Art Blog - June Maffin

Have been invited to be Theme Speaker at a National Conference in September so suggested participants bring a Journal as we'll be doing some Creative Spirituality Journaling over the weekend. But most don't "journal" yet so don't have a Journal. What did I do but suggest they get a small group together and I'd teach them how to create a simple Journal! Huh? Problem was - I'd never made a Journal. But, thanks to Bev Allen for her encouragement from afar, now I have. I'm calling it the Pocket Journal : one signature, leather cover, embellishments if desired, really simple to make and fits in a pocket/purse. ;-) Love the philosophy of little children's book The Little Engine That Could: "I think I can, I think I can - I did!" And, I did… Continue reading… 1 comment

I've just returned from setting-up my first showing of the Soulistry "MirrorMeditations." What a morning! The local library gifted local artists with an invitation to hang their artwork for a full month last fall. At that time, a conversation began within me --- Do you consider yourself to be an artist? if so --- will you accept this invitation? If so ... what will you hang/show? ... how much will you price each item? ... what will you 'name' each piece? ... are the MirrorMeditations "art" or is the library expecting watercolour/oil/acrylic on canvas/paper? The questions I've had since the possibility entered my thoughts last fall have been endless… Continue reading… 1 comment

Sunny. It's a name that suits my friend well. Her easy, friendly manner encourages smiling responses in those she meets. Her patient, open acceptance of others, her loving nature and grace blesses those who encounter her. She brings sunshine in her very step. Yes, Sunny is well named. Each time I encounter Sunny, I find myself learning something because Sunny is a gifted teacher who by example, teaches a simple lesson: "Take each day as it comes, appreciate it as gift and play a little!" Sunny embodies the saying of the Jewish Rabbi, Joshua Heschel, who wrote that "Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy" and she points to the truth of the saying that "Yesterday was the past. Tomorrow is the future. Today is a gift, and that is why it is called the present… Continue reading… 0 comments

The ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu was reputed to have said "Nurturing your love is like tending a small garden. If you keep pulling up the plants to see if the roots are growing, you will not harvest anything." Over the years, I have come to recognize the importance of self-nurture and that regardless of what/who the 'love' is (Lao Tzu's quote), when we care for and encourage the growth and development (of another, ourselves, our art, our vocation), the result is self-nurture. How often have I said/thought "I'm not an artist." "I can't draw." "I can't ..." only to realize that the more emphasis I put on the negative, the less likely it would be that I would cultivate my artistic and creative soul… Continue reading… 1 comment