LiveBliss

More Art with Kids = More Fun

I was back on Bedford Avenue today making art with kids as part of Williamsburg Walks. Thomas Bell and I packed gobs of art supplies onto the Spread Art & Live Bliss art cart and wheeled it through Brooklyn, from Bushwick to Williasmburg.

As soon as we were set up we had lots of art partners, some of whom were return collaborators from a couple weeks ago when we were on Bedford. With stickers, markers, colored pencils, glue sticks, glitter, pattern scissors, shells, string, and ribbon, we created a variety of colorful (and sometimes messy) wearable art.

Most of the kids that visited the Spread Art & Live Bliss booth have lived less years on the planet than they have fingers on their hands, which means they aren't concerned with questions like: "Is this art or craft?" and/or "Should I price my work based on time spent or materials cost?" It is pure fun for fun's sake, and the enthsusiasm the kid's bring to: 1) drawing on a sticker, 2) putting it on their shirt, and 3) showing the world, is absolutely contageous.

If you know of an upcoming private or public event that could benefit from a kid's art setup like this send me an email. Adding yoga and/or music to the art projects is also an option.

Below are photos from the day. Enjoy!

Above: The cart is packed & ready to leave Spread Art in Bushwick

Above: En route...

Above: As soon as we got set up we were greeted by the familiar smiling face of a girl who made art with us when we were on Bedford a couple weeks ago.

Above: A new face who assured me she is 7, although her sister was convinced she is actually only 4.

Above: Thom helping a girl put on the wearable art she created.

Above: This is the moment the top was taken off a glue stick and things got consequently got very messy and glittery.

Above: Thom adding some color to the street.

Above: Packed up and ready to roll back to Spread Art.

New Schedule & Location for Brooklyn Yoga Classes

See below for the new schedule & location for weekly drop-in classes in Bushwick / East Williasmburg. Email me if you have any questions or to be added to the list for yoga and art updates.

Click the image to see a larger version.

Click here to read more about my yoga training and teaching style.

Call for Participants! McKibbin Street Fair! Saturday, July 25th!

Collaging on Bedford: Join me this Saturday!

This Saturday from 12pm - 6pm I'll be on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (said to currently hold the title to "world's neighborhood most densely populated with artists") with collage materials and a whole lot more. Why? Because it will be fun!

I hope to see you on Saturday. If you can't make it but are interested in learning about future events like this (or booking you own), send me an email.

Creative Kids on Bedford!

Saturday, June 27th
12pm - 6pm
Bedford Avenue, between North 6th & North 7th
L train to Bedford

Facilitated by Christina deRoos / Live Bliss & Spread Art

Join us for a playful, creative afternoon of collage and bookmaking outside on Bedford Avenue, in the heart of one of the world's most inspiring neighborhoods!

Kids of all ages will enjoy mixing and matching images, adding color and text, and ultimately exploring the stories to be found their creations. Participants will be invited to display their work for the afternoon as part of an on-site exhibition that will develop and evolve throughout the day.

All necessary supplies provided, but feel free to bring along your favorite art and craft materials.

Whether you are a kid, have kids, or are a child-less adult who wants to collage in a collaborative atmosphere where age is irrelevant, I hope to see you on Saturday!

Email for more information, or call Christina: 347-526-2737

Part of Williamsburg Walks (follow the link to the left to see more of the day's activities).

June 7th, 11th & Beyond...Collaborations w/ Spread Art

I've been back in NY a few weeks now and am beginning to find my art groove along with my yoga bliss. Thanks in large part to Thomas Bell, founder of SPREAD ART, I've got a ton of projects on my creative calendar (its called a creative calendar not because it tracks art stuff, but because I usually need to be really creative to get everything done on time).

Below are details about happenings at SPREAD ART in June, beginning with "Improvisation," the '09 Summer Group Show that I'm a part of along with photographer's Irina Adam and Phil Petrocelli and 7 other artists.

"Improvisation" opens Thursday, June 11th at 6pm.

If you are around NY I hope to see you so we can improvise conversation over a glass of wine or a latte while looking at a fabulous selection of painting, collage, photography, mixed-media work, and more.

SPREAD ART is located in Bushwick/East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, at 104 Meserole Street (b/w Manhattan & Leonard). Take the L to Montrose or the J/M/Z to Lorimer.

