5 Reasons I'm Thrilled About This New Book About Creativity

#1 – The Muse Is In: An Owner's Manual to Your Creativity is the third book to grace our planet by the out-of-this-world imagination of Jill Badonsky. (my mentor, friend, creativity coach, founder of Kaizen-Muse® Creativity Coaching and author) Her previous books include the life-transforming The Nine Modern Day Muses and a Body Guard and The Awe-manac - A Daily Dose of Wonder – essential reading for any creative type out there - but especially ones who need a reminder that creativity is important, who are plagued by inner critic voices in their heads, who are prone to procrastination or perfectionism or...wait a minute...that's 99% of creative types, isn't it? These books were written for us!

#2 – It's a user friendly owner's manual for your creativity! Like The Awe-manac, The Muse Is In is a book you don't have need to read from front to back. You can pick it up on any day of the year and digest a few creative nuggets of inspiration and encouragement. It's filled with interesting tidbits, thought-provoking quotes and fun creative prompts to set you on your way to enjoy your own creative process.

#3 – On the December 16th page (which happens to be my birthday), you'll find a quote about creativity there by yours truly, Jill Allison Bryan. How cool is that?

#4 – On the Thank You page, Jill was kind enough to include me and my fellow Master Kaizen-Muse® Creativity Coaches as well as lots of other really cool and special people who I am honored, surprised and tickled pink to be grouped with.

#5 – Next week, January 23rd, Jill has agreed to stop by here and share some tidbits about her fabulous new release - The Muse Is In: An Owner's Manual to Your Creativity. If ten or more of you leave your comments and questions for her here on my Creative Oasis blog, we'll do a drawing and one of you will win a copy of her new book. (she's cool that way)

I'm off to dive into the pages of what I can safely say is the only owner's manual in my life that I've ever actually looked forward to reading!

Hope to see you back here next week - January 23rd as Jill Badonsky's blog tour stops in for a visit.

Til then, all the best from my creative oasis to yours,
Jill

Creative Oasis Classes & Workshops – Ready to Live the Creative Life?

Craving Creative Fulfillment?

As the new year begins, Creative Oasis Coaching offers more ways than ever for you to learn and practice easy, effective ways to enjoy a creatively fulfilling life! These classes and workshops help you make the time and space for your creative passions – whatever they may be – even with your busy schedule!  They're also a great way to meet other interesting creative loving types who find it challenging to get to their creative interests as often as they'd like. (Sound familiar? You're not alone!)

Pre-registration is required for all classes and workshops. Space is limited to 8 people per session, so please register to reserve your space as soon as possible.

#1 – "PERMISSION TO BE CREATIVE 101" 
MINI-RETREAT

Sunday, January 27, 2013

10am – 3pm

$85 for CAC members

$115 for non-members

plus $10 materials fee 

(Please bring a sack lunch.)

Do you have a closet full of creative projects you haven't touched in ages? Do you long for the time to dive into creative endeavors – painting, writing, gardening, scrapbooking, dancing, singing –  in short, whatever energizes and delight you while adding joy to your life? This mini-retreat, set amongst the inspiring classrooms of the Creative Arts Center of Dallas, is another great introduction to Creative Oasis Coaching and share great ways for you to get back on track with your creative passions!

Location:

Creative Arts Center of Dallas

2360 Laughlin Dr.

Dallas, TX 75228

For more info or to register, please contact the Creative Arts Center by calling 214-320-1275 or visiting their website at http://www.creativeartscenter.org.

#2 – "LIVING THE CREATIVE LIFE" 
WORKSHOP          

Saturday, February 2, 2013

1:00 – 4:30pm

$99 

(includes creative supplies and handouts)

A great introduction to Creative Oasis Coaching. We'll explore fun and effective ways to make more time for creativity in your life. Writing, photography, cooking, painting, singing, gardening, scrap-booking…whatever your heart longs to do, you’ll be introduced to unique tools and techniques to help you easily enjoy the creative satisfaction you desire. 

Location:

Pigment School of the Arts

4605 West Lovers Lane

Dallas, TX  75209

For more info or to register, please email creativeoasiscoach@me.com.

#3 – "HOW TO LIVE A CREATIVE LIFE" 
6-WEEK CLASS

6-week course dedicated to weaving creativity into your busy life          

Thursdays – February 21 through April 4, 2013 (no class March 28th)

6:30 to 8pm

$275, plus $15 materials fee

                           

A more detailed exploration of and opportunity to practice creativity coaching methods designed to help you to experience more creative satisfaction. No matter what your interest – blogging, photography, cooking, writing, collage, watercolor, needlework, gardening ­– whatever creative expression you love, you’ll learn and practice innovative tools and techniques to help you enjoy the creative fulfillment you crave. 

