What Should You Do to Become an Artist?

I get asked this question a lot by friends and colleagues who know I'm a self-taught painter.

Most people assume that to become an artist you need to go to art college. And that is one route, but it's not the only route. In fact, for some people, art college is the worst possible choice. Why? Because that process of teaching can dull the creative fire. I honestly believe if I had gone to art college I would have been expelled! Why? Because I don't conform, and the best artists don't, they create their own path.

Do you know which famous artist didn't go to art college? It was Vincent van Gogh, and look what he created? Not bad.

My route to being a painter was by 'accident'. I was looking for a way to express myself when I discovered I couldn't write during my cancer treatment. When I picked up my first paintbrush, an inner door opened for me, and I fell in love with the whole process of painting. For me, it was and still is a way for me to express my voice.

There are almost certainly clues in your life right now about your artistry. Think back to your childhood - what did you love doing? Who encouraged you the most? Follow those clues as they will give you important information about your next steps.

When you have found your medium, set about educating yourself. Leave no stone unturned, and be conventional and unconventional in your approach.

I found practising artists who tutored me, and I educated myself. I found those tutors by following my nose, not because I had great contacts. I just 'interviewed' several until I knew I'd found the one who I clicked with. That's really important. I asked a lot of questions, and became the apprentice artist while I discovered my path, and I'm still learning. Since I began painting in 2002, I've had joint exhibitions, sold my work, and been commissioned by private and corporate clients to create artworks. Not too shabby.

Start by looking within your networks - who do you know who can advise you? If you draw a blank, expand your search, and get creative with this until you find your tutor.

So if you are asking yourself, 'what should I do to become an artist', here is my formula:

Allow your creativity free reign, and then follow the signs. It's that simple.

Book yourself into that pottery class you've been checking out, sign up for that photography class, or better still, grab your camera, drive to the beach or wilds, and start clicking.

And ask yourself: what do I see? what do I feel? And listen to your answers. You'll know what to do next.

Explore your wild side!

Amanda Seyderhelm is an artist and creativity coach who works with individuals to discover and express their voice. To read more from Amanda or to enroll in her weekly video go to her blog http://www.apaintingartist.com/blog and sign up on the form on that page.

Ideas For Having A Truly One Of A Kind Date Experience

We've all been there. We need to plan a date but it can't be just any old, dinner and a movie date. It has to be something special. You want the date to be something that the other person will always remember. It may sound like a difficult decision but by putting a little thought into it. Planning a special, one-of-a-kind date is fairly easy.

The key to planning this great date is to understand your personal style and preferences, as well as your dates. In other words, if the two of you enjoy high energy sporting activities, a trip to the museum may not be the best idea. Planning a date that is against the likes and style of your partner could possibly derail the budding relationship.

Here are some unique date ideas for you to think about before your next big date. They cover a wide range of likes, hobbies, activities, and interests all depending on what kind of couple you are and what kind of date you are looking for.

For True Romantics

• Does it get more romantic than candlelight and soft music? Go all out with a traditional candlelight dinner. Turn on some romantic music, dim the lights down, and light some candles to heat up the romance.



• Plan a weekend trip at a bed and breakfast. There's nothing like a cozy bed and breakfast to cuddle up with your date. It is not only a great stress relief for the two of you but you can also get further connected as a couple.

For Artistic Types

• Pottery classes are becoming a more and more popular date experience for people within the last few months. When you were in grade school you no doubt created an ash tray or paper weight. Now here is your chance to improve on those early year creations to show your date what you can do. You'll definitely enjoy a few laughs with each other.



• Attend a ballet. There are always numerous ballet shows being held at your local theater. Read up on some of the show's background information before you go and impress your date with your knowledge of the fine arts.

For Those Who Love to Learn

• Take a cooking class together. Food can be romantic. Learning how to cook new and exciting dishes can harness that romantic energy. Plus, it also expands your cooking repertoire as a couple.



