Behind the Scenes: Turning Your Circus Upside Down

The other day I received an e-mail from The Crave Company that said "Flip It!" The concept asked women to envision flipping their business upside down. I thought, "Wow, this is an awesome idea. I do this exercise for drawings, writing, and other creative endeavors why not apply it to my business?" I even read a book last year called Lucky Everyday by Bapsy Jain that proposes when things get confusing, turn yourself upside down and stand on your head. I still hadn't embarked on this technique as a way of looking at my life as one big circus act, so I saw this e-mail as wake-up call and sat down to write a list of things that make up Hint Jewelry:

charms
symbols
animals
cute
small
universal stories
constructing necklaces
adding components
colorful gems
collecting
metal (solid)
exploring identity = Who am I?
intrapersonal

Then I went through my list and came up with the flip side or what might be the opposite:

uncharming
literal
people
serious
big
personal stories
deconstructing
subtracting things
colorless
give away
intangible
no identity = Who aren't I?
interpersonal


When I looked over my list, a huge smile erupted across my face because the concepts for this new business are actually already in process. All year I've been working on publishing my book called Lemonade Mantras. A simple 10-step process of self-acceptance that transforms your hidden negative beliefs into a personalized prescription of positive affirmations for inner peace.

Here is the concept of the book using the words from flipping Hint Jewelry:


Uncharming
Exploring criticisms, judgments, and negative thinking patterns.

Literal
Looking at language and how we use words.

People
A project that explores the relationships between people and how to create more peace within them.

Serious
Dealing with issues that evoke strong emotional reactions such as anger, guilt, and saddness.

Big
Creating a large network of people through a project of self-awareness.

Personal Stories
Examining personal stories and seeing how they limit our thinking about situations and future actions.

Deconstructing
Breaking down beliefs so as to come to a place of positive uncertainty -- a way of being where the mind knows nothing for certain.

Subtracting Things
Neutralizing negative thinking and addictive behavior. 

Colorless
Moving towards a way of being where you are no longer reacting to the colorful storyline created by your mind.

Give Away
Universal teachings that are indirectly passed on to other people simply through experiencing your presence, language, behavior, and positive thinking.

Intangible
Dealing with the ephemeral world of beliefs, intuition, physical sensations, feelings, needs, and the desire for wholeness.

No Identity = Who aren't I?
Learning to see that your negative reactions to other people are in fact judgments about yourself and offer an opportunity to connect your unclaimed nature.

Interpersonal
Learning self-empathy as a foundation to practice empathy for others so as to become a more loving communicator, creator, and peacemaker in all your relationships.

***

Your business a living thing. Like a circus act your business has it's own cycles of learning, being on stage, and breaking down the tent. You may be sensing you've hit a plateau and new learning needs to happen or you need to cut a piece of your business and let it go. From this experience of flipping Hint Jewelry, I saw that I was already unconsciously developing a new part of my business but was never completely acknowledging how important it was for me or how they were interconnected.

If you're stuck, things have gotten boring, or you hit a road block, consider turning your business upside down and check out the flip side. Maybe you're already growing something new that just needs your attention to nurture it further or perhaps you'll see your business isn't working and start something completely different. Whatever the outcome, I hope you take a moment to turn your circus act upside down!

Holiday Sale: 25% Off All Hint Charms and Jewelry

Beth Hemmila (Hint Jewelry): sterling silver charms and gemstones

Happy Holidays!!

To celebrate this glorious season, from Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 24th until December 23rd, you are invited to take 25% off your entire purchase of Hint Jewelry charms, chains, leather cord, and gemstones by entering the following Hint Jewelry Coupon Code during your checkout process in Etsy:

JOYFUL

During checkout from Hint Jewelry in Etsy look for the blue link in the payment section titled "Apply shop coupon code" (see picture below). Click on this link and in the empty field type the word JOYFUL. To review more detailed instructions for redeeming a shop coupon code click here.


Please note that 25% will be taken off your entire purchase except shipping costs.

