Though I am not a proponent of inclement weather, I do love the morning after a good rain storm. There is crispness to the air and clarity to the morning sky and the sun seems to be more radiant than usual.

This morning is such a morning. I awoke from the world of slumber to the world of waking dream time around 3:30 am; this seems to be the time of day the muse wish to play lately. It is now 5:30 am, I have just returned to my bed to try and capture a couple more hours of slumber time before acknowledging my day ahead. Today, I need to gather those things I will be taking with me on my trip to Newport, RI next Friday morning. But for now, I listen to the birds beginning to call the world awake as the sky begins to lighten and the crispness of the new day is at hand.

I am thankful for the awareness the muse have brought to me this morning as I drift back to the land of slumber.

Classes & Workshops

Last evenings workshop Rediscovering the Muse Within, held at Craft Akron Art Studio (in the valley), went so well, we have scheduled another.

Check out the Creativity Workshops page above for details.

Will also be adding another page later this week posting all my future workshops. I will update the new page as classes and workshops are added.

Thanks for checking in -- Deb

Rediscovering The Muse Within

Just posted a workshop I will be leading this Wednesday, July 14, 2010

at Craft Akron (in the valley) in Akron, OH.

Please take a look at my Creativity Workshops Page for more details.

The Muse at Play in My Life

Tuesday’s mail brought the awaited envelope. The class schedule and supply list for the Zentangle Master Class I will be attending the first week of August in Newport, RI. Maria Thomas, letter artist and co-founder of Zentangle, Inc, addresses every envelope as though it is a commissioned piece of artwork. How special it feels to receive such a gift. How special it must be for the postal people to deliver such gifts.

I am excited and nervous about attending this event. It has recently occurred to me that since attending my first Certified Zentangle Teacher training last October, that I have somehow joined the ranks in being called an artist!? I had never considered myself an artist, thinking this to pompous a title to endear to myself I guess. However, it seems to have come to pass that my life has taken the path known as artist.

Verlin, my beloved life partner and husband has continued to tell me over the past 15 years we have been together that I truly am an artist. It’s just that I can not seem to wrap my head around the term. He explained to me the difference between and artist and a technician is the ability to do improvisation. He says a technician does not create outside of a specific step by step instruction process, and an artist begins with the same basic framework and step by step process but then diverges from there to create something that appears to resemble the beginners’ process but takes on an entire life of its own from there.

It is this process he points out that I do in everything I do; from my massage techniques to my culinary skills. So, it appears the Muse of art has taken over my life recently and is filling me with the need to explore more along the avenues of zentangle art.

So, this week I ordered fine paint brushes & pen nib holders, things I associate with “artists’ tools” to be put to use by my hands before long. I try to contain my excitement and stay in the present moments so as not to miss what is given to me daily by the Muse alive in my life today – I await my departure to Newport with curiosity about being and artist or muse myself.

Today is the new moon/solar eclipse day, a time to explore new possibilities regarding one’s identity in the world at large. So today, I will begin to explore and acknowledge my identity in the world as an artist.

Ideal Protein Workshop

Yesterday evening we held an information gathering workshop for the Ideal Protein Weight Reduction Program at our office at the Ridgewood Center Wellness Group in the Copley/Fairlawn area.

I belong to a BNI group that meets on Tuesday mornings in the Montrose area of Akron, OH. One of the members had been participating in the Ideal Protein program for about 4 weeks prior to telling anyone. After dropping 20+ pounds, he decided to "come out" about his decision to partake of the weight reduction program. His dramatic reduction in such a short period of time lead to several others in the group being profoundly interested thus prompting the information gathering workshop.

The usual way I introduce people to the Ideal Protein weight reduction program is through one to one meetings. This is a time consuming process as it takes approximately 2 hours to explain the history of the company and the process behind the weight loss program. There is a detailed client health history to be filled out and reviewed prior to beginning the program. So, it was nice to be able to introduce the information and the process to a group of 6 people at once.

The information workshop format is the preferred intoduction format used by the Ideal Protein Company. It really is a much better time management tool. I just need to be more diligent in establishing a set time to hold these types of workshops. So, yesterday I decided to begin holding information gathering workshops for the Ideal Protein Weight Reduction Program and Life Style choice on a monthly basis.

This weekend, I will be creating schedules for the up coming couple of months incorporating all the coming workshops I offer. Watch the posts on this and the other pages to see what is coming.

Creative Workshops - Zentangle

"Zentangle® is simple to understand and easy to enjoy —
even if you are convinced you are not an artist.

With Zentangle®, you can always explore
new areas of experience and insight.

Zentangle® is not only easy and enjoyable,
but also profound and uplifting."