LESSONS IN LOVE + A CAREGIVERS GIVEAWAY (WINNERS ANNOUNCED!)

I RECENTLY CAME ACROSS THIS QUOTE, AND IT REALLY HIT HOME.

I thought, “This is it. This is what it means to really love. It is art of the highest order.”

If you have been following along with me on Facebook and Instagram recently, you know I have been sharing a deeply personal story — a story of love. My dear friend and professional photographer, Tara Morris, also documented my journey in this beautiful and intimate blog post.

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LETTING GO WHAT YOU LIKE TO MAKE ROOM FOR WHAT YOU LOVE + OTHER TIPS ON LAYERING

I love how this week’s Hey Flora question is disguised as a painting question, but can actually be applied to life in so many ways.

Our question comes from a Studio Diaries participant, and she writes:

“I have a hard time simplifying. The first layers are pretty chaotic, and then I feel like I just paint over them. How do I simplify without just painting over everything.”

This is a great question for anyone who paints in layers or anyone who struggles with simplification in life off the canvas! In this video I offer a few super simple tips about the magic of translucent paint, letting go of what you like, focusing on what you love, and working with what’s working.

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Life Book 2014 Give Away Winner Announced

Hi all. Just a quick note to thank you for your wonderful comments about why you would like to participate in Life Book 2014. It was a pleasure to read them all and feel your excitement. I’m happy to announce that the winner of this year-long art making extravaganza is Maureen McCauley of lightofdaystories.com. Congrats Maureen! Hope you enjoy the journey that is Life Book…

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MANIFESTING YOUR CREATIVE DREAM TRIBE

Hi everyone! In this week’s Hey Flora: Weekly Tidbits for Your Creative Adventure, I’m sharing my thoughts on how to manifest the dreamiest creative community you can imagine.

If you’ve ever dreamed of attending super inspiring art gatherings or longed for more connection with like-hearted creatives, check this one out.

It’s actually easier than you think!

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MEDICINAL POETRY WITH NIEMA LIGHTSEED IS HERE!

Today’s the day I get to introduce you to Niema Lightseed, one of the most gentle, soulful, and authentic women I know. Niema’s course, Medicinal Poetry: Using the Healing Art of Writing to Activate Your Inner Muse is the very first offering featured in The Collective, and it feels like the perfect way to kick off this new collaborative adventure. I know you’re going to love her.

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MOVEMENT SEQUENCES

I’ve never been able to sit still for very long, and if you’ve ever watched me paint, you’ve probably noticed I like to dance my way across the canvas. I made a little video to offer you a Mini Movement Exercise to play with right now!

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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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My Favorite Soulful Gifts From the Heart

If you’re looking for gifts that are incredible to receive, while directly supporting the makers, doers, and creators behind them, I’ve got some ideas for you! Supporting artists and changemakers who spark inspiration, catalyze change, and create products that soothe the soul feels like an act of love and justice in itself, and I’m happy to share some of my personal favorites with you here.

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MY FERTILITY JOURNEY (GETTING PERSONAL WITH THIS ONE)

I’m a big believer in the power of sharing our personal stories, and I finally feel ready to share this one with you. Thank you for allowing my vulnerability.

Behind the scenes of painting and teaching and all that I do, I’ve been on a very tender fertility journey for the past four years. As I moved through the rollercoaster of it all, I felt the need to keep it very private…until now.

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NEW COLLABORATIVE PAINTING VIDEO

We’re exploring Collaboration over in Studio Diaries this month, and there are some seriously cool creations happening between parents, kids, partners, friends and pretty much anybody who is willing to play with paint.

It totally warms my heart to know so many people are connecting to their families and communities through the creative process — the world certainly needs more of this right now.

To give you a glimpse into this month’s Studio Diary, I’ve put together a really fun little video clip of one of the collaborations I did with fellow painter, Jennifer Mercede.

I hope it inspires some collaborative paint flinging of your own!

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NEW VIDEOS + THE CREATIVE ACCELERATOR

GREETINGS! It was great to see how many of you enjoyed the Free Color Mixing video I posted a few weeks ago, so I thought I’d share a couple more videos with you today. These are two mini clips from the January edition of Studio Diaries. The first is from a Creative Exercise all about finding new tools and…

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On *not* going to Burning Man

As I sit here in my neighborhood coffee shop in Portland, OR, there are 60,000 plus people gathered in the Nevada dessert celebrating creativity, community, art and radical self expression — yep, pretty much all my favorite things. I do not hesitate to say that these lucky people are attending the best party on Earth right now and that party is called Burning Man.

