2011 January | chatting at the sky

my favorite art moments at blissdom ’11

January 30, 2011

We made it back from Nashville and I feel like I can’t continue posting normal until I tell you at least a little about our trip. It was lovely, and there was art. But I’m sure you’re not surprised about that.

Basically, Blissdom is a conference for people (mostly women) who share their business, life, heart, passion and/or art online through blogging. There are workshops about writing, monetizing, social media, criticism and lots more. This is my attempt to show you a bit without being excessive. And to say that because we’ve been talking about art around here lately, I couldn’t help but see the art in everything as I went through the weekend.

The art of being there :: When someone goes through something tragic, it is impossible to know what to say or how to be around them. There is a crazy voice that says we should be able to do something, but there is also a God voice that says to simply love. When we lean into the God voice, out comes art every time. It was simply a joy to be with Edie – to laugh and to cry and to simply be around.

The art of vulnerability :: One of the keynote speakers was Brene Brown, and she talked a lot about the beauty of wholeheartedness and the art of vulnerability. In a beautiful representation of that, my friend Ari read a post during one of the panel sessions that she wrote last year after she lost her daughter, Mabel. It demonstrated this art so beautifully. When we share our painful stories, it dislodges the fear a bit.

The art of loving :: He came with me on this trip because he had some business to do in Nashville. And so after a full day of laughing and chatting and connecting with women and eating chocolate, I got to come back to our room and there he was, and I was home.

The art of laughter :: We live all over the country and there are still some of the (in)courage writers I haven’t met in real life yet. But these girls are mothers, friends, sisters, daughters, and talented artists. And they know how to laugh. And love. And embrace their uniqueness. (Pictured here: Lisa-Jo, Holley, Jessica, Angie, and Jen).

taken by @GailHyatt and her iPhone

The art of Connecting :: We sat on the floor with our plates scattered about, and we talked about writing an dreams and fear. Shannan, Melissa, and Gail Hyatt were lovely and inspiring, and all the things you might imagine. This was one of my favorite moments of the weekend.

The art of being free :: The conference couldn’t have ended more perfectly. A secret flashmob erupted at the end of the keynote, and my sister and I and 90 others got to be a part of it. There is an art to trusting the process, to letting go, to being free. Below is a video so you can see how it all went down. This one isn’t the entire dance, but it gives a good picture for the emotion of it all. And that’s where the art comes in – not because of our mad skillz, but because of the heart. You’ll see. It was my favorite.

And if you’re dying to see more, here’s a link to an unedited version.

Filed Under blog business, inspired 53 Comments

nashville

January 26, 2011

And by the way? These art posts have surprised me. Completely. I’m not a person who I would think would write about art. But I kept on having things to say and then I said them. And I was certain that was it. Until the next day, when I had one more thing. And all that does is prove my point entirely, that when you take the time to see it and live it, the art is there.

Today, I am headed to Nashville for Blissdom. I will show up with no business cards and no gifts for people and not one pair of new shoes. And also, The Man is coming with me because he has some business to do in Nashville. And so we will show up together and I’ll bring him to the (in)courage beach house party so he can meet all the beauties I’ve talked about for so long. And of course, so they can meet him, my love.

And I will be content to share the same space with so many creative women who inspire courage in me with their big dreams and their beautiful selves. And we will mingle around with lots of chatter and all of our messy insecurities. We talk the real at places like this, once we get through polite and into the night. Talking the real is my favorite. I wish all of you could be there today, showing up with your talent and your happy and all your junk, too – and we could embrace the art of authenticity together. There’s nothing like it.

And also? I still have things to say about the art. Can you believe it? Stay tuned, yes?

Filed Under a friend, a writer 35 Comments

how to live big

January 25, 2011

God writes big stories, stories that seem impossible. And they are, if you think about it. He seems to take great interest in impossible stories, and I think they’re interesting, too. But I rarely raise my hand to live them.

I write small stories. Everyday, I write stories for my life that include comfort and fun and entertainment. I live inside my little story like coloring a sunshine yellow – I stay in the lines and keep to the plan. Suns are supposed to be yellow, right? I am a rule-follower.

God makes oceans rise up like two great walls, and invites people to walk on dry ground between them. It’s not even muddy. I step around puddles in the parking lot because I don’t like to get my feet wet.

