Art, Spirituality and Yoga
Art, Spirituality and Yogaā¦How do they relate? Find out my thoughts.
Hi guysā¦art to me has a level of spirituality that takes us into a realm that links us to our internal self. We are able to link to our spirit self and as such we also need to stay physically and mentally balanced with our spirit and our God.
I wanted to share about my adventure into Yoga as Yoga is one of the powerful exercises that helps us link to our spirit via the breathing aspects of the exercise as well as the meditative exercise.
So it started where there was a time my mother and I were looking for a place for spiritual guidance, a religion that would help link us to God and be our spiritual home. We werenāt of any particular religious background at that time although my mom was baptized a Catholic but we werenāt practicing Catholics. Mommy had started doing Yoga exercises classes so we decided to go check out Yoga, since that seemed to have a very calming, meditative feel about it.
So what is Yoga all about: The original context of yoga was spiritual development practices to train the body and mind to self observe and become aware of ones own nature. The purpose of yoga is to cultivate discernment, awareness, self-regulation and higher consciousness in the individual.
There are different types of yoga:
Ā· Hatha Yoga. It's all about the basics in these slower moving classes that require you to hold each pose for a few breaths.
Ā· Vinyasa Yoga. Get your flow on in this method that links movement and breath together in a dance-like way.
Ā· Iyengar Yoga. ...
Ā· Ashtanga Yoga. ...
Ā· Bikram Yoga. ...
Ā· Hot Yoga. ...
Ā· Kundalini Yoga. ...
Ā· Yin Yoga.
Now the healthy 7 fitness aspects of Yoga has some major benefits.
Benefits of Yoga. The art of practicing yoga helps in controlling an individual's mind, body and soul. It brings together physical and mental disciplines to achieve a peaceful body and mind; it helps manage stress and anxiety and keeps you relaxing. It also helps in increasing flexibility, muscle strength and body tone
Thanks to yoga and meditation, keeping your heart healthy is easy. Studies have shown that yoga is linked to a reduced risk of heart disease because of its cardiovascular benefits that eliminate arterial plaque. Meditation also helps lower heart rate and improve blood circulation.
We checked out a Raja Yoga Centre which I think was linked to the Hatha Yoga and on entering, we were able to join a session where they taught you how to breath and meditate on your third eye. We had to sit in the yoga asana position while following the instructions.
In yoga, an asana is a posture in which a practitioner sits. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali defines "asana" as "to be seated in a position that is firm, but relaxed". ... Some asanas are performed just for health purposes. It means folding your legs one on the other.
The next set of instructions asked us to chant the words UMMMMM while concentrating on our breathing and the third eye which is situated at the centre of our forehead. At first it was simple but my mom and I couldnāt stay serious about the chanting and we ended up not staying much longer as we just didnāt feel the spiritual connection to God.
A few years later I joined a Catholic Prayer Group and that changed my life and my momās. I introduced her to the group and she found a new family in all those who formed the prayer group. So back to Yogaā¦That didnāt work but years later my husband and I normally do some type of new exercise while we are on vacation. Two years ago we decided to do Yoga classes. We joined the class, this time I was introduced to Hot Yoga. The classes were great and I was amazing. You sweat so much it cleanses your system and the slow flexing exercises helps to stretch you.
It was a great experience but unfortunately although my husband continued with it for a year as he started off being very inflexible and the Yoga helped him with that, I on the other hand didnāt like some of the movesā¦I really disliked ādownward dogā which was one of the main positions. But overall I enjoyed it for that period, became more flexible, felt very fit and it was also very relaxing on the mind.
Iāve attached a link to A Yoga Burn Exercise for you to try. Yoga is excellent for keeping stretched and fit. It also helps build up your metabolism which is what happened with me when I did the Yoga two years ago. My husband continues to do the Yoga stretches every night as they help him sleep. It calms him so that he can settle himself and prepare himself for sleep. It continues to allow him to be flexible.
Here are some simple steps to start then try getting your own tapes to start a more advanced level .
Yoga Mountain Pose
1. Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
What to Know: This two-footed stance is the foundation for many other positions that require awareness and balance.
How to Do It: Stand with feet together and arms at your side. Ground your feet, making sure to press all four corners down into the ground. Next, straighten your legs, then tuck your tailbone in as you engage your thigh muscles. As you inhale, elongate through your torso and extend your arms up, then out. Exhale and release your shoulder blades away from your head, toward the back of your waist as you release arms back to your sides.
Childās Pose in Yoga
2. Childās Pose (Balasana)
What to Know: This easy pose relaxes your nervous system and make sure to lower into this position with extra care.
How to Do It: Start in a kneeling position with toes tucked under. Lower your butt towards your feet as you stretch your upper body forward and down with arms extended. Your stomach should be comfortably resting on thighs, with your forehead touching the mat.
3. Cat/Cow Pose (Marjaryasana to Bitilasana)
What to Know: Cat/cow is a great way to warm up your back and get your body ready for downward-facing dog. It also helps address mobility and work your core without the extra stress on your wrists and shoulders that you might feel in a down dog move.
How to Do It: Begin with hands and knees on the floor, spine neutral and abs engaged. Take a big inhale, then, as you exhale, round your spine up towards the ceiling and tuck your chin towards your chest, releasing your neck. On the next inhale, arch your back and relax your abs. Lift your head and tailbone upwards, being careful not to place any pressure on your neck by moving too quickly or deeply.
4. Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanansana)
What to Know: Down dog is a great way to stretch your back, shoulders, arms, hamstrings and well, just about everything. And it gets you calm and centered, too.
How to Do It: Come onto hands and knees with palms just past your shoulder, fingers pointing forwards. Knees should be under your hips and toes tucked. Lift your hips and press back into a V-shape position with your body. Feet should be hip-width apart. Keep in mind, itās OK if you canāt get your feet to the floor (your hamstrings might be too tight). Spread through all 10 fingers and toes and move your chest towards your legs.
5. Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I)
What to Know: The first in the Warrior series, this pose strengthens your legs and opens your hips and chest, while also stretching your arms and legs. While holding this exercise, youāll see an increase in your concentration and balance.
