One of my favorite things to hear from friends and fans of my work is the phrase, “You can totally pull that off because that is so you!”  It is a spontaneous affirmation from those who have observed your path and find that even a new work in progress has a strong trace or element that is strongly tied to your character, a past piece of work, a progression or outflow of your energy and interest, and your obvious skill set and experience. As I have mentioned on my blog in a previous post, I’m a fan of Julia Cameron’s description of finding one’s “vein of gold“; that is, not just a project, product, or performance that results in a high monetary gain, but one that uses the artist’s craft and technique in such a way that converts towards brilliance. My argument is much more simple. Do you want to put out credible, honorable, creative, provocative work? Rather than just imitating (and I have little against good imitation), my simple mantra has been this: BE ALL YOU.

1. BE

Lati.n veil dance by Imei. Photo credit: Chris Yetter. Used by permission

The “be” of “be all you” is really about presence. Just show up and shut up. Bring your attention to your work. Don’t come to it distracted and encumbered with other sh!t. Leave that at the door of your studio or place of creativity. Stop yaking about your kids or your kitties. Put on the headphones and block the world out if you’re working by yourself. Turn off the damn cellphone, and shut down computer notifications. It’s time to just “be.”

My piano teacher Mrs. Hahn would often have me listen to a piece of classical music after we had studied it together for some time. We would take the sheet music in hand, and sit with it, hearing the music without striking a key. Today, I often come to choreography this way, having listened to the music for weeks — and sometimes months! – before I attempt to place the movement upon the work. I take a moment to breathe, to attune to where I’m “at”, and then to remove anything that might pull me away from sitting with the work and just being with it. It’s not some mumbo jumbo magic juju. It’s presence.

I would find out many years later that the principles built into my study with Mrs. Hahn share similarities with Mindfulness Mediation. From John Kabut-Zinn:

“Mindfulness means paying attention

in a particular way;

On purpose,

in the present moment, and
nonjudgmentally.”

Without being completely reductionist, it appears to me that much of Mindfulness is about intentional attending and focusing, with no agenda to jump ahead and criticize. Just be in the moment.

2. ALL

Bringing all of yourself to the creative process is actually tougher than it sounds. I assume everyone is busy. Life is full of the mundane, the tyranny of the urgent, deadlines and day jobs, and health challenges. Bringing all of yourself requires you to plan ahead, to take care of your responsibilities, and to set aside your best hours — not your worst! — for your creative projects unless you don’t care about quality.

While I’m not saying you can’t write a decent piece if you’re tired, or you have children, or you have day job, I’ve seen good writers put out articles rife with grammatical errors and missing words. I’ve observed dancers with hunched shoulders and  ”heavy” legs (low-level leg extension) who didn’t make time to eat properly and rest between performances. Many of us have attended rock concerts where the lead singer still looks like he or she is recovering from a night of bus travel and heavy drinking. How can you bring your all if you didn’t plan ahead for your all to be available to you?

An example of planning for my “all” to be available to me was to surrender my Sundays and a part of Monday morning to balance my busy schedule. I found that if I stopped accepting performance gigs on Sundays and did not spend time writing for hours on Sunday night, I had energy and “pop” for Tuesday through Saturday, which are the busiest days of the week for both my professional work as a psychotherapist and my artistic endeavors as a writer, dance artist, choreographer/instructor, and budding amateur photographer. I needed “downtime” more than ever, and while sleep is some of that downtime needed to recharge my batteries, having waking time that isn’t drowning in sound, motion, and phone calls is important to my creative process. I reinstated the 10 pm cut-off hour as the final hour of the evening that I cannot respond to emails and phone calls, no matter what the time zone of the sender, until the following morning at 8:00 AM.

Those of you who work a corporate job will roll your eyes at me. It’s just not doable, you’ll say. Those of you with small children will smirk at my naivette. OK. Fine. But you get my point. If you can’t bring your all to your work by creating the space for your all to show up, then you should not be surprised if your work does not produce the results you were hoping for, whether that be innovation, improvement, joy, fans, making a difference in this world,  or money. Even if you are an accomplished artist with past success upon which you glide upon with golden apples coming out of your a$$, I can tell when you are slipping. If your all isn’t into your work, it shows.

3. YOU

With all the Social Media platforms changing their TOUA’s to include language that may make it easier for them to share your work without crediting you or owing you royalties, I stand on the boundary between hypersensitivity to the issues of privacy and stealing, and the marketing aspect where you as an Artist has to give away a lot of your work — books, photos, music, workshops — in order to get something back in return. But besides the monetary act of stealing someone’s work, such as “fauxtographer” Megan Kunert‘s actions against wedding photographer Amber Hughes [HT to Jackie Baisa Donnelly for bringing this story to my attention], my point is that your art should be a representation of you: your work, your life, your beliefs, your intentions, your hopes for the world, your vision of beauty or violence or ugliness or joy. It should have “you” written all over it.

When I first started collecting pictures from my point and shoot cameras, I wondered what I should be shooting. Some people are great at shooting nature, and they travel to the ends of the earth for it. Others are good at shooting food and architecture. For me, it made sense I would start with two subjects I know something about: performance art and my cats. By practicing on two things I love, I could use them to gain experience on lighting, setting up the shot, posing, and patience! But a third subject that  naturally arises in my shooting is emotion, and while I would never think to start painting faces, I have found it irresistible to shoot faces and bodies with a camera to express the vulnerability found in the changing landscape of the human body. I’m so excited to share with you very soon my professional project uniting photography and psychotherapy. You’re going to love it!

My point is this: it may not matter the medium you chose as much as the intention to bring the “you-ness” of you to the creative moment. And so while the first novella I attempted to write was all in the first person “I”, my current writing project will have as many third person stories because this is where I am at; that is, you will need to commit to being you — and no one else — even if you are writing about someone else. You can still apply craft and technique to get authentic renderings, but guess what? Even those renderings will have the trace of you that is as unique as your scent and your fingerprint.

