Where have I been?

It's been a while since I've blogged here at ShirleyTwofeathers - or anywhere else for that matter. And no - I didn't drop off the face of the earth - I'm never that lucky - but what I did fall into was a pandora's box called Cafe Press. 

My daughter and I have been busy making a little store filled with all kinds of cool stuff made from my mandala art. Naturally, I can't do just a few things and be happy with that. No. I had to make a gagillion different designs. Of course we got excited and made a bunch of stuff with those designs, only to realize that we'd jumped the gun and needed to get organized first, and then I totally over thought how to organize the shop (imagine that - me over thinking something), and finally, after redoing it 3 times - we now have a cute little store with about 1% of our stuff uploaded and saleable.

We called it "Cool Mandala Art" so go check it out. I did all my christmas shopping at our store - and they were all really cool. My favorite thing is the tile boxes, but the mugs were a big hit too...

Don't want to go visit the store? Ok... that's fine... I'll show you my designs anyway. Here's sampling of what's at the store as of today:

Samurai Warriors Were Real

Since I'm going to start living by the Samurai Code (just as soon as I get over being scared of it) I thought it might be helpful to remind myself that Samurai Warriors were actually real people who lived in the real world and really did do real stuff. This is not some fantasy fiction I found in an obscure book. So... here are some photos!

So here it is!

I really want to post something definitive about WHY I would suddenly let go of blogs that I love, blogs with subscribers, blogs with readers, blogs with traffic, and blogs that are actually bringing in some money. Yes, the Flickr thing was a problem, but it wasn't the end of the world. So what was it really that pushed me into making such a drastic move? Didn't I, just the other day, talk about how I love my blogs, and blogging so much that it's FIRST on my list of stuff I would be willing to sacrifice and suffer for?

The only way to really explain it is to get all the Morning Meditations up to date, which is what I've been working on. And as I transcribe them, I realize that maybe the best way is to just share the journey. I invite you to follow the links and go see for yourself.

From the moment I decided to "be Aragorn" it was probably a done deal. Would Aragorn be sitting at home blogging other people's pictures until 3am? I don't think so.

And tonight when I reread that first morning meditation, "Counting Coup," I thought to myself... OK there it was... the first call to action.

Then there were the Snake Racers. I got that same page I don't know how many times. My mind was just racing and racing... this and that... bla bla bla... bla bla bla... I'd get on the internet and surf and blog and read this and post that and I'm just zinging from one thing to another... I even remember a conversation with Daniel about how I thought that all the time I spent on the internet might be interfering with my ability to concentrate and to focus... like it was giving me ADD or something.

So, when I got the "Talking is for Later" message, why wasn't that a clue? Wasn't that a clue that maybe I was spending way too much time talking about stuff and not enough time actually doing anything?

And there were numerous gentle hints like "taking care," A Mystery, and "do what's in here." Then, since I still wasn't taking any real action, it became more pointed. I was told to "pay attention," and I did. I even went so far as to read Caroline Myss which gave me one of those "light bulb moments" where you suddenly realize OH!

And my big OH! was that I have spent most of my life giving my power away. Selling my soul for the approval of others. If I'm not needed and appreciated - then I'm nothing. Nothing at all, and I might as well just throw myself in front of a truck!

I decided to stop being a coward, and reclaim my power. Well... that's easier said than done! And I really didn't have a clue how to go about actually doing it. That a commitment of some kind was going to be required became clear. I was told that life was to live in, not to live under, and the very next day I learned that I was going to be doing something big and the day after that my stuff was all lined up and ready to go, a nice old man counseled me not to give my power away, and encouraged to really think about what I was doing.

And still I was clueless. I knew something was going to have to give... especially when the idea cemetery came up. But I was cheerfully in total denial of just WHAT that something was going to be. All the while, uploading posts on the Hanged Man and suffering and sacrifice ...

For a smart person, I can be really really dense!

And as I'm writing this post, I am amazed at how my morning meditations dovetailed so perfectly with what I was building up to. So now that the kicking, screaming, and crying seems to be mostly over, I'm finding a tiny bit of peace with the idea that the structures I built will crumble to dust, and I'm ready to begin the work of letting it all go.

So, there you have it!

Oh Oh, this doesn't look good!

So, the decision's been made, plans are motion, and now it's only a matter of time.

