using this process.  I’m excited to share it with you.”  

Thanks to Solutions Real Estate 

of Phoenix for sponsoring this 

fantastic lifestyle workshop!

Tiny Steps & Big Results! The Power of Passion and Personal Connection

Have you ever wanted to make your passion your full-time lifestyle?  I've actually lived that way for most of my career having started my first business when I turned thirty. In the process of starting and running three businesses I've learned a couple of things.  Passion for your day to day work and intimate connection with your clients, customers or collectors are what drive a business. Any time you can nurture that connection with phone calls, email, newsletters or any other form of communication the more tuned in you'll be to their needs.

This year I've been hyper-focused on learning the cutting edge marketing strategies I've adapted to the field of fine art.  I've identified an incredibly simple system that can be used to create and grow any business. Here's the video introducing the system: 

I've written a book that is great to use as a reference for your own strategic marketing plan.  A preview of the book is available here: Monetize Your Art.  The final book will be released on Amazon.  In the meantime I want to be sure you can take advantage of the system to maximize your holiday sales.  It's the season for art shows and craft fairs and you can fine tune what you're doing by watching the free video series.

Subscribe to the six part series FLOW, Six Powerful Strategies to Monetize Your Art by downloading your copy of the book.  You'll receive the video series each week and be able to grow and improve your business as you implement each step in the system.

I'll be rolling out my life system Artist in a Box over the next few months but this is time sensitive.  It's prime selling season for the fine artist and crafter and this will help. 

Here's the Video "How To" as Promised!

Video is a growing, proven way of reaching people. It's not my art but I can certainly use it to reach potential collectors in a big way.

This is almost too simple. The hardest thing to do is get up the guts to do it.  Google how to set up a Youtube station or, as I did, get a kid to do it for you. (Mine happened to be 26 but he's still my kid;) 

Welcome to my video studio!  My son just informed me
that I can improve the quality of the next video by using
the iPhone camera on the other side.   

The setup here includes a french easel, two white umbrellas designed for outdoor painting to difuse the light and two standing lamps with incandescent bulbs.  There is natural light coming from both sides of the room where I'm sitting. My main goal was to avoid weird shadows on my face.  Next video I want to work on getting a little more polish...Makeup and hair can be refined.  I also need to figure out where to look so that I'm looking directly into the camera. Any tips on that are welcome. 

Three big tips for filming. 

1. Keep your energy up during your video. SMILE! Be sure that it reaches your eyes. I've seen one too many how to videos that would cure my current insomnia but a genuine smile will engage you and your viewer.  If you get bored or lost I can promise you that your viewer is long gone. 

2.  It's not about me! The video I'm filming is for you. I think of it as a tangible gift that I hope will help you achieve your dreams. That shows. My guess is that you can feel that. When you do your own videos, for example to invite your collectors to a show, keep that in mind. 

3.  Remember your motivation. It will keep you focused. I don't want to learn editing right now so I had to do this in one take. Anything longer than two minutes should probably be less linear. That will add interest. 

Please leave questions, comments and tips. You'll help anyone who reads this that way. Thanks and talk to you soon!  Mary-Gail

Stepping Out in Faith

Niurka, a beautiful soul whose life work resonates with me.  

I look forward to working with her this coming year.

Shifting into a mode of gratitude and faith has been my work as of late.  I've added professional writing, speaking and coaching this past year, created a new corporate entity, and continued to be true to my own work. My new creative services company has come to fruition!

Since last October I've very intentionally stepped out in faith to expand my career and help more people while keeping my art and spirit at the center of everything.

I've developed a program to help other artists market and monetize their art.  I've focused on creating my own art, traveling, and creating a new program to help other artists.  Here are some photos that tell the story of the journey.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to surround myself with a team of people committed both to my success and that of the people I'm helping.

I've solidified the overall marketing program I've developed.  I'm continuing to paint, teach and do private consulting for other painters.  I'd love to hear from you so reach out any time!  Stay tuned and opt in to receive a preview of the new book!  Please pass the word.  I'll give a special bonus pdf of one of my paintings to anyone who mentions that they found out about this on my blog!  Monetize Your Art

Mary-Gail
mgking@mac.com

Mark Rothstein cares for each one 

of his clients and is another empowering mentor.  His

goal is to make everyone financially free.  

I'm working with him to make my financial 

future shine even brighter!  Mr. Money

One group of fellow artists, coaches 

and writers I've had the privilege of 

collaborating with this year.

Writing a book has been central to clarifying the 

message I'm bringing to my new creative services 

company Mary-Gail King, Inc.  Robert Allen and his 

team have helped me with my first book, 

FLOW, 6 Powerful Strategies to Monetize Your Art.   

It's empowering to take steps forward with the help of 

such a talented mentor.  Check out the preview of my new book here:

 Monetize Your Art

This photo is a visual anchor for me.  

Magical Place,  I feel like my art continues to evolve.
This has a mystical quality that I love.

