Zografis News & Travels

Life is a journey, an evolving path and the twists and changes are what keep it interesting.  Over the past two years my work has evolved and changed in many exciting ways.  As I’ve returned to my roots in ART and CREATIVITY, I’ve come to realize that my two websites, Creative Compass Coach and Gallery Zografis, needed to evolve and become part of something bigger, something more fully ME.

Doing my own deep exploratory work, claiming my joy and fully stepping into my light seemed like a good way to approach this.  I’ve always been attracted to spirals, it’s probably the oldest symbol of human spirituality. The Spiral is an ancient symbol that reminds us of our evolving journey in life.  Spirals occur throughout the natural world, in the pattern of seeds in a sunflower, in the growing tips of ferns, in the shape of a nautilus shell and the rams horn, the snail and vine.  They occur in natural phenomena like whirlpools, tornadoes, and spinning galaxies. So it’s no surprise that the spiral has become a powerful symbol for creation and growth.

As a personal talisman, the Spiral helps us to accept the turnings and changes of life as it evolves. The acceptance of change brings tremendous freedom anchoring consciousness in the present moment where the power of creation is. The spiral reminds us of our inward and outward evolution, creating a balanced and centered state of mind.

We can travel the spiral in both directions – on an inward path from our everyday outer consciousness to the inner reaches of our soul; and the outward path from the flicker of an idea, the dream seed, expanding outward to the creative manifestation in a physical form.

The result of all my explorations is a brand new home for all things Paula, Creative Spirals.  http://creativespirals.com  brings together the best parts of my previous work and some exciting new elements, like Personal Iconography and the long overdue Imaginarium, as well as a photo gallery just for fun.

I’m pleased and excited to share this new work with you, while continuing to offer my more traditional artwork and Creative Compass Coaching.

I hope you will take a few minutes to explore the new site and let me know what you think.

The wheel of fortune has stopped spinning, and the pointer landed in North Africa, Tunisia to be specific.

We have been busy this past month settling into Sousse, on the sparkling Mediterranean Sea.  I have dedicated studio space in our new flat and plenty of new and interesting visual inspiration.

If you are interested in what I am seeing and experiencing, you can read about it on my blog: Tunisian Tapestry new artwork coming very soon . . .

It’s been far too long since I have updated this blog.  I’ve been writing elsewhere see No Fixed Destination and In Black and White to read about life in the interim.

Now we are preparing to leave the Czech Republic and Litomsyl, the town in east Bohemia that we have called home for the past 3 years.

Our next ‘home’ is still unknown as I write this, but we are making plans to spend a couple of months in Greece, which is always a favorite destination for us, and it has been far too long since our last visit.

We are planning a summer near the sea, filled with painting and photography, writing and exploring  and enjoying the quintessential Mediterranean experience. Hope you’ll virtually join me.

It has been exhilarating to be back in a climate with brilliant autumn foliage, and meandering through the countryside on buses and trains has fired my imagination to try some really textural things.

Meanwhile I am adding a few images from the end of summer here in our truly picturesque town of Litomysl. I hope you enjoy them.

Something new on offer . . . subscribe to art morsels and get small artworks in your mailbox 6 times a year!

Because I am having a lot of fun experimenting, and I’d like to share that work with people who like surprises, I have developed Art Morsels. These little bite-size artworks will be perfect to brighten a small corner of your world, give as gifts, provide a focus for meditation, or just provide a treat in your mailbox when you least expect it.

You can subscribe to Art Morsels through the website (look for it) or by sending me an email with Art Morsels in the subject line. Be sure to send a valid postal address!

You can get a 1 year subscription ($145 — see xe.com for exchange rate if you are outside the US) or you can get a mini-subscription ($50) which will get you two Art Morsels.

Enjoy your Art Morsels and remember to explore the world around you . . . who knows what you will find?

Peace + Joy,
Paula

Well, almost a year has passed and it’s time to bid a fond farewell to Turkey and head north. Next destination: the Czech Republic! I’m going to try to be better about posting here . . . last year was full of unexpected happenings and the website pretty much had to take care of itself, but I promise to give it more love, attention and new art in the coming months.

Peace, Paula

On September 14th, 2007, exactly one year after having my knee replaced, Steve and I moved to Turkey! My artist’s eye is busily absorbing the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of this amazing country. Naturally, I am eager to paint what I see and share it all.

We are currently situated in the City of Bursa, commonly known here as “Green Bursa” because of all the parks and trees. It is a very intriguing place and we have been exploring almost every day since we arrived. Of course, work will begin soon, so our exploring will be a bit less frequent, but there is so much to see and encounter.

We are very fortunate to have a local contact, formerly a student at LSI where I taught in San Diego. His family owns a business here, and he has taken on the role of guide and mentor, so we will have some really wonderful opportunities to explore things from a local perspective.

I hope 2007 is going to be a great year for us all. If you check in often, you’ll notice there haven’t been a lot of additions to the site since my surgery. Recovery is a longer process than I expected. On the bright side I do have several works in progress!

Look for new additions in February, including some series paintings and a gallery just for Art Money!

cheers!

On September 14th I had Total Knee Replacement surgery on my right knee. while it has temporarily slowed me down quite a lot, I expect that once the healing process is complete, I will be able to scramble around ruins once more and find even more artistic inspiration through traveling. Enjoy the site and look for new works to be posted sometime in October.

The world is a very cool place, and people with creative minds help keep it that way. I’d like you to check out the Bank of International Art-Money! http://www.art-money.org It’s a fantastic concept whereby we artists get to create our own currency, which is spendable for all manner of things, in fact you can spend it anywhere where anyone is willing to accept it! Having started in Denmark, many of the places you can spend your art-money are in northern Europe, but don’t let that discourage you, all art-money artists also accept art-money to pay for other artwork!!! I’ll be opening a gallery soon on this site that will feature my art money, or you can buy some now from the BIAM website. check it out, there are a LOT of very cool artists represented there.