Hannah Albert: Inspired

5 steps to creating an "Art of Life" journal

Last night I couldn't sleep, my head swimming with a gazillion ideas. I decided to acquiesce to the creative flow - who am I to judge? - and work in one of my collage journals. I tore out half of what was in it, cutting, gluing, and reshaping the pages to reflect my current vision. Maybe you've heard of vision boards? Mike Dooley, creator of "Notes from the Universe," is a huge proponent. Well my version is the great-grandchild-avatar style (avatar = embodiment: a new personification of a familiar idea.)

We're so bombarded with images all day long, it's a slippery slope to a.) becoming endlessly distracted or b.) forgetting what's really important to you. I started making Art of Life journals years ago to clarify my focus and create reminders to make my heart sing. No matter what spiritual path you might find yourself on, here's a way to deepen your commitment to yourself. There's nothing like a heart-made drawing or collage to help you manifest your own truth. 

Here is what I wrote at the front of my journal:

1. Most problems are illusions

2. Identifying with flaws and mistakes creates limitation

3. You have complete freedom to let go of anything

4. Staying vertical and grounded makes the ride less bumpy

5. Your heart is big enough for all of it

6. You are creating with the power of now

7. Choose happiness over misery

8. Trust yourself to handle whatever comes up

9. A tiny shift between the ears can create a lot of pleasure

above: journal page, Hannah Albert, Mantra Art

In the midst of packing for my new apartment move and a week's vacation, preparing my art studio for a new mate, integrating all my computer data into a new laptop, and prepping for three art shows - among other things - I was starting to feel the ground shaking. In revisiting many practices I've learned to help with transition, I remembered how relaxing cutting and pasting can be. Since I'm a visual person, keeping a collage journal has been a great way to marinate a lot of lessons into one place.

above: journal page, Hannah Albert, Mantra Art

Start your own; it's easy

1. Buy a small empty book. Moleskin works well, but my favorite are the black hardcover sketch journals; very durable.

2. Gather your materials into a box or shelf someplace. Write, cut, glue, spill things on it, reglue, and write over it again. In years gone by I've even turned it upside down and started again from the end, adding another layer. (It's amazing what you learn by revisiting what you wrote/ drew a year ago. )

3. Make notes, write your goals down, collect images that make you happy. Spend time with this: in the beginning you might use it daily, later weekly. You don't need rules when it's your best friend and confidant.

4. Save tickets/ receipts for events and objects that have made an impact on you. Write about the experience.

5. Revisit your journal from time to time and notice when things don't fit you any more. Make comments on your comments, rip stuff out, sketch, and glue more stuff in. It's like shopping for a new wardrobe without leaving the house, and you don't have to stand under those horrible fluorescent lights. 

Lastly I'll leave you with today's note from Mike: it seemed like the perfect starting message for an Art of Life journal.

"Expect miracles. Don't attach to unimportant details. Don't insist "how" your dreams will come true. Prepare to be amazed. Feel the joy when you daydream. Take baby steps in the dark. Every single day physically do something about your dreams. And most important, saunter."

 

above: journal page, Hannah Albert, Mantra Art

Precious Landscape of the Soul

Landscapes with water, symbols of emotion, are my subject matter of late. We could say the outer landscape is always, in some way, a reflection of the inner landscape.  Energies come to us in the form of relationships and events, giving us clues on our journey. Tidal waves and water immersion in the dreamworld speak to the depth of our involvement with life.

Water is also the source for all life on this planet. Without clean water, we will all perish. There are so many right now (especially in Pakistan) that don't have clean water. Sending a prayer - in whatever way that feels right to you - be it action, thought, donation to a cause, or spoken word - is impactful.

The moment of power is always now.

This watery painting is about shattering the illusions in our lives, connecting to the Divine, and the letting go that is part of this process. How we are with ourselves is the degree to which we are willing to show up in the world.

Water Soul: mixed media on canvas, 28"x 36"   2010, Hannah Albert

Water Soul detail: mixed media on canvas, 28"x 36"   2010, Hannah Albert

Water Soul detail: mixed media on canvas, 28"x 36"   2010, Hannah Albert

What are you doing today to know yourself more deeply? You are needed on this planet, and we need all of you. Be willing to risk shattering your illusions.

dive into the divine; the art of yoga

I just experienced a profound, life-changing workshop with Anusara yoga teacher Desiree Rumbaugh, and I want to share with you: 

your body is telling you something.

 

"aphrodite's dream," oil on stitched canvas, minneapolis 2010, hannah albert

If you're really in tune with your body, it will tell you everything you need to know.

Go look in the mirror. What's the first thing you notice? Are you open and bright - or contracted and closed?  Your thoughts and beliefs are being expressed all the time through your posture and movement.

Your body is an instrument through which the Divine is continuously expressing itself.

What music are you playing? Is it a song you learned 25 years ago - or is it something new and fresh that's creating your present life? Can you play the high notes as well as the low? And do the sounds inspire you in your daily dance...as well as they lull you to sleep?

Your body wants to be FREE!

It wants to feel the root, the safe haven, from which creativity then springs. The creative center blossoms to our seat of identity. These are the foundation for the heart to fly open, the voice to be born, and the awareness of divinity to manifest in vision. Ultimately our connection to the Divine  both grounds us to the earth and opens us to the heavens, where we can play beautiful music and express with freedom all we are meant to be. 

The biggest deal for me this weekend was simple but not easy; I experienced the deepest understanding (in 18 years of yoga practice) of what it means to ground. Yes, we can open our hearts and connect to the divine - a worthy practice - but without continuously grounding to the earth from the body it's easy to fly up and get lost in a million distractions. The result?  We lose the flow, the grace that happens when we are fully connected. We bounce erratically between happiness and sorrow, forgetting there is a middle path on which we are meant to receive Divine inspiration more consistently. 

Here's to the midline! Go experience Anusara just once, and I promise it will bring great gifts to you.

 

"sorceress", oil on stitched canvas, seattle, 2009, hannah albert

Go Deep

(Photo and poem: Denise Benitez)

This world offers itself to you,
A constant revelation,
An opportunity for the practice of
Diving deep.

Whatever you do,
Go deeply into it.
Inhabiting the timeless place,
Where hummingbirds hover,
And animals breathe.

Here are diving directions
For going deep:
First....pause.  Let spaciousness
Become your ocean.

Your boundaries soften,
Your deep hearing, your deep vision,
Become awakened.
You dive into the seemingly
Solid world like a fish into water.

On the mat, we practice this dive,
Penetrating with our ever more refined awareness,
The texture of our hamstrings,
The motion of our hearts,
The infinite mysterious world of the body.

This body is not separate from
The great undulating trees,
The ever pulsing ocean,
The freedom of the sky.

We come together in the Great Temple
Of our bodies to practice,
To let the light into our bones,
To unite with what we all share,
Our great roots of beingness and depth.

top 10 favorite artists to inspire creativity

Here are some sites that will amaze and inspire your creativity.

If you have any sites to share --- please contribute!

Wangechi Mutu

Gregory Colbert's Ashes and Snow 

Christine Chaney

Song Yong Hong 

Morris Graves

Darren Waterston

Ann McCoy

Kitten Chops

hip Tokyo attire

romantic drop-dead gorgeous couture

 
my apologies I don't have the artist's name handy for this one; a card that has inspired several paintings over the years...