More details about "Improvisation" are on the flyer below, which features one of my photographs (left) and an image of Phil Petrocelli's (right). Click the image for a larger view.

Prior to June 11th, how about coming to aka Potion on Sunday, June 7th at 4pm for the simultaneous opening/closing event for "The Art of Letting Go" during Bushwick Open Studios?

"The Art of Letting Go" is a collaborative mural performance led by Thomas Bell that includes myself as well as Katharine Ng, Avoid Pi, Heather Garland, and more. The image at left is a "work in progress" view from very early on. Artists have continued to add, subtract, and layer over one another's work.

Note: Don't be late for the opening/closing or you just might miss it.

In addition to the Sunday, June 7th  simultaneous opening/closing event at aka Potion (248 McKibbin Street; L to Morgan) at 4pm, "The Art of Letting Go" will be on view:

Thurs June 4th: 7am-11pm
Fri June 5th: 7am-11pm
Sat June 6th: 8am-11pm
Sun June 7th: 8am-5pm+/-

The full announcement for SPREAD ART events in June is below, and as you will see there are a ton of things happening, including music, art, and - beginning next week - I'm teaching yoga Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays at 6:30pm.

Click the images below to view them larger size.

A lot of work is going into SPREAD ART to get it ready for a summer of creative fun. I'm doing what I can to help out, and at the moment that means less time updating blogs and websites and more time painting walls and laying floors. I have many posts I'm itching to add from my last couple months in Mexico, including photos from the kid's Spring Parade and an adventure to milk cows.

Please check back periodically for updates and don't get confused when there are NY stories mixed with Mexico stories. Posts are likely to be as jumbled as a lot of my thoughts these days. Thankfully a few things remain constant whether I'm in La Manzanilla or Bushwick, such as my ongoing desire to learn to dance.

This morning I met a neighbor who offered to take me with her for a night of salsa just down the block from SPREAD ART., That, along with her immediately teaching me the basic step for Bachata, made my morning. I've got plans to recruit her to teach salsa at SPREAD, but I'll save that idea for a future post. For now its back to work on preparing for everything that's already on the creative calendar... 

April @ LiveBliss: Yoga, Dance, Meditation & Art!

Once again I'm overwhelmed with gratitude to be a part of what is happening at LiveBliss. When I opened the space a few months ago I had a 3 word development plan:  Art, Yoga & Life. I figured I would at some point sit down and flesh that out a bit more. So far I've been happily following what life brings and playfully spending my time doing and being instead of planning.

Those of you that have seen the current yoga schedule on the door of LiveBliss - with its scratched out previous schedule and hand-written new days & times - know that I've really gotten quite relaxed about things. I wonder how many business rules of thumb I'm breaking by using my barely legible handwriting to convey information in the day and age of computers? Oh well, it is a temporary fix (read: manana I'll print new flyers...which in classic Mexico fashion I've been saying for over a week now) and honestly one I'm wearing as a badge of courage given my former non-blissful Type-A ways. 

Thank you to everyone who is adding energy to LiveBliss as it evolves, including those who are in Mexico (Carlos, Jean-Pierre, Karen, Lora and all of you who come to explore what's on offer) and those who are sending support from further away (my family, Tracy, Thom, and many more). The experience for me is bringing to life the words of Joseph Campbell: “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.”

Below is the latest schedule of happenings at LiveBliss in April. This being Mexico and life being one big creative improvisation, there are sure to be changes throughout the month. Check back for updates or feel free to email me with questions. 

All classes take place @ LiveBliss in La Manzanilla, Jalisco, Mexico
Playa Blanca 21 (the street closest to the beach...across from the fisherman's co-op) 

***April Happenings at LiveBliss***

Free Yoga Class!
Tuesday, April 7
10am
Karen, a yoga teacher visiting for a couple weeks from Colorado Springs, Colorado will guest teach this yoga class and is generously donating her time. 

Yoga in Spanish - Pay what you wish!
Every Monday
9:30am 

Yoga in English:
Tuesdays & Thursdays
11am
75 pesos drop-in / 60 pesos each if you pay for multiple classes

Yoga Notes:
Everyone is welcome to enjoy these classes, regardless of yoga experience &/or language fluency. Mats and blankets are provided. All you need to bring is your body.
Come check it out yourself and please help spread the word about the free / by donation yoga opportunities to others who may be interested.
You can learn more about Christina's yoga classes at the bottom of this page.

