Here I am, about to hug the Christmas tree for its shiny balls & tinsel!

I know many creative artists who are very secretive of their techniques - they feel that their work might be copied and plagiarized. Unfortunately, I know of a lot of art & writing teachers who feel the same way and I think, who shouldn't be teaching unless they are going to share themselves and all their knowledge with their students, to help bring out their students' potential as much as possible.

I don't buy into this fear. If other artists can gain some insight into their own work from the techniques I mention here, that is great. I have nothing to hide and I only want to give and be part of the endless cycle of the Universe. I think hiding something like technique is silly & petty and will only close off that person from gaining further insight & inspiration from the Universe. Besides, if a person is painting from their soul, the technique they use is theirs, because it is always colored by their unique personality and is driven by their soul. Even those influenced by certain techniques and artists will create works that is uniquely theirs.

I do like shinies. Apparently, when I was 2 or so, I ran into the Christmas tree because I was so enthralled and mesmerized by the shiny lights and ornaments. Ah well, I have the genes of the bower bird and the crow!

Right now, I am playing with painting on glass, using glass, sea-glass, polished stones in my work, and trying green patinas (it's what happens to copper when it ages). I don't think I will ever cure my addiction for shinies and sparklies. I'm thankfully not a materialistic girl - I hate having too much "stuff" (and I feel a little overwhelmed by how much I have collected over the past few years), and I'm also not a jewelry freak because I am too active to wear too much of it. But I've got to channel this expression somehow! I'm a Leo Rising, and Leo is the sign of color, flamboyance, drama, boldness.

I do get visual & auditory inspirations & flashes frequently every day. I think it's just part of being intuitive and receptive. I try to stay connected to it, because I feel it is part of the Source. Of course, it's colored by me, my personality, my ego, my filter of what I have studied & how I've looked at the world. Sometimes it's a pain, though, when I wake up in the middle of the night by a powerful dream or idea or I can't get to sleep because I am hallucinating and all these incredible images & words are going through my head. But I take out my journal & sketchbook, and stay a loyal servant anyway. I have yet to come to terms with the amount of ideas I receive, though, because I am so far behind in manifesting them all. I will never be able to make them all come to life. I often get frustrated at not being able to give them a chance to be real, because I feel these are all precious gifts. I believe that several people are given the same ideas around the same time, fortunately...It is sort of like a farmer sows his seeds in several fields and watches which ones take root & grow. I have oftentimes seen others create & finish very, very similar projects to what I was thinking about or even working on. Perhaps these projects are needed by the world and are stimulated by the collective subconscious.

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