Yes, I am procrastinating my in depth and in detail explanation for ALL the reasons why I've decided to go this route, but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging too much longer. (I decided to shoot you instead). LOL!

OK... I'm not really going to shoot you, I'm just going to blindfold you, stand you up against a wall, light a cigarette for you, and then let the firing squad do it.

Ok... that's not true either. Actually this is a picture of me! I got quite a lot younger over the last few days and even had a sex change. Now I've taken up smoking again and pretty soon somebody is going to shoot me.

Alright.... none of that is true. What is true, is that I've decided to let all but two of the blogs go. If you are wondering why I'm taking such a drastic step, one of my many reasons can be found at this post over at The Prosperity Project.

And yes, I'm keeping this one. And yes, it's been excruciatingly ridiculously painful and I have SUFFERED! So, I think that serves me right for posting all that stuff about suffering! And I did find some cool pictures today - so I guess I'll upload them here - and I'm also going to post MY idea of the Great Penis Nebula for my friend Bob so that he can have something SEXY to post over at Black Holes and Astrostuff, and if I'm not careful, I'll be turning this blog into it's own black hole by not really letting go of the marathon blogging. Which would defeat the whole purpose of letting them go in the first place!!

So...
I'm going to shut up now and eat my last meal!

I Am Awesome!

Remember my "grandiose scheme?" That impossible daily routine? I have actually figured out a way to pretty much do it. How cool is that? Not only that... but I've actually been DOING it! I am so awesome!!



Here's what the routine looks like:

9am to 9:30 am - Getting Started:

• get up,
• stagger around and get the coffee going,
• let the dogs out,
• uncover the birds,
• figure out what day it is,
• drink the aforementioned coffee
• NOTE: I have a little timer that I set so that I don't end up sitting there like a zombie for an hour or so.

9:30am to 10:30am - My Meditation Practice:

• do a Hawaiian Kahuna meditation technique which consits of connecting visually and auditorily with the awesome cottonwood tree that lives just outside my window,
• open my Native American book and have a conversation with whoever happens to show up on the page,
• spend 15 minutes doing a sufi Meditation for Restoration and Repair
• grab a handful of cornmeal and go outside and make an offering to the sun and say hello to the four directions
• NOTE: I give myself an hour for this, which gives me plenty of time. I didn't want to feel like I was "on the clock." The only thing I set the timer for is the sufi meditation. Usually I get done with enough time to drink another cup of coffee before moving on to the next thing on the schedule.

10:30am to 11:30am - Taking Care of Shirley

• Yes... it's right there in writing, and I'm actually doing it! How cool is that?
• first up is 20 minutes of excercise.
• Anything that involves me moving in a more vigorous manner than what I'm used to is fair game for the 20 minutes. Dancing, yoga, Tai Chi, mowing the grass, walking the dog, it's open ended. I can do whatever I want as long as I don't stop moving for 20 minutes.
• I figure I can do just about anything for 20 minutes.
• I like the freedom of doing whatever feels good. Mowing was especially fun because I knew I could stop after just 20 minutes whether I was done or not.
• next up is 40 minutes for taking a shower, brushing my hair, a quick breakfast, stuff like that.

11:30am to 1:00pm - Household Chores and Art

• the first 30 minutes is dedicated to housework. It's not a very long time - but it's more time than I usually spend - and I figure that I can clean house for 30 minutes without having a nervous breakdown or dying of boredom.
• What gets cleaned is totally optional. If I want to spend the 30 minutes cleaning up an area for an art project - that's fine.
• Paying bills and anything else that I hate to do can be tucked into this half hour.
• The instant the timer dings, I'm done.
• Now, I've got a whole hour dedicated to doing art. Today, I'm working on a mosaic. And yes, an hour isn't very long, but it's there for me every single day, and that feels really good!

1pm to 1am - The Rest Of The Day

• Check it out! That's 12 hours!!
• Now is the time for appointments and errands.
• I can visit friends and family if I want to.
• On days that I work, I'll still have plenty of time to get ready and get there.
• Marathon blogging can still be done.
• Art - yard work - goofing off - reading - watching TV - I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT FOR TWELVE WHOLE HOURS!!
• If I want to have an organic garden - this is when I'll work on it.
• If I want to remodel my house - this is when I'll do it.
• If I want to spend hours and hours cooking everything I eat from scratch - this is when I'll do it.
• If I want to teach Reiki, do shamanic healing, build a sweat lodge, or just sit outside and enjoy the weather...
• And if I want to go to bed early - I can do that too!!