Meditacion en el Vacio / Meditation on Emptiness
Thursday April 2, 5pm - 7pm
Friday April 3, 5pm - 7pm
Next week dates TBA
$100 pesos / class
Class taught by Carlos Eloy Tlores Munguia in Spanish, with English translation as needed. Read more (in Spanish) about this series here. 

Weekly Dance Class
Thursdays 10am - 12pm
50 pesos
Professional dancer Jean Pierre is teaching everything from salsa to belly dancing to polka (no joke!). It is *tons* of fun and a great workout.

Coming soon...
-->More Afternoons of Art for kids and adults
-->April Art Exhibition: Collage & Mixed Media

Sunday Signs

I woke up this morning full of strange energy and sensations. I thought perhaps it was residual emotion from yesterday, as one of my best friends left after a 2 week visit and I guided the last of a 6 Saturday Yoga & Art series. I found my way to my yoga mat to wake up, invite some space into my body, and have a closer look at what was going on inside, figuring I was in for a dose of processing yesterday or other recent events.

On the mat a whole lot of thoughts, feelings, sensations and visuals arrived, as if I'd had some new self-awareness faucet installed when I wasn't looking. Out flowed a clear stream of updated dreams and desires, mixed with some time-worn fears and doubts.

I'll admit that part of me reacted with a, "damn, maybe I should have skipped this and gone for coffee and the online Sunday Times instead." I've been feeling pushed to my saturation point recently and part of me is lobbying for a shut down of some sort. The other parts of me are negotiating for some life changes that don't include a "sorry, I'm closed" sign.

It was in this state of mixed-mind that I headed for the scissors and glue sticks. As usual what arrived didn't connect to what was on my conscious mind while combining images. I was looking for answers to questions about what came up in yoga this morning, but what I received related to questions that were on my mind earlier in the month.

There seems to be a time delay between my heart's current affairs and questions, and my soul's interpretation and guidance. It reminds me of the shutter lag that existed with the first digital cameras - that time gap between when the shutter button was pushed and image the camera actually captured - resulting in pictures of the moment after people stopped posing.

Maybe that is a more apt metaphor than I realize, and what I'm receiving are honest glimpses of my heart's desires and my soul's journey, rather than neatly posed and packaged images that can only be held for a matter of seconds. Whatever is going on, I'm continuing to explore and enjoy the process.

For those of you in or around La Manzanilla, I plan to hang all collages from this series next week at LiveBliss and leave them on view for a few weeks.

  

Meditacion en el Vacio

Life recently introduced me to Carlos Eloy Flores Munguia, a therapist and shaman from Guadalajara. We have had a lot of interesting conversations, including chats about Eckart Tolle's "A New Earth" which we are both reading in Spanish. I doubt his head hurts like mine does after finishing a chapter. I've read the book 3 or 4 times now in English, but even so reading in Spanish is slow going.

Carlos is offering a 2 week meditation series (Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays; 5pm - 6:30pm) at LiveBliss starting Monday March 30th. The cost for the entire course, which will be in Spanish, is $500 pesos.

Below is Carlos' description of the series, including the theme for each session. Email me to sign up or if you have questions.

La Meditacion en el Vacio

La Meditacion en el Vacio es el arte y la ciencia, considerada por los grandes maestros espirituales de oriente y occidente como el medio mas idoneo para alcanzar mayor plentitud y armonia fisica y mental. Es ademas la via mas directa hacia la ilumniacion y el autoconocimiento pleno.

Temario

1) Relajacion, concentracion, contemplacion, y extasis.

2) Recuerdo de si; conciencia de si y conciencia objetiva.

3) Tecnica del sonido para deterer el dialogo mental.

4) Aumento del poder de la atencion (ejercicios).

5) Alcanzado la mente silenciosa por medio de ejercicios psicofisicos.

6) A la plentitud y armonia por la mente silenciosa.

Instructor: Carlos Eloy Flores Munguia (Psicologo, Terapeuta Energetico con Sonido de Caracol y Canto, Tecnica Charmanica)

Lugar: LiveBliss, Playa Blanca 21, La Manzanilla

Hora: 5pm - 6:30pm

Duracion: 2 semanas

Dias: Lunes, Miercoles y Viernes, 30/3/09 - 3/4/09

Precio: 500 pesos curso completo

Informes: 315-351-5672

 

Yet More Collages

I found myself drawn back to collages again this week. Here are the latest additions to the series...