In a couple of weeks, I will have performed my unique choreographies to two pieces of Latin-inspired music for a bellydance show. While I did not create the props nor the styles of prop use that will be featured in those works, I have applied the above principles of being, bringing my all, and sticking to who I am. The end result are two pieces that reflect not only where I’ve been as a dance artist, but the unique flavor to which I bring to the moment to express the stories found within both the music and the Artist.

This is my art. And that’s the kind of art we can own and be proud of.

Snow-capped mountains, water, and green. San Juan Islands are my happy place.

My weekend getaway was to my “happy place” on this planet, the San Juan Islands.  Just because it is only a 1.5 hour car drive away and a ferry ride away does not mean it isn’t a beautiful destination worthy of weddings, camping, jogging, bicycling, nature viewing, and photography. I have made over a half-dozen trips to the San Juans in the past ten years, and I have never had a bad experience. To top things off, the San Juans also have a small but thriving artist’s community, with practitioners of Yoga, culinary arts, pottery, jewelry making,  music, and painting.

PLAN YOUR ESCAPE 

We started the weekend off with dinner and the ballet in Seattle on a Friday evening (taking advantage of HH pricing for appetizers and wine), and planned to be up early in the morning to catch the last morning ferry from Anacortes to Orcas Island. That ended up being a good plan, since any laziness on our part would force us to wait three hours until the next ferry. Therefore, there would be no late night cavorting, movie-watching, or socializing. Ah, the sacrifices we make for art appreciation!

Packing for a weekend is as tough as packing for a week if you don’t have a general idea of what you want to do with 48 hours on an island. I keep a couple of packing lists for travel handy, but my general rule of thumb is to pack as light as possible for the most amount of general fun. For a weekend, I include the following:

- two pairs of shoes: one for walking/running, and one for going out
- fitness clothing that can play double duty, and layers for changing weather
- one iDevice for entertainment, GPS/maps
- a pen and paper to write with (I keep a small notepad in my bag)
- a decent camera (I had one on loan)
- sunscreen

You might not agree with this next part, but whether you’re traveling by yourself or with your main squeeze, an artful weekend getaway includes a limit on how much time to spend with your face in a screen. My personal tendency is to keep iDevices off or set aside, or you’ll miss the best moments. That included some moments where the camera needed to be set aside as well. A lazy lounge session on a park bench yields restful rejuvenation well beyond what any iDevice can give me. Plus, it’s free (unless you count the brain cell energy consumed).

FOLLOW THE NATIVES

The woman at reception at the Outlook Inn told us about a very special wine pairing dinner at their New Leaf Cafe, with Gonzalez Byass (Spanish wines) and Chef Gordon Terry as a part of their “Outlook University” [here's where I say I don't mind going back to school!].  She said one of the wines she tried was so good, “…it was like my mouth said, ‘Welcome, come on in.’” Whenever someone who lives there recommends something with that kind of enthusiasm and unfettered joy, you should ALWAYS pay attention to see if that’s something you’d like to try. And so we did.

Before the dinner, I asked permission to take photos before and throughout the dinner, and the hostess approved. Taking pictures during a meal with a flash made me feel like Press, but I was pleased to see out of a corner of my eye another young diner taking pictures with his phone camera. Food presentation is art!

On a weekend getaway, this is my version of "group therapy".

Om nom nom! Welcome to my mouth!

The weather was extraordinary for Spring in the Puget Sound, a warm and lovely 72 Fahrenheit.  I watched for when others who lived on the island were running outside, or where they were gravitating towards for after-dinner fraternizing. While we never did make it to the Odd Fellow’s Building (where  Hejira World Band was playing!), a good amount of locals did recommend going there for a good time.  You’d get your dance and world music fix, all at once.

I also noticed about seven book clubs were registered at the Danville Book Store in East Sound. Forgot a good book to read? Most of your local town getaway destinations will have a book store, complete with a discount table if you want a cheaper read. Some of the B&B’s will happily take your finished books for recycling to other happy weekenders.

A THING OF THE EYES

In the movie, “Sabrina” starring Julia Ormand and Harrison Ford, Sabrina says to Linus that she’s been taking photos all her life, only recently with a camera. It’s a quote that I feel has been true for me. I’ve always been framing scenes, imagining the finished photo well before the shutter has been pressed.

We took the camera everywhere except on the morning run. What I saw on the run anyways would likely not have been captured easily: three does crossing a road quickly, and an eagle flying overhead. Everywhere else — Mt. Constitution, Olga Harbor, and a variety of stops along the way — the camera had enough memory and battery life for the afternoon.

Pop go the colors, if you can see them post production

SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS

What would an artful weekend getaway be without supporting local artists? Well, for starters, it would be dull. Because local artists take the time and care to share their lovely environment with you as a visitor, these places can thrive with continued art. In a time when art programs are being cancelled from schools because of budget issues, it’s that much more important to spend some of your dollars investing in the arts.

Art entrepreneurs Scarlett and Tyra took advantage of the fine weather by displaying their matted prints in a makeshift booth by the road. I think they had a pretty good gig going, including a cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows. We think is an excellent alternative to the lemonade stand.

Scarlett and guest artist Tyra in their art booth. Photo taken by permission.

Teresa Greenway, mother to one of the young artists pictured above,  has an eBook pdf out on Amazon, available through your Kindle reader. including tasty recipes for sourdough bread. I do have to mention that these girls were quite the little businesswomen. One of them kindly reminded us to please stand to side of her booth after making our purchase, since our bodies were blocking the view of the sign from the road! However, I do want to also mention that the little boy who chased after us for the dollar bill he felt he lost when we paid with a $5 bill for a $4 piece of art might need a little help with math.