How to Do It: Start in mountain pose. As you exhale, step your left foot back about four feet, so youāre in a lunge position with the right ankle over the right knee. Raise your arms straight overhead, biceps by ears, and turn your left foot about 90 degrees to face the left wall. Align your left heel perpendicular with your right heel. Expand your chest and pull your shoulders back, then lower down toward the floor as you lift your arms up. Make sure your hips stay square to the front, as you continue to breathe.
Start with these simple poses then move on to the more advanced which you will find in the link I left earlier. Enjoy and remember this is the best thing for your mental and physical health.
ABOUT ME
Hi guys, Iām Gail Francis better known as āGaFraā
Welcome! This is just one of my 3 sites, I also have: gafraihairu.com and triniartsudio.org. Iām an Artist, Business Woman, wife, mother of 4, Artist, friend to many and a Leadership Management Coach with LMI.
Learn more about me, visit my other blogs as well.
Get your FREE DOWNLOAD: An EASY GUIDE on āHow to Paint an Abstractā
Landscape Challenge Pt.2
Hi guysā¦.so lets finish off the landscape we started and I hope you were trying it. We left off where I did a simple wash of the different colours one on top of the other. Then I used my bottle that has black paint, a fairly thick mixture with a little water or you can mix black acrylic paint with a little water and have a bottle with black paint and one with white). I used my bottle of black paint to draw an outline of some hills on one of the higher washes. Do the same thing with the white paint going on the inside of the mountains.
Also draw wavy lines moving away from the base of your mountains as if it were a river you were drawing. Let it look like waves of water if necessary. I decided to do an outline of some of the lines with a glittery paint. Only to realise that it wasnāt glitter paint but glitter glue. : 0 Ah Well !!! Think of it as mixed medium. Lol This is how the final landscape looked.
See how the mountains are a combination of the black and white paint intertwined but not totally mixed to make grey. you can distinguish the white lines within the black. You may need to let the black paint dry first before applying the white, if you use acrylic paint you donāt need to let the black dry first before adding the white.
Silvery Water Landscape
The shiny areas are the glitter glue. use the tip of the glitter paint bottle like a pen and draw along some of the lines within the mountain or the side of the river. I hope you understood my directions, if not, I do apologise. But share with me what you created, Iām excited to see them. Remember there are no mistakes, everything is art, even using glue when you thought it was glitter paint.
These are some additional landscapes I completed. I do one a day.
Green Valley
7th Landscape Challenge Piece.
Blue Field
8th Landscape Challenge Piece
If you enjoyed trying this let me know and Iāll explain how I did some of the others. Choose the one you like then email me at gfrancistt@gmail.com and Iāll do the blog post.
Rocky Cliffs
9th Landscape Challenge
If you enjoyed this you might likeā¦
The Landscape challenge
Hi guysā¦I was reading Tara Leaverā¦.AGAIN!ā¦ when she talked about making more consistent art. She challenged us to an exercise to help us deal with the inconsistency problem, in a manageable way that also sets you on the path to developing a series, to prove that you can do one. This was the challenge:
āSeven days to create art with a single focus. Got something youāve been wanting to explore a bit more deeply? This is the perfect opportunity.
The challenge is open to all visual artists ā you can paint, draw, knit, sculpt, sew, make jewellery, or whatever you like. I recommend keeping the concept and process fairly small so you donāt overwhelm yourself or make it impossible to keep going.ā
The project I took was to paint small landscapes for 93 days. It was fairly simple and I decided to let it be very loose and almost abstract. I painted however I was feeling at that point. So these were my steps.
STEP #1 - PREPARE YOUR PAPER
STEP #1
So I started by finding a small watercolour painting book. Mine is 9x12 but you can get something smaller like 10x10. Tape all the edges with maskin tape to allow the piece to have a border as this gives it a better look when youāve finished, plus it allows for framing.
STEP #2 - PULL OUT YOUR TOOLS
Once youāve taped the edges, then pull out the watercolours or watercolour pencils, your brushes (choose only 2), have your water close by, you can also have a bottle with white or black paint and finally decide on the colours youāre going to use. I picked viridian green, lavender and light green.
Have all your tools ready and prepared.
Above is my watercolour palette, brushes and watercolour pencils.
STEP #3 - START PAINTING
Donāt think about what youāre going to do just MOVE! Take up a brush, let your senses guide you, dip into the first colour and paint however you feel, then take the second colour and do the same. I felt like doing a simple wash of each colour one above the other.
I felt for a simple wash with one colour on top of the other.And I let it run.
This is what it looks like so far. Iāll continue tomorrow and post the next steps, but see below some of the other miniature landscapes I did days before, one per day.
Green Field
Blue Mountains
Watercolour Palms
Iāll show some of the others when I post my next steps for the landscape done above.
Aside from Art and In Life...Why Are Men So.....????
Just some feelings being shared about marriage.
Hi...I just want to veer away from art a bit to go into real lifeā¦.I don't understand men...they do things that are so annoying and then they expect us women to unravel their stupidness. I've been married 28 years and sometimes its difficult to know how to be around my husband. He is a very intense man and because he runs our business, he has a lot on his mind and can seem very far away, so I'm sometimes unsure how to be around him. In his deep moodiness I try to interpret what is happening but what happens sometimes is a mis-communication and a mis-interpretation and no one asks or says anything.
A fine example is this morning, we decided to go to the gym for 5am, we started doing that every week, but we missed last week. At least I missed last week. So I was prepared to get up early, pack and go off to the gym. Now the last time this didn't happen because he woke up late and wasn't feeling well, so we didn't go that day so all my/our plans were changed. This morning we got up kinda late (because normally he would rush me if we get up at 4:35am). This morning he seemed to be lazing, so I figured he wasn't going to the gym again. I asked if he was ok he said yes then I said "I'll walk later" because I thought he wasn't going to the gym . Lo and behold I get dressed for work and as I am packing the car he is dressed for the gym.
I guess in trying to interpret his mood I read it wrong and he never asked me anything because I said I would go walking in the afternoon. I was reallllly pissed. But its my own fault. I try to pussy foot around him when I'm unsure of his mood and instead of asking I try to interpret and I get it wrong and everything else goes wrong and I end up pissed and disappointed. MY FAULT. JUST ASK!!!!!
