I Heart Bali.

I seriously cannot believe I have been home from Bali for almost a month already!

Woah….life….moves….fast.

However, between jet-lag recovery, a sick week in bed, a rare five-day visit from my best friend and a week of catching up on piles of life and work, I guess it all pencils out. In some ways, the trip feels like a distant exotic dream at this point, but every time I burn one of my treasured Balinese incense sticks, I am magically transported right back to my tiny beloved island on the other side of the world. Swoon.

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Uniquity + the Declaration of YOU!

After a pretty major spin around the world (aka: my trip to Bali), I am now cozied back up in my Portland studio — favorite mug in hand, favorite tunes playing on my ipad and an epic amount of stories and thoughts to share…soon. As I allow my experiences in Bali to sink in a little more deeply, I want to take a minute to share with you a very special book.

The Declaration of You!, is written by two superstar ladies (and lovely friends of mine), Jessica Swift and Michelle Ward. I’m really proud of them for putting together such a beautiful and important book, because it dives right into the heart of a conversation I seem to be having so much lately. It’s that one about…

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Vulnerability—the new “keeping it cool”

Hi ya’ll. Look at me…writing a post AFTER the 30-Day Love Affair is over! It’s true. I feel I have officially transformed my relationship with this lovely blog. Dreading my “blog homework” has now been replaced by thoughts like, “Write a blog? Sure. Totally. Why not? No big deal. Sounds fun.” So, that said, I’m officially popping in to say hello and to thank you for your ah-MAZE-ing comments in response to my last post about my name change. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend reading the comments—so moving and inspiring. Reading your comments reminded me why…

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #29!

Yowza, Day #29, ey? I have to admit that all day I’ve been a little stressed about what I would write today. The “second to last day” of this month-long experiement seems like some kind of big deal that deserves some kind of amazingness. I even considered making a little video for you to really prove how brave I am (ha ha), but after investigating iMovie for about ten minutes, I gave up. My truth tonight is that I’m tired, my hair looks like shit, I’ve been on my computer waaaaay too long already today and I’m definitely not feeling very inspired or inspiring. Huh, I think my shoulders just dropped about two inches after I typed that. The honest truth will do that to you 🙂

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #28!

I realize this might verge on giving away the ending of a book, but I am going to risk it and share with you the list of “friendly reminders” I offer on the final day of my online course. I hope you find these reminders helpful, and if they leave you craving more elaboration, my next online course starts in one month. I would love for you to join me on the adventure!

I also want to share with you a few of my latest paintings in progress…

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #27!

For my entire adult life, I have lived communally (yep, like a true hippie) among diverse and wonderfully inspiring groups of creative folks. Over the past four years, I’ve lived with a mandolin player, a photographer/videgrapher, a raw pie maker, a bike shop owner, a massage therapist/gardener and a shaman-in-training. Our house is now famous for it’s house concerts, potlucks, art nights and backyard sauna parties. We have 15 bikes parked under our hand-built bike storage area right next to our front yard food garden. We don’t have chickens anymore, but all our neighbors do, so the air is still filled with the sound of clucking. Basically, we are our own little Portlandia episode around here everyday.

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #26!

It’s ‘Sweet Reminders Friday’ brought to you by two of my favorite wisdom keepers…

All the possibilities of your human destiny are asleep in your soul. You are here to realize and honor these possibilities. When love comes in to your life, unrecognized dimensions of your destiny awaken and blossom and grow. Possibility is the secret heart of time.— John O’Donohue from Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #25!

We have an event here in Portland called the Last Thursday Art Walk. It started fourteen years ago as a sort of the rebel offspring of the First Thursday Art Walk held in the downtown galleries. It is truly a renegade DIY event in every aspect of the word—equal parts carnival, garage sale, art fair, burning man, protest, karaoke, dance party, art experiment, parade, ______.

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #24!

ou asked for crush details, so I’m going to be brave and spill the beans…at least a few beans for now.

If you have been following along in my world at all, you have probably noticed that I never, like ever, talk about my romantic life. In fact, up until this lil’ blog experiment, I’ve talked very little about my personal life off the canvas, AT ALL. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that I have a story about keeping things private online which is really interesting because I’m really quite the open book in real life. The other reason is that I’m totally scared I might jinx a good thing.

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #23!

It’s crazy beautiful today in Portland and my spirits are flying high. I spent the day doing exactly what I love to do: painting and connecting with awesome people. My friend and peer, Rachael Rice (aka the Cosmic American) came over for a painting date. We rolled out a big drop cloth, flung open the studio door, cut up some potato stamps and went to town. Our conversations drifted between blogging, boys, current inspirations and our mutual love for fluorescent pink. Rachael is a new friend but hanging with her is always super effortless and inspiring—exactly what I’m welcoming into my life these days.

