Art for Healing
How Arts Create Healthier Communities Click Here to View According to thousands of studies, researchers have determined that involvement in the arts can improve public health and promote healing from illness, as well as protect against such problems as cognitive decline, heart disease, anxiety and depression. Length: 6 Minutes See Also: Consider But the real secret to lifelong good health is …Let your body take care of you.– Deepak Chopra Succeed and Soar‘s Thrive! presents practices that can improve life. This post explores how creative activities [like cooking and gardening or dancing and writing] can help health and wellbeing. The PsychologyToday post “Creativity,” states, An act of creativity can be grand and inspiring, such as crafting a beautiful painting or designing an innovative company. But an idea need not be artistic or world-changing to count as creative. Life requires daily acts of ingenuity and novel workarounds; in this sense, almost everyone possesses some amount of creativity. How does creating art help? The PsychologyToday.com post “How Art Heals” explains that. To become more creative, first understand three, key brain networks. First is the default mode. It controls when daydreaming, resting, reflecting on the past and future. The second, the executive control network lets people, “plan, monitor, and execute their goals.” Finally, the brain’s large salience network detects, filters then determines, how to respond to events and ideas. “It scans for relevant signals, whether they contain sensory, cognitive, or emotional information.” “Eureka moments” are those amazing times when exceptional ideas arrive. It’s when a “blockbuster notion breaks through in a flash of insight that’s as unexpected as it is blazingly clear.” Why? While in restful, default mode [perhaps while washing dishes or bathing], the “conscious, methodological, concerted problem solving” brain fit random, ‘puzzle pieces’ together. To maximize these opportunities, the PsychologyToday “Creativity” post suggests, Definitely consider the Live Well Lived sketch journal offered with this post. Increase arts funding. Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould FordPresenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. This post’s resources:
Overcome Rejection 1st of 2: After
Consider Rejected pieces aren’t failures; unwritten pieces are. – Greg Daugherty Huffington Post reported that Dr. Seuss was so disappointed after 27 children’s book publishers rejected his first story, he was about to burn the manuscript when an old friend from Vanguard Press agreed to publish And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street. Imagine a world without a book called “too different” and “silly.” We may never have had Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in The Hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, What Was I Scared of? and Oh, The Places You’ll Go. Stephen King’ wrote four novels that were refused before Carrie was accepted. King didn’t mention how many rejections he received but ‘a book that’s inspired millions,’ Robert Pirsig’s Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was turned down 120 times. Writers Write reported Beatrix Potter ultimately published The Tale of Peter Rabbit herself. Chicken Soup for the Soul was snubbed 134 times. But the record holder must be William Saroyan. The author of The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze and The Trouble With Tigers claimed 7,000 refusals before selling his first short story. Rejection is part of life. For writers, perhaps more than most. J. K. Rowling fans know her Harry Potter story got the cold shoulder a dozen times. Editors thought the magical book was too long for young readers. Madeline L’Engle’s masterpiece A Wrinkle in Time was rejected 26 times, yet went on to win the Newberry Medal. Tony Hillerman’s writing reflects his admiration for indigenous people, especially the Navajo. But on his way to producing best-sellers, Hillerman was told to ‘get rid of the Indian stuff.’ Here’s what successful authors have said about being turned down: “I discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing. They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in his heart of hearts, ‘To hell with you.’“ – Saul Bellow “Every rejection is incremental payment on your dues that in some way will be translated back into your work.” – James Lee Burke “You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.” – Ray Bradbury Succeed and Soar! Shop Sandra’s Art on Onesies As well as tote bags, tee shirts, journals, puzzles, phone cases, ornaments, face masks, towels, blankets, cups, pillows, shower curtains and more. The high quality and unique Onesies produced by Fine Art America: Come in four sizes [6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months] Are 100% pre-shrunk cotton Offer choice of 12 colors [including white, gold, pink, red, Kelly green and more] Are machine washable Price: $26 CUSTOMIZE. Use tools with item to: Enlarge, reduce size of art Change placement of art and text Choose from twelve, onesie colors Buy Onesies Here [choose from 4 sizes] Shop All Art and Collections HERE. Thanks for your support!
Creativity Encouragements
You have a masterpiece inside you, you know. One unlike any that has ever been created, or ever will be. If you go to your grave without painting your masterpiece, it will not get painted. No one else can paint it. Only you. — Gordon MacKenzie For decades, I’ve gathered precious insights. Each one I read is like a breath of life. They lift my spirit and remind of the good we can do and marvelous things we can be. I hope this web site’s words and images uplift, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. I hope they gladden your heart. To send light into the darkness of men’s hearts – such is the duty of the artist. ~Schumann When Bach was asked how he thinks of so many new tunes, Bach is said to have answered, according to my version, “I have no need to think of them. I have the greatest difficulty not to step on them when I get out of bed in the morning and start moving around my room. ~Laurens Van der Post The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. –Aristotle Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together. ~John Ruskin Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge. They are chaotic, sometimes painful, sometimes contradictory, but they come from deep within us. And we must key into those feelings. … This is how new visions begin. –Audrey Lorde Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould Ford Beautiful, inspiring Succeed and Soar posters. Sizes from 8”x6.5” to the popular 30” x 23.5” Four Shape Options: Natural, Vertical, Horizontal and Square Printed on acid-free paper with archival inks Includes 1” white border to allow for future framing and mounting View All Posters Thanks for shopping!