• Try attending a poetry or book reading. Its one thing to cuddle in bed and read, but it's quite another to hear the author read and interpret their own work. You can then discuss what each of you thought about the reading while you're cuddling in bed.

For Travel Buffs

• Plan a weekend getaway. There's nothing like two days away from household stress and work pressure to recharge those batteries. These kinds of trips are great for your own personal health but they are great for your relationship's health. The trip can be fun and exciting or sexy and romantic depending on what kind of couple you are.



• Climb into the car and just drive. Pack enough clothes for a day or two and just head out head out with no particular destination in mind. You never know what you'll come across when you let impulsiveness guide your way.

For Home Bodies

• Plan a night together and cook a meal. I'm sure you have a recipe book in your house. Go shopping together for the necessary ingredients. Each of you cooks a few separate dishes for the meal and then sees how the other likes it.



• This one is for the couch potatoes or for those rainy afternoons. Take a trip to the video store and rent a few of your favorite movies or an entire season of your favorite show for a movie marathon.

Two Halves Don't Always Make A Whole

I waited all my life for my soul mate. I always knew, somewhere deep down inside myself, that the perfect mate was out there somewhere, waiting for me just like I was waiting for him. His absence had been noticeable for as long as I could remember; it was always as though a part of me was missing.
In my younger days (before my spiritual path took me in the direction of things like reincarnation and karma) I didn't think in terms of a soul mate. I just knew that my "knight in shining armour" would be riding his white horse into my life someday, and he would bring with him everything I needed to be happy.
Fairy tales don't come true, and soul mates aren't always what we thought they would be. Almost everyone agrees that the soul mate relationship is a karmic one, in which souls choose to share life experiences time and time again. The souls plan to come together to accomplish specific spiritual learning objectives in specific lifetimes, just as best buddies on the physical plane might decide to take a pottery class together.
Notice that I never said "soul mates come together within a specific lifetime to share the perfect romantic relationship." Not all soul mate relationships are romantic in nature, and not all are harmonious. Sometimes souls plan to learn from NOT getting along, in which case the relationship is usually fairly short-lived, unless both souls are well versed in the lesson of acceptance.
To some, the terms "soul mate" and "twin flame" are interchangeable, but for me that's not the case. I think of a 'soul mate' as a learning partner, who agreed to meet with me in this lifetime so we could learn and grow from our relationship. That learning relationship could be on any level; we could be friends, we could work together, we could be teacher and student, or the friend of a friend of a friend. It may take only one chance meeting to accomplish what we wanted to accomplish; it may take a lifetime of shared interaction. The connection between twin flames is so strong, on the other hand, that they literally can't be happy unless they're in each other's lives - which is a great karmic way to ensure that the lessons they intended to share are actually shared. Life just doesn't work for either one of them, unless they learn to put their love, on whatever level they may be experiencing it, above all else.
We choose life as thinking, feeling human beings so we can learn to express God's love by the way we think and the way we feel. It's a lesson that takes hundred - sometimes thousands - of lifetimes to learn. We may choose, in-between lifetimes, to continue these lessons with the same souls we've learned with before. That's what makes up "soul mates."
It's a pretty rough row to hoe, when you think of coming together with another soul lifetime after lifetime after lifetime, trying to get 'universal love' right. Because we are thinking, feeling human beings, we have a tendency to let our ideas (or expectations), our feelings (relative to the present relationship or not) and our physical drives (especially sexual ones) be the driving force in our relationships, regardless of what level we may be relating on.
Choosing to respond from a carnal level instead of from a spiritual one incurs karmic debt, which means that we have to be on the receiving end of our carnal response sooner or later. The learning cycle goes on and on and on until we've related enough to know, from our own experience, that responding with love to every person, event and circumstance that comes into our lives is the only way to go.
In the meantime, while we're still learning our lessons on love, we live our lives as thinking, feeling human beings, and each time we meet someone who feels comfortable to us - someone who is so much more familiar to us than the other people in our lives - we think we must be in love. And we LIKE thinking we're in love, because being in love is a driving force in all of us. How could we ever be in a position to learn the lessons we came here to learn if we aren't?
That's when the fairy tale aspect of the soul mate dilemma comes to light, and we begin to realize that romantic love isn't always the driving force in a soul mate relationship. The goal, we come to understand, is the opportunity to choose and express love and acceptance for each other, even if neither of us is who the other hoped we would be.
That's where the most difficult soul mate relationship lessons come into play. We have to make a choice, and it's no easy choice to make. Do we let the 'love of our life' go, because we love them and want them to be in a relationship where they can be accepted for who they are, or do we stay in the relationship, hoping that something that we do on an emotional, mental or physical level will change them into the person we want them to be?
What's a loving soul mate to do?
Lois Grant-Holland is a Life Path Focus Counselor offering Life Path Focus Sessions, Karmic Astrology Charts, Channeled Guidance, Intuitive Readings and Classes and Workshops to spiritual seekers on all positive paths, and is the site facilitator at The A.N.S.W.E.R. - (The Seeker's Resource Guide to Alternative, New Thought, Spiritual Growth, Wellness and Enlightenment Resources.) You can visit her website at http://www.loisgrantholland.com

