Pilsen / UIC: RedEye Neighborhoods - Mano y metal: Pilsen-based and custom-made

Pilsen / UIC: RedEye Neighborhoods - Mano y metal: Pilsen-based and custom-made

The Creative Process

i have been thinking lately about what drives my creative process. a short list of what has been driving me lately:

transition: i recently moved to Atlanta, GA from Chicago, IL. the move has really pushed and tested me in so many ways.

coffee: aside from its magically yumminess, i have finally realized another reason for my love of coffee. i think its the hand made art of brewing that also adds to my love. its like a handwritten note in our cyber world. no matter how advanced we get to get to get coffee you still have to grind the beans, add water, brew and wait. waiting is inspiring sometimes.

thrift stores: i can roam and buy all day. i enjoy the art of recycling.

libraries: no matter where i live i always live near a library. my childhood home was a block from library and in every place i have lived an amazing library has been there. i never pick a place to live based on the library location. like magic, i move to a new place and a week later i find out that the library is around the corner.

cubicle nation: i have been spinning in a restricting cubicle gig for the last 8 months. while it has been very challenging and irritating it has also served as artistic inspiration. it has fueled me in my short time there. i have had my solo one woman show premeire at a solo works
festival witn serenbe playhouse in palmetto, ga and currently rehearsing for an experimental
puppetry show that will run at three venues next month. here is info for the center for puppetry arts. if you are in atlanta area you should come out. here is link to the site:
http://www.puppet.org/perform/xpt11.shtml

what drives your creative process? what fuels you to create?

Human Beings are Amazing!

The pulse of my work is creative empowerment. I really, really want people to be better and to reach their highest potential. It gives me a real kick to see a person grow. My ultimate life goal is to reach my own highest purpose. The character Lady Terror is a direct reaction to feeling hopeless, but not hopeless enough to give up. The rage was turned to hope. The desperate turned to action. Hate to Love. When I rant on a soapbox, scream through a bullhorn, write a poem, connect with strangers on possibilities, become inspired by creative people and dream big- I am doing what I love. I have heard for years the cliche': Do what you love and the money will come. This is my new mantra. I have only just begin to actually believe in this cliche. For years, I have stumbled in and out of jobs that I hate and project/gigs that I LOVE. In the end, I am drawn back to the jobs I hate because I become desperate and worry about how I will pay bills and contribute to our household so we can all live a comfortable life. I am terrified of not having a consistent paycheck that I run back to the cubicle, only to be totally depressed, unhappy and feeling off my path. My goal is to release the fear enough so that I can see the possibilities out there. If I continue to do what I love, the money will come. (Repeat 3 times over and over again.) I manifest abundance. There will be enough.

One of my all time favorite creative and inspiring people is the artist/author SARK. I have been reading her wonderful creative guidebooks since 1997. I have been inspired by her thinking and cling onto her books each time I move, being careful to find a nice place for them on my bookshelf. As part of the journey with me, you must get to know her. It will make you smile. You will be inspired. Check out her work by clicking below. Meditate on goodness. What is holding you back?

Need to get away?  Get inspired with SARK's meaningful meditations in Magical Journeys with SARK!

Out of my Comfort Zone!

I enter this New Year with so much fire under my ass. I am being fueled by being employed in one of the worst jobs I have ever had in the history of my life. I have been working since I was 15 and truly believe that all work is honorable. I am grateful that I am actually working and receiving a paycheck - even though the paycheck is what I made in my first position out of college in 2000- I am still grateful. The small amount has allowed me to pay my car note, send our son to an amazing Montessori school and keep a roof over our heads. I am hopeful. But, I am also on fire to get towards my real career goals and to leave the stress or being micro-managed while making 150 dials a day saying the same thing to people who don't care. I am in the jungle of cubicleville and its not pretty. I think its hilarious that I am working in a call center. I actually hate phones when it comes to work. I love hands on teaching, project building and community work. Most of my careers have had me teaching youth, working in a major school district training teachers all over the city. I am usually not at a desk and instead in the community doing work.

The entire absurdity of my new position makes me believe that I was sent there for a reason. Sometimes the Creator and Universe send you into something that is such an absolute mess, that you have no choice but to rise above it quickly and with a renewed inspiration for getting back on the path to my life's purpose: theater, poetry, yoga, massage and community work. I was meant to empower others and it is what makes me truly happy.

The New Year is only a week deep and I have already started the process of movement. It is the first steps that get the ball rolling. I am rolling and visualizing myself daily living my dreams. I am excited for the following:

1. Finally applying and getting all my paperwork into Massage Therapy School. Come rain or high water I will be starting class April 2, 2011. It will happen.