1am to 9am - Getting 8 hours of sleep

• Yes ... 8 hours of sleep, and that's I stretch the schedule to the max.
• On days that I work, I get home by midnight, so I can piddle around taking care of the dogs and still be in bed by 1am.

Is this cool or what? It's flexible enough and loose enough that I don't feel constricted by it. It gives me enough time to do pretty much whatever I want. For the first time in a long time, I'm starting to think that I'm going to actually get my shit together!

I finally did it!

I've been talking for months about The Question of the Day, and how I think it's time to let it go... Well, today was the day. I asked the Fortune Teller (see bottom of this page), and she said "Absolutely!" so how could I go wrong with that great advice?

I am planning to gradually import the questions and the answers that I think are interesting and intriguing. I think it will be fun to revisit them... see how far we've come in the last year.

Also, I think it would be nice to take a moment of silence as we visit The Idea Cemetery where The Question of the Day now gently rests.

In case you can't read the small print, this is what the letter says:

Dear Mr. --,

It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the death of your idea. Beloved ideas are often torn from this world far too soon, and whether these unexpected farewells are at the behest of consultants, creative directors or customers, the pain is always real.

Perhaps your grief will be easier to bear if you know that others share in it -thousands of ideas die each day. Join our large, grieving community at ideenfriedhof.com and commiserate with friends over the grandeur of your idea. To find peace, please use the enclosed memorial park, which will make your desktop a place of solemn reflection.

You’ll realise how good it feels to let go. Wonderful days with beautiful new ideas lie before you. Our online catalogue 'One Life' will show you the latest and most important visual trends and will inspire you to fresh, stunning ideas.

With best wishes for your creative future,

Horst Zsifkovits
Vice President of Sales
Central and Northern Europe

My Flickr Profile

I've been playing with my new Flikr account. Surprisingly, the photos I have uploaded get looked at! I've even been invited to submit some photos to a couple of groups, which was fun. And several have been marked as "favorites".

All of this would be even cooler if the photos were pictures that I actually took, instead of stuff I found on the internet. But, hey, I'll take whatever appreciation I can get.

Here is a screen capture of one of my most looked at sets, Burning Man 2007. It's been up for about a week and already has had 86 views and a number of comments.

So, this is what I put on my Flikr Profile:

I am an artist, a blogger, a reader, a writer, a Reiki Master, a gypsy, a shaman, a psychic, a woman, a mother, a grandmother, a daughter, a sister, and a friend.

Other words that apply to me include: out of the box, unusual, outspoken, odd, eccentric, free spirited, employed, unemployed, foolish, wise, stupid, smart, funny, sad, ridiculous, sensible, practical, down to earth, driven, gifted, calm, relaxed, freaked out, dumb, mental, open minded, bound and determined, stubborn, persistent, opinionated, ambivalent, physical, emotional, spiritual, human... the list goes on and on.

I have a bunch of blogs and websites.. come and see them if you are interested, they are: shirley twofeathers, Mandala Madness, Way Cool Pictures, More Cool Pictures, Gypsy Magic, Green Dolphin Studio, Way Cool Quotes, The Prosperity Project, As Within, and Question of the Day. How's that for a long list?

Look what I managed to do!

Check this out! I asked for a review of one of my blogs, and here's the reply I recieved.

Hi Shirley,Your web site review of "way cool pictures" will be posted on Tuesday the 18th at 6 am. It will be there for the whole day. I would like to wish you continued success with your blog. We enjoyed it. Phil Matson your-relevant.com

Isn't that cool?
Here's the email I sent.

On 9/12/07, SHIRLEY GIBSON wrote:
I was hoping you would find the time to post a review of my blog.
It would be deeply appreciated.

My name is: Shirley Gibson
The name of the website is: Way Cool Pictures
The URL is: http://waycoolpictures.blogspot.com/

This is a picture blog. New images are uploaded daily. There are funny pictures, adorable cute animals, odd houses, interesting art, amazing nature photos, etc. Something different every day.

The coolest thing about Way Cool Pictures is that: Nothing offensive is ever posted . I put all the offensive, over the top, shockingly ridiculous and raunchy stuff on More Cool Pictures ... and then combined the two together in One Cool Picture After Another.

