Salon de Maria Blog

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Continue reading "A Day In the Life of a Blogger" »

Posted by Maria Palma at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

It’s been awhile since I’ve written any kind of poetry.  When I was in grade school and college, I would write poems and song lyrics.  I’ll definitely have to dig through my storage and find those old notebooks to share some poetry with you.  

Well, I wrote a haiku about my latest online love:  Twitter.  This inspiration was spurred on by a challenge given to me by blogger buddy, Easton, of Visionary Blogging:

The next step will be to turn the haiku into a song…In the meantime, visit me over at Twitter and let’s “follow” each other ;)

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I’ve been playing hooky.  Can you blame me?  After all, it’s spring and who wants to be cooped up inside staring at a computer and doing “work”.  Besides, it was high time that I take a break from blogging and just follow my bliss.  

Yes, I’ve been caught in a blogging rut and this time my cure for it was to visit Balboa Park with my boyfriend…to take in all the nature and soak up some warm sunshine.  Of course, I took the camera with me to share some of the beauty with you…

Check out more pictures from my Balboa Park adventure over at my Flickr album. 

It’s amazing what a simple change in scenery will do for your creative energy.  I’ve now come back to blogging with a clear head.  Words are flowing with ease.  The voice that used to ask, “Is that sentence really relevant?” has gone bye-bye.  Finally, after years of questioning every word…every sentence…I’ve found complete confidence in my writing.  I’ve found my unique voice.  

To be a better blogger sometimes it’s as simple as stepping away from the computer and going out to play!    

Posted by Maria Palma at 04:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Living My Childhood Dreams" »

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Posted by Maria Palma at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Every artist needs a couple tools to keep the spark of creativity going.  In my life as an artist, there are two creativity tools that I have not been able to do without:  a notebook and a sketchbook. 

I literally have dozens of notebooks filled with ideas for blog posts, quotes, or pictures from magazines.  If I ever go through a writer's block or I don't have an idea for a drawing or painting, I'll flip through my notebooks to find images or information that will inspire me. 

I'm always aware of what's going on around me and the things that I come across in my daily travels.  As an artist you should always pay attention because you never know when or where that bit of inspiration will come from.  You could be at the mall and overhear a conversation that will spark an idea for an article or book.  Maybe you'll see something that you would want to interpret as a painting.  When you have a notebook handy at all times, it's easy to capture that idea so that you don't forget it later. 

The notebook is also a great place to simply write down your thoughts or to clear your mind of all that brain clutter that could be blocking all the creative ideas in your head.  Maybe you've just sat down to do some writing or to work on that painting, but you've got a million things vying for attention in your mind.  You've got a list of things to do, people to call, places to go.  Sometimes it's good to just get it all down on paper.  That way those creative juices don't get lost in the shuffle of thoughts. 

My other must-have creativity tool is an artist sketchbook.  A sketchbook gives you a chance to play around with ideas.  However, a sketchbook is not limited to just drawings or sketches.  One of the things I love to do with my sketchbook is to make multi-media collages like the one pictured here. (click picture to buy a print at my gift shop) 

Working in an artist sketchbook helps keep my mind open and gets me "warmed up" for other projects that require a great deal of creativity.  Sometimes I'll work on a collage in my sketchbook which will inspire a jewelry piece or maybe a simple sketch will turn into a full-blown colorful painting.  I think of the sketchbook as the catalyst for more creative ventures. 

If you're an artist or writer, I would highly recommend keeping at least one of these creativity tools nearby at all times!

Recommended Resource:The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity [10th Anniversary Edition]

Posted by Maria Palma at 06:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I went through a little bit of blogging rut, so I decided to take a break from a few blogs. I thought my life was pretty well-balanced, but I realized that I was doing way too much writing and not enough jewelry making or painting. However, I did venture off and update my gift shop with new and exciting products. With Christmas just around the corner (well, actually it's not, but for a business owner who needs to prepare it is!), I know I need to get my butt in gear and start making new things to sell - that means jewelry and greeting cards as well.