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On Letting Go

One of the big changes I made to my current Bloom True E-Course was shifting the theme of Week Two from ‘Play’ to ‘Letting Go.’ The other week’s themes — Intuition, Your Inspiring Life, Being Brave and Blooming True — remain the same, but there was always something about ‘Play’ that never totally resonated with me.

And then it hit me. ‘Play” is simply one way of letting go.

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Online Mini Painting Sale Tomorrow!

One of my favorite conversations to have with people is about what REALLY lights them up. It is one the most direct ways to understand a person’s heart and soul-calling and often leads to the kind of juicy conversations I love the most.

My “light up” moments usually happen when I’m painting and connecting with people I am truly inspired by. So, for the past year I’ve been combining these passions by exploring collaborative painting, and guess what? I love it.

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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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Prettiest holiday cards EVER

OK. I’m admittedly not being very humble here, but seriously you guys, these new holiday cards designed by Papaya! are so GORGEOUS…so much so that I’m actually feeling inspired to send holiday cards for the first time in, like, fifteen years. Perhaps they will inspire you too? We are selling packs of five (of the same design) for $20, and packs of ten (one of each design) for only $30 (shipping within the US is included).
Get your holiday cheer on today!

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PROJECT GROUND OUT + THE ENJOYMENT FACTOR

“REMEMBER THE ENJOYMENT FACTOR”

This sweet reminder was offered up by my yoga teacher yesterday. In fact, remembering to enjoy the experience was the focus of the entire class. We were given permission to throw away strict yoga “rules” and ideas about what the practice was supposed to look like. Instead, we were encouraged to move and breathe in a way that simply….FELT GOOD.

Ah yes. That.

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Pushing Boundaries + Opening Up

After a year of very little painting (been just a tad busy teaching 14 workshops, writing a book and launching an E-Course…yikes!), I spent the last month grooving away in my new studio—such soul food for this hungry soulful painter!  I decided I needed to take a little bit of my own advice and be…

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QUICK TIPS FOR SETTING UP YOUR PAINTING SPACE

If you’ve ever thought, “I can’t paint, because I don’t have the space to paint,” it’s time to get creative with your creative space!

Consider where you might be able to carve out a little space for yourself?

Do you have an extra room, garage, patio, basement or attic? Perhaps you have a friend who could easily lend you a little extra space or happily go in on renting a shared space?

Even if you’re painting on a kitchen table, in the corner of your bedroom, or in your backyard, cultivating physical space in order to create is one of the most powerful things you can do to support your creative habit.

In this week’s Hey Flora episode, I’m sharing a few basic tips to help you get your painting space up and running. One of these tips took me YEARS to figure out, so I’m thrilled to pass it along and save you some time!

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Registration for February Bloom True class now open!

Hi everyone! Just a quick note to let you know that registration is now open for the next round of my Bloom True E-Course. The next five-week course will begin in February, 2014, and you will have six months of extended access after the course finishes (so you can go back over it whenever you want during that time).

I continue to be floored by the response to this course…

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Say hello to your true self – Bloom True class gallery (3)

“This class was just what I needed to get painting again and try acrylics. Flora taught me to see all that is perfect instead of the faults. It’s been so long since I’ve enjoyed painting this much!” Cinda Bauman

Do you want to access your inner creativity, feel more connected to your life and feel confident to express your true self on canvas? Bloom True might just be for you. Take a look at these paintings created by participants of the class

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Saying YES, feeling CLEAR, and making RAD stuff

As you likely know, I’m a big fan of collaboration, so when Matt Butler, the dynamic conductor of the amazing Everyone Orchestra, asked me if I’d be interested in painting a tuxedo jacket and matching hat for him, it was a very clear YES.

Let me start by saying that I totally dig the whole concept behind the Everyone Orchestra. Their positive high-energy shows blend a unique line-up of different (always uber-talented) musicians and there is no “Set List” … only improvisation, talent and trust.

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