For my cousin and her sweet baby...
The poem reads...
Looking at nature,
She often wondered
If it was better
To grow hard
And unmovable
And then she saw
The butterflies
Stretch
The flowers
Unfold
And give and trust,
And she realized
What real strength
Is.
~RN
hand painted and written by yours truly
So special. Matching handmade bracelets created by my wonderful friend, Ingrid Zambrano.
You can check out more of her beautiful designs at Rivers of Colors Handmade.
Thrilled to be a part of this amazing show.
You can come hear some of my poetry THIS Friday night and see a host of other incredible dancers, singers, DJs, visual artists, and more.
Thank you, Eli Perez, for putting this together.
Every now and then I get to record one of my poems. Here's one from my book,
A Branch, A Few Words
Auditions ! If you hadn't already heard, Cherish Dance is about to start a new season. And if modern dance, stretching, poetry, and storytelling sound good to you, Cherish might be the place for you !
Big thank-you to the hard-working people at DanceATL, who have repeatedly shared our event with the local dance community.
If you hadn't already checked it out, their event calendar is awesome !
~We cherish art. We cherish the people we make it with.~
"She sells sea shells..."
Or she collects them and puts them in a really cute bowl in her bathroom. Wait, you don't have one of those ??
Lol Well, we're saying goodbye to summer, but giving it one last hurrah with this oceanscape theme.
"What kind of shell would you be ?"
Would you be prickly or smooth ? Colorful or subtle ? Tiny or tub-sized ??
Can't find an example in nature ? Make up your own and give it a new name ! We're all for diversity here.
Feel free to join us in this art prompt through any medium you prefer--drawing, photography, movement, or sound.
No requirements here and we love creativity !
Just don't forget to tag us when you share your #canicolornow moment. We'd love to hear from you and help fill the world with more art.
~RN
Adaptation. I think so often we associate adaptation with something on the outside. Change of appearance, change of skill set. A bird with some crazy mating ritual. lol
Maybe you changed your hair color and that felt empowering. Maybe you changed the arrangement of your living room furniture and that felt like relief.
But what if the adaptation was something on the inside ? In sign language, "change" and "adapt," are almost identical motions.
So what does it mean to adapt on the inside ? To adapt the heart ? For me, it has meant unlearning old responses and unhelpful coping mechanisms. It has meant allowing so much more love and forgiveness into the interior. And applying that gentleness to my experiences.
I have lost. I have failed. And just like everyone else, I am utterly imperfect and screw up sometimes. A younger self would see these moments as absolute defeats. A current me sees them as opportunities for learning.
And that's what I tell my toddler. Yep, you messed up, but that's how we learn. I am learning all the time, *too*. I let her *see* me fail and recover. For me, there is no greater aid to cultivating a kind inner voice, that that.
This would be mind-boggling stuff, to me in my 20s. Lol
So how have you changed ??
~RN
