Living Bigger
Maybe it’s the events of the past couple of years, or the realization that I have passed the halfway point of my life, but I want to live a bigger life. I’m not talking about money, power or material gain. The opportunities that excite me are the ones that push me to be better, to help others and to do the work required for personal and creative growth.
This year I had the opportunity to teach a cohort of young adults in a Youth Corps program. Using my own book, I focused on helping them grow personal habits that would support their success. It was rewarding, and it’s an example of living bigger. Extending beyond myself and impacting the lives of others in ways that are unique to my skillset. The ripples the students create from what they learned about themselves will be farther reaching than anything I may have helped them achieve. This blog post is not aimed at marketing the book. It’s just some of my thoughts about expanding my positive impact in ways that benefit others and feels fulfilling to me. If you are interested in helping teenagers and young adults experience more success, you can check out the book here.
Another opportunity was the decision to donate my artwork to an organization who’s mission is to help children living through traumatic situations. I’ve donated my artwork before. I pick a piece and then it becomes part of an auction and voila, the organization benefits. But this donation was more meaningful in its subject matter. Rather than just offering a piece of my art, I created this art for the sole purpose of donating it and the proceeds from the series to help others. I’m happy to say that the “Little Pink Houses” is finished, framed and ready for exhibit. It will be on display at The ARTery Gallery in Milford, PA later this week, as well as on my website. The proceeds will be given to Ginnie’s House. You can learn more about them here.
You can see the series here. John Mellencamp fans join me when I say Ain’t that America home of the free, yeah Little Pink Houses, for you and me.
Finally, for you fellow art quilters and makers, I have made a couple of videos about how I mount and prepare my art quilts for framing. If you make anything with some height that you want to frame, or if you have some heirloom pieces of quilts or textiles that you want to preserve and display, you may find these videos useful.
As always, thanks for joining me on the blog and feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. If you know someone who might find value in the information and videos I share here, please send them this link so they can sign up for my newsletters. Thanks and have a creative day!
