Phys Ed Day

Good health is paramount to effectively living our choice lives. Physically, spiritually, intellectually. Just like athletes must be in complete shape to be at the top of their game, so do we. Healthy bodies, minds and spirits keep us energetic, understanding and wise, moving us easily along the bases of our chosen journeys.

Oh we might have days when it feels like we're in a game of Dodge Ball, ducking and sidestepping interruptions. Or we just can't keep our balance on the balance beam, wavering between home and obligations and the desire to create. Or when we're down for the count trying to wrestle a few productive hours from the day.

It takes optimum physical, spiritual and mind health to stay actively in the game. So what sport best depicts a typical day in your choice life? You might be surprised how many others are on your team ...

Start the line-ups!

~Joanne

Arts and Crafts Day

Yes, folks, we're getting crafty today and making designer tees customized to our choice lives. Let's create logos that will help us to "own" whatever passion, art, craft, hobby, that defines us. Here's your chance to put a fun spin on your life!

"Eat. Sleep. Write." Wow, that defines my days pretty well! Suits me to a t ;)

How about you? I've got a virtual supply of tee shirts and all colors of craft paints. Let your creativity shine ... Design your life here ... Use pictures, words, colors ...

What logo are you living?

~Joanne

Math Day

Pumpkins + Mums = Harmony

The separate elements add up to a perfect sum. A few random images pulled together spell out new meaning; in harmony they say something that they don't say alone. To me, they say home. Welcome. Comfort! Together they are symbolic of the essence of autumn.

Photographs, stories, paintings, songs, gardens ... It takes a certain harmony to make them all work, to have the desired effect. Different factors combine like an intricate equation, and when the math adds up, the sum is greater than the factors.

What factors add up to your choice art, craft, hobby? Is it the landscapes + angles of your photographs? The plot + pace of your novel? The history + voice of your memoir? The color depth + clarity of your painting?

What equation calculates out your passion?

~Joanne

Fall Doorway Series

Rate the home doorway in the 4-Coffee Cup Rating System ...

1 Cup - Diamond in the Rough

2 Cups - Charming

3 Cups - Welcoming!

4 Cups - Home Sweet Home

~Joanne

An Eye for Design

Design is all about details. Yes there's a visual balance, and color harmony. But the details! This is a room from the Hotel de Varengeville in mid 1700s Paris, as it appears now in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The paneling is carved with scrolls, birds, foliage sprays, bats' wings. The narrower panels include music, commerce and gardening. Then there's the furniture detail, the carpeting, the exquisite illumination. Imagine sitting at this desk and penning a novel?

We all have our special areas where we best create, filled with our own personal details. Maybe an antique lamp inspires us. Or a window looking out on nature moves the muse. Seashells from the beach may fill a jar. A dried flower memento pressed between the glass of a picture frame sets a tone. The details of our very lives inspire us to create.

In your studio, kitchen, garden, writing nook, sewing room, what's your favorite detail?

~Joanne

Swept Away

What sweeps you away? I don't mean the book you're writing, the song you're learning, the garden you're planting. I'm thinking something removed from your own creations.

Living our choice lives means being aware of opportunities and experiences we just would never miss. They fulfill us in a way different from following our dreams. They are moments when we sit back and relish a beautiful place, or someone else's art, or an evocative event.

I'm talking about the instances that mesmerize. That you would never pass up a chance to do, see, experience. Maybe it's watching the ballet. Or a trip to Europe. Or to Cape Cod. Maybe you never miss your town's annual Christmas Tree lighting. Or the sweeping golds of a sunset.

What experience or place sweeps you off your feet?

~Joanne

Pondering Platform

Building a platform is an important ingredient in finding success with our craft. More than a web presence, I'm talking about how we validate our work, answering the question ... Why are you the one to write this book/paint this picture/sing this song. What expertise do you bring to the work? Take this chair for instance ... It definitely has "platform." And it brings something fresh to the seat genre. But without that platform, this chair lacks authority.

Do you think platform is as critical for fiction as nonfiction? Should aspiring authors hold an MFA? Does it help in all of the arts? Should a gardener be painting floral landscapes? Should a lawyer be writing legal thrillers? Would you buy a cookbook from someone who is not a chef?

Whether you're the artist, or the audience, do you think authority in a subject matter influences the creation, and purchase, of art?

Let's talk platform ... Have a seat on this platform shoe and cast your vote ... Yes it matters, or No it doesn't.

~Joanne