Location:

Artistic Gatherings

9440 Garland Rd., # 138

Dallas, TX  75218

For more info or to register, please email creativeoasiscoach@me.com

Are you ready to stop making excuses and start making the time and space in your life for creative fulfillment? Then sign up today for the Creative Oasis Coaching class or workshop of your choice, and take the first small step to turning that dream into a reality.

Email me at creativeoasiscoach@me.com and reserve your space today!

All the best from my creative oasis to yours,

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan

Founder of Creative Oasis Coaching

Certified Master Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach

Singer/Songwriter

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

Chinese Lantern Festival First Trip of the New Year

Join the Creative Oasis Day Trippers 

for our first trip of 2013.

Reserve your space by emailing creativeoasiscoach@me.com.

Where:

Chinese Lantern Festival 

Fair Park

1121 First Avenue

Dallas, TX 75210

 

When:

Thursday, January 3, 2012

6 pm

Cost:

$15 - Day Trippers fee

(payable by cash or check to Creative Oasis Coaching)

plus

$14.25 - Chinese Lantern Festival ticket

(you can purchase your ticket on-line or at the gate)

info@chineselanternfestival.com

Bright Lights of Chihuly Nights

For the last Creative Oasis Day Trippers outing of 2012 we spent a crisp, autumn evening at the Dallas Arboretum exploring Chihuly Nights. But first, we began with a festive picnic of yummy appetizers, wine, chocolate and laughter. (Isn't that a great way to start any evening?)

Sips and Nibbles to Start the Night

We were going to visit each sculpture and create our own name for it before seeing the real title. 

I named this one "Electric Chiquita"

That was a fine idea until the sun went down. It quickly became apparent that trying to carry our glasses and clipboards and see in the dark to write was not going to work as I'd planned. 

Clipboard Wine Holders

No worries. Turns out our clipboards made great wine glass holders. We must have looked very official with our clipboards because people stopped us to ask questions about the sculptures. When we told them that we were having a creative field trip they seemed to love the idea. 

There were obviously lots of photo opportunities. In fact, everywhere you looked people were taking pictures with cell phones and cameras. Of course, not one photo I've seen captures the magic of actually being there in person. (especially if you're lucky enough to share the experience with fabulous women like these!)

Having visited the exhibit both during the day and at night, I'd have to say that though these glass sculptures are amazing anytime, my favorite was the night. 

Mist Magic

It felt like we were walking through an enchanted fairy garden.

Anything could happen...like glass fireworks exploding over your head!

Another inspiring, fun outing with Creative Oasis Day Trippers. I wonder what creative adventures we'll have in 2013? Looking forward to whatever they may be!

If you live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and would like to know about upcoming Creative Oasis Day Trippers evets, drop me a line at creativeoasiscoach@me.com and I'll keep you posted.

Until next time, all the best from my creative oasis to yours,

Jill

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

CRAVE Dallas Has Arrived

Creative Oasis Coaching is proud to be featured on pages 52 and 53

CRAVE Dallas 2nd edition features Creative Oasis Coaching

What is CRAVE?

CRAVE is a savvy lifestyle guide devoted entirely to local businesses owned by women. CRAVE Dallas will direct you to some of the best local spots – boutiques, spas, cafes, stylists, fitness studios, personal services and more. And you'll meet the inspired, dedicated women behind these exceptional enterprises.

If you'd like to purchase a copy for yourself or for a great Christmas gift for your girlfriends, email me at creativeoasiscoach@me.com and I'll send you a one ASAP. Each book is only $20, and I'll ship as many as you'd like to order for the flat shipping fee of $3.00. (*Be sure to check out the Creative Oasis Coaching coupon in the back for a special offer that adds one free coaching session to any package purchased.)

Personally, I found several businesses that I intend to check out immediately the very first time I flipped through this gorgeous book. The high quality photography captures the spirit of each business so beautifully. I'm truly honored to be featured with all of these inspiring women who are making their dreams come true with heartfelt passion and authenticity.

I had the opportunity to meet many of them at the CRAVE book release party and heard some amazing stories of how these businesses began and dreams for the future. I love supporting local business, and CRAVE makes it easy to do just that.

Hats off to Jenn Sprinkle of Jenn Sprinkle Creative for organizing this 2nd edition of CRAVE. Be sure to check out her fabulous selection of unique designs for journals, iPhone cases, posters and more!  http://shop.jennsprinkle.com

photo by Katie Cassidy of www.kcassidyphotography.com

Drop me a line at creativeoasiscoach@me.com to place your order today. 