God made porcupines and palm trees out of nothing. And I make things out of nothing, too – things like worry and anxiety and fear. I live small, and I wait for permission that never comes.

I wait for the art to arrive, too – wait to feel courageous enough before I create. But creativity actually births courage. It comes after, not before. If you wait until you feel ready, you could be stuck in your small story for a very long time. Dare to see the art in everything, take small risks with great faith. You may find the fear fade a bit, and courage just might rise up within you like two great walls of water on either side, high enough for you to get lost in a good way in the bigness of it all.

Filed Under faith, inspired 46 Comments

in which I convince you that you are an artist

January 24, 2011

Maybe you are thinking These art posts aren’t for me. I’m not the creative type. I’m more of a numbers girl. And well, that may be true. I know it can be a bold and maybe ridiculous thing to clump all types of art together, the I-paint-for-a-living type and the just-plain-living type. But that’s what we’ve been doing here because I think it overlaps a lot anyway.

For example, Kendra cooks. And it isn’t just about the food, it’s about what the food means for a family. It’s about feeding a soul. And she is so passionate about it, that she wanted to share that passion with people. So she opened her own business and began to teach cooking classes. And she was good at it, and people who took one class usually ended up taking two. Because when Kendra is in the kitchen, she creates. She is free. She makes art. She even started a blog about it.

Then, Kendra had a baby. And it became more difficult to teach the classes. And the business began to feel like a burden a little bit. And so she followed her heart, and she shut it down. And she quit her blog. And you know what?

She still makes art.

Every day, she cooks for her husband and she mothers that baby with love and fulness and hope. She isn’t perfect, she doesn’t always feel loving and creative, but she loves anyway and she makes decisions for her family that are smart. Right now, Kendra’s home is her canvas and her love is her brush. Balk at me if you want to, and call me a rainbow and unicorn lover, but that girl makes art everyday.

And so do you. But do you call it that? It’s not just paint, and it’s not just cooking. For some people, art might look like starting a business. And for others, it may look like shutting one down. Life is art. Don’t you see that by now? Do you trust yourself with the beauty of it? How can you doubt the art in you? How can you live, everyday, in this world packed with miracles, and not see the art? How can you, a miracle yourself with those deep eyes and that gorgeous laugh, how can you say you aren’t an artist? It’s not about art school or making a living with a paintbrush. I mean, it can be that. But it’s more. It’s so much more. See the art today, this day. And live it.

Filed Under a friend, inspired 58 Comments

what the morning brings

January 21, 2011

I go to bed with a prayer, Lord, wake me in time. And in the middle of walking through my college cafeteria in a bow tie, my eyes flutter open and I know it’s time. I don’t look at the clock, but I don’t have to. It’s dark, but I can tell it’s morning.

Sometimes the morning brings new mercies and other times, those mercies seem far off. But this is a new mercy morning as I remember the night before. Friends were here, and we sat with sock feet on our sofa. We talked about the real and the gritty, about the fears and the why’s of our faith. We prayed for belief and we shared the serious and the not so much. And as I sat, the low-grade anxiety I had been living with began to slow. The whirring in my heart began to quiet. And the body of Christ showed up in these people as they expressed themselves. But Himself. But them – the mystery of Christ in us, our hope.

This morning, I sit early in the dark and read Colossians. I thank Him for the waking, as He is so faithful to do when I ask. It’s as if every night when I go to bed, He longs for me to ask for a waking. And when I do, He does. You may say just set an alarm! and I could. But this is better.

We’ve been talking about art (or haven’t you noticed?) and it’s funny to me that I’ve had so much to say about it. Every time I sit to write, these are the things that come. And so I say them, and you receive them, and it is a gift to me. I think of this community of people who come, who read, who bear witness to truth. And then, you go and make your art in your worlds and my friends in my living room last night, they do the same thing, and it is beautiful, all of it.

And then I think of Ryan on The Office last night, who said his new years resolution was to live his life like it’s an art project. And I know the writers are making some kind of statement about that, but I think how it should be true even if they are making fun of it. And then Kevin comes and puts an “f” in front of the art, and I laugh hysterically because I am in middle school, apparently.