Look! It's Another New Age!

There's nothing new about "the new age" except the attitude of the souls participating in it. I bet every soul who chose to incarnate into this particular historical era shook their little energy heads and said, "Oh, no! Not again!"
Spiritual enlightenment is the very purpose of life as thinking, feeling human beings here on the planet Earth. The path to spiritual enlightenment is different for every soul, in every lifetime, depending on what lessons they've already learned in other lifetimes and what lessons they hope to accomplish by being alive in this one.
In some lifetimes, for some souls, enlightenment is a very quiet and personal process - so quiet and so personal that hardly anyone (including the soul in question) realizes that spiritual growth is taking place at all. We choose lifetimes in certain historical eras or within certain cultures where spiritual truth is not an obvious issue so that we can focus our learning energies on the more subtle aspects of truth.
When we choose lifetimes in which we are comfortable with the spiritual or religious beliefs of the culture that we are born into, and we have no inner drive to question or go against that truth, we know that confirming the 'dogma' of our spiritual truth is not on our learning agenda.
When we choose lifetimes and/or cultures that put us right in the middle of religious (or spiritual) dissent, we know that confirming our denying our inner truth is a priority in that lifetime, since we are forced to choose between expressing what we really think and feel and/or going against the majority, which is usually not a healthy thing to do. Participation in these cultural learning experiences is a major aspect of soul level planning for spiritual growth.
Just as we might decide, on a conscious level, that we want to take a pottery class, so our soul might decide that we want to be a part of The Inquisition, or The Crusades, or The Salem Witch Hunts, for the experience and life lessons inherent to it. Sometimes we're looking for something new to believe in; sometimes we're looking for confirmation of what we already believe is truth. Always, we are seeking to find God's truth within us. We've all lived enough lifetimes to know that a new New Age begins each time Man as a species finds something, or someone, new to worship.
I don't imagine that early Man (Flintstone era) worshipped much of anything. Every ounce of his energy was required just to survive in his animal-level world. He probably wasn't very aware of what he was feeling at any given point, and - even if he was - he probably didn't have the brain power to give it a name or think about what it meant to his life to be feeling that way. Early Man wasn't much of a thinking, feeling human being at all, but he was certainly an important step in the right direction.
The right direction, of course, is the one that takes us ever closer to reaching our full potential as what we intended to be on this particular level of existence: thinking, feeling human beings. We choose life on this level to experience the power of thought and emotions; karmic repercussions ensure that, by the time we're done, we are fully aware that we create our own reality by the way we respond to the people, and events and situations that make up our day-to-day lives. The way we think determines what we feel, and the way we feel determines how we respond. How we respond determines our present-moment reality.
This New Age is definitively different from the New Ages that have come before. Modern technology has made the world a smaller place than it used to be. In a lifetime in medieval England , we might never have traveled more than five miles from home, or known more than two hundred people in our lifetime. Our opportunities for enlightenment were definitely limited to the present moment here and now. With modern technology, our opportunities for enlightenment become as infinite as life itself; our generation has more opportunities for spiritual awareness on all levels than any other generation before us.
What makes this New Age different is the high-tech, fast-paced environment that offers each soul unprecedented opportunity for spiritual growth. Lifetimes of accumulated karmic debt can be brought into balance by the high volume of personal interactions we experience every day; in fact, if we're a telemarketer, we may talk to more people in a single day in this lifetime than we've talked to in an entire lifetime in a quieter lifetime in a quieter era.
Our high-tech, fast paced world offers us easy access to everything we need to come in touch the purpose of our existence: we are here to live our lives as spiritual beings in physical bodies, with the potential to create our own "Heaven on Earth" through the way we think and the way we feel.
And there's nothing new about that.
Lois Grant-Holland is a Life Path Focus Counselor offering Life Path Focus Sessions, Karmic Astrology Charts, Channeled Guidance, Intuitive Readings and Classes and Workshops to spiritual seekers on all positive paths, and is the site facilitator at The A.N.S.W.E.R. - (The Seeker's Resource Guide to Alternative, New Thought, Spiritual Growth, Wellness and Enlightenment Resources.) You can visit her website at http://www.loisgrantholland.com