Einstein 20: Awesome Quiet
The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind. – Albert Einstein This Tuesday, June 8 is Best Friends Day . On “Bestie” Day, why not make a three-hour, exclusive date with your BFF [Best Friend Forever]: You! The special date with yourself could include walks, a lovely meal, stroll through a museum and contemplating beautiful, natural settings as in this week’s awesome Featured Video [try to view on a desktop screen]. A precious part of these three hours is that you can shed expectations and agendas. Research has shown that those who allow themselves quiet time are better able to problem solve, get along with others and are freer from depression. Read more. Best Friends Day was started to show the most important people and pets in our lives just how much we adore them, and to memorialize those beloved best friends that are no longer by our sides. To honor that day, here are 10 inspiring ways to be a better friend. This Post’s Special Video **** Because I’m so concerned about conditions in this country, this Food for Thought is offered. Once upon a time, some believed that if the wealthiest paid fewer taxes, the money they kept would flow in ways that helped everyone. Human nature being what it is, the past thirty years have shown that Trickle Down economics has been a money boomerang. The wealthiest have used the income they kept to make themselves richer [see chart below]. Read more. In 1944, those with stratospheric earnings paid 94% of their income in federal taxes. Imagine the condition of this country’s dilapidated schools, roads, health care, educational resources and other troubling conditions if those making millions and billions a year were taxed as they were during the 1940s and 1950s. Remember, taxes are how local, state and the federal government provide services and protect citizens. Consider: Perhaps the concern with taxes should not be the amount but ROI [Return on Investment], how taxes are spent to keep citizens safe, well educated, healthy, pay government salaries and expenses, and improve everyone’s Quality of Life. Graphics reprinted with permission from EconomicsHelp.org. Blessings & best wishes, Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire
Einstein #4: Fun
Creativity is intelligence having fun. – Albert Einstein Because intelligence is how our minds gather and use information, consider: Vertical thinking is when we solve problems logically, like deciding to have more money by working longer and harder. Lateral thinking finds novel solutions to straightforward problems. For wanting more money, a lateral approach could start with deciding why a bigger bank account is desired. Perhaps a fun, satisfying life can be enjoyed without extra jobs. Bilateral thinking involves seeing two sides to situations [the light and the shadow] and balancing logical problem solving with imaginative possibilities. Bilateral thinking has been called a way of drawing, “from both sides of the brain in such a way that creativity is enhanced with one foot in Wonderland and the other solidly standing in the real world.” Read more. So, have fun today [tomorrow and forever]. Here are 17 ways to develop your creativity. Remember: February 17 is Random Acts of Kindness Day. Enjoy! ***** Fingernails are flattened claws. Men have nipples because all people start life as females. Nipples are remnant-reminders. People produce enough spit during a lifetime to fill two swimming pools, which is part of the uvula’s job. [The uvula is that pink bulb dangling at back of throat.] Source for these Shocking Truths. These pink dahlia petals are the original photograph from which this post’s Featured Art was adapted. For a limited time, receive special discounts. Save 10% on purchases over $50 with code winter2110. Save 15% on purchases over $100 with code winter2115. Save 20% on purchases over $150 with code winter 2120. Shop my ImageKind galleries. Experiencing awe could be another way of exercising the mind. I felt my brain doing calisthenics while watching this wonderful video. [4:30] Click to view.
Life Well Lived 9: Something That Wasn’t There Before
The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something [delightful] that wasn’t there before. Neil Gaiman As promised last week, here’s my incredibly easy Artisan Bread. Because I avoid wheat, these loaves were made with flours on hand: Cassava, Tapioca, Oat and Garbanzo] Extra yeast and water was added because these flours are heavier. My Artisan Bread has a focaccia-like texture. It’s definitely tasty with butter. Also with mayo and tomatoes. I’m looking forward to trying some vegetable hotdogs [purchased at Ikea, of all places]. . Artisan Bread is a forgiving, flexible bread that invites experimentation. So, have just finished baking mini loaves that have blue-cheese look given the spicy, cooked spinach I stirred in. Loaves that contain dates and dried apricots are about to leave my oven. I look forward to adding chopped nuts and seeds. Here’s the 4-minute PBS for Kids video that inspired this delicious, artistic endeavor. Here’s a printable recipe. Reply! Share your bread making adventure! Comment on this blog post. NOTE: The word delightful was added to Neil Gaiman’s quote because some things this incredibly imaginative author have created that weren’t there before have been pretty monstrous. If you’d like a good scare [friends of mine have been really spooked], listen to this 7-minute read of Gaiman’s short story, “Other People.” * While Social Distancing, Here Are Great Ways to: Stay creative Exercise [includes videos] Feel happier Make your own, natural disinfectants Please share. This Week’s Special Offer Each week, my Featured Art is offered at 25% off [plus any discounts offered by my Galleries]. Shop here. Thank you for visiting my galleries and for your purchases. They support Succeed and Soar. NOTE The original image was shot with a Nikon SLR camera using positive film. The transparency] was later digitalized. That JPEG file ‘was processed’ in Adobe PhotoShop Elements 14, achieving a painted effect via the Fresco filter. The color saturation and vibrance were then enriched.