Marriage can be soooo difficult sometimes and it can also be very fun and pleasant but it's times like these when I'm pissed and annoyed at the situation and myself that I get really frustrated. No I'm not opting out of it and I'm just venting as usual. I feel disappointed because he didn't even ask me anything or push me to go with him. But then again he was under the impression that i changed my mind and didn't want to go to the gym, that I had decided to walk later in the day, so what was there to ask? Again all of this could have been avoided if I had asked a question.
Luckily for my family I don't stay angry long. But I did feel disappointed...not sure why...I guess because I wanted to exercise as I missed a few days the week before and I tend to baulk from exercising and I only do it when he pushes me and he didn't push or try to talk me out of it. AH WELL!!!
Later when he arrived at the office, he apologised but I stopped him to explain it was my fault and he did nothing wrong. The poor man, he must have been confused because he knew when he went off to the gym, he left a very angry woman behind. What did I do after he left to go to the gym (because it was way too early to go to the office)? I went to my room and penned this post. It calmed me down, helped soothe my anger, got me in a better mood and by the time I had finished writing this post it was time to leave for the office. I knew I was wrong and reaching early in the office I was able to decorate it for Christmas, do some emails and be in a great frame of mind when he arrived. I had even stopped off to buy him breakfast, whatsapped him that I had done so (I knew he would be ravenous after the gym) and I was in a much better mood when he did arrive at the office.
Ladies marriage takes work but we also need to know when we're wrong. Admit it, say you're sorry and make it up to your man. They too need to do the same when they are wrong. It's a two way street. Marriage is a 50/50, give and take not a constant taking. You met an individual with a certain personality, don't expect to change them, learn to love who they are, the good and the bad and if you can say yes to their good and bad sides then you can have a good marriage.
Like I said I've been married 28 years an its been great, yes we had a bad patch once, all marriages do (totally my fault) but it can be fun and it can be worth it. So hold out and work at it. Check you later and thank you for allowing me to use this medium to vent and get into a better space mentally and emotionally. Love you guys....inspite of the faces unseen : )
if you want my free daily planner,
click here
GET MY FREE DAILY PLANNER
Created just for you.
The Truth About Blogging
Hiā¦Iām on a rant again because you learn so much when you do all your research and from all the reading Iāve done Iāve learnt much where blogging is concerned. Firstly, I have to go back to the beginning as to why I started blogging. I went into blogging for different reasons.
I wanted to share and sell my Artā¦ā¦.gafra.org
I wanted to be able to share my thoughts about different topicsā¦ā¦triniartstudio.org
I wanted to share my Natural Hair journey through my experiencesā¦ā¦.gafraihairu.com
Blogging was a great way to make another income stream
I wanted a voice and to journal my thoughts and share them.
But no one tells you how much work is involved and that you need to be able to write wellā¦your posts must at least be able to keep the attention of your audience. All the different research I did via Pinterest, Google, etc all say that its your blog and just be you and speak as if youāre talking to a friend. That was fine but itās not easy to write content that is well written so that you keep peopleās attention.
Luckily I love English and I like writing, plus I didnāt care too shā¦.t if people felt my writing was good or not. I just want to have a voice to say and share what I wanted to. That is not the case if you want your blog to be a means to earn a living though. I remember speaking with my brother-in-law, that was at the start when I was now beginning my first and only blog ( now I have 3).
GET YOUR FREE CHECKLIST OF ONLINE TOOLS
I had started a blogā¦www.triniartstudio.netā¦but it was started to share my Artwork and to try to sell it online, but as I went along and time passed, I went through a transition and that name and the look of the site no longer reflected me, so I rebranded to GaFraā¦..www.gafra.orgā¦.because I had changed and as usual I did a lot of research because now I wanted to sell my art online, after having tried all variety of marketplaces (Fineartamerica, Big Cartel, Artpal, Etsy, ArtFinder and many more) but none of them worked. I sold nothing.
So getting back to the point of this post, when you start a blog, there are few things you need to consider:
Can you write well enough to hold a personās attention
Is what you have to share interesting or not?
Do you really need to build a list of at least 100 topics so you never run out of things to talk about?
When you share your information is it properly written?
Do you know how to create proper cover pages for your blog post? And do you know where you can go to do that?
Do you even know how to build a blog? (Check squarespace.com or Wordpress)
Oh and there is even more....I also wanted to write a book. So aside from knowing if you have the writing skills to write the posts I wanted to go further. I wanted to write a book. Right now Iām putting together my husbandās poems to develop an ebook and publish it for him. That will be my test run.
Iāve always had a book on my bucket list and after reading all the different blogs about how you can do this, I am still tentative, because I always find out how much is involved in doing any of these things after the fact of trying to do it myself, in spite of all the research I do.
But what is great, is that through the research, like I mentioned above, you encounter all these sites that can help you and I also read from other book publishers, that you can publish it yourself via Amazon Kindle Publishing, but there are also courses that help you go through the process easily. I discovered one of these programs, of course I found it after the fact. Itās always after you struggle you discover all these helpful sites. I recently came upon this program:
Its called The Low Content Mastery training package. It's a course that teaches you how you can make money publishing journals, planners and other profitable low content books on Amazon KDP Print. The program includes:
Module #1: Step-by-Step Training Guides (10, plus free updates)
Module #2: Done-for-you book templates (all sizes)
Module #3: Premade Book Covers with Source Files
Module #4: Niche Profit Reports
Module #5: Over-my-shoulder video tutorials.
So donāt be like me and struggle, invest in learning the correct way to publish so that you donāt get lost or go off track like I did.
So what I didnāt do correct was
1. Write out the 100 topics so I had a flow for my blogs
2. Learn to develop covers for every blog posts (check Canva.com)
3. Understand the correct format for the posts and how to pull readers.
So I know I donāt want the same errors to occur when I start my book, which I want to start very soon. People do your homework and make sure you understand the best process to follow to get your book online and to even write good content whether its for your blog or your book. You want it to be purchased, do the right thing, be properly prepared so that itās purchased.
Hi Iām GaFra
Welcome. Hope you enjoy my blog and donāt forget to get your freebie below
FREE!