Use the Stars as Your Guide To Finding Great Birthday Presents

Having trouble deciding which birthday presents to get for friends and family? Never fear, astrology is here! You can be sure that the recipient will love the birthday presents that you give him or her if you follow his or her astrological sign.
Here are some great ideas for birthday presents for people of particular signs:
ท Aries - March 21 - April 20. An Aries loves both challenges and oppositions. Because of this, a good board game makes an excellent birthday present for an Aries. Try to get one that is especially challenging and competitive like Scrabble or Settlers.
ท Taurus - April 21 - May 20. A Taurus, on the other hand, does not appreciate challenges or oppositions and naturally gets along well with others. A Taurus loves peace and harmony. A great gift for a Taurus is a day at the spa or a yoga class. A Taurus is always helping other people - give him or her a chance to relax and be helped by others.
ท Gemini - May 21 - June 20. Gemini are very analytical and yet still easy going. They are also very attracted to all things modern. Because of this attraction to modern things, Gemini tend to like gadgets. A great birthday present for a Gemini is a new gadget like an mp3 player (or any mp3 player accessories), a unique travel alarm clock, or even a kitchen gadget like an fancy electric can opener.
ท Cancer - June 21 - July 20. Cancers have a very deep sense of humanitarian values. Because of this, you can get away with giving one a donation in his or her name to a favorite charity of his or hers. This is not necessarily a good idea for other people, but a Cancer would truly appreciate the thought.
ท Leo - June 21 - July 20. Leos are born leaders. One of the main downfalls of Leos, though, is that they are not always good with money matters - they are very willing to share their wealth. In fact, a Leo is very likely to give money to charity. A great birthday present for a Leo is a gift certificate to a restaurant or a store… it is much harder to simply give away, so you know that the Leo will have to use it to treat himself or herself!
ท Virgo - August 22 - September 2. Virgos are very observant and can be described as perfectionists. Virgos also have a keen interest in the arts. Give a Virgo two tickets to a play or opera. Take a Virgo to a museum. Give a Virgo a book on art!
ท Libra - September 23 - October 22. Libras have a very high sense of Justice and they often take the side of the wronged. They have a natural affinity to the Arts. Because of this affinity to the arts, a great gift for a Libra is an art set. Give a Libra some paint or colored pencils, etc.
ท Scorpio - October 23 - November 22. Scorpios are always willing to accept something new. Therefore, you can take a Scorpio out to a new restaurant and to try some unusual food for his or her birthday.
ท Sagittarius - November 23 - December 20. Sagittarius people love sports and are happiest when out of doors. Get a Sagittarius a new golf club, a Frisbee, or a ball. Take a Sagittarius on a picnic or on a hike, etc. All of these things make great birthday presents for a Sagittarius.
ท Capricorn - December 21 - January 19. Capricorns are generally very hard workers. Give a Capricorn a break and give him or her a gift certificate for a massage or make dinner for him or her. Give a Capricorn a relaxing novel and a bath set.
ท Aquarius - January 20 - February 18. Aquarius or both honest and tolerant. A game like Balderdash is very fun to play with an Aquarius because it requires him or her to lie! Of course, Aquarius are always thinking ahead, so they end up being quite good at board and card games. Any sort of game makes a great birthday present for an Aquarius.
ท Pisces - February 19 - March 20. Pisces are talented in music and or fine arts. Give a Pisces concert tickets or some sheet music or a guitar. Sign him or her up for a pottery class!
These are just a few ideas for birthday presents to help you out. It is amazing how accurately astrology can often describe a person. It only makes sense to pick out birthday presents for that person based on his or her sign!
Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on great gifts, please visit Distinct Gift Baskets.