Thank you so much for reading my email and considering my blog for a possible review.
Blessings,
Shirley

Creating banners for Sandra

Today I have been working on banners for a website that a friend of mine is putting together. This is my favorite one so far. Once I get a feel for the way she wants the web pages to look, and after we decide on the banners and the landing page, I'll probably be making some buttons.

I'm not really an expert at web design, nor am I all that proficient in photoshop, so I went looking for tutorials and found some great tutorial resources over at Dennis Plucinik's blog on E-commerce and Web Design. He has free photoshop buttons for download, a long list of photoshop tutorials.

Other resources for tutorials include:

• tutdesk
• dr-photoshop
• deviantart

100 Pic Challenge

Today I stumbled onto something really cool at Chaoticat. It's the 100 pic challenge. The point of the challenge is to test and improve your skill as an artist or photographer. The idea being to create 100 pictures, and after 100 pics who wouldn't be a better artist or photographer?

If I can get other people to do it with me, we might create a web page together for our individual contributions to the challenge. If it looks like I'm in this alone, I'll be posting my pics here. If you see this, and want to join in, that would be great! Challenges are easier to complete when you've got friends and companions along for the ride.

So, check out the rules at Chaoticat or deviant art, and let's get started!

Art Face Off

So, I got inspired by the Question of the Day - it was a question about what would my life would be like if I did something scary every day. I thought about it for a while, and pretty soon I found myself at a little website I heard about called ArtFaceOff. The next thing you know I had registered for a free account, and uploaded a number of pictures.

Here's the link to my page: Shirley Gibson at ArtFaceOff. Go check it out. If you like what you see, vote for me. If you decide to put your own artwork up, leave a comment with a link, and I'll go see your portfolio.

50x50

After a long long absence. I am finally back and working on selling my art online. Today I stumbled onto a really interesting website/art project called 50x50. It is an ongoing online work of art made of 50 pixel square images from artists around the world. I submitted this image, called "Ring of Power", and so we'll see what happens.

-update 9/5 -

I have heard absolutely nothing from him at all. No acknowledgement that he got my image, not a yes or a no. So I'd say this one is a no go for sure!

Blogging the Art

I have read in a number of different places, that blogging is a good way to promote what you do. And so, not being one to do anything in moderation, I created a number of blogs. I use Blogger as my blogging platform because it's free, it's easy, and there are a lot of simple ways to tweak the templates to make them unique. If I had the time to make a gagillion blogs, I might try also the wordpress and typepad free blogging services.

For the mandala art, I created Mandala Madness. - blog about mandalas. I wanted something that would attract mandala lovers. It has poetry, quotes, visiting mandalas, interesting tidbits of information about mandalas of all kinds, and of course - my mandalas. It does take some time to put the daily posts together, but I think it's shaping up nicely.

I also joined Zaadz. It's a social networking site for people interested in spiritual concepts, and changing the world, and seemed like a really good place to make friends and share the mandalas and the abstract art. I've got a page for a photo album, and also a blog. The Middle of the Night Art is a little dark for that site, and I'm thinking that maybe it might be better suited for My Space, or Deviant Art.

The other blogs that I have created do not directly "promote" my art, but do offer links to Green Dolphin Studio, the Cafe Press store, and to the other sites that do. Here's a list of the blogs I am currently keeping up with:

• Way Cool Quotes
• Way Cool Pictures
• More Cool Pictures
• Question of the Day
• Prosperity Project
• My Work at Home Job
• Gypsy Magic

Selling Art Online

Ok, so I want to sell my art online. And this is my year. So I'm going to do it. Hmmm, what should I do first?

I guess first I need to have art to sell. Lets just take a look around the house... Well, let me see... there is art on the walls, art leaning up against the walls, art in the closet, art in front of the closet, art in the other closet, art in the computer, art on the computer, even some art under the computer. There is art on the dining room table, art on the art room table.. There's even art in the dresser drawers. There is so much art around here, I almost don't have room for me!

There is so much art, I don't even know where to start. I guess that's going to be step two. Figuring out what paintings to start with. So... should I start working at selling paintings in alphabetical order? Favorites first? Start with one series? Put forth a variety of styles and colors? Do a weekly pick 6? Run around the house blindfolded and just grab something?

I think I'll just bop on over to the "Question of the Day" and see if I can get any valuable insights or answers.