Get your FREE Cheat Sheet - a List of Sites with Tools for your Blog, Ebook, Videos etc
Research Research Research
A post sent in August is now being updated with the Information learned within the last 3 months.
A lot of research is needed to sell your art online. how do you research and what online info do you need. See what i found out.
Hi everyone, I decided to do more research and reading on how to sell my art online. I did a facebook course on social media marketing and I've set up my website, i'm on instagram, twitter and facebook but I really don't get any sales from any of those mediums. I do get people viewing my work and liking it but no purchases thus far.
I think one or two people sort me out in an upmarket and may have purchased a panel or two but my larger pieces....they don't get much coverage. I figure the best way to show those is via an Exhibition but that takes money and organising and time. So I will have one next year but for now I decided to do some research into figuring out what I am still not doing enough of or at all.
I had hoped that I would sell most of my Art online and be shipping paintings abroad but that hasn't happened and I have to figure out why.Right now I'm reading the book " Sell you art online" by Cory Huff. So far its very good. Still just taking it in and then I will go back and pull out salient points. I love doing research so this is fun for me.
One thing I've learnt so far from this book is that your talent has nothing to do with your sales. So I feel a little better because you tend to wonder if your work isn't good enough but its not about that. It's about getting infront of the right people who like the kind of art that you produce.
Being seen by the right target market and reaching them wherever they might be. That's why social media is so great. Its the forum you can use to do that whereas to reach that audience long ago you couldn't unless you travelled the world. Now you can travel the world with the click of a button.
Iāve resent this post because I am now adding an update. Todate things have been better on one front and worse on another. What am I talking about?ā¦.Well sales are even worse in the markets. Every market Iāve done Iāve sold absolutely nothing. Online things are a bit better as my viewership is increasing and Iāve been researching all the ways to up my website, for example, i didnāt realise that to post blogs on Pinterest you needed to create eye catching cover pages in Canva. So Iāve learnt to do that.
It is a lot of fun and can be quite addictive. But it does change the look of your blog, it makes it a lot more captivating and professional.Iāve also learned about the groups on Pinterest and Iām very interested in joining a few. People have approached me to add them to my board, but to be honest I didnāt really know how to do that, so that is something I have to learn still.
so in summary, what Iāve learned so far with all the time that has gone by:
make sure your blog posts have the proper cover graphic so it can be easily posted to Pinterest.
you can build up a large following on Pinterest by pinning your posts.
Have a long list of topics that you can post on.
Write these posts and you can schedule them to be posted as you see fit. I love Squarespace for this as the schedule is built in.
Get people to join your list at every turn.
Share your knowledge but not all. Develop courses to share the majority of your know how.
So people when I figure out what I am not doing well I will let you guys know but for now check you all later.
Consistent Art. What is it?
Sharing some words of wisdom I read for other artists.
Quite inspiring..
Consistent Art. What is it? Itās something we all struggle with but, find out more, This short journal of my ideas and an easy way to understand it.
Hi Everyone...There is something I struggle with a lot, and its that of feeling not having āa styleā, and by extension, I feel as if I create work that is a bit all over the place. This is often followed by some self-excuses and reasoning and me justifying it by saying...ābut I want to try everything!ā.
Most of us want to be able to commit to a focus and make more consistent art at least some of the time, but itās not always as easy as it might seem. I recently stumbled across an artist who...just from her first blog post got me excited....no not in that way....She basically expressed exactly what I've been feeling and going through and she is an artist that wants to help. That got me excited...SHE UNDERSTANDS!!
Her name is Tara Leaver and this is what she said........
"If Iāve learned one thing over the last decade, itās that *consistency in your art does not, for most of us, happen overnight*.Iāve also noticed that the *frustration tends to come from feeling we ought or want to be more consistent* way before it makes sense for that to happen, ie. when weāre still in the early stages of learning to express ourselves through art. And the early stages can take years, friends. Thatās completely normal {if a total bummer at times}.
There seems to be this standard way of thinking about it.
We notice that our paintings are coming out different from each other without any apparent common theme or thread.We also notice that weāre far too curious about all sorts of different subjects, styles, techniques and media to feel able to commit to just one.
**So we assume thereās something wrong with us,** that weāre not āreal artistsā. That we will never be able to make consistent work.
I donāt like the word amateur at all; it seems to come laced with judgement whenever itās used. But I do think if we were able to accept early on that those other āfurther alongā words we may want to claim ā professional, experienced, skilled, āgood at what we doā ā may take longer to apply than we imagine or might like, {especially if we donāt yet have a regular artistic practice}, the whole process of finding our way might be a little less painful."
GET MY FREE ARTIST LOOK-BOOK HERE
Her words hit home to me. I've been feeling that way for the past 3-4 years of my painting life. But she has been painting for many years and I am still a fledgling, so I expect what I'm going through is all a part of the "growing up" process. Its good to know this though as there are times when I feel like I want to give up in frustration. Especially when I also want my art out there and no one is buying.
There are hundreds of artist here in Trinidad and as I always reiterate, only a few are established and make money, the rest do it as a hobby or because as Tara mentioned it's inside of us and we need to let it out.
There have been times when I wanted to cry because I feel as if there is something inside of me that wants to burst out but I haven't found the key to release it yet and it leaves me sad, frustrated and upset. Then I have to let the feeling ride, bury it and deal with it another day because life has to go on.
That's why Tara resonated with me so strongly. She empathies with what we artist go through. I especially needed to read these next words from her.....
"So my first tip, in light of the above, would be to really try to let it sink in that
a} everything takes a lot longer than you think it ought to, and
b} in the beginning, you likely will want to try a lot of different things, your work therefore will probably look inconsistent {although there will also be common threads so stay alert for those}, and this is all totally ok and normal. Frustrating as all hell, but normal. In fact, I consider it a significant part of fully becoming your artist self."
Thank you Tara. Your words helped me feel a lot better about myself and these crazy emotions that pop up at intervals especially when looking at the work of other artists. i would feel lost and like a fake. The one thing that did make me feel better before seeing her words was the fact that when I did my markets people expounded that my work was beautiful and very lovely, I mean.....that is all well and good but when you know inside you haven't reached that point where what you create soothes that crushing need for expression and release., then hearing that is short lived. It soothes you for a short period only.