2. Yoga as a way of life. I connected with a black yoga instructor here in Atlanta and look forward to taking classes with her. My goal is to commit to a home and studio yoga practice everyday for a year. Once the year is over I will start a certification class. I have a lot to learn and must create more discipline for my body and mind to survive a teacher training course. My goal is to teach yoga and create a teacher training program for inner city residents. In my hood back on the South Side of Chicago you could not find a yoga studio anywhere. In my opinion, yoga as a discipline can truly most benefit those living in high violence and under resources communities. We suffer high levels of stress, live in food and fitness desserts, so any healing art is needed. Yoga is for black people, even though its has been marketed to only high income, white communities. We must take the healing art back.

3. Experimental Puppetry Theater Festival at Center for Puppetry Arts.
I will be working with puppeteers to create a adult themed show with puppets. The festival runs in May 2011. Stay tuned. You should all come out in you are in Atlanta area.

4. Lady Terror Reigns Supreme and will bring more ranting and soapbox snapping. Just wait!!

So, what are you on fire about?

Lady Terror Re - Imagined

I have been in a re- invention period in my artistic life since I created the character "Lady Terror." Almost three years ago, while attempting to write through a huge case of writer's block, Lady Terror came through. I believe it was a culmination of years of rage and a super pissed off attitude about injustice and oppression that molded Lady Terror. Soon, I was ranting and screaming poetry through a real bullhorn and on a soapbox built just for me. Ranting became the means to solve social problems. The bullhorn became the desperate symbol of voice and empowerment.

I have been writing and performing poetry for over 10 years in the traditional sense. Write poem on paper. Read it on a mic. Sit down. Repeat. I love the simplicity of poetry and pride myself on my ability to express myself through words. But, as I grew as an artist the above ritual became to neat, clean and predictable. I longed for messy and surprising. I really longed for performance, spectacle and theater. I wanted to shake up the day and shine a bright light onto the issues truly destroying my community. To date I have installed the following art spectacles into the community:

1. Poetry reading marathon at Chicago's Largest Parade, Bud Biliken. I read the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks on a bullhorn for hundreds of passerby's. The lady Terror mission believes that reading and writing poetry is a healing tool that can spark imagination and change. Check some video footage:

2. Created a one night only poetry show i front of liquor stores all over the South Side of Chicago. The South Side, like other inner city communities, are lacking in creative resources. I brought the art to us by setting up small performance venues outside on sidewalks.

3. As part of damali ayo's project "National Day of Panhandling for Reparations" I begged for change for reparations downtown Chicago on State Street. For an entire afternoon I begged for the money due us after 400 years of slavery.

4. Yoga in the hood was one of my favorite stunts. As a protest against the inequalities that exist between white and black communities, I created mini yoga studios in the lobby of fast food establishments.

As I move into the New Year. I am excited about the opportunities for Lady Terror. I'm planning a stunt in honor on MLK, Jr. Birthday Celebration, developing my current one woman show "I Will Not Calm Down" and writing a new one, participating in a Experimental Puppetry Festival, submitting a proposal for a Street Festival with Flux Projects and creating volunteer opportunities to start back collaborating with young people. More soapboxes will be built and more bullhorns screamed through. I'm ranting in 2011. What about you? What are your creative and artistic hopes for the New Year?

Lets change our lives!

I have accepted my calling as a Life Coach. A friend finally gave me the title yesterday. I have always wanted to be a Life Coach but didn't know it was called life coaching. I just enjoy working with people and communities. I feel a pulling to support positive people. I want to see you reach your highest potential. I want to be better. We should all follow our passions. So as I "life coach" myself you can follow along with the exercises I assign myself. Let's collaborate!

I challenge you to create a vision board. Celebrate the Law of Attraction and read Martha Beck. I have heard good things about "Finding Your North Star" by Martha Beck. I have it on hold at the library and will start reading it over the Thanksgiving holiday break. Will you read it with me?

Balloons!

I have always LOVED balloons. For me, balloons represent party, celebration, ritual and the ultimate way to draw attention. Balloons make anything look festive and make you pay attention. I love spectacle. I like the surprising and random tidbits of life that make it interesting. I enjoy people who dress the way they want and speak what's on their mind. I think you truly have to be courageous and eccentric and a bit of a risk taker to fulfill your goals. At some point, you think, "I'm going all out. This will work." This is when the universe will hear you. You already have the answers. Real change will happen.
Balloons are a perfect symbol for the concept of "going all out." Next time you see balloons, grab one and tie it around your wrist. I dare you to walk around town. Make a fool of yourself. Be a scene. Pop it and startle someone into listening. Live your dreams. I hope this post inspires you to buy more balloons for birthdays or any day. Everyday is a celebration. Every day a blessing!