So here was my cure for the blogging rut: Last week I took a few days off to relax, go clothes shopping, and just sleep in! Then today I went to my "Disneyland": Michael's Arts & Crafts and spent way too much money. I can never go in to just "get one thing". I ended up with a myriad of stuff to keep my busy for a few weeks.

I've decided to just focus on making abundance and prosperity jewelry, so I've been researching different semi-precious gemstones like citrine, peridot, iolite, and green aventurine. These are stones that have good energy and bring prosperity to its wearer. I've also bought "love" charms and I'm still on the hunt for other charms that say "joy", "peace", "dream", etc. It feels good to be inspired to make jewelry again!

I'll probably take one day out each week to focus on making jewelry and holiday greeting cards. Stay tuned because I'll start posting some of the pieces here as I go along...Make sure you subscribe to this blog because as we get closer to Christmas I'll be offering readers special discounts!

Posted by Maria Palma at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

 
"Everyone has a story, and it in those stories we can find a thread that ties us all together. That thread is our human experience."  -- Kimberlee Morrison

A story of...
hope,
courage,
inspiration,
determination,
perseverance,
dreams,
bonding,
love,
and freedom.

Freedom Writers:  It's the universal story shared by each and every one of us.  I watched this movie for the first time today and it spoke to me on so many levels - as it probably did to everyone who has watched it. 

I first found out about the Freedom Writers movie from fellow writer over at Know More Media, Kimberlee Morrison.  Kimberlee was actually one of the students portrayed in the movie.  In celebration of Kimberlee's birthday this past week I felt it fitting to check out the movie - finally! 

"Blessed With a Burden"
Ms. Gruwell, played by Hilary Swank, was a freshman English teacher ready to take on the challenge of teaching to a group of kids who had previously attended the "School of Hard Knocks".  When she walked into class that very first day, all bright-eyed and innocent, I saw myself in her.  She was the idealist who thought that anything is possible...and that's me to the bone.  Whatever obstacle was faced could be overcome.  Ms. Gruwell was determined to make a difference and nothing would get in her way.

Continue reading "We're All Freedom Writers" »

Posted by Maria Palma at 08:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I think it totally slipped my mind last month to post here my interview with Laura Gambucci, a boutique owner in La Jolla.  The article was featured on San Diego Magazine's website and it was my second article ever to be published for a magazine.  My first article was about home decorating and was featured in a Las Vegas home magazine a few years ago.  However, this was my first interview as a "journalist" and weird as it may sound - I was nervous. 

Perhaps I was feeling a bit insecure as a writer because I never took any journalism classes in high school or college.  But why be nervous?  After all, I've been writing since I was four-years-old and have ten+ blogs that are read by thousands of people.  Why all of a sudden do I feel this way?  

Anyhow, I'm pretty happy with the finished product.  I really enjoyed getting to know Laura Gambucci.  She's a very talented stylist and interior designer with many creative ideas.  If you're ever in San Diego, I recommend checking out her boutique!  It's located at 7629 Girard Avenue in La Jolla, California.   

Read more of my interview with Laura over at The Runway Scoop 

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Moral of the story:  Stick to your dreams and passions and you will definitely succeed! 

Posted by Maria Palma at 08:31 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Writing has turned into a full-time passion lately (besides just finishing a huge order of jewelry!), so I have to apologize once again for the lack of posts.  Posts will also be light in the next week as I get ready to make a trip to visit family up north.  I know that I made a commitment to post at least four times a week, but life happens!

Have you ever been so passionate about something that you it's one of the first things you think about when you wake up?  After I do my morning meditation, I first daydream about my dream home that I'll live in one day and then I think about what I'm going to write about that day.  I've been more focused on The Good Life and a couple blogs that I write for KMM.  The Good Life is growing day by day and I feel that it's my duty and calling to share some of the wisdom that the Universe has given me.  Being able to uplift people and give them positive things to think about is something you can't get with most media nowadays.  I'm thankful for the gift of writing.

What gifts have you been sharing lately?  C'mon, I know you have a few!  People often tell me that they don't have a creative bone in their body, but trust me...you do!  You just have to dig a little deep and do some exploring - try something new.  Cause you never know, you might just have a gem hiding inside of your soul ;) 

Posted by Maria Palma at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)