I am unable to apply a 25% discount after your order has processed through PayPal, so be sure to enter the Coupon Code JOYFUL in the correct Etsy field before proceeding to payment.

Many blessings, and I wish you all a happy season of giving!!

Leaving Never Never Land Part Two

Leaving Never Never Land paintings, Beth Hemmila: acrylic on canvas

Here is my Leaving Never Never Land series with a couple more layers of paint. It's fun choosing to paint in a way that's almost childlike with bright, large blocks of color. It keeps things simple and cheery.

Leaving Never Never Land paintings, Beth Hemmila: acrylic on canvas

Some other symbols in my paintings are a tiny house, a sheep, fish, 

fireflies, skeleton princess, and a deer. All these things that have special significance to me.

Leaving Never Never Land paintings, Beth Hemmila: acrylic on canvas

I'm also enjoying painting eight small works at the same time. It allows me to jump around and not focus on just one piece.

Lighter than Air

Nevada Day Balloon Launch 2011, Beth Hemmila

I'm not a huge fan of being suspended high above the ground, but when I watched twenty some hot air balloons lift off during Nevada Day in Carson City, I felt the urge to be lighter than air. Up there in the quiet, blue sky these colorful, billowing spectacles seemed to be the perfect metaphor for how free my spirit feels every day until I tie it down to earth :)

November National Novel Writing Month

In 2010, my dad's cousin and her daughter each wrote a book during the month of November and introduced me to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). How cool is that? A national goal that proposes that people sit down during the month of November and write a novel is pretty top notch in my book. A novel in 30 days can be done (by people of any age or background) and there is support to do it through the organization National Novel Writing Month.

I'm so inspired to hear that people have stories of fiction to write down. Fiction is something I can't seem to muster up, so when I hear that a bunch of people are spinning their wheels out there coming up with creative ways to tell our common stories, it feels like watching my favorite team take the field to produce something close to magic.

This past year, I wrote a book of non-fiction, and it actually took 60 instead of 30 days. Now 9 months of editing and revising later, I am on the edge of self-publishing this beast. What I've learned from this experience is that the writing is actually probably the easier part. It's the willingness to continually refine it and stick through the process to its completion that is such a bugger. Showing up every day for editing this book, asking and receiving help, trusting in time off to allow for happy accidents to make the content richer, and keeping the faith that I will finish it has been my greatest learning experience thus far.

If you want to write a book or are in the midst of writing a book, do it and don't give up trying. Keep showing up for your book every day even if you don't write a word because you are still in the process of co-creating with this thing no matter what happens.

Through it may you and words become one :)

Raw Food Pizza

Raw Food Pizza (onion bread crust, cashew nut cheese, zucchini, and tomatoes)

Last year I tried making the perfect raw food pizza and bombed out. My crust just wasn't what I expected, so instead of forging ahead I gave up on the venture. Looking around Reno, Nevada for some local raw foodies I hit upon cooking classes taught by Linda Clark (Naturally, Nana's!) through Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC).

Raw Food Pizza

Lucky for me Linda Clark was teaching how to make raw food pizzas last month, so I signed up for her class. YUM!! I had the best time cooking with a group of people and learning the basics of three different crusts (two savory and one dessert) and some wonderful tips for toppings.

Raw Food Dessert Pizza

After the cooking portion of the class we all sat down for a meal of raw food pizzas and salad. It was a boat load of fun learning how to cook raw food recipes in this way because if you've ever tried this diet it's a bit like embarking on an elaborate art project. My favorite part was learning how to use the spiralizer to process fresh zucchini, and the experience convinced me that it is well worth the expense to purchase one for my raw food kitchen.

Photography of Peter Essick

Moonlight, Spruce Trees, Oulanka National Park, Finland: Peter Essick

Peter Essick has traveled the world searching out perfectly composed pictures that evoke indescribable feelings experienced out in nature. Just last week a friend and I were lamenting about how difficult it is to see an amazing moment out in nature that you want to preserve on film, but when you snap the shot it doesn't capture the true feeling found in the memory of the experience.

