BRAINS!!!!

ATC for Awkward Love Swap
Watercolor
February 2011

I've had brains on my brains lately. Oddly, this is due to figuring out how and where I will pick up CEUs for my RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher). I am attempting to make these CEUs count for more than just teaching yoga and apply to something that can also be used in therapy... perhaps, so to that end, I just purchased tickets to a workshop in New York on meditation and neurobiology. I also did some internet searching and found this useful site: Yoga Spirit. It provides lectures for download (some free) that count for CEUs. Again, I purchased some that will be useful for multiple purposes: The Power of Language in Relationships, Yoga for Depression, and Meditation, The Doorway to Who You Are. I love it when yoga stuff and therapy stuff overlap and it happens. All. The. Time.

However, my question to myself lately has been, "Self, is this yoga stuff good for marketing your little personage for a job or does it make you sound a little fruit loops?" Let's be honest, in certain circles, art therapy is already a little crunchy, so putting yoga on top of that may be a flying leap overboard on a resume to some places. Maybe. I don't know. But that's a little off topic. This post is about BRAINS!

So now that I am going to this thing in New York, which isn't cheap and requires some traveling and hoteling, I feel like I want to go into this with questions deeper than, "huh?" I need to beef up my brain on brains (and Jack Kornfield) so I have some self assigned reading and rereading before the end of April. I won't bore you with the details (feel free to bore yourself in the additions to the blog bibliography).

I will leave you with my advice for brain anatomy for the artistically-minded: The Anatomy of the Human Brain Coloring Book. Learn by coloring. It's still tough to memorize, but way funner than flashcards.

Page from my coloring book

Paper Charm Experiment Numero Uno

I would have liked to post a complete tested and approved project for my weekend thus far, but those darn responsibilities, readings and paper writings are really putting a cramp in my art-making lately.

I'll get into the details of what led to this and how I imagine it could be used once I have figured it out myself. In the meantime, here's my experiment of the day: the paper charm.

The supplies are: mounting board (and cutting tools), tiny image, eyelets (and supplies for inserting eyelets), rings, glue and outdoor enamel.

Here's what I did...

I started with a 1/2 inch photo and cut a 3/4 inch square of black mounting board. I glued the photo on the board. Since this was a test, the photo was a little printout from home. If this were not a test, I would get a real photo so it would hold up better when coated in enamel (ink bleeds when wet).

I punched a hole in one corner and coated the whole thing front and back in enamel. If I was being serious, I would have coated it in 3-5 coats of enamel, following the recommended drying time on the bottle, so it would be more waterproof. I inserted the eyelet and put the ring in the eyelet.

Viola!

Test complete and it was successful enough to work on what's really on my mind.

To be continued...