Money problems and the
bad economy are dominating headlines and entering most
everyone's conversations (mine included) at some point during
the day. It's almost impossible to be around people or connect
to media and not hear something said about some aspect of
money.
Our country's current financial instability is something that
I can't obviously change, and that stresses me out. For stress
relief I turn to something linear and controllable - exercise.
I'm an active person, but in times of uncertainty I ramp up my
exercise program. Maybe this doesn't seem very artsy or
creative, but how I think about exercise is my creative
approach to stress. Here's why: Targeted exercise creates
measurable positive change in strength and power while relaxing
the mind. And that equals control. Most of the control we think
we have in life is often an illusion -- except for
exercise.
Until I realized this, I often thought of exercise as
something I fit around the days I was having fun in a sport
like skiing or paddling my SUP board. Creating
art is a very non-linear type of activity and I can spend days
or weeks on a canvas and not be able to get at what I'm
envisioning. Not only does exercise make me healthier, I can
experience some linear measure of success with as little as an
hour or so a day of minor discomfort. 
Whatever the ups and downs may be in my day, not only does the
success I feel translate into the rest of my day, I can eat
more! Just in time for the holidays I wrote down my Pumpkin Sweet Potato Custard recipe so
you can try one of my family's favorite desserts. It's like
pumpkin pie without the crust.
The holiday season began this month with Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the
Dead) and now we're heading into Thanksgiving. The election is
over and the work of change is all of our responsibility. I am
very grateful to live in our great country. May we all take a
moment to count our blessings, not only our cash.
Happy Holidays,
Cristina
Exhibit Info November
2008:
- Gottshalks department store obtained 2 images from my Spanish Rose Series for their entry foyer in the new Gottshalks in Bend, Oregon.
- ASU Arizona State University Museum of Anthropology is exhibiting my 16'6" charcoal drawing, Love Always (Siempre Amor) for their 9th Annual Dia de los Muertos Festival exhibit, Oct. 28, 2008 - Jan. 29, 2009.
- Central Oregon, High Desert Gallery Sisters, Oregon, is exhibiting my series of Madonna retablos (altars) in their gallery.
- Onda Gallery in Lake Oswego, Oregon (a suburb of Portland) included my acrylic painting, Two to Tango in their Tango exhibit .
Along with painting, I
continue to write design articles regularly for Latina
Style magazine, and offer color consulting
services to home and business owners choosing paint colors
in Bend, Oregon. I like sharing home design ideas with clients,
it's a satisfying way to share my creative skills when I'm not
painting or writing.
Read more on my blog, www.CreateAndRelate.com.