Ever grateful for the new friends, venues, and destinations that have come from starting a Twitter feed back in 2009 that has grown to 1600+, our final stop on the artful weekend getaway was to Allium, a culinary gem on the island. I learned of Allium through my connection on Twitter to the restaurant, but my companion for the weekend had already vetted this gem on a previous visit. Its quiet view of the water, and Chef Lisa Nakamura’s tasty masterpieces made from fresh ingredients, Aloha, and an unpretentious setting made this meal feel like you were eating in her home (and in fact, she says that on her website). Her meals are works of art, including that chocolate pudding creme brulee with a candle for my birthday. [Super yum, and the eight paw salute from two sets of human hands and front paws from the kittehs!]

I can never say no to scallops, and when they look and taste this good from Allium, why should I? [Scallops, I must have you now

All good things come to an end. I sacked out on the ferry ride back to Anacortes, my mind and heart full of music, art, sunshine, and images. When I see a lot of beauty in a short period of time, my mind needs more sleep to start processing it all! After putting couple of sample photos post-editing on my FB page, I think I have a pretty good idea that people liked the photos. As always, I’m reminded that photography really is an art form, since it requires one to change the way s/he sees the world in order to render even the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Granted, in past trips to the San Juans, I’ve also camped alone, pitching a tent in Moran State Park, bicycling everywhere, and cooking my meals over a campfire instead of dining in a white-tablecloth restaurant [usually accompanied by a good bottle of Scotch]. An artful weekend getaway does not have to be expensive or fancy. And I can tell you, no one paid anything for the view of two eagles flying below the outlook on top of Mt. Constitution. Nor could we have ever paid enough to have selected the best weather weekend of April to travel. I’ve always said that some of the best and most beautiful experiences in life are the ones that cost little nothing, but transform us forever.

Want to plan your own artful weekend? What do you think need to do in order to make it happen? Share your best ideas for weekend getaways that put art in the center of your experience.

FUN WAYS TO CELEBRATE EARTH DAY

1. Solar Power It
 I use Joos Solar Panel to charge up my iDevices     and other small gadgets. Even on a grey day in Seattle, a little flashing light indicator lets me know my solar panel is collecting enough sunlight to keep them energized. Now, which one soaks up more rays: my cat Lumi, or the solar panel? [Both are pretty cool in my book]

Each Joos panel comes with a packet of cable ends for most of your standard items. You can even leave the panel in your car and have it available to power up your devices. Woot!

2. Get The Poop On Conservation

Thanks to Tony Shin for sending me this great info graph about poop and sewage waste. Who knew? I’ll be more conscientious about those flushes, but we can also put our money where our

environmental mouths are by supporting research and intiatives to turn bio waste into fuel sources that do not harm our planet. Poop power, activate!

Created by: OnlineNursingPrograms.com

3. Hug A Tree (Or An Entire Forest)

Did you know that this weekend of April 20 – 22 is National Forest weekend in the U.S.? If you visit a National Forest during this time, your admission is free. Follow them on Twitter @NatlParkService. Check out Ken’s tweet about it, below.

Ken ‏ @kenfucious

National Park Week begins Saturday – free admission through next weekend. Anybody getting outside? ( @NatlParkService )

Imei ‏ @HipsForHire

@kenfucious @NatlParkService Yes, quite possibly for my birthday weekend! Thanks to the Natl Park Service for free admission.

Ken ‏ @kenfucious“Live every week like it’s National Park Week” @HipsForHire@NatlParkService

Ok KenFucious, that’s some pretty good zen advice.

4. Download Library Books And Save Trees
I only got into eBooks after purchasing my first iPad back in 2010. Now that I’m writing my own book, I’m already thinking about the ways I’ll get my book into other people’s hands, including eBooks. But did you know your library allows you to check out books to your Kindle reader (even on the iPad)? Granted, there are limited numbers of copies of a particular title available to check out, and if it’s a very popular book, you might be waiting for awhile. But NPR mentioned that the Central Library (Seattle) system has the nation’s largest eBook collections — over 100,000 books compared to NYC’s 88,000. Ha ha! We win. You win. Check out a book by downloading it to your Kindle reader.

5. Hoofing And Wheelin’

If you can’t get into any of the above, there’s always walking and bicycling everywhere you can to reduce your carbon footprint.  While you might not be in a position to give up your car, you can choose to drive it less by taking mass transit, especially light rail (clean and efficient — I take it to work three times a week), and getting some exercise by bicycling to the market and other short errands. I was even walking in the “what the yuck?” rain yesterday in Pioneer Square.

Admittedly, I’m a little weird this way, but I’ll load up my iPhone with its iPod full of music, and I’ll go run – and dance  -  outdoors. Where people can see. And they can gawk. And I just don’t have to care. This is some free space where I can shimmy up a storm and really work my core, either going backwards or forwards. Next thing you know, I’ll be inline skating and hooping at the same time. If I do, you’ll get exclusive pictures here first.

There are a million things you can do to save energy and protect our planet, such as sharing shower time, recycling, turning junk into art, re-gifting things, and finding artful ways to limit waste. For me, it’s all about having an artful approach to conservation, to daily practices, to …. well, EVERYTHING.

What’s your artful approach to Earth Day? Share your best thoughts on how to care for yourself while caring for your planet.

 

Here’s my short description of what Facial Karaoke is:

Drop and see what Facial Karaoke is about. Old Rainier Brewery Artwalk April 14 between 6-7 pm in the Hips For Hire studio, or check out the Ustream channel to drop in virtually.

Our faces use 43 muscles and access over 1000 expressions.Facial Karaoke is my unique presentation of recycling and borrowing expressions, allowing participants to explore feelings in a physical and visceral way without experiencing the actual situations that can produce them.

