New Space

New Space
You will love the view!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

A Life Enhancing Opportunity!!!

                                                  Photo by Amy Kartmann

No, it isn't usually so obvious as in this photo my friend Amy took, but I do believe that all of nature speaks to us and brings us messages for enhancing our lives. I would like to help you experience this first hand:  that every life experience is your teacher if you are aware enough to notice.  This is the subject of my workshop:  Awakening Your Creative Spirit.

This workshop is designed to give you techniques for honing your awareness and connecting with your creative energies.  So whether you want to better express yourself through one of the arts or simply wish to make your life more in tune with your authentic self, this workshop is for you!

Tools utilized for this workshop:  meditation/visualization; drawing; painting; and writing.  No previous experience needed.

I promise you a day that is life enhancing.

Workshop cost:  $125 (all supplies included)

DATE:  SATURDAY OCTOBER 16 IN THE STUDIO AT 110 MILLBRIDGE CT. ST. PETERS.
Contact me to register:  (636) 441-3828 or hokseda@charter.net

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Opening This Sunday, October 3, 1:00 to 5:00, For Jan's Solo Exhibit At American Bounty Restaurant In Washington, MO

Artful Journal Workshop: Great Fun and Great Creativity




We had great weather and a full house for the Artful Journal Workshop on Saturday.  At first the participants were a bit overwhelmed with the amount of materials and new techniques, but once everyone settled in to work on their own journal pages the creativity began to flow.  Everyone agreed it was a very creative and productive day and that a second workshop should follow soon.

So, again, let me know by emailing me at hokseda@charter.com if you are interested in participating in the next workshop!  No date is set as yet.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The Spiral, Symbol of the Journey of Life



                                Photo by Garic Groenemann   Irish Spiral

For mankind the spiral has always been a compelling shape. Why does it have a positive meaning for every culture that ascribes a meaning to it? Perhaps it is because we, on this tiny planet whirling around one of 100 billion suns, can call a spiral galaxy home.

The spiral has found its way into the art of almost all cultures, from ancient primitive rock carvings on all continents to today's corporate logos. They show up in Celtic art, native American petroglyphs, Nazca earthworks, Arabic architecture, Japanese rock gardens, Hindu spiritual texts, Australian aboriginal paintings and African art. Surprisingly, no religious or political group has claimed exclusive rights to the spiral. It remains non-sectarian, or maybe pan-sectarian. The spiral belongs to everyone and excludes no one.

In various mythologies the spiral is a globally positive symbol. Here are some of the meanings that have been attributed to the spiral:

* Carl Jung, the famous psychiatrist, said that the spiral is an archetypal symbol that represents cosmic force.

* In ancient Britain, the spiral seems to have been associated with the feminine as the doorway to life.

* It has been associated with the cycles of time, the seasons, the cycle of birth, growth, death, and then rebirth. The cycles of time and nature are the cycles of life.

Some consider the spiral a symbol of the spiritual journey. It is also considered to represent the evolutionary process of learning and growing. It seems that life doesn't proceed in a straight line. The path of life more closely resembles a spiral. We seem to pass the same point over and over again but from a different perspective each time. This is often referred to as “coming full circle.” To walk and then stand in the center of a spiral or labyrinth has been a psycho-spiritual exercise for centering the consciousness.

The spiral stands for coming into being:

The spiral shows up often in nature - in hurricanes and tornados, in the pattern of seeds in a sunflower, in the growing tips of ferns, in the pattern that leaves grow on a stem, in the shape of a nautilus shell, and, as a helix, the shape of the DNA molecule.

For me personally the spiral represents finding deep peace in the midst of the constant chaos of life.  My students tease me about how often I talk about "going with the flow" of life.  And, it is true, that I see life as a river, much like in Herman Hesse's novel Siddhartha.  In that river the surface is dramatically affected by the crises of flooding or wind or downpours of rain.  Yet, also in that river are deep, deep pools where one can drop to the bottom and be totally unaffected by the traumas taking place on the surface.  I visualize that settling to the bottom of a deep pool as allowing myself to descend into the center point of a spiral.  Here is not a place of escape, for you can clearly observe what is taking place, and the furthest reaches of your spiral float outward like tentacles or antenna keeping you connected. But you can also remain centered and calm regardless.

So I like to think of the spiral as the basic symbol for the journey of life and at the center, like the center of a great hurricaine, you can find your center, your peace.  That peaceful center is my wish for you today as we begin fall of 2010.



Friday, September 17, 2010

ANTICIPATING THE NEXT DOOR


Today I have had a lot of errands to run.  It is an incredible day, sunshine and soothing temperatures, and I feel and smell fall in the freshness of the air, the crunch of pin oak leaves under my feet....I've had time to think about the fact that this week has flown by without a post to the blog (mostly because I am feeling the need to paint, paint, paint) which led me to consider the new painting series I am working on called "Doors."

Doors fascinate me.  One opens and I am so excited for the opportunity it brings.  But sometimes it slams shut before I am prepared to accept it; then, still another opens.  On and on this has happened throughout my life.

Sometimes a door is there, unlocked, waiting to be opened.  It takes some decision, some determination, some action on my part.  It was the move from the Foundry, the door I chose to close there, that started me on this series of paintings.  With that closing was the knowing that working in this new studio was to open some new doors.