All the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

Time Travel to Paris Late 1800's

Georges de Feure, Paris-Almanach, 1895, color lithograph, Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Milton F. Gutglass, Photo by John Glembin via www.dallasmuseumofart.org

Last month the Creative Oasis Day Trippers traveled back in time to the bawdy, beautiful, decadent decades of the late 1800's of Paris. A fascinating Dallas Museum of Art gallery talk given by the curator of "Posters of Paris: Toulouse-Lautrec and his Contemporaries," Dr. Heather McDonald, transported us to a bygone era combining titillating anecdotes with historical context to bring the iconic posters and their stories to life.

photo of Dr. Heather McDonald via www.dallasartnews.com

The exhibit envelopes you in its cozy, darkened rooms and delights combining many celebrated images with lesser-known lithographs of the time. Attending a Gallery Talk or using the audio truly enriches the sumptuous visual experience with fascinating stories of Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as other artists  and celebrities of the late 1800's in and around Paris.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Aristide Bruant in his Cabaret, 1893, color lithograph, Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley, Photo by Larry Sanders

Once you woven through the rooms filled with lithographs you'll find yourself in a poster-making studio complete with all of the supplies you need to create your very own poster. The Dallas Museum of Art provides such fun and inspiring hands-on experiences these days that add a wonderful interactive dimension to the museum-going experience.

Wall of posters created by DMA visitors 

I created my "Stella" poster in about five minutes or less. (Hurray for the DMA keeping it Kaizen - lots of creative joy in a small amount of time!)I'm thinking about using it as the base for a collage piece.

Jill's "Stella" Poster

The exhibit, Posters of Paris:  Toulouse – Lautrec and His Contemporaries will run through January 20, 2013. How would it be to share the experience with a friend or relative as a holiday gift? What might you create with your own poster?

I plan on returning at least once myself to spend more time soaking in the visuals and imagining what life was like in the dance halls and cabarets of the day. Speaking of which...a bit of wonderful serendipity (which many of you know I refer to as hee-mee-shee-mees) happened the day of the gallery talk.

That evening I went home to set up my newly purchased Kindle and I downloaded the first book on my wishlist which happened to be  "Sacré Bleu" by Christopher Moore which stars Henri Toulouse – Lautrec in an humorous, historical fiction surrounding the death of Vincent van Gogh. Many of the interesting tidbits shared during the Gallery Talk were referrenced with the first two chapters of the book. I never would have known they were part of the historical tale rather than the fiction had I missed the talk. I'm enjoying the book so much that I'm down to savoring the last few pages and should be finished tonight. So fun to be introduced to a new writer in this sychronistic way. If you're not put off my salty language and a bit of low-brow humor (which I found wickedly funny in the context) I highly recommend this fantastical romp through time and art!

Until next time, all the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,
Jill

Culitavting Abundance - guest post by author Brian Leaf

I'm happy to introduce you to Brian Leaf, author of the recently released "Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi." Here are his thoughts on cultivating abundance. Love the confidence/dating analogy! All the best from my creative oasis to yours,  Jill

Cultivating Abundance

We’ve all experienced it. In our most pathetic, clingy, desperate hour of need, the Universe delivers … absolutely nothing.

It seems a sick joke, but, in fact, whatever force or God runs the show seems not to respond to disempowered displays of self-pity. She seems, instead, to respond generously to empowered non-attachment (which reminds me quite a bit of dating in my twenties – I always seemed to do best when I was already feeling attractive and confident.)

So why? Why does God (and dating) reward confidence? Why is it that when I am freaking out, feeling that I will just die if I don’t hear from my agent, that I hear only crickets? But that when I get to my cushion to meditate, and when I let go, releasing to faith, that I return to my inbox with a fresh book deal awaiting me?

Here’s the answer. This place where we live is a gymnasium where our souls do soul push-ups, and since self-pity does nothing to build these spiritual muscles, it is discouraged. It is our path to find our true selves while here on Earth. To drop into our hearts and souls. To experience that we, ourselves, are each part of God. Claiming the opposite, that we are helpless and alone, is incorrect and ineffective.

When we are lost in clinging and self-pity, we’re like toddlers tantruming for chewing gum. And God, like a loving parent, won’t give in to something that isn’t healthy or safe for us.

Nice idea, right? But how do you get confident and become grounded in the seat of your true self? The answer: meditation, of course. Meditation is the practice, over time, of switching from indentifying with our thoughts and transient emotional states, to identifying instead with our deeper selves. And when we are connected to our deeper selves, if even for only moments, we can see more clearly and choose the path that works out our Karma and brings us toward freedom.

When we get grounded, resting in the true seat of our selves, in our authentic nature, seeing clearly and choosing that path of vitality and freedom, energy flows unbidden, the world falls at our feet, and God unlocks the arc.

Brian Leaf, M.A. is the author of Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi. He draws upon twenty-one years of intensive study, practice, and teaching of yoga, meditation, and holistic health. Visit him online at http://www.Misadventures-of-a-Yogi.com.

Based on the new book Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi ©2012 by Brian Leaf.  Published with permission of New World Library http://www.newworldlibrary.com

Glad to see Brian made it to the great state of Texas!