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #22!

Today is Day #22 which means I’ve now written 21 blog posts in a row. Wow. What an interesting journey of the soul this has been! I was telling a friend of mine a little bit about the process today and he mentioned that it is supposed to take 21 days to create a new habit. Aha! This totally resonated with me because I can honestly say I feel like writing this daily post has officially become a part of my everyday experience. It is no longer “something I think I should do.” Instead, it is “something I actually do”—everyday. In other words…

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #21!

After yesterday’s thoughts on how I find inspiration directly from the creative process and taking risks, I thought I would give a nod to some of my more obvious sources of inspiration today. Although I find plenty of inspiration from things like textiles, graffiti, shamanism, tribal patterns, personal transformation and music (hmm, that sounds like…

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #20!

There’s a question that seems to come up in every single interview I do. It’s the “Where do you find inspiration?” question. It’s easy to answer this question with the obvious: nature, color, form, movement, trips to the woods, looking at other people’s art, etc. But, when I really get to the heart of…

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day 19!

Hi ya’ll. I thought I would allow myself to do a little *shining* today and share with you my feature in the most recent Where Women Create Magazine. To say I feel honored to be included in this publication would be a serious understatement. A more accurate description of my feelings would be something…

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #18!

Woah. This week has been so weird. Everyday has turned out to be so different than I expected. Another way to say that would be: I cannot seem to get anything done! All week, I have been battling my own procrastination monsters, along with what seems like a constant string of interruptions (some created by…

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #17!

Yesterday was my sister’s birthday and this is my Ode to her. Erin is three and a half years older than me and lives with her husband, Jeremy (he is an amazing painter…check him out!) in Minneapolis, MN. There are a few words that definitely come to mind when I think of my sis: smart,…

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #16!

After the heaviness of yesterday’s news, I’m going to keep today’s post pretty and sweet by sharing a few photos I took today on my annual trip to visit the blooming magnolia trees in Hoyt Arboretum. There is a very special window of time when the entire grove of magnolia trees is exploding with pink…

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day 15!

I spent a decent amount of time this morning thinking about happiness, contentment and connection. I was pondering how to cultivate them, how to recognize them and how to maintain them. And, then I heard the news. Another bombing and this time at a freaking MARATHON, a place where people come together to express their…

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #13!

I’ve been thinking a lot about DREAMS lately…not so much the kind I have in my sleep (although that might be a whole different post..woah). I’m talking about the kind of dreams I have in my waking hours. “Daydreams” if you will, but not the kind of daydreams I have while I’m staring off into…

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #12!

Spring has definitely SPRUNG here in Portland and it’s all I can do to not drool all over the amazing flowers blooming everywhere. I rode my bike across town today listening to Sigur Ros on my headphones, allowing my intuition to lead the way. I have an exercise on my online course called, “Intuitive Wandering” that is all about wandering (walking, biking, even driving) without a plan.

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #9!

I woke up yesterday to a text message from one of my oldest and dearest friends who lives in Boston. It read, “Can I come visit you…like tomorrow?” I would be lying if I said this was totally out of the blue, as we’ve been hoping to make this visit happen for awhile now, but WOW, it was suddenly happening…like tomorrow, which is now…like today. Of course my answer was a resounding, “YES!” and in about three hours, I’ll be on my way to the airport to pick Tara up.

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #5

Oh my. This has been a seriously exciting day. Two pretty major things happened today, both in the category of “dreams coming true” kinda stuff. Interestingly, I’ve been feeling this low grade stress (beneath all the happiness, that is) regarding how to share all this goodness without sounding “braggy” or “too happy.” Blah. blah. blah. …

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30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #4

Today’s post will be short and sweet—just a little peak into the current state of affairs in my studio. There’s a lot going on in here! I’m experiencing one of those rare and precious periods of time when my inspiration is flowing effortlessly and everything that is emerging on my canvas feels new and exciting.

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30-Day Blog Love Affair::Day #2!

Well hello there and welcome to Day #2 of the Blog Love Affair!! Whahoooo! First of all THANK YOU for all the sweet comments yesterday. I didn’t even consider the ripple effect this little love affair might inspire, but I am so stoked to hear that some of you might join me in re-igniting your blogging relationships.

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My 30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #1. It’s on!

I was originally going to call this little experiment my, “30-Day Blog Challenge” but after some consideration, I quickly realized that calling this challenge a challenge would only make it feel, well, more challenging. So, I’m doing what any firm believer in the Law of Attraction would do, and calling it what I hope it will become a good ol’ fashioned love affair.