So, today I am very aware of doors:  the ones that have opened me to amazing experiences, the ones that have slammed shut bringing to me most terrible pain until I could see it had to shut in order to find the next to open. I find myself between doors in some sense.  Perhaps fall brings the sense of closure, winter will give me hibernation and rest, so that in the spring I can reach out, pull away the rusted lock that only appears to block my way through the next door. It is then that I will walk in to the new experiences that await me.

This door, the one I am waiting for, knowing without doubt it is to open, has been there waiting for me.....waiting for a long time.  That is why this photo taken in Ireland by my son Garic really speaks to me. I have been growing toward this door for a very long time....for all of my life.

I don't mean to sound so mysterious; I cannot tell you what lies within the door I am moving toward.  All I can tell you is that it will be exactly the right door at the right time.

The painting I am working on presently is titled:  "Door With a Curtain."  I realize this is because I cannot yet see what lies behind this door.  I simply am enjoying the living of the anticipation.  I promise to share it with you when the time comes.

Until then, don't miss the doors opening for you.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Get a New Perspective on Your Life Through Life Coaching


I spent this past weekend (Labor Day) in Cincinnati with all my children together.  The weather was fall perfect.  When I first arrived, Jaden and Skye, my grandsons (7 and 3) were so excited to show me they could climb some of the trees in their yard.  You could see that three feet off the ground was such a high for them.  It brought back many memories for me of climbing trees when I was growing up.  I climbed every tree I could manage in my yard and in the yard of my grandparents.  I also climbed many trees in the woods surrounding my house.  I would sit for hours in one of those trees wondering at the view.  From up there I got a totally new perspective on what was then my world.  Sometimes I would become a circus performer hanging and swinging from grapevines that hung from the trees; other times my brother, cousins and I would climb high in a sapling until it began to bend wildly toward the ground.  That new perspective allowed my imagination to fly. 
                                                                                                                                                              
A different perspective on the world, on life is sometimes exactly what we need in order find the motivation and the inspiration to move beyond some stuckness or some limitation in our lives.  This is the excitement of Life Coaching.  It does exactly that.....gives you a different perspective on your life, helps you identify what is keeping you stuck or limiting you, and helps you to move forward to what you really want in your life.

I share this in order to ask that you share the potential of life coaching with anyone you think could really benefit from it.  So many people are discouraged, depressed, stuck or just not living up to their potential.  Yet, we always have choices.  Sometimes we just cannot see that we do.

My Life Coach training is through The Institute for Life Coach Training.  I know how to ask the right questions in order to help YOU find the answers right for you.

Friday, September 10, 2010

ABUNDANCE: A Preview Of Work In The American Bounty Exhibit


                                         "Between A Rock And A Hard Place"

                                          "By Day"

                                         "By Night"

"Crossing Kansas"


                  

Important Notice: Change of Date for Opening at American Bounty

In order to accomodate American Bounty Restaurant
the date for my opening reception has been changed.
Please note and mark your calendars as I hope to see
you there:

               Open Reception:  Jan Groenemann
                           ABUNDANCE
                       Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010
                 American Bounty Restaurant
                       430 West Front Street
                       Washington, Missouri
                        from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Mellow Musings.....


   As I walked into my studio this morning, picked up my pen and began to journal, I realized I had allowed this week to get so busy that I had neglected this for a few days.  When I do neglect to journal I am not quite of the same awareness in my day.  Somehow, saying a conscious hello to flowering lilies floating on sun-sprinkled pond, talking to the fishes (Heloise, Abelard and St. Francis), acknowledging how simply good it feels to breathe and stretch--to be alive--and being grateful--these things awaken me more, not just to the day but to "joie de vivre."

This morning, though still summer warm, there was that scent of fall on the gentle breeze that played the chimes in my garden.  For me fall is a time for hikes in the woods, biking on the Katy trail, and workshops.
The Artful Journal workshop is filled for Sept. 25, but if you are interested in this workshop do let me know, as I will be organizing another one at a later date.

I also want to remind you of the opening of my exhibit, "Abundance," at American Bounty Restaurant in Washington, MO on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2:00 to 5:00 PM.  This is a wonderful time of year to take a drive in the country, stop in and say hello at my opening, and enjoy sipping some wine at one of the beautiful wineries in the area.

If my post this morning seems a bit mellow, it is because September brings me to a mellow mood.  As we enter the fall of the year I find myself instrospecting about the year thus far.  For me it has been a year of major, yet meaningful change.  I am excited to be back to doing more workshops.  My artwork feels more inspired, and so many things seem to be just flowing.  I feel at peace and so very grateful.

This week, my daughter-in-law, Renee Groenemann, Growth Director at Grace Tree Studio in Cincinnati, sent a contract to me for retail items they will be carrying in their gift shop.  She asked for an inventory of the work and an explanation of how it would be "A Purchase With Conscience." I found this a very thought provoking question.  For me doing anything with "conscience" means doing something that supports my deepest beliefs.
Here is my response:

"Art speaks from the very core of the artist, and those who resonate with a work of art are connecting with that artist's soul.  So if you connect with my art to the degree that you want to take it home and live with it, you have a conscious recognition of that connection......it is here, in this deep place where we are all ONE.  Here we understand that to support another is also to support ones self.  If my work touches you on this level then certainly your purchase of my art is supporting me on that same deep level......therefore, it is a purchase with conscience."

May you experience this beautiful day with a fullness of conscience.