Participant observers will be asked to sit with Imei for a few moments, face to face, before Facial Karaoke begins. By observing micro expressions, the participant begins to copy these expressions while noticing what thoughts emerge. Only after the expression is copied will the transmitter (Imei) reveal the context of the emotions through a short story.

Emotions explored will include the following: happiness, contempt, joy, disgust, joy, surprise, fear, and sadness. In an all-adult context, we may also opt to explore other expressions, such as lust, desire, and the equanimity after sexual orgasm. 

Facial Karaoke will run from 6-7 pm on April 14, 2012 in the Old Rainier Brewery Hips For Hire Studio (maps provided on site). You may also attend by dropping in on the Ustream.tv channel, Hips For Hire. 

This is a fun (and funny) way to learn expression, reading, and human connection that we all crave from the first moment our baby eyes open and see our first caregiver. All participation is voluntary. Facial Karaoke involves movement, observation, pauses, and inspiration from Butoh (modern dance from Japan). It is my attempt to help show you a little of my world as an artful psychotherapist, but with a humorous approach to educating others about emotions. From a cursory search of the Internet, I believe my presentation is unique, although the idea of facial reading and interpretation is an old practice.

Check out my video about the Artwalk offerings in the Hips For Hire studio:

I believe that artful expressions should emerge in all kinds of daily practices, which is the topic of the book I’m writing, Designing Your Practice: An Artistic Approach (due out in Fall 2012). The book explores mental health strategies involving artistic explorations as a means to understanding recovery and restoration in mental health, instead of shame, labeling, psychopharmacy, and pathologizing symptoms rather than compassionate and collaborative interactions.

People have been asking me how they can donate to help me get my book published (because it takes money!), and after my Kickstarter campaign finished, I’ve moved my campaign to my professional website for my services. Facial Karaoke is just one more way we can understand how art and mental health care intersect. I’m in the process of hiring a book publishing coach to help me in the process of creating a professionally-published book that I’ll be proud to put into your hands.

As a part of my Artwalk presentation in the studio, I’ll be accepting donations towards my book-writing project. This is the first time I’ve used my own studio to raise money for something that benefits me rather than an outside cause. I’ve decided to do this because I believe in my project, and I want everyone I know to be a part of this with me. I believe my book has the power to help people transform their daily practices and businesses into springs of wellness and creativity, and thus every dollar donated will help me — us! — accomplish this transformation one book at a time.

We hope you can attend our Artwalk, and I hope you’ll drop by in person or through Ustream.tv. Enjoy the show!

REASONS TO ATTEND REVOLVE AT THE OLD RAINIER BREWERY

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Are you ready to try "Facial Karaoke" with Imei during the artwalk? [Yes, now have a kitty!

 Reason 1: Music and Performance Art

Music and performance art practices go on in the Old Rainier Brewery pretty much seven days a week. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out why our artwalk boasts some pretty awesome music groups, dancers and troupe, fire dancers, and other circus-type acts in our building.

In the case of the Hips For Hire studio, Hejira World Band will be joining us once again from 7 -8 pm for concert. They’ll be giving away a few house concerts     (remember to bring your business card!) during that hour, and if you can’t stay long, you can get your name in the bucket for the drawing. Hejira’s blend of world music with a jazzy feel makes our artwalkers happy!

 Reason 2: Weather Resistant

Currently, I’m watching a rain and hail storm scrub my windows free of bird poo and dirt. But when other artwalks run their events, weather can be a real factor into the enjoyment of the actual function. People don’t generally want to freeze their fingers in snow and hail, or risk their paintings becoming wet from rain and snow. These worrisome factors do not affect this artwalk. Not only do we have convenient parking onsite, our artwalk is entirely housed within the  building during the wet weather months. We have the ability to use more outdoor space during the summer months. Artists can be assured their art will be clean and dry.

Reason 3: Art by Artists for Everyone

One of the changes we made to the artwalk is to charge a registration fee for artists showing their work in the building. Running an artwalk is a big job, and advertising and organizing requires some money to offset costs for the posters, as well as maps for the artwalk itself. Since our building is huge and a bit confusing to first-timers, a map is absolutely necessary. But by charging a small fee to the artists who want to show, we get early commitments to show, the organizers get a chance to organize the art by floor and by host, and the public gets less kitch and more quality. While we might now have as many T-shirt vendors and metal toe-ring makers, what people do end up participating have thoughtfully constructed something for your artistic viewing pleasure.

It’s not very likely anything highly commercialized will be showing in our artwalk. Yet most of the artists are available to create on commission if you like their style and want something unique.

REVOLVE IN HIPS FOR HIRE STUDIO

For now, the artful presentations in the Hips For Hire studio are:

6-7p DJ attamc, and “Facial Karoke” with Imei
7-8p Hejira World Band (Don and Ashraf)
8-9p U-hoop and possibly another band

I don’t yet have anything planned for the final hour, except clean up and break down. That’s because it’s near my birthday, and I’ll be preparing to go to our after party, where three of us are having birthdays. I imagine there may be copious kitteh petting sessions, as some people have only met Ms. Lumi virtually. If you’d like to see what the fuss is about, check out my Pinterest page under “kittehs”.

Our faces use 43 muscles and access over 1000 expressions. Facial Karaoke is my unique presentation of recycling and borrowing expressions, allowing participants to explore feelings in a physical and visceral way without experiencing the actual situations that can produce them. This is a fun (and funny) way to learn expression, reading, and human connection that we all crave from the first moment our baby eyes open and see our first caregiver. All participation is voluntary. Facial Karaoke involves movement, observation, pauses, and inspiration from Butoh (modern dance from Japan). It is my attempt to help show you a little of my world as an artful psychotherapist, but with a humorous approach to educating others about emotions.