Janet Amiri and Connie Owen invited me to show my work 

on Yupo from the Channel Islands at the Hillcrest Center 

For the Arts.  I'm lucky to have the respect of curators who can ask 

anyone they'd like to show there!  Thank you!

I've missed the Islands this year but the salt,
the winds and the spirit of the beautiful times I've had there are waiting for me to come back...

This is only one of the faces I love...My
friends have been tremendously supportive
even when I haven't been able to see them.

I went to the desert and learned even
more about myself...I'm stronger than
I ever knew.

Fellow professional speakers.  We're all
changing the world in our own way!

Richard Tan, (2nd from left) is owner of
one of the world's largest personal development
companies. 

Hard at it at Powerteam International's
Chicago headquarters.

Here are my two favorite people!  They have each stayed true to themselves
and are pursuing their own passions.

Opt in!

www.monetize-your-art.com

What's She Up to Now? Setting Intentions and Moving Ahead!

Tomorrow I'm off to Peak Potential's World's Greatest Marketing Seminar.

I've spent the last week thinking about what I want to get out of the next five days and have struggled a bit.  I've talked with both my coach and my assistant to help me clarify what my mission is. I've decided to work on one thing, synthesizing the worlds of marketing and art.

My fantastic Peak Potentials Coach
Marleen Payne.

• Teaching entrepreneurs how to be more innovative.  Any business person who wants to command the highest prices, attract fantastic clients and stay ahead of the pack needs a competitive edge.  That requires innovative approaches to problem solving.  I teach people how to do that with the same basic strategies that artists use to create.  

• Teaching artists the art of marketing.  There are simple elements that are part of all marketing strategies.  By learning them anyone can design a marketing plan and become more successful.  I've identified the four basic elements of marketing and teach them in my Art Marketing 101 course.

My assistant, the inimitable
Andy King

My vision is to help others see what can't be seen and bring it into the world.  That's basically what the act of creation is all about.  It's what I do as an artist.  It's what an entrepreneur does when he creates a new business or product.  I'm helping others become even more innovative by learning how to look at things differently.  

My intention for this week is to learn more about how to bring my message to others.  My initial focus with Mary-Gail King, Inc. is the Art of Marketing.  I'll have more Marketing 101 courses and networking events this fall to support that.  I want to clarify how to get my message out to people and pass that forward.

I'm looking forward to seeing
my Peak's peeps!

Now to bed!

Much Ado About Something or How to Cope with Stress!

Some of you may be familiar with stress.  It can be tough to manage and can have some serious side effects.  Throughout my life I've developed some great habits and coping strategies that help.  Nonetheless, it's been a challenging year.

It's officially just over the halfway point in 2013 and time to re-assess where I am and where I'm going.  I'm grateful to have good habits and a solid support system.  However, in the last twelve months I've hit 349 points on the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale.  According to the scale that's not good.  The scale is a little like golf; the lower the score, the better the game.  Over 300 = at risk of illness.  I've inserted my assessment below.  You may want to check yours out and assess yourself.  I've also included a Wellness Matrix* I use for myself at the end of the post that you may want to try.  I've found it very helpful to use while navigating through significant change.

I'm coming out of one of the biggest transitions of my life. Over the last two and a half years I've gone from married with two children and a part time career to single, no kids at home, and building a new business. I didn't include those changes in the assessment below.  I conservatively hit a score of 555 over the last three years.

 This will be a more stable year.  It's time to revise my goals while paying attention to the stress factors they involve. Here are my new goals/ stress scores:

1.  Business readjustment	+39
2.  Change in financial state	+38

I plan to continue building my Art and Creative Empowerment business.  I want to help people live more prosperous and creative lives.  Combined stress factor, 77

3.  Outstanding personal achievement

+28

This goes hand in hand with numbers one and two.

4.  Change in social activities

+18

I've focused so hard on work and new business development that I've neglected my social life.  It's time to balance that out!  A lot will come with more contact from the outreach I'm doing with my business.  I'll also spend more time doing the fun things I love, like go to art events, travel, dance, paint (oh, I forgot, that's work!) and play outside...

Must...work...more!

5.  Change in eating habits

+15

My good eating habits have gone downhill with the hyper-focus on learning, travel, and business development.  It's time to rebuild. My exercise routine has been solid and consistent but eating....I've been fooling myself and eating out way too much.  

Target Stress Index:  110

As you can see, even positive change causes stress.  As long as it's managed well that's actually a good thing!

To measure stress according to the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, the number of "Life Change Units" that apply to events in the past year of an individual's life are added and the final score will give a rough estimate of how stress affects health.