Peter Essick is one of those amazing souls who has the ability to fix those transitory moments found in the natural world into a type of living photograph.

Fen, Oulanka National Park, Finland: Peter Essick

The photographs I've posted from Peter Essick's collection are all taken from his time spent at the Oulanka National Park in Finland.

Summer Thunderstorm, Oulanka River, Oulanka National Park, Finland, Peter Essick

Doesn't this photograph just make you think you might catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis if you stayed out a little longer?

Ice Bergs, Kitka River, Oulanka National Park, Finland: Peter Essick

Anyone who can make a snow scene look like a cosmic phenomenon is pretty special! To learn more about one of our most influential photographers of the twenty-first century please be sure to visit Peter Essick's Web site.

Leaving Never Never Land

Leaving Never Never Land paintings, Beth Hemmila: acrylic on canvas

This is the start of painting series that I'm calling Leaving Never Never Land. I like to first sketch my ideas out in pencil on my canvas and then fill in large areas of color with a medium tonal value of paint.

My concept was to pick one image that symbolized childhood and repeat it differently within each painting. I chose the image of a tree with a swing as my primary symbol. This tree and swing are my homage to the children's book The Little House and the author/illustrator Virginia Lee Burton.

What symbol reminds you of your childhood?

Nina Paley: Sita Sings the Blues

Nina Paley, Sita Sings the Blues

Several weeks ago, through the Artemisia Movie House in Reno, Nevada, I watched this amazing feat of animation by artist Nina Paley called Sita Sings the Blues. It's difficult to explain the full extent of Nina Paley's magic, but if you have ever experienced a relationship break up then you will probably laugh the whole way through this comical look at life's ups and downs. Using the story of Sita and Rama from the Hindu epic The Ramayana mixed with the haunting vocals 1920s jazz singer Annette Hanshaw, Nina Paley explores love relationships (mythical and modern) and how their transformations can lead to creativity.

You are now able to watch Sita Sings the Blues for FREE on Youtube here. If you don't have time or interest in watching the whole movie, be sure to check out the first couple minutes where Nina Paley describes through animation the creation of the world. It's a stitch!

Hint Jewelry Sponsors Art Bead Scene November Monthly Challenge

Madonna Pietra degli Scrovigni by Marie Spartali Stillman (1844-1927)

For the month of November, Art Bead Scene is featuring a jewelry challenge based on this beautiful painting by Marie Spartali Stillman (1844-1927) called Madonna Pietra degli Scrovigni. This painting is from the Walker Art Gallery and the woman is a character invented by the poet Dante.

She's so incredibly beautiful that I imagine there are going to be many exciting entries into the November Art Bead Scene Challenge.

sterling silver charms, Beth Hemmila (Hint Jewelry)

 This month Hint Jewelry is sponsoring the challenge along with Mary Harding Jewelry. The sterling silver charms from Hint Jewelry pictured above (Hope acorn, Zen leaf, and Saskia owl) will all go to the lucky winner of the November Art Bead Scene Challenge.

Mary Harding Jewelry

Best of luck and happy designing!

Mary Burrows: MB Art Studios

Mary Burrows, MB Art Studios

Before I moved to Reno, Nevada, I decided to look up some Etsy artists located in the area to see what kind of things were happening. I stumbled upon the delightful pottery of Mary Burrows of MB Art Studios.

Mary Burrows, MB Art Studios

Her modern pottery mixed with inspirational quotes warmed my heart, so I asked Mary if I could share some of them with you.

Mary Burrows, MB Art Studios

Ahhhh...a new Rumi quote for me to learn and enjoy!

Mary Burrows, MB Art Studios

And of course for any of you who are practicing The Power of Now, this cheeky clock could be essential to your learning :)

Dia de los Muertos

Sugar Skull, Beth Hemmila (Hint Jewelry): sterling silver sugar skull charm

Cheers to a blessed Dia de los Muertos!
 

May you celebrate today and tomorrow the bright lights 

of friends and family who are at home with the spirits...