Professional Troublemaker The Fear-Fighter Manual By Luvvie Ajayi Jones

 

Professional Troublemaker, The Fear-Fighter Manual

By Luvvie Ajayi Jones

 

This book came across my desk via two of my favorite people: Elizabeth Gilbert and Marie Forleo. 

And when two people who I admire so much are saying they are going to interview Luvvie or have interviewed her on Marie TV; my attention is captured.  Marie's segment is a funny engaging one with Luvvie about her new book.  And Elizabeth Gilbert's is coming up on April 8th on Instragram.

I got the book out of our local library.  What a stroke of luck!  And I read the whole book.  Now I'll let you know a little secret: reading a whole book is a big deal for me.  It's not that I can't read; though I have a bit of dyslexia that causes the letters to look a little backwards and switched and makes reading a bigger project for me.  I really enjoy audio books and spoken word.  This book is not there yet.  And I read it, as I rested on the couch, iced my broken wrist--more about that next week--and took time to chill.  

Friends, chilling in not my most popular mode of operation--I'd rather be dancing, hiking a trail, making art in my studio, writing, hanging with friends and family--you get the picture.  So when I'm reading, my body gets wiggly. Deep breath and read on.

Here are a few reasons you may want to read this book: find out more about this amazing human Luvvie Ajayi Jones, her life as a Nigerian born human who landed in the USA at 9 years old.  She shares about her amazing grandmother; her challenges: doing a Ted talk and how to go for the biggest passions of your life.  She is confident, loud, joyful, and a good troublemaker!

Go get her book!

 

Embrace Change, Dream

 This quilt was called the Orange quilt; it's new name is 

Embrace Change, Dream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This wall quilt is filled with color and interesting shapes.  

It has painted fabric, text, machine drawing.

Hand written text in the sun:

Jump for Joy, Create, Dream , Breathe, 

Embrace Change, Radiate Positivity, Inspire, 

Rest, Choose Kindness, Be Happy

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." 

                                                         Mahatma Gandhi

Here's a picture of the stitching that's inside the quilt 

now; it is so cool, I wanted you to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you could add some words to make your life more 

full of passion, what would they be?

This art quilt is currently showing at the Lanesboro Arts Center.

Know Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Know Life gets it's title from the Vincent Van Gogh quote, 

"The way to KNOW LIFE is to Love  many things." 

This quote resonates with me; I love the arts: music, dance, 

theatre, visual arts, film, spoken word, poetry, literature and 

writing of all sorts.  All the arts enrich our lives and fill us up.

We need the arts in times like these when some of our ways 

to connect with others are more limited. 

Here's how this art quilt came together.  I live in SE Minnesota 

with lots of bluff land surrounding me and the Mississippi River 

flows a few blocks from my house.  I appreciate this land so much 

for its raw beauty and how the light lands on it to create 

a new image every day and in every season.

Here's an image of the stitch drawing close up.  

The bit of blue stitching represents water.

This close up is the pop of color with yellows 

and greens and a variety of thread colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the text with a white paint pen before I stitched 

over the text.  I decided that I'd stitch over the 

writing to pop the color more.

Signed and dated 2-2021 with gold pen.

Back of the quilt with a hanging device and card 

with details about the quilt.  It's interesting to see all the 

texture created with the machine drawing.

This art quilt is currently showing at the Lanesboro Arts Center in Lanesboro, Minnesota.

Fill Up

 

Fill Up is an art quilt using hand dyed fabrics, repurposed fabrics of velvet and embroidery stitching, text that is stitched over and text that is written with pigma pens and machine quilting that I call machine drawing.

Words that are stitch drawn:

Celebrate

Rise

You Got This

 

 

 

 

 

In the hand dyed fabric is text that is drawn reads: Fill up with all that feeds your being.  Making, creating, dancing, writing, cooking, caring for people, caring for the land...

Color, light, movement, joy overflowing.

What words would you use to create the life that you desire?  Go after it.  Share in the comments, if you like.

This art quilt is currently showing at the Lanesboro Arts Center in Lanesboro, Minnesota.

Love is in the Air

 February 14 is soon.  I love all the hearts, flowers, chocolates, poetry and sharing.  

Here's a photocopy of an old fashioned Valentine glued on red paper.  I added the black & white checkered paper at the bottom and the cats punched out of the paper on the left side.

This heart is multiple hearts cut of different colors.  The letters for Love, xoxo heart and small striped heart are stickers.

Puppy love--an old fashioned valentine with heart punches.

Water color painted paper with soft heart and love stickers.

Old fashioned valentines courtesy of the Winona History Center. Paper lace doilies added on top two.  The bottom one with a Be Mine heart has a watercolor background.

Two decorated heart Valentines with colored marker and gel pens.

Lots of fun variety, thanks to the generosity of the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts.  Sharing art all around.

Hope and Gratitude

 

Remember the warmth of a wood fire

to warm you deep into your core of being.

Remember the sun that give you warmth and nourishes plants to grow

and give you breath.

Remember the sweet air in the woods, on the mountains,

on your sheets drying on the line.

Remember the gardens in your back and side yards

that gave you so much joy in the growing, the watering,

and the food nourishing you.

Remember your nourished body--you

choosing the delicious food to give pleasure and sustenance.

Remember each moment is a choice

to live, to grow, to be, to dance, to create, to know gratitude,

to feel sorrow, to live your whole amazing life.

My poem is inspired by Joy Harpo called "Remember."

The quilt image above is called, Know Life with a quote 

"The way to Know Life is to  Love many things." Van Gogh

Finding Hope

 

 

How does one find hope in dark times?  What does hope look like?  Feel like? Smell like? Taste like?  Some say that the arts can lift us out of despair with the sweetness of a song, the melody of a poem, the movement of a dance, the beauty of a painting.  I’ve gathered some sayings that feel like hope to me.  And some small paintings with words that may give you hope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be strong,

go with your heart,

and believe in miracles because anything…

anything can happen.

                                     Marlo Javidando

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am beginning to

learn that it is the sweet,

simple things of life

which are the real one

after all.        

                    Laura Ingalls Wilder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge,

That myth is more potent than history,

That dreams are more powerful than facts,

That hope always triumphs over experience,

That laughter is the only cure for grief

And I believe that love is stronger than death.                

                                             Robert L. Fulghum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As long as one

keeps searching,

the answers come.                                  

                Joan Baez

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers,

but for powers equal to our tasks, to go forward with a

great desire forever beating to the door of our hearts

as we travel toward our distant goal.       

                                                              Helen Keller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blaze with the fire that is never extinguished.                         

                                                             Luisa Sigea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The way to know

life is to love

many things.                                

                Vincent Van Gogh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life delights

in Life.                      

         William Blake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have found that if you love life,

life will love your right back.            

                             Arthur Rubenstein 

 

May these little watercolor paintings on mine give you hope along with the statements shared here.  May the sun warm your face.  May a smile brighten your spirit. May you feel blessed.  If you or someone you know, can not find hope, there are crisis resources available.

Phone:
1-800-273-8255 is the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

You text 741741 when in crisis, available 24/7 in the United States. A live, trained Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds quickly.  The Crisis text line is confidential.
Crisis Volunteers only know what texters share with them, and that information stays between you, unless sharing it with emergency services is absolutely necessary for your safety.