Tara recommended a few exercises which I try as they were also mentioned by another artist I again stumbled upon...Nancy Hillis......what they both basically indicated is that we should:
1. Work in multiples. Start at least 3-5 pieces at the same time.
2. That prevents you from getting too detailed and tight as you paint.
3. Move from one to the other, it also gets you to paint a lot looser.
4. Choose a theme, something you're passionate about or excited about
5. Or challenge yourself by doing a specific number of pieces within a one week period.
So as I like to say let's see how that goes. I hope what I read and learned from Tara and Nancy will help you as well. Read more of my other ramblings, as...
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE....
A Day To Be Thankful.
Hi everyone, it's a beautiful day in Trinidad and Tobago. Today I saw my admin assistant for the first time after a week. She was one of the casualties of the major flooding in Arima.
The story was bad. Water coming through your windows, cars submerged, water up to your neck, kindergardens having to carry the babies to the roof. It was a mess, but after the rescues by the Coast guard people came out in droves to help.
Those who couldn't leave their homes for whatever reason were provided with food and drink and help came later.
It was a good story to hear that after the water finally went down people came again in droves to help remove useless water ridden appliances. They came to help clean the homes. They came with cooked food, clothes, baby items to assist those who had lost everything.
Charity and goodness is still alive. Yes she mentioned there was the odd story of appliances being stolen but those were few. Things were well organised and everything came to them because some people couldn't leave anyway.
I was amazed at her stories of the generosity and goodwill that occurred. Even the insurance companies were very professional in their approach. Just as peole were visited house by house by HDC to repair electricity and check outlets and restore these key amenities the insurance agents also went house to house to get estimates to deal with claims quickly.
You didnt have to go to the offices, the office came to you and so it should be because their minds were already in a turmoil from being rescued in their own living room from 6 feet of water. That is traumatic and scary. Juming into that water so that the Coast Guard can rescue you was also danderous as some peopl banged their legs or side on the unknown items under the water.
Its so surreal. These are things you see on TV but never think they will happen to people close to you. You feel helpless but things always work out. The interesting part is, while some are going through all that chaos others are going on with their lives unaware of the devastation others are dealing with. Life is just so odd sometimes.
Well things have settled and she is back home. She has no furniture but again the government swiftly sort to give grants for them to replace their appliances and many stores offered very low discounts to assist with the replacement.
So with everything back to normal I am glad that we aren't as third world as some other countries like to list us. Things were well organised and dealt with. We still have things to work out so they run even better but everything takes time and we have reached very far.
So check you next week for more artsy sharing versus disaster sharing.
Landslide in Maracas
What Is The True Value of Art? Should You Compromise?
I did an Upmarket in South a few months ago and in chatting with another vendor who did work similar to mine, we both agreed that Art in Trinidad is valued by the minority. I mean the minority accepts its value and are willing to pay for it. The majority like Art but don't see it as an investment.
When an Artist has paid his dues and becomes famous only then is his Artwork seen as valuable. When he dies then it's even more valuable, e.g. Boscoe Holders work. But as a new Artist it takes a lot to stay positive about your work and to continue painting.
I have evolved over time, but in a direction I didn't plan. I now do a lot more small acrylics for the markets and less watercolours. This was not my intention but I've been pulled by the public demand versus my inert internal yearning.
Why? Why has this happened?
1. It happens because every Artists wants their work to be appreciated, purchased and even demanded.
2. Compromising gives us a level of vindication, because the art sells but should we need that? Should we compromise? I feel not, but we do.
An Artist should paint because they are compelled to and create what they feel inside. Not paint what sells. I have fallen into that trap. Its hard to avoid. You don't want your work to pile up, unseen, unappreciated, unsold.
Triple orchids
Beauties.
So what do I do?
I to an extent, have no choice. Maybe I can do both. I paint what inspires me but in a size that is "sellable" for the Markets and I paint what I feel inside on a bigger scale for my exhibitions. I learned from my last Exhibition/Pop Up Shop that to be able to sell my large pieces, Upmarkets are not the way.
I am going the route of the Formal Exhibition. I am planning one next year and it will feature my large pieces only. I will invite guests formally to my opening and make a production of the entire event. Lets see how that goes.... : )
I've also stumbled on an abstract artist Nancy Hillis and she has an onlineworksop:
https://nancyhillis.com/artists-journey-3-secrets-of-the-masters
and here I started releasing my creativity even more.
I completed one piece based on her direction and it was far different from my normal simple, geometric, flat design. I will continue following her worshop to see where it leads me.
So guys thats all for now. Check you next week. Love you all and continue to follow me and send in your comments via my website: www.gafra.org.
I also have a new blog called www..wordpress.com/Gafra_TAS. All bout my natural hair journey. Check it out. So until next time.
Social Media...What the Heck!!!!
Here Iām talking about how versatile the internet and technology is. Your Art can reach anyone in different ways.
Hi everyone....this weekend I spent all my time reading up on how to pull viewers to my website. Goodness.....the amount of things you need to have in place or do.....heavy sigh....but I have to do it all if I want to get my art out there as well as make a living off of it.
I don't want my art to be a hobby. I want my art to be my second business so it has to make money. First off I went on youtube. I have to say you can learn about almost anything on youtube. It is absolutely amazing. I know now that I need to be blogging...which I am : ) I need to be in all the social medias...which I am. I need to be updating my site every week...this I'm not consistent with yet. I also need to up my SEO via my key words on my blog posts and any articles I post on facebook.
I didn't know you can pay people online to write your articles and blogs š¤¤ hnmmmm. They specialise in placing tbese key words within the blog or article so its picked up by the search engine. And you can pay to get keywords that help people find you when they are searching for similar items/services and you can also pay to get top key words so that your site pops up first in the listing when they search.
Oh so much to learn and sooooo much to put in place. I'm still trying to understand it all so I can go implement. Some of what I learned I've started but most I still need to do. If you need some of that knowledge go to youtube and type...." how to get people to my site".... loads of videos come up and as I said they are quite enlightening.