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Leaning In

We called it, “Bloom True Moves.” It was an experiment in collaboration. It was new territory. And it was deeply healing. From our opening circle it was obvious that this group of 18 women were ready to step into something new. The feeling in the room was palpable—the feeling was one of readiness.

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The real deal on my E-Course

 [Image: Zipporah Lomax] Wow, first of all, THANK YOU for all the lovely comments and positve feedback on my last post.  It really means so much to feel all the love and support as I lean into my own vulnerabilty more and more.  It’s also very motivating for me to keep diving in (to the…

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Changing my tune…and SINGING!

Hi.  I'm so glad you are still here even though I've been such a "bad blogger" lately.  To be honest, I've had this snarky little voice running through my head whining, "I don't wanna blog.  I don't wanna talk about my life online.  I only want to ride my bike through Portland's sunshiny streets and…

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Bloom True Online Course Gallery, Part Four

Another batch of paintings and testimonials from my online course. Next course starts on June 11th! "Learned a lot about play,play, play..and let go! That is the right path I would take. My paintings came to the surface float without any effort. Thanks!" Yvon van Bergen -Yvon van Bergen   "I work in collage and…

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Bloom True Online Course Gallery, Part Three

Continuing to share some of the work produced in my first Bloom True online course.  The next course starts in just eight days, and there is still time to join! "Learning Flora's intuitive painting process has been quite profound. It re-connected me to the most important part of my being-my passionate, creative heart. Incredible!" -Loren…

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Bloom True Online Course Gallery, Part Two

"I sell most of my paintings, but I think this one I will keep. It is very special for me." Conni Altmann Sharing some more of the lovely paintings and testimonials that have come out of the Bloom True E-Course. Next class starts June 11! I "Bloom True is an incredible journey of painting through…

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Bloom True Online Course Gallery, Part One

"I loved learning all the layering/mark making techniques… I think I am most proud of this painting as I really took my time with it and tried to listen to it unfold." Nathalie Vachon As promised, here is the first glimpse of some paintings that emerged from my first ever Bloom True online course.  I…

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The Bali Report

Hello and greetings from beautiful Bali.  I am happy to report that the week-long yoga/painting workshop that took place here last week was amazing—almost dream-like actually.  I'll admit, we went in a little bit blind on this one.  The website for the resort looked great, but you never really know what you will find in…

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Book Release + Signings!

It's official people.  My first book, "Brave Intuitive Painting" has hit the shelves—it's time to celebrate!  Creating this book was truly an act of love, a deep journey of the soul and one of the most challenging things I've ever done.  I poured myself into this baby, and I'm so excited to share it with…

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A Beautiful Glimpse Inside a Colorful Workshop

About a month ago, I had the pleasure of returning to the lovely Teahouse Studio in Berkeley, CA, to teach two Bloom True workshops over the course of two weekends.  During the second weekend, my sweet and talented friend, Zipporah Lomax (yes, that's really her name…she goes by Zippy, even cuter) asked if she could…

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Bloom True Moves!

The amazing Miss Robyn Kautz It is with great pleasure that I am finally able to share with you a very special project I have been dreaming into creation for months— Bloom True Moves!  I am thrilled to join forces with two of my favorite movers who also happen to be two of the most…

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Painting is good medicine

"Write blog post" has been on my to do list for the past three weeks.  Every time I look at my list it just stares back at me— "Hellloooo, remember me?"  Well, let me just say that I have not forgotten about you my sweet little blog!  I have just been completely immersed in my…

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Doodles Unleashed

There are so many wonderful new art books coming out these days—it's awesome.  I love that artists are getting a chance to offer the world their unique perspectives and techniques and that so many students are able to learn from these inspiring people—inpiration at our fingertips!  I recently had the pleasure of reading Traci Bautista's…

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Two New Workshops: England + Australia!

The blooming continues around the world!  I hope you can join me for one of these brand new workshops in England + Australia. Call of the Wild Soul (great name, right!?) The UK Sacred Art Retreat: Sept. 27 – 30, 2012 Somerset, England I am very honored to be a part of this inaugural sacred…

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Blooming True Mexican Style

I must admit that trying to convey the magnitude of magic that was present during our week-long workshop in Mexico is a little daunting, but here goes… Yep, that's San Miguel de Allende, a beautiful gem of a city nestled in the Sierra Madres Mountains and fondly referred to as El Corazon de Mexico (the…

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Hello Soul. Hello Business.

I'm guessing that many of you have already heard about this amazing new E-Course but just in case you haven't heard, I'm feeling moved to tell ya all about it.  Why?  Because I believe the world, especially the world of doing business, is in desparate need of a shift—a shift towards more passion, more purpose,…

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