MY CAUSE BENEFITS YOU: DESIGNING YOUR PRACTICE, A BOOK WRITING PROJECT

As usual, parts of the artwalk will be on broadcast on Ustream.tv. Any donations to my studio’s artwalk presentation will benefit my book-writing project, Designing Your Practice: An Artist’s Approach, which is currently on Kickstarter. Professional book publishing (as opposed to a simple eBook) is a longer and more expensive publishing process, but one that is necessary for me to present a professional book able to hold up to scrutiny in the medical, mental health, and education fields. This book is about why and how re-infusing our daily practices with artful thinking is meant to change the way we do business, relate, and compassionately treat one another. There will be more information provided soon about my book writing process.

For the first time since I came to live and work from the Old Rainier Brewery, I’m using the artwalk as a way to present to the community my own shameless self-promotion. This time, the cause benefits you, because this book is being written for you — that is, artists, business people, educators, activists, free thinkers, professionals. I’m writing something that I believe will transform the way people think about ways of being and living, doing business, and helping others. I know that ultimately the book’s presence will be the present I give back to the world. While it may not directly feed a malnourished child in Africa, it indirectly teaches each person a response to their artistic and creative self that can easily lead someone to change their best practices to accommodate thoughtful giving to feed the world’s malnourished children.

If you haven’t seen my Kickstarter campaign video about the book, here it is:

By April 7, my campaign on Kickstarter will either be funded or canned forever. But the book writing project must continue, and I must get this book published. Whether it’s one dollar in a tin can at a time, or a generous angel investment (or something in between), I’ll continue to write and get this baby published.

Come one, and come all to rEVOLVe, or watch it on Ustream.tv/channdel/hips-for-hire-with-imei

While I write my book, Designing Your Practice, I am already thinking of my book signing launch party. The moment you invite the public to view your baby is a very special moment. No matter how artistic you are, there are elements to presentation you need to consider before you put it out there. While most of us do not have the capital of a large department store, I’d like to highlight my experience with the Nordstrom Rack’s recent opening in downtown Seattle as an example of a company who is “getting it right” when it comes to presenting something in which they take great pride.

Outside the new Nordstrom Rack

I peeked into the windows of the closed Nordstrom Rack store, right past the sign that indicated that the store was closed for a private event. Nordstrom Rack’s advertisement to the blogging community indicated that they wanted each of us to feel welcome, but not to share this event beyond our close friends and influencers. Why? Because this was an exclusive event they wanted just for us: the very first people people in the public to see their store and shop their merch. The store was not officially open, and they wanted us to know that their staff was there for us.

Tip #1: make your guests feel known by name, welcomed, and exclusive.

The manager of the store, Peter McMahon (@Seattle_Rack on Twitter)  was there to greet every guest. He stopped and looked me in the eye, shook my hand, and looked at my name tag while pronouncing my name. I know that seems simple, right? But you have no idea how many places I go to — even doctor’s offices, where the receptionist, medical aid, and other workers do not even bother to acknowledge who I am.

Tip #2: for crying out loud, address people by name.

As I descended the escalator, I heard applause. Uh-oh, there is a gauntlet of clapping staff members wearing green staff shirts that identify them clearly as staff, and trays and trays of white wine and vodka limonadas. Oooh-la la, I have to have one of those [erm, maybe two, since I'm taking light rail home]. Instead of thinking, “This is over-the-top,” I realized the staff were being primed for what they will be doing from this time forward: happy that you are a customer. Happy that you might come to their store and have a good experience, find what you like, and purchase something.

Years ago, my grandmother came to visit from Taiwan. Her clothing did not look expensive to others, but she was a wealthy woman who asked me to take her shopping at an exclusive women’s shop in Bellevue, WA. The staff did not pay attention to her because she didn’t speak English, and she didn’t look rich. I had to catch the attention of one of the assistants by whispering, “My grandmother has $10K in her purse. Would you care to wait on her?”

The Nordstrom Rack is like any other business. While they specialize in value-priced clothing for those watching their budgets, they aren’t turning away women who look like my grandmother. I know, because they didn’t judge me, and I am certainly no fashionista wearing couture and flashing money. [BTW, my grandmother bought $5000 worth of clothing that day. Cash.]

Tip #3: respect everyone who looks at your business, your art, your products, and thank everyone equally, even if they don’t buy anything. You never know the outcome until you get to the cash register.

Before I descended down the escalator, I was handed a thin and seemingly light swag bag. They didn’t tell me what was in the bag, but I found out later how each bag contained a gift certificate for $50.00. How nice! While there was no expectation that you had to spend it then, they hoped each blogger would tweet using their hashtag, share with their friends what they bought, and say something kind. If you did so, you were entered to win an item. Press was invited to capture those moments, and a DJ stood at attention to pump out some tunes.

Tip #4: give something people like to get something you will like.

I ended up asking the Nordstrom Rack Twitter representative why I was invited to this event, since I know Seattle is bursting with Social Media people who have larger followings than I do. She said that while they targeted Twitter users with followings higher than 800 (which would qualify someone like me), they also looked for community members who others looked to for advice. She looked at my Twitter handle and said, “Oh, you’re the bellydancer.”

I smiled. Someone did their homework.

Tip #5: it’s not the number of followers someone has, or a popularity contest. It is your power to influence, to persuade, or project a positive impact that others find valuable. Invite those people to your events.

They did their part: they wanted me to shop, and they gave me a gift certificate. I did my part: I was the shopper, and I bought items I wished to show others.

Tip #6: know the purpose of your artful event. You have a role, and your guest has a role. Respect the roles. In fact, have fun with them.

Watermelon BCBG jacket and a ring

I am very sorry to report that @Superbetch did not like the raincoat I purchased for the transitional days between Winter and Spring (where it rains and rains, but it’s not cold enough to wear the heavy black rain coat).  But he did like the ring I bought, pictured here. I love both items, and I think I’ll get some major use out of the coat. If I get tired of the color, I’ll tell Superbetch I had it professionally tye-dyed. [Ha ha].