One of the books I'm reading Real Artists Donāt Starve by Jeff Goins says some interesting things' like:
"ādoing something so small and gradual that it almost looks like youāre doing nothingāoften leads to much more sustainable success. You can do extraordinary things when you are patiently persistent."
"In the end, the more cautious entrepreneurs ended up being the more successful ones, whereas the risk takers who quit their jobs early were 33 percent more likely to fail."
āGood artists copy. Great artists steal.ā Picasso
"We create by copying, and as we do, the skill becomes embedded into our memory."
"When we steal like this, we end up creating a style that is all our own."
"You are not an artist because you steal. You steal because you are an artist."
These stood out to me because for my 10x10 acrylic pieces I sell at markets most of the ideas come from different sites and pics that I see and I would change them up a bit. My large abstracts and my 9x12 abstracts started off with me trying to follow Michael Lang's style but instead I developed my own style and look. My watercolours are totally influenced by things I see and have a deep urge to paint based totally on my personal watercolour style.
Initially I felt that seeing a piece and expanding on it was not a good thing but I've since learned that its when you copy others work and pass it off as yours....that is a problem but if you change it around or even improve on it then that is different. Artists learn and get inspired by each other and especially so from the masters. This book revealed what allot of the other books I've read.
"In other words, we create not in isolation but with the influence of others around us."
"....I call this the Rule of Re-creation, which says that you are not born an artist. You become one."
So to end. You become what you believe you are. You don't have to be born into it. Therefore.......... I am an artist.
Later guys. Send your friends to my website and check out my store on www.zazzle.com/ gafra_designs. Purchase items with my artwork. Even get sets in your favourite design. Check how my abstract looks on this leggings.
orange & green
Technology and Art, Is it For Us or....?
Find out how technology is working for me.
Technology and Art, is it for Us or not?
Hi everyone...what a topic!!! I brought this up because...OMG!!! Technology is the baum...I pity the people who avoid it, are afraid of it or don't believe in it. How can they not? I can understand their slant, in that it does take away the power of personal interactions with all these gadgets, but it is also so powerful and fun.
I say this because I have been trying to use social media to get my artwork out there and be seen. I tried the marketplace sites like Etsy, Shopify, Ebay, Big Cartel etc. etc. but nothing happened. I wondererd if I was doing something wrong so I've been doing a lot of reading and research on the topic. I recently read a few books that were quite good. Check the list at the end.
The end result is that I've hired my younger daughter to manage my social media...instagram and facebook. I deal with twitter and tumblr myself for now. I also recently, like this weekend, registered on zazzle, redbubble and society6. I'm looking to see how these work out and if any sales are made. But my topic today was all about how much fun I had placing my artwork on different items.
I was so into it I spent most of my Sunday (while my husband went golf) to play around with my artwork on different products. SO MUCH FUN!!!!
It did however force me to go back to the quality of my photos where the pixel quality was too low. I discovered how to increase the quality and thats what I mean. When you are a person who likes technology and is open to playing and experimenting and taking a chance even when you're not sure what you're doing. You figure it out or get help or go on youtube.....lol.....But I prevailed and found a way. It made me also realise that the products we use, with patterns or artwork must have come from somewhere.
So Art is my business not just a hobby. Its not just about creating art but also about making a living. I don't want or plan to be a struggling Artist because there are too many avenues available to help us live off of our art. I don't plan to limit myself to Trinidad alone. I want to be international.
This world is no longer restricted to where you live. We now, through technology live all over the world. So I believe technology is for us and if you use it properly and ethucally you can gain tremendously and have fun while using it.
Thanks guys. Thats all for now, Check you again soon and have a blessed week. My recent abstract:
Acrylic Abstract - Aqua Waves
See how this abstract looks on leggings. The Aqua Waves leggings
https://www.zazzle.com/gafra_designs
BOOKLIST
How to make money online by Samuel Nygard
Selling Art Online by Dave Conrey
Art Money & Success by Maria Brophy
Turn Your Photographs/ Art into Income by Stephanie Laird.
Do Women Really Help Each Other?
Do women really help each other. I have to wonder. Here is whyā¦.
HI everyoneā¦.Sorry but today Iām venting and ventingā¦ā¦.so to beginā¦.. I joined this womenās group. Itās not the first Iāve ever Joined. The last one was to promote entrepreneurship between women and network. That was an absolute blahā¦ā¦what I saw instead were women who said they would meet with you so you can share about your business but the meetings either never happened or you never got any business. There were also a lot of cliques and it was like a social butterfly club, so of course I stopped going.
This second womenās association is about promoting art. Sounded great and I felt I could learn from these more experienced ladies and the association will help market my art. Then eventually with experience built I would become a more involved member and play my partā¦.so I took part in 3 events. The first was ā¦.what can I sayā¦.nothing came out of that event nor the second. Met a few nice women, but no sales, didnāt really learn anything and all I realised is that they were a bit disorganised. But I gave it another chance.
They recently had an art exhibition and indicated that you can submit 3-4 pieces and the committee would approve the pieces that would be shown and it cost $300.00 to defer expenses. I submitted 4 pieces. So you can understand my disappointment when, after inviting 3 friends, we attended to find that only one of my pieces was up and it was the smallest piece I submitted. Now donāt get me wrongā¦donāt think.ā¦Are you jealous?ā¦..like a friend commented to me when I complained about it.
Some friendā¦ā¦seems that friend doesnāt really know meā¦..Noā¦.what got my goat is why ask us to submit 3-4 pieces and only one is up when you see almost everyone else has 2 and 3 pieces up. Wouldnāt it have been fairer to at least put up 2 pieces for everyone and not do 3 for some? This really upset me. It was disappointing and Iām sorryā¦.it stinks of unfairness. One artist whose piece was below mine (she only got one put up as well) indicated she too was disappointed that only one of her pieces was featured but she is just grateful to be in the exhibition.