Life event	Life change units
Death of a spouse	100
Divorce	73
Marital separation	65
Imprisonment	63
Death of a close family member	63
Personal injury or illness	53                 +53
Marriage	50
Dismissal from work	47
Marital reconciliation	45
Retirement	45
Change in health of family member	44
Pregnancy	40
Sexual difficulties	39
Gain a new family member	39
Business readjustment	39                   +39
Change in financial state	38                   +38
Death of a close friend	37
Change to different line of work	36                   +36
Change in frequency of arguments	35
Major mortgage	32
Foreclosure of mortgage or loan	30
Change in responsibilities at work	29                    +29
Child leaving home	29
Trouble with in-laws	29
Outstanding personal achievement	28
Spouse starts or stops work	26
Begin or end school	26
Change in living conditions	25                    +25
Revision of personal habits	24                    +24
Trouble with boss	23
Change in working hours or conditions	20                     +20
Change in residence	20                     +20
Change in schools	20
Change in recreation	19
Change in church activities	19
Change in social activities	18                     +18
Minor mortgage or loan	17
Change in sleeping habits	16
Change in number of family reunions	15
Change in eating habits	15                    +15
Vacation	13
Christmas	12
Minor violation of law	11

My Score=  349

Score of 300+: At risk of illness.

Score of 150-299: Risk of illness is moderate (reduced by 30% from the above risk).

Score <150: Only have a slight risk of illness.

Successful people have good habits, in the form of rituals, that they incorporate into their daily lives.  Mine are what I call the Fantastic Five.  They are part of the Wellness Matrix* I've identified for keeping me healthy and happy:

1. Eat Well
2. Rest Well
3. Meditate
4. Move
5. Connect with People and Purpose                                                                                        

On any given day I do all or most of the activities in the Wellness Matrix.  When I start to feel a little off, I mentally assess and often find I've missed something consistently for several days.  Not getting enough sleep will throw things off faster than anything else.  I can balance out less sleep with more meditation* and remain healthy and positive, but I can only go for so long without 7 1/2 hours of sleep!  When I don't, I gravitate towards sugar and caffeine.  I also tend to get a little "muffin top" due more to the hormone cortisol than to the poor quality of my food.  I find the puffiness comes even when I stay on top of the cravings.  Once I force myself back into my regular schedule (sleep at 11:00 and up at 6:30) I'm quickly back to my baseline.

You'll have your own needs in each category and will learn what creates balance as you pay attention to your actions and how you feel.  Just a quick journal entry on your calendar will help you figure out what works for you.   

This is simple and it works.  Try it out!  Be well!

* Wellness Matrix copyright 2013, Mary-Gail King
* I studied Primordial Sound Meditation at The Chopra Center for several years and have incorporated that practice into my spiritual life.  While the 21 Day Meditation Challenge is not Primordial Sound Meditation, it's a wonderful guided practice you can register for right now for free!

Postcards of Summer

Summertime~  

Come join me!  Jot down your favorite memories so far this summer.  Did you see where the sun was at sunset on June 21?  Go back to your favorite viewing spot and note it before you forget.  It's always fun to go back on December 21 and see where it sets then as well.  You'll see where the arc of the sun is in your part of the universe.  You can even trace it with your finger.  Do it on a piece of paper and you have the beginnings of a work of abstract art complete with  the concept behind it!  

Take photos when you can and slip them in an album...an electronic one counts.  Were you hot? Tired? Energized?  Did you eat something extra scrumptious?  Write it down!

I love long warm days which begin with a cool, misty fog.    When I took the photo you see above with the guard station in it, I had just finished a perfect day of painting.  I literally cried in gratitude for living such a charmed life. 

I love throwing myself into the cool waves after lazing around in the soft, warm sand. I ended this
perfect day painting the fading light with my dear friend Diane Gold.  We're both freckly types and enjoyed the surf and lounging around the beach in our wetsuits between painting sessions.  They are the BEST sunscreen and they are (slightly) more flattering than bikinis on, ahem, women of a certain age.  Diane, I love laughing  and painting with you!

Dinner at Nature's Grill.  I couldn't bring myself

to post a photo of my dinner so here's a not-food shot.

These summer days rush by far too fast.  But I've discovered something. Consider this.  Pause, wherever you are, at the end of a breath.  Look around and notice what surrounds you.  Be grateful.  Consider writing it down... Even just in your imagination.  Oddly enough, even if you never revisit what you've written, you'll anchor the memory and live it three times.  You'll slow time down.  The rushing will stop. Experience the thing once as it happens, twice as you notice it happening and three times as you write it down.  If you begin to do this in a cyclical way you'll notice your life becomes more like your breath.  The natural rhythm soothes and calms as it stretches out the hours.

Today I continued getting most of my worldly belongings together.  I have tidy stacks of treasures to unpack in my new place while this apartment looks like a clothes dryer, a cardboard recycling bin and a file cabinet got into a fight.  Nobody won.  No photos please....It's ugly.

Malibu Station #4 will be at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts

all summer and it's for sale.  You can own your own California 

beachfront property for pennies on the dollar.

My end of the day reward for accomplishing my goals was my dance class.   Tonight we grooved to old beach music, tunes like Heard it Through the Grapevine. We got slick with sweat and my muscles, which would often be sore after so much hauling "stuff" from one apartment to the other, were deliciously fluid.  

Now I'll go to sleep with the sounds of crickets and distant traffic, soft, cool sheets and a breeze from the window. Good night!