My book launch, your artful events, and both of our presentations of what we love and what we do must have the same sense of preparation, care, excitement, smart presentation, and giving as any other business. While we may not have the same budget to give everyone a couple of glasses of wine and seemingly endless appetizers, giving away signed CD’s and books, sharing links for free podcasts, and showing how guests can win free items are helpful in getting your art into the hands of those who not only appreciate your work but tell others about it too.

Here’s to getting it right! [Good job, Nordstrom Rack!]BTW, they gave each guest a bunch of tulips in a variety of colors. I got a bunch to match my new watermelon-colored raincoat. Nice touch to remember them by: simple beauty at an affordable price.

Now, tell us what you think. Do you think art openings need to have the same attention to detail in being “consumer oriented” as other business openings? What transferrable concepts do you see that will help you the next time you throw a house concert, a locals show, or a dance performance to a new audience?

Editor’s Note: I am NOT picking on @Superbetch. He and I both know that I love everything black, and every once and awhile I have to be spontaneous and purchase something that is not black, grey,  white, or chartreuse.  It’s Springtime, darling [Mwah].

Perhaps, we can.

Think about what artists could do, in conjunction with helping professionals, to educate people on mental health and wellness. We could take complex issues, such as depression, and help people see that those who are sensitive to feelings of sadness and despair are more than a chemical imbalance with feet.

Next: My Kickstarter campaign for my book (Fall 2012). And yes, Part II of How To Write A Song [the simple way].

When I was in the seventh grade, one of my poems was published in a list of the top 100 poems in Washington State. I had submitted about half a dozen entries without a belief that any of them would be selected, and when my teacher told me one of mine made it on the list, I could barely contain my joy (and my inflated ego!) that something of mine was being read — by strangers, by other teachers and students, by critics and lovers of poetry alike.

Every time someone picks up one of my blog posts, a tweet, or quotes me from an email, I experience that same thrill. When someone says, “Could I reprint what you said about [whatever content]?” I am transported back to my 12-year-old happy child self, the one who skipped and laughed all the way home. But other than my blog posts, and tweets, and Facebook updates, I remain an unpublished writer.

THAT is about to change forever. And with your help, I will write a book and I won’t look back.

Write A Book

Write that book, and never look back

Why write a book? Is there even a market for it? After attending an important book publishing seminar this past week, I’ve learned that publishing a book is the best marketing practice there is to building your business. People get to know you, they like what you do or what service you provide, and then they want MORE. They want to take a piece of you home with them. They want to bring you back  to their world, their business, their boss, their co-workers. If they can’t do that, you fall prey to this reality:

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND

I’ve always wanted to make a difference in the lives of those who entrust themselves to my care, whether it’s one year at a time (such as in my private practice as a therapist), one visit at a time (as an RN in a clinic or on the phone during triage), or one hour at a time (such as at a speaking engagement or workshop). While I’ve had the privilege of doing this on a very small scale, I have always known that these experiences were just that: meaningful, but small.

The challenge for me is that I’ve had more than one passion, and I didn’t exactly know how — or if I even should — try to combine them. The truth is, whatever your first book is, your next years of writing should share a common thread. For all the work you’ll do to promote one book, each book can ride on the success of the previous one if they are somehow related.

My Ah-Ha Moment

They say that if you put yourself in the stream of creativity, you will have many “ah-ha” moments. But creativity is actually a kind of work, according to Scott Berkun, author of Mindfire. It isn’t the idea, but what you do with it.

A week ago, I delivered my first presentation to an audience of about two hundred creative thinkers and medical personnel on the topic of technology and Social Media for helping professionals. It was so well received that people were asking me if I had a book with this information in it. I was smart enough to say, “My book is coming out later this year!” But the truth was, I had been carrying the subject of this book — designing your own private practice using the arts, technology, and Social Media —  in my head for a few years, and I was suddenly struck that I already had the keys to how I would pull my passions of art and healthcare together: they were right in front of me, in the form of hundreds of blog posts, tweets, updates, and videos over the past few years. They were in the requests of my clients over the past twelve years. I would not need to think of what topic I’m passionate enough to write about, because my passion has been evident.

Where Do I Go From Here?

Besides getting the title, outline, and the skeleton completed for the book, the path to publishing a book professionally can take several directions. I’ve selected mine by opting to secure angel investment in the publishing of my book. Last week. I began looking into hiring a book coach for life, and working towards becoming a dynamic speaker and presenter.  The road is long, but it contains so many elements I’ve already studied.

Did you know that I completed two semesters of pastoral speaking in a religious educational setting? Did you know that I received formal training to speak on a stage when I entered several scholarship contests in my college days? What about all the piano lessons and performance lessons I received in order to make me comfortable speaking in public and getting my point across? Put that together with the last few years studying Social Media trends as a side interest, and attending technology-oriented workshops? I had no clue this is where the roads would converge, but converge and collide they did, and it’s a beautiful mess.

And like so many others, I’ll now be chasing down the dollars to fund my book publishing project. It’s the first time I will have to engage in self-promotion in a way I’ve never felt comfortable doing, yet this is something I absolutely know I must not only do, but succeed famously while doing it.

What do you think? Do artists need to spend time writing intelligently about their work to succeed?  Are you ready for HFH (and my other web presence, Seattle Direct Counseling) to experience a huge change? Will these worlds come together quietly, or will they be the provocative upstarts in the community I hope they will be? I’d love to hear what you think .

P.S. If you wish to have a copy of my Angel Investment letter, please request one and the email address you wish to send it to. All inquires can be made at info at hipsforhire dot com [I spelled it out here so bots can't send me spam].