GRATEFUL!!!!!ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦.NOOOOOOO!!!! Iām not grateful. If you had told me that I was only getting one piece up at a cost of $300 (to defer expenses) then I would have said no thanks, I have a better chance of getting something sold when I pay the same amount for a table in a Fair or Upmarket. (They kinda owe me $2000). But as I say in lifeā¦.you live and you learn. Iām not one to continue doing something that gives me no value or enjoyment. I tried it and it doesnāt work for me. I seek out, work hard to find or make my own opportunities. This association will work for some not for me.ā¦.soā¦ NEXT!!??ā¦ā¦.Lol
Do women really help each other? I have to wonder sometimes. This is whyā¦
Woman in the Red Hat
The Beauty of a woman in a hat. Art is everything.
Iām not mean so I wonāt mention names or place pictures so anyone can Identify who or what or where Iām talking about. Thatās not the point of my vent. The point is I find I continuously encounter womenās groups and instead of helping each other the women are competitive, cliquey, and sometimes petty. We can be evil as well. Not all womenās groups are like that but Iām still to encounter one where it operates such that all members feel like theyāve come homeā¦..if you know what I mean.. Where there is a strong allegiance to helping each other.
Maybe helping people has to happen one person at a time versus in groups because like a classroom there are some who get lost in the crowd, get forgotten, get ignored, get left out and its a difficult thing to know how each person is feeling when activities or events are occurring. Being understanding and thoughtful is a lot of work when you have to consider the feelings of 20 or more people in the club. So maybe Iāll stop joining these associations unless there is a balance of men and women. Maybe that will be different.
Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!. I feel much better. Although my friends will be surprised that I havenāt gotten over this issue yet, so much so that I had to write about it. It really, really pissed me off, but Iām moving on and like I said Iām working at building myā¦ā¦no I donāt want to use that wordā¦.braaandā¦.ughā¦..that word is so overused, we need to get another one. Let me rephraseā¦I am working at building my image/design/value/trademarkā¦..pick whichever floats your boatā¦.to get my artwork more visible. letās see how that goes.
So bye for now, check you next week. Stay safe, be good, Love you guys. OH Just ending with a piece I just finished. Saw a pic somewhere and changed it up a bit.
Giving Of Yourself
Hi everyone...sorry about the late posting but yesterday I had a very hectic day as I worked in two stalls for my Church Harvest and today is my mom's birthday...so I kinda forgot all about posting.
The title today is what I felt as I worked in the Harvest. Sometimes you have to give to your community...find a way. If not through your church then maybe through a club for the youths or the communuty centre.
That day it was a lot of work, very hot, very tiring and I had volunteered my kids to run one of the stalls without asking them. They weren't too happy about that and I basically had to organise everything myself and they simply came the day to run the stall. They did a good job but my son who is a grumbler....grumbled as usual........Kids!!!
A wide view during mass before the start of the Harvest.
Me and my friend in the stall.
That is all for now. Check you next week. Love you all.
Www.gafra.org
I was a little upset with him and his attitude, so after the harvest when we were all at home I sent a message on the family whatsapp chat telling them thanks for their help and that they had done a good job and they had done their part for the church and I won't volunteer them again. ...yes...I dislike grumblers.
I had fun but my feet were killing me because after working in one stall, when it closed off I moved to my kids' stall to help there. Last year when I did the stall I felt worst but this year I had no aches or pains. That must mean that my workouts at the gym were paying off.
Back to giving of yourself...... I hope each and everyone of us can do something for others or to help our community as the community takes care of its people...its young and old. So lets do our part.
My Final Story
My short sharing on a recent upmarket.
The last parts of my story.
Www.gafra.org.....Hi everyone...so on to part 3 and the final bits about me. How do I spend my time? Well I have 4 kids and I always find myself running around either picking up one of them or dropping one of them somewhere. I also run a Leadership Development Business with my husband so most of my day is spent coaching Executives. Then at the end of the day I go walking with a friend for exercise or I will go home and paint. I also do the gym in the morning with the huzzy......yuh gotta do what yuh gotta do to stay healthy
I paint whenever I get any free time which is normally in the evenings or on weekends. I also book and do a few upmarkets on the weekends. My art is my second business so I spend a lot of free time trying to become more visible to my customers. I also plan my own Personal Exhibition at least once every 2 years or I join group exhibitions as well. I've done about 2 group exhibitions this year so far and I had my own small exhibition in May.
When we start approaching the Carnival season then I spend time attending company parties and my husband and I play jouvert. On Carnival Monday and Tuesday we tend to relax.
Christmas is a favourite tine for me. Although my kids are big I still love putting out gifts under the tree for everyone and I love when they open them after breakfast and sit around laughing and teasing each other. Best time ever.
This is the upmarket venue....NAPA
A view of my table at the most recent upmarket I attended.
My 4 kids. Their ages go from 27 to 23.
A piece completed for the market.
I enjoyed sharing with you all. Go check my new affiliation to Society6/gafra and Redbubble/gafra
If you want items with my artwork on it check my website and get linked straight to those pages.
Get a phonecase or bag or throw pillow.
Www.gafra.org
BUY NOW
Get Items with my Artwork. Phone cases, Dresses, mugs and more. Click below.
How Much is Art Worth?
You work hard to create but do others place the same value on your creation as well as understand the effort? I discuss this based on my feelings at the time.
How Much is Art Worth to us?
Hi Everyone...I have to vere off of sharing more about me to talk about the market I did this weekend. It was well attended and there were A LOT OF VENDORS. I sold one piece but I felt a little low after, because again I see how little art is appreciated. People love your work but.. ....mainly the ladies went after the jewelry and most don't see or understand how valuable Art really is. The gentleman who bought my piece was an Art lover and understood this. Most don't.
Its hard out there especially with the large number of artists in this country. How do you stand out and how do you get seen. How do you get customers to buy? I'm beginning to realise that the markets are not truly the way to be seen, I thought it was but it isn't. Many people take my card but never call. It means you need to find a way to get the contact info on the persons who show interest then start to build a relationship with them and send them your work to build interest. People who know you buy from you not strangers.
No artist wants their work to pile up, unseen, unappreciated, unsold. So what do I do?