But it’s still true, the art project life. And so I think about that in the early, as the sky turns pink and fades to light. I hear them shuffling around upstairs and I know it’s time to begin to swim around in the living.

Filed Under a writer, faith, inspired 56 Comments

3 things to do when they don’t like your art

January 20, 2011

“Unless you’re running for something that requires a unanimous vote, it’s a mistake to focus on the frowning guy in the back of the room…You’re on the hunt for sneezers, for fans, for people willing to cross the street to work with you. Everyone else can pound sand, that’s okay. Being remarkable also means being ignored or actively disliked.”

Seth Godin, on his blog last month

Sometimes your art gets rejected. And that’s good, because all art isn’t for all people. If it were, it wouldn’t be art, it would be Wal-Mart. For example, sometimes people stop reading this blog – I don’t just say that because it’s obvious, I say that because every time an email subscriber unsubscribes, I get an email about it. The subject line says “Unsubscription Notification for Chatting at the Sky” and then it tells me the email address of the person. I got one just this morning.

The first time I got one of these, I felt totally rejected. What am I doing wrong? Why are they going away?! And then I was tempted to email them and ask. And then I started to rationalize it. Oh, they’re just streamlining and decided to read in Google Reader so they unsubscribed to the email. Or Maybe they decided to read directly on the site now. Those things could be true.

But what is probably more true is that for some people, their time is better spent in some other way. And they don’t care so much what I have to say. So what do I do about that?

Actually, nothing. Or everything, depending on how you look at it. The job of the artist is not to convince people to like what they have created. The job of the artist is to create. Your creation could be words, paints, crafts, music. But your art is in no way limited to those things. Your art is any work you are passionate about. And your job is to be passionate, not to convince someone else to like you.

Remember, it doesn’t have to be personal. I can make it personal, and I did at first. And they may even mean for it to be. But the great thing about having a mind of our own is we get to decide what we let affect us. Instead of taking it personally, see it as a refining. The words I put out are an invitation to receive what I have to offer here. When people stop reading, it simply means they aren’t looking for what I have to offer. And that’s okay, because there are others who are. If I try to cater to a broader audience, then I am in essence trying to please those who have already said no thank you rather than serve those who are wanting more.

Work like an artist, but think like a hostess. When people don’t like the art, the artist keeps creating. She doesn’t change what she makes and what she loves just because someone doesn’t like it. She can’t change how she works, but she may have to change how she thinks. A hostess serves the people at her table. She looks them in the eye, she meets them where they are. She doesn’t spend her time distracted during the party in the next room, calling the people who RSVPd no. She issues the invitations, and then serves those who show up.

And since we’re doing this, if you are one who likes what you see here and want to make it easier to read, you can click here to have new posts from Chatting at the Sky delivered into your email inbox, or hit ‘subscribe’ in the top right corner of this page. Simply choose the “Get Chatting at the Sky delivered by email” option. You may also choose to read in a web based reader, like Google. Either way, if you subscribe and then change your mind and unsubscribe, I won’t take it personal.

Filed Under a writer, blog business, inspired 90 Comments

wake up and dream

January 19, 2011

Do you know you are brave and beautiful? I don’t usually begin posts that way, but you spoke your fears out loud–you who are made to create–and I am overwhelmed with your confessions. They are my confessions, too.

Fear of failure, of rejection, of working hard and risking vulnerable just to say what someone else already said better. We are a scared bunch, aren’t we? Longing to be seen but feeling safe when we’re invisible? Waiting for permission to create for real because what if? and what about? and what will they think?

I hope you are diving into the deep, sweet place of authentic this week. And I don’t mean climb into your quiet cave and wait for the Muse. No, I hope you are swimming around in the living; seeing the art in your husband’s eyes, delighting in the way her freckles are sprinkled just about her nose, feeling the warm sun on your back even in the bitter cold. It’s all art. And when we see it, we can better make it.

Wake up and dream to life those things that seem far off. Live the art you dream about. Embrace the ones you have. And then? Sit down and get to work. Because no truth is new truth, friend, it all belongs to God. Your voice is just one, and that makes it unique. You may not be the first to say it, but your saying it may be the first time we hear.

You need to live the art, and then you need to keep on making it. For you. And for us. Will you?

Filed Under a writer, inspired 66 Comments