Homeschool Education - Is it a Radical Or Right Choice?

Is it really a radical choice for parents to decide homeschool? Or should we applause these parents for making the right choice about their children's education?

Some parents nowadays are thinking-out-of-the-box to make sure that their children don't have only the best education but possess also the right values, principles and attitude towards life. There is an apparent increase in the number of homeschool students. According to U.S. Department of Education, there is approximately 1,096,000 students who are educated at home in spring of 2003.It is a big leap (approximately 29% increase) compared to spring of 1999 which has only an estimated 850,000 homeschoolers.

Let us delve as why more parents are now taking the radical choice of opting for homeschool education for their children.

Away from school bullying . This is one of the primary reasons cited by parents who homeschooled their children. School bullying is very prevalent nowadays. The National Youth Violence Prevention stated that there are over 5.7 million youth who are bullied at school. It is about 30% of total youth population in the United States.

It is a disturbing situation with a negative impact to children being bullied at school. Bullied students live a stressful life as they become fearful with possible bullying incidents again. They are scared to be alone like being in the bathroom or in the hallway. Victims will have less interest in attending school also and even the task of riding a bus becomes a terrifying activity.

This results to depression, low self-esteem, physical illness, loneliness and in worst cases, suicidal thoughts.

Most bullied children also find it difficult to learn at school as they struggle coping up with their fear and anxiety. They can hardly focus in the classroom.

Other Safety Concerns. Homeschooler parents are worried about the safety of their children in the traditional school. Safety concerns include drugs, negative peer pressure and accidents. Some isolated cases include children being gunned down or murdered at school. Children's safety at school is unpredictably at stake.

Some homeschooler parents perceived that homeschool children are safer compared to children attending a regular school.

Quality Learning. Parents are the primary teacher and models of the children. A ratio of one teacher to two or three students makes a huge difference in the quality of education delivered to a teacher handling 30 to 40 children in a regular classroom.

Also, the fact that it is their children, education is more personalized and the result is far better. Schedules for homeschool are flexible also so children are not forced to wake up early to catch the school bus and options for what the children want to learn for the day are possible.

Better Person. Parents always want to instill good values to their children. It is one of their intention and hope that their children become a better person but when children attend a regular school, parents can no longer control the other factors such friends, schoolmates and school environment. These are external factors that can influence the children either positively or negatively.

Oftentimes children acquire attitudes from their friends at school. Children are vulnerable to adapting certain manners or attitudes which are relative to the kind of friends or clique they mingle and hang out with. On some occasions, they are negatively influence because of peer pressure. For the child to be part of the group or to be labeled 'cool' at school, sometimes they do things out of their way.

Parents of homeschoolers prefer to train and raise their children the way they would have wanted them to be. They believe that they are more effective in instilling moral and religious values.

