Salon de Maria Blog

I had this "crazy" idea to start another blog.  Yes, another blog!  However, this one is different...

This newest blog stars Lex, my parents' new puppy.  He's the cutest little thing and has so much energy.  If he were human I know he would want to start a blog to tell everyone about his adventures.  So, I introduce you to Lex the Blogging Dog...

I kept toying with the idea and went back and forth about whether or not it would be in my best interest to start another blog, but this voice inside my head kept saying, "Do it!  Do it!"  I've always wanted to teach kids about art and music (I used to be a preschool teacher back in the day), so I think this would be a great platform to fulfill this "calling". 

When blogging becomes more mainstream, I think kids will start reading and stumbling across blogs more often.  So, why not have a blog that actually teaches them something?

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2007 is drawing to a close and as I reflect on all the things I've learned this year, there are a couple things that I feel are pretty important lessons and wanted to share.  They have to deal with being more creative - which I think everyone should strive to be ;)

Lesson #1:  Silence the inner critic.  As a writer and artist I've often become a slave to my inner critic who tells me that an idea isn't "good enough".  Well, I've learned that this inner critic is just my ego trying to protect me.  This ego always wants to play it safe and do what everyone else is doing versus doing what I think will elevate me to another dimension in the world of creativity. 

So, tell that inner critic to take a hike... Lesson #2:  Be in the moment.  Have you ever worked on something and felt so absorbed in the process that you felt euphoric - in a state of absolute bliss?  If you've ever reached this state, you can just feel that rush of creative juices flowing through your body.  Ideas come to you much more easily and you don't have to force them to come. 

If this is a challenge for you, try hanging out with kids for awhile.  Kids are very good at being in the moment.  Or you could hang out at Kim & Jason's blog.  Their creativity will start to rub off on you!

Here's a great quote about creativity and being in the moment I found over at Beads By Ida:

“If you're having difficulty coming up with new ideas, then slow down. For me, slowing down has been a tremendous source of creativity. It has allowed me to open up -- to know that there's life under the earth and that I have to let it come through me in a new way. Creativity exists in the present moment. You can't find it anywhere else.” -- Natalie Goldberg

Here's a great article with more tips:  Ten Steps for Boosting Creativity

Related Posts:
How to Be More Creative: Chocolate & Wine
Discovering and Fueling Creativity

On the book wishlist:Living the Creative Life: Ideas and Inspiration from Working Artists

Posted by Maria Palma at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One of my goals for 2008 is to make fun videos and podcasts for my blogs. To get my feet wet and practice my video-making skills, I thought I'd take this opportunity to help promote this company called MobileTalk by Packet8 - a company that provides cheap international calling from your cell phone. Who doesn't want low calling rates, right?

Seriously, you should check this company out if you do quite a bit of international traveling - which I definitely plan to in 2008!

So, I was trying to think out of the box and have a little fun with this. I didn't just want to stand in front of a camera and talk, so I thought I'd come up with this little artsy collage I created in Photoshop to represent me. Those pictures of far-off distant places are actually pictures I have on my vision board of all the places I want to visit in the next few years.

Check out the video...

 

So, Dear Readers, if you like my commercial, make sure to visit Yahoo's Bix Community and vote for it! There's a contest to see who can create the best commercial and there are three awesome prizes: a MacBook, iPod, and iPhone! Visit: http://bix.yahoo.com/contest/33995

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Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
--Henry David Thoreau

As we head into the New Year, sit back, relax, and reflect on what your dreams are. What can you do today to be one step closer to that dream? If you don't follow your dreams, then what's the point?

Posted by Maria Palma at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Earlier I talked about taking my photography to the next level and this past weekend my father surprised me with a new digital camera. It's not the Canon Powershot that I put on my "wishlist" nor is it one of those fancy Nikon cameras that I saw in the store the other day. It's the Fujifilm FinepixZ which is still much better than my old outdated camera that had only 1.3 megapixels! So I've been busy this week having fun and experimenting with this new camera that is sleek, stylish, and fits right into my pocket! Some of these photos I'm incorporating into Christmas gifts, so I don't want to spoil for my friends or family who might be reading this ;) However, I took a couple shots during my walk with the dogs this morning. This camera has different settings, like the one made especially for taking clearer, crisper shots of flowers...which is good because now I can work on building my portfolio and selling prints. I've also been thinking about using some of these photos in my handcrafted greeting cards.

Another thing I love about this new digital camera is that it also has a video function. The old camera had this feature too, but the quality wasn't all that great. I'm thinking it might be fun to do a "how to" video and posting it on YouTube...Stay tuned!

Posted by Maria Palma at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm making the commitment to spend at least an hour each day either working on art, photography, or making jewelry.  Today I worked on a photograph I took of white flowers that are sitting on my kitchen windowsill. I used an artistic element in Photoshop to give it a more impressionistic look. 

And the quote I'd like to share comes from Heidi Klum. Definitely some food for thought:

 

"Success is...to be happy in life"

 

Shopping for gifts? Buy artsy gifts at my CafePress store or visit my greeting card shop for Christmas cards!

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As I made jewelry last night, I thought about how I could make my jewelry absolutely unique.  What can I do to make my jewelry stand out from the rest?  How could I give my jewelry business a little oomp?  A little spark of glitter and sass? 

Most fashion designers look to the past for inspiration, so I thought I would start by looking at vintage jewelry.  I found out about this company named Lang that specializes in antique and estate jewelry.  I started looking at the art nouveau jewelry and this amethyst piece pictured here definitely caught my eye.  Purple has been my favorite color since Prince's "Purple Rain" song and this necklace definitely has sparked some of the creative energy in me...

Can you believe this piece costs $10,750? Ah-mazing...I wish some of my pieces could be worth that much some day! 

Posted by Maria Palma at 03:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Question:  What's the one thing every blogger should carry with them at all times? 

Answer:  A camera!

This is one of the tools I recommend every blogger should have.  You just never know when you'll come across an event or incident worth blogging about and adding a picture adds more interest to each post.  Here's a great page with tutorials on how to add photos to your blog.

Right now I'm using an old Sony Cybershot, but I'm ready to go big-time!  I want to start selling some of my photography, so my pictures need to be crisp, clear and very professional looking...I've been browsing around the ShopNBC website because I know that you can buy electronics and high-end items through their "value pays", meaning I can buy something and pay in installments. 

I currently have my eye on this Canon PowerShot A650 IS 12.1MP Digital Camera.  Oh, yes, that's the dream camera and I'm adding it to the Christmas gift wishlist ;)

Speaking of photography...
I recently updated my Flickr account and added some new photos from my recent travels.  Here are just a few noteworthy ones...

This was taken in Los Angeles in the area right by Olvera Street.  The humongous tree caught my eye and I wondered just how long it's been standing there...

I love this display that you see as you walk into the Masala Indian restaurant in downtown San Diego...By the way, Masala has a great atmosphere for dining ;)

 

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It's been awhile since I've picked up the paintbrushes, but I found some inspiration today as I browsed the Park West Art Gallery website.   One particular artist whose work caught my eye was Jean-Claude Picot, whose art is featured at the gallery. 

Picot's work takes one on an adventure into the world of vibrant and bold color.  I especially like the piece pictured here, "Mediterranee" because of the simple use of lines that come together to produce a very detailed and whimsical painting.  My eyes move all around the composition - taking in the scenery...

Jean-Claude Picot offers us a modern view of impressionism, which is one of my favorite styles of painting.   

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