Above: Memory

Sometimes the past hangs heavy

Above: This Moment

Explore just where I am because that is all I ever have. Drop the stories & illusions.

Above: Path

No matter what its going to be a messy journey. Let it all spill open.

Above: Wisdom Nature

Everything I need to know is inside.

Above: Escapes

Above: Cause & Effect

Above: Food Chain

We are all walking wounded.

Above: What Price for Love?

Bike Ride to Tenacatita

This afternoon, after teaching Saturday's Yoga & Art class, I took a bike ride to Tenacatita, a beautiful beach town about 12 miles (the way we went) from La Manzanilla. I'm so grateful to Bill who got the word out that he was taking this ride and invited others to join.

Although I've been surrounded by "open space" during the past year in Mexico, I haven't had as much hiking, mountain biking, camping or trail running time as I would like given the beauty that surrounds me. To my knowledge, there aren't many trails available and riding on the highway is a bit on the dangerous side for my liking (two lane curvy highways with no shoulders and lots of large trucks). We did ride for a brief stretch on Highway 200 today...just enough to give me a bit of a rush, but not enough that my mother needs to begin worrying.

On the way back we opted for a ride through a papaya plantation instead of returning to the road, which involved walking through nearly-waist high grass for a bit to get to the trail. At that point I was banishing all memories of the snakes and scorpions I encountered last summer.

I returned to La Manzanilla exhausted and covered in dirt, so I did the only logical thing which was to immediately go to the beach for a beautiful evening swim. At the beach I ran into a couple kids from last Sunday's Art Afternoon who are excited to return to LiveBliss for more of the same tomorrow. One of the kids sold the collage she made last week, which thrilled me to hear.

After a morning spent guiding yoga & art, an afternoon bike ride with people who were mostly strangers to me 24 hours ago and now feel like old friends, and an evening at the beach where I saw kids who I will get to make art with tomorrow, all I can think is that my life is more full than ever and I am damn grateful. Thank you to everyone and everything that helped bring me to this moment.

Below are some photos from the bike ride. Click the images to see larger versions.

Above: View of the beach that runs from La Manzanilla (at the far end in the image) to Boca de Iguanas

Above: Looking inland of the beach.

Above: The cobblestone road that we climbed toward Blue Bay Resort. It amazes me that even though there has been no rain for months, gorgeous flowers continue to bloom.

Above: Two riding partners from today, including Bill (right) who has spent enough time exploring the area on his bike to figure out today's ride to Tenacatita and a whole lot more.

Above: After a couple miles climbing a cobblestone road, we came to look toward a different gorgeous beach including, I think, Tenacatita at the far end. I'm always sore after a long bike ride, but the cobblestones added an interesting extra element today.

Above: We spent a lot of time riding on dirt roads like this one. In addition to a wealth of birds, we saw bunches of cows (including a very cute and very young black fluffy one that I was too lazy to pull my camera out to photograph...please use your imagination on that one).

Above: Lots of egrets were around as we passed through this mangrove area.

Above: I saw bird's nests and more bird's nests today. I stopped getting excited and counting after the first 5 (short attention span).

Above: One of many papaya fields full of small plants loaded with gobs of large fruit. Someone told me once that the papaya trees have been genetically modified to grow small so they are easier to harvest. Today I was told the small ones are just younger and bear the super-sweet papayas. I hope that's true.

Above: Arriving to Rebalcito.

Above: In Tenacatita I saw this sign (the green one on the right) that said "Parking" for something. I thought it was one of the nicest parking lots ever.

Above: Another shot of the flowered parking lot.

Above: The town of Tenacatita

Above: A mile marker. I have a fascination with highway signs. I can't help it.

Above: Rich passing a roadside restaurant.

Above: When I said I returned covered with dirt I wasn't kidding. My ankles and legs may be dirty but my feet show I left the house clean!

Above: Exhausted, but damn happy. And why not? I'm leaning against a palm tree in front of the house where I live, which is across the street from a gorgeous beach. Everyday isn't perfect, but the views are always fabulous.