24/7. This is the best advantage of homeschool. Parents are with their children 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Experience parents always encourage new parents to spend as much time as they can with their children especially in their growing years. This is the stage where children are still dependent to their parents. Once they reach puberty, they now prefer to spend time with their peers and once they reach adulthood, they will spend more time with colleagues, friends and at work.

Strong bond. As parents and children spend more time together than the average parents whose children are attending a regular school, the opportunity to develop profound bond and strengthened relationship is inevitable.

Homeschool reinforces the value of family.

Flexibility. There are parents who are always mobile because of work related issue. Some parents find homeschool very convenient because it allows them to travel without much constraint. Travelling can be planned anytime as there are no worries of missing the classes or interrupting school activities.

It indeed gives more flexibility to parents and children to travel.

Without doubt, homeschool education offers many benefits to your children and to you as parents though critics always question the socialization life of the homeschool children. Are they really being deprived of their socialization skills?

Homeschool curriculum nowadays have supplement activities like pottery classes, museum visits, karate classes and so on. There are many institutions also that offer and organize different activities for homeschool children. If you can just do a little research and get connected with the right network or community of homeschoolers, you will be amazed with the available socialization opportunities for homeschool children.

Socialization is not limited at school only. There are so many venues that children can develop their socialization skills.

So, is it really a radical or right choice to homeschool? Parents know their children better than anyone else and so does the answer to this question.

Statistics Resources: www.safeyouth.org, www.ed.gov

Cyra Miles is a freelance writer who is passionate in her writing craft. Visit http://www.cyramiles.com or follow her at http://www.thepassionateslave.com to discover more about her passion

Some Helpful Hints For a More Exciting Relationship

I think we can all agree that most relationships are very exciting in the beginning but if you have been in your current relationship for awhile you may have already noticed that the initial excitement you had is starting to subside and you and your partner may be settling into a dull routine. As a relationship progresses one or both partners may be guilty of settling into complacency and may not strive to keep the element of excitement in their relationship. Here are a few tips for ensuring that your relationship stays as exciting as it was in the beginning.
Never underestimate the value of spontaneity in a relationship. Too often relationships lose their excitement because the mates fall into a routine that becomes boring as time goes by. Don't be afraid to suggest new activities in your relationship or to try new things on a whim. Being spontaneous doesn't have to involve big decisions it can be as simple as picking up something new at the grocery store and trying a new recipe for dinner. Whatever you do, just let your instincts take over for a minute instead of relying on rationality. Anything you do that is spontaneous may not work out as well as if you had planned out every last detail but just go with the flow and you'll find your relationship taking a turn for the better.
Exploring a new location together is another way to bring the excitement back into your relationship. Whether you plan an elaborate trip to an exotic location or just take the bus to a nearby city that you have never visited your adventure together will help spice up your romance. Take your time exploring the new location and enjoy the foods and atmosphere that the new place has to offer. Exploring new cities can help bring the thrill back to your relationship.
Still another way to spice up a fading relationship is to sign up for an instructional class together such as a cooking, dancing or pottery class. Working together to learn a new skill will draw the two of you closer as you strive to accomplish a goal together. A class will enable you and your partner to interact in a new way. This new interaction will help to pull you out of a rut.
Spending a night at a hotel is another way to restore the excitement in your relationship. Intimacy is very important in a relationship and if you and your partner have found that this aspect of your relationship has lost it's spice, it's time to shake things up a bit. Choose a romantic hotel, preferably one with a cozy restaurant. Begin by having a wonderful candlelight dinner in the restaurant and then proceed to the room that you have reserved. Setting the mood with candles and dim lighting is also suggested. A night in a different location such as a romantic hotel will go a long way towards rekindling your intimate relationship. Go buy a new sexy negligee or some other nice piece of lingerie just for the occasion.
Gregg Hall is a consultant for online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Find more about sexy lingerie at http://www.lingerie-plus-more.com