I want to sell my large pieces and I learned from my last Exhibition/Pop Up Shop that to be able to sell my large pieces, Upmarkets are not the way. So I am going the route of the Quarterly Exhibition. I am planning two or three next year and it will feature all of my pieces (yes I changed my mind on showing my large pieces only). I will invite guests formally to my opening and make it a special event. I want it to be different from the usual exhibition...but I can be lazy and I hate organising events so I just might hire someone to bring my ideas to life. Lets see how that goes.... : ) Ahhhhh. So I've said my piece and now I feel much better.....thanks for listening...or should I say reading my vent. I'll check you guys next week or maybe I'll complete my sharing about myself this week...who knows. Heres a pic from the market I attended this weekend. Hope you like it.
WWW.GAFRA.ORG
As I close this post I want to leave something for you. A Gift. Take a chance and be surprised by what Iāve left for you. Take it from me you can definitely use this in your life. ENJOY!!!
See you at my next post.
My Story pt 2
The rest of my story and my history.
My Art Story Part #2
Hi everyone....so a little more about me GaFra. I grew up in a middle class home with just me my younger brother, my father and my mom. We spent most of our time with our mom. She was open to anything I or my brother wanted to do. I did ballet ( I started at an old age...10 years old) and danced until I was 16yrs and my mom would be parked outside of the Caribbean School of Dance for hours while I did my classes or my ballet exams. Dance was my biggest love. I loved moving and feeling the music.
I attended Fatima RC primary school and passed for Curepe Junior Secondary school but my Godmother got me a transfer to Providence Girls. I stayed there until Form 2 then got another transfrer to St Joseph Convent Port of Spain. I Did my O'levels there then did my A'levels at St Francois Girls. I loved school and I loved all 3 schools I attended. I still have friends from the last 2 schools but I also wanted to go further. My dream then was to get qualifications and become a top executive of a company. Art was nowhere in my mind or my life. The only thing I knew was I liked doing pencil drawings but that was it.
Where I am Now.
After High school I worked for a year and a half at RBTT Bank. That was the only company to respond to my application for a job. My parents weren't into getting qualifications. They assumed after school you got a job and then eventually had a family. That wasnt my plan. I even wanted to go abroad to study so I did the SAT exams. Please understand that I didnt even know much about how to even apply to study abroad all I knew was you need good SAT scores to get in. I didnt study or do classes for the SAT exams like my kids do today. I organised and did the exams on my own but when I asked my parents if I could go abroad to study they said they didn't have that kind of money. So that plan was a bust.
By the way my score from the SAT exam was 1400. I didnt even know if that was good or not. So I had to find another way to get my degree. Thats when I heard about CESS. This was a Bank campaign where you took a loan which your parents co signed and after you finished your degree you got a job and paid back the loan. And people that's how I got my degree.
If you really want something nothing can keep you from achieving it except you.
So I earned my degree and went out into the working world. Thats when RBTT hired me again but I was a simple teller.
Want to know what happens next? Do I just work in a bank for years? Check my blog next week and find out what happens next. Love you all.
EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!
Shating a pic that was shared online. Some things were displaced in this store
Hello everyone. I don't normally do a second post in one week but I just had to share this. Trinidad &Tobago had one of its strongest quakes ever on Tuesday. It was a 6.9 and lasted about 3 minutes. It was scary as heck although I have to confess when it started I was at home with my family. I was upstairs with my husband when it started. We normally just sit still until it passes but this time it was rough so we crouched near the bed, but my main thought was to try to protect the TV from falling.....yes....lol...when we thought is was finished it started up again but worst, so we moved to the doorway.
People when it finally stopped I immediately rushed downstairs to find out how my girls were (my 3 daughters were downstairs). Only to find them at the front door with one in her towel ( she was taking a shower when it happened). Everyone was fine but the electricity was gone and you cpuldn't make any calls. I tried to call my mom who lives alone. You realise from an experience like this how inconsequential and helpless we humans are if nature wants to take revenge. I say revenge because humans have been disrespecting the environment and nature, so its paying us back for that. We really need to treat the earth better. Stop the poisoning of the seas, polluting the atmosphere and the land.
So blessedly there were no fatalities and only small damages to buildings and cars but there was an aftershock yesterday and they say we can expect an even bigger tremor sometime. We are powerless against something like that but we can try to be prepared. But Trinis have short memories. They will be partying as usual in 2 weeks and would have forgotten all about this scare. Not sure if our happy go lucky attitude is a good thing or not but it is our reality.
So thats the story. A shake up in Trinidad but we are resilient and nothing takes our joy. Chat next week. If anything else happens I will let you know. Later!! What we need to do.
My Story
Hi everyone. Just wanted to tell you a little bit about me. So who is GaFra? Better known as Gail Francis. Well I am the first of 2 children. My baby brother is my sweety. We are 6 years apart but we get along like a house on fire. We laugh at the most ridiculous things. My father died or was killed a few years ago. That's a whole story in itself. My mom is alive and she is a sweetheart.
Being the oldest I am quite responsible. I did my chores. Didn't stay out too late etc. Being married with four children I must say my mom had it easy...but my kids are a dream and so is my wonderful husband. I don't know how he puts up with me. I am stubborn and bossy sometimes but he is my greatest fan. Life in Trinidad is great despite all the things you hear internationally. I own my own business that I run with my husband but my Art is my second business.
I'm hoping to make it a serious business so when I retire it is fully up and running. So coming back to me......below see what i looked like as a child.
cute huh?š I have always enjoyed life. I look different from a few years ago and as I get older I decided to go natural and I am enjoying it immensely. But painting is what lets me relax and I am happiest doing.
But I also enjoyed horseback riding but haven't been able to do much of that anymore
This is me when I decided to go natural. I cut it all off. I'm in the Botanical Gardens having snow cone.
Love that place. Ok I've got lots more to share but i'll do that next week. I rebranded as you know and I want my new look to really reach out there internationally. So let your friends, here and abroad know about my site. www.gafra.org......As a part of my new look I will also be painting series. Right now I'm working on a 3 part series of my watercolour painting " The Old Lattice House" I plan to paint 3 different perspectives of the house. Here is "The Old Lattice House" the first/original.
This is part 2 of the Old House Series.
OK guys talk next week. And check me next week to see how the series is going. Later!!! Love you all.
Hi Iām GaFra
Welcome and here is a gift for you. Click below.
FREE
CLICK HERE FOR A SURPRISE!!!