Changes, Big and Small
There's a bunch of 'em! Plus: the benefits of meditation
Hello dX creatives!!!
We’re so happy you’re here and a part of what we’re growing - a wholistic collaborative where creatives support creatives.
In this issue:
Changes, Big and Small
Dr. Matt had to step away
Our Open Art Time - freeXpressions - is Open to Everyone
dX Live is no more
Parz is Live Weekly on YouTube
Aleesha’s (Involuntary) Art Retreat
Carissa is Emerging from a Portuguese Summer
Did you know? - Just 10 minutes of mindfulness can reduce pain. (And it’s not simply a placebo effect.)
Check Out Our YouTube Channel
Subscribe to dX platforms
Changes, Big and Small
Hi everyone! It’s been about 6 weeks since our last newsletter and in that time there’s been a bunch of changes. We’ve gained, we’ve lost, we’ve endured. And we’re still here - creating, supporting, becoming better versions of ourselves.
Let’s get into a few details:
Dr. Matt had to step away from dX
Life, as we all know, can sometimes be a bit much, especially when you’re battling chronic health issues. When you add to the mix being a caregiver to a family member whose chronic health issues are worsening, it can all be too much and you need to step away from things, even if you love them.
It was a sad day when Dr. Matt made the decision to step away from dX but we respect his decision and love and support him nonetheless. He will always be a member of our Soul Family and was a vital part of dX coming to fruition.
Our Open Art Time - freeXpressions - is Open to Everyone
dX’s open art time has a new name - freeXpressions - and is no longer only available to subscribers. Make an art date with yourself, hang out with others doing the same, and imbibe the beverage of your choice. We’re not time-zone-ists - your choice of what you drink at whatever position the Sun is to you is cool and dandy by us!
It’s Friday evenings (in Eastern Time) - the link to attend is here!
dX Live is no more
It’s unfortunate but true - dX Live wasn’t able to attract sufficient subscriber income to cover the costs of the instructors. We’re sad that it had to close but we wish our (now former) instructors all the best!
If you’d like to catch up with what they’re doing, here are ways to reach them:
Helen Leigh-Phippard, https://drawingfaces.home.blog
Jedidiah Dore, https://linktr.ee/jedidore
Joan Martin, https://linktr.ee/joanmartin_artist
Parz is Live Weekly on YouTube
Our creative writing impresario and prolific microfictioner Parz is live weekly on YouTube. Join him Saturday evenings (in Eastern Time) as he talks about his creative (writing) process and what’s captured his attention that week.
You can get there by following this link!
Aleesha’s (Involuntary) Art Retreat
For the past couple of months, Aleesha’s been on an involuntary art retreat, by which we mean that Aleesha’s MS made the stairs of her 2-story house too dangerous to navigate (with the bedrooms being upstairs!).
With Life having handed her lemons, she opted to ask her hubby to:
return the lemons (or donate them to a worthy cause if Life wouldn’t take them back),
keep her well stocked in hot coffee (especially with Thai tea mixed in), and
do what needed doing downstairs.
What she then did was adjust her art practice to what her chronic disease allowed her to do (by managing her energy and time, taking breaks, meditating, and being patient with herself) using the supplies she had on hand - a sketchbook and some pens.
And the results? Take a look at a few of her newest pieces:
Carissa is Emerging from a Portuguese Summer
The summer heat is quite relentless in Portugal. You’d think all that time hiding from the sun would be perfect for creating, but sweaty hands (and arms and faces and and and…) and ink don’t play well together. But as the temperatures are (finally) starting to drop, Carissa’s art practice and her garden are blooming back into life.
She’s continuing to work on her book about Frankie the sausage dog that likes to bury socks in their garden, and creating some new drawings for her print shop. Expect a video from her soon over on our dX YouTube channel where she’ll be sharing about the calming practice of drawing lines and patterns. (To watch a video she’s already made, click this link!)
Did You Know…?
… Just 10 minutes of mindfulness can reduce pain. (And it’s not simply a placebo effect.)
Aleesha’s chronic illnesses (the thing about diseases like MS and other auto-immune conditions is that they often come as a bundle package - if you have one, odds are good you’ve got several) are a daily challenge for her: dizziness, nausea, pain, the list goes on and on.
Meditation is something she relies on to help reduce stress and keep her symptoms to a minimum. And, it turns out, science has found that:
the pain relief from mindfulness comes from a different neural pathway than does placebo effect pain relief (this from NewAtlas.com), and
it only takes 10 minutes of mindfulness per day to get benefits (this from PsyPost.com)
While there are numerous apps, both free and not, that offer meditation and mindfulness help, consider watching the dX Meditative Minute videos on YouTube (and enjoy scenes of Thailand while you breathe). Here’s the link!
Check Out Our YouTube Channel!
Parz is live on YouTube every Saturday at 9pm Eastern Time. Aleesha and Carissa will be adding content routinely! It’s easy to subscribe (click the button below to make it happen) and then you’re set! Come watch! Hang out! Follow along!
Subscribe to dX’s Other Platforms
Join us in a variety of ways!
Our newsletter is the place where we let you know about everything that’s happening inside drawingXpressions (or as we call ourselves, dX). Do you know anyone who you think would want to be part of this emerging community? Please hit the button below to share the love (and this newsletter):
Did someone share this newsletter with you? Subscribe to the newsletter! (Once you’ve subscribed, you can join dXing Space, drawingXpressions’ community):
Thank you for joining us on this journey. We look forward to co-creating this space with you!
The drawingXpressions “we”: Aleesha, Carissa, and Parz