If you are a professional musician: my apologies to you. This is not a video for you or your market. However, you might find some comedy in it, because you know exactly what I’m talking about. My hat’s off to you for what you do. Do the world a favor, and keep writing good stuff [Mwah]. Come back for the other part of my series on How To Write A Song, which will cover an option for song writing and performing involving the tools of the trade.

Learn to write a song - without notation! Try this simple exercise to get your started on your songwriting journey. You do not have to be an expert or play an instrument

How To Write A Song Part I: Getting It Down

Music is pure emotion. One of the best places to start in the music writing process is to begin naming a feeling you have personally felt, or that you have observed feeling by proxy. If you want to write about the feelings of a person going through a breakup, but you haven’t personally experienced such an end to a relationship, you should at least observe what others have gone through before you put pen to paper (of fingers to laptop).

Collect thoughts, even if they are fragmented. I often scribble thought down in a little moleskin book I keep in my purse, or I’ll tap a few notes in a memo on my iPhone4S. I am not surprised that at a recent meeting on the subject of creativity, speaker Scott Berkun shared with his audience about one his keys to being more creative involved the regular and disciplined use of recording all of his thoughts in a small notebook. In that notebook, you do not have to make sense to anyone, not even yourself. Just get the thoughts down. My advice: the minute the thought comes to your head, write it down. Do not wait until it is convenient to write (unless you’re driving). If you must, use a voice memo recording device if you can’t write it down. You can sort through these thoughts later.

A few thoughts might emerge as more intriguing than others. Circle them. See if there is some connection. Recognize

Collect ideas for lyrics, and put them all in one place

that their dissonance might be a type of connection. My tip for collecting thoughts: I sometimes put them in a Google Document, so I have them all on one place. I pull up the document on my iPad, and then start creating with it nearby. Here’s an example: I’m writing a sample song, “Bad Boyfriend Blues”, using a standard blues progression AED (that is, I’m starting with in the Key of A major as the tonic key, progressing to D, climaxing in the key of E for the third line (and transitioning back through D), and resolving by returning to the tonic. For those of you interested in music theory from a more neurological point of view, check out “This is Your Brain On Music” by Daniel Levitin).

Be prepared for shitty attempts. Ernest Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is shit.” Writer Annie Lamott has a whole chapter called, “Shitty First Drafts” [from the book, "Bird By Bird"]. You have to get it in your head the first time you try to create just about anything, it’s going to make you laugh, then make you sick, and then drive you a little mad as you try to tweak it and make it do your bidding. Writing is hard work. Creating anything worth creating is hard work. The flash of insight is just the beginning. From then on, it’s just putting blood, sweat, and tear into the process of getting it finished.

Not everything you write down is going to be useful. More than 1/2 of what is on my “Bad Boyfriend Blues” note is going to go absolutely nowhere [Ed. note: if you think you see something about you or someone you know, chances are 90% that they are NOT about you. If they are about you, no one will know it].

A few of you out there are from “The Secret” camp. You’re shaking your heads, saying, “Well, if you think it’s going to be shitty, then you’re only going to attract shitty things.” Here’s a test for you of “The Secret” Camp. Think really, really, really positive thoughts about how wonderful your first attempt is going to be, and attract all the positive, wonderful, awesome words and ideas and thoughts and content you can. Write it down. Let me know afterwards if it a Grammy award-winning masterpiece on the level of Sir Paul McCartney [if it is, we will all bow to you, and "The Secret" will be employed internationally as that missing piece of why things fail]. My suspicion: creativity requires risk, shitty first drafts, and tweaking.

Give yourself permission to play. While in the creation process, I mess with my content. If it’s dance, I dance in front of the mirror and audition a few options, filming, observing, and tweaking. But while I’m running the intellectual process, I always give a little room and time to just dink around: throw in some extra spins, move in ways I don’t normally move, etc. The same can be applied in the writing process for music. Try a different rhythm or genre. You hate country? Make your piece as twangy as possible. Pop makes you want to vomit? Give it whirl, and sing like you thought you were the epitome of Commerce. Sometimes doing the opposite of what you want to do will unleash the very thing you’re looking for.

The permission to play taps the child within. Hopefully, this child is not afraid of what others think. This child is just happy playing, without judgment or fear. By playing, you liberate what you are passionate about. It cannot help but rise to the surface, usually in something we recognize as a smile on your face.

Leave a trail of breadcrumbs. The creative process is a PROCESS. You may or may not be a one-take wonder. If you can’t finish enough of something in a single sitting to feel confident that you can pick up where you left off, leave yourself a trail of breadcrumbs; that is, record yourself with as much as you’ve gotten down. Afterward, step away, work on something else, and come back when you’re ready.

Here’s my sample [and it's full of shitty mistakes, but it'll serve as my trail of breadcrumbs for the next post]:

Next post: taking the words and putting it into lyrics. How to become the world’s worst poet.

Now it’s your turn. Are you new to song writing? Do you have some tips or thoughts on the songwriting process? Please share them here.

The great news to you about music and sound creation is that you do not need to be any of the following to use the tools:  EXPERT, PROFESSIONAL, ACCOMPLISHED, RICH. Many of the tools I use allow me to polish and edit recordings, capture ideas before they are lost, experiment without being in a studio, and are affordable. Even better than these features is the concept of accessibility: you do not need to be an accomplished musician to acquire great sound on these devices and applications, and they are all easily portable in a medium-sized gig bag.  When I want to make music, I turn to the family of IK Multimedia products for iPhone and iPad I’ve had the delight in using, and I hope as I introduce the newest in their line of apps and hardware, you will also see how easy it is to make great music using these same tools.

If you’re new to IK Multimedia, let me run down a short list of some of the items I’ve written about in the past:

Amplitube — app that you use with the iRig to access sounds through digital pedals

Fender Amplitube – expansion of Amplitube app with the exclusive showcase of the Fender amplifier sound

iRig — hardware that connects your iDevice to a guitar, allowing you to have a studio on the go. Includes a 4-track recorder.

VocaLive – app for singers, vocalists, and speakers that enhances sound using a variety of filters, sound effects, and modification. Has a “karaoke-like” mode that removes mid-range sound so you can sing along with most popular music. 

iRig Mic — a microphone useful with VocaLive, which allows you to use your iDevices headphone output (and includes an extra output for listening through headphones). 

iKlip and iKlip mini — allows you to secure your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad to any stand with a minimum 3/4 inch diameter, and expands with a strong screw for larger objects (i.e. the edge of a table, for example). I’ve attached my iPhone4S to a hula hoop using the iKlip mini and filmed while it was running, as well as attached it to my bicycle for a spin around the neighborhood. 

At Macworld|iWorld2012 in San Francisco’s Moscone Center, I had the opportunity to chat with Starr Ackerman of IK Multimedia and document some of the latest items from November 2011 forward that going to make music creation even more simple, fun, and accessible to the non-musician as well as the professional.

iRig Midi

Connect your iDevice to any MIDI compatible instrument, and use it alone or paired with SampleTank, a software app that contains banks of fresh sounds and beats to create all kinds of music. If you’ve ever tried to create something on the virtual keys of an iPhone, you know it’s pretty hard because the strike surface is limited. Not anymore.

My notes: iRig MIDI has 3 MIDI ports: IN/OUT/THRU, which connect to any standard MIDI jacks using the included 2 x 1.6m/5.2’ cables.iRig MIDI also exclusively provides a micro USB port – with included cable – that connects to any standard USB power supply source so that the iOS device can stay fully powered during long sessions. They know musicians don’t want to be bothered with batteries or a clunky charger and plug. The price is listed as $69.99, but remember, you’re not just buying a cable. You’re also purchasing access to a software application IK Multimedia has a commitment to continue expanding and improving. Whether you access the app with a drum pad or a keyboard, you’ll get more than enough sounds without unloading stack after stack (believe me, I hated doing this for live shows)!

iRig Mix and DJ Rig

Many of you have seen me play with Looptastic on two iPads. IK MultiMedia has created a stylish and portable system that allows me to more easily incorporate my iTunes library favs (like my Middle Eastern music collection) into DJ Rig, an app (free version is available, and an expanded version will be on sale in the Apple App store soon), while synching the second song seemlessly. If you have ZERO experience as a DJ, you’re going to love how easy this piece of hardware and application pair to become your dynamic duo at your next party.  You can use two iPads or two iPhones/iPods, and the iRig Mix is much smaller, lighter, and thus more portable than any  quality portable DJ mixer I’ve seen. At present, I have a very decent mixer I purchased for just under $100, but it weighs about three times as much and takes up four times the room in my gig bag. Guess who might end up in the island of misfit toys now [oh Gazelle.com!]? At $99.oo [pre-orders can be made on the website for a late February 2012 ship date], this is one piece of equipment I am salivating to get my hands on. Now. [OK, there's other equipment I'd like to handle, but it's kind of attached to some body...].

Take a peak at the DJ Rig app, and feel free to compare it to other apps available. What I love about the IK Multimedia family of apps and hardware is that they were all made to work with each other. No square pegs in round holes [OK, I'm a therapist, and I am aware that these little entendres keep creeping into my blog post, dagnabit].

iRig Stomp

After watching Atomic Tom perform on their instruments instead of their iDevices, I reflected on what musicians in general tend to like. It’s clear that for guitarists, it’s going to be awhile before we walk away from the stomp box. While there are glimpses of what’s to come — guitars with an iPad imbeded in it — it will be some time before we conceive of a way for live performance guitarists (not studio musicians) to control their sounds without using the stomp box. The iRig Stomp may end up being the piece of hardware representing the “missing link” between all hardware stomp pedals linked together (or mounted into one piece), and the stomp controller that links to an iDevice running into your electric guitar.

The iRig Stomp is slated to release in Q2 2012. At $59.99, it can be a nice addition to your present stomp box collection, or if you’re a newbie musician, it’s affordable enough to invest in it as well as a few standard stomps you easily find on sites like Craigslist or Ebay. Mix and match, baby. Stomp away, kitties and puppies.

IRigPre

At a podcasting seminar, Brian Crouch (Behringer)  and Heidi Miller  explained to the small group gathered around a plethora of devices that our home recordings of podcasts would need a preamp to incorporate our lovely iDevices. Why, you might ask? Because you can’t plug in any old microphone — or even any new one for that matter! — into an iDevice, since the output is actually made for headphones or earphones with a mini jack plug. Even with the right plug, you’re fancy schmancy microphone won’t record through your iDevice (note: I used the iRig Mic for the video recordings, thus bypassing the need for a converter cable).

The iRigPre is a microphone interface (translation: pre-amplifier) solution, allowing you to use your existing microphones with your iDevice. It is lightweight, portable, and transmits a stable fairly loss-less sound quality. Like most pre-amps, it does need to be powered, but at least the batteries are standard.  The battery life is approximately 40 hours with dynamic microphones and 15 hours with phantom powered condenser studio microphones.  I picked up the item, and once again, IK Multimedia’s standards are reflected in the design: lightweight but sturdy. There is a headphone jack on the box, so you can listen in on your live recordings. You also get a couple of freebies: iRig Recorder and VocaLive, to get your home recording off to a good start.  I’d be careful how you store or wrap cords, since there are not bend points into the box.

The price point is $39.00, and will likely be available sometime in Q2 2012.

Are your music creation nerves all a-quiver? Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Next post: Imei gets her voice back after antibiotics and attempts to write a little love song (OK, more like a hate song, inspired by real-life events).