The Book Thief / Reframing

I missed the Book Thief when it came out in November.  I thought I would have to wait until it cam out on DVD but was pleasantly surprised to see it playing at the local second run movie theatre. I went to see it Monday night. This is one of my favorite books and to see it portrayed on the screen so beautifully was so fabulous! Geoffrey Rush was Poppa to me, all the actors were perfect in their roles. It brought back all the wonderful moments in the book. If its gone from your town so you can't see it, check out the DVD when it comes out.  What a beautiful movie and such a beautiful story.

Reframing Your Experience

I'm starting the year personally with a lot of artistic endeavors.  Way more than I have ever taken on. At one point I thought how did I get here, I must be crazy. Initially I had signed up for Studying Under the Masters and Be Your Own Beloved. Two classes would be easy to do.  Then part 2 of a class I had just taken came up and the discount price was something I just could not pass up. Then my friend Connie Hozvicka offered Painting the Feminine. A class with a subject dear to my heart. A bonus was to paint with all my fearless sisters again. It was an opportunity that I could not resist.  Then I won a spot in 21 Secrets. Yes you got it, I have five classes scheduled and some of them overlap. Here is my schedule. I feel like I am back in college taking too many credits.

Jan 3   - Painting the Feminine 4- weeks
Jan 15 - 21 Secrets - 21 weeks
Jan 14 - Studying Under the Masters - 9 weeks

Jan 29 - Draw and Paint What You Love -Pt 2  6 weeks
Feb 1   - Be your own Beloved - 4 weeks

Doesn't the schedule look daunting, it does even for me who juggles a lot of things.  I kept thinking was I out of my mind. This is where coaching came in and I coached myself in the process of reframing. 

Reframing.

The coaching concept of reframing is to take a different approach to our task, use words to reframe the experience.  Here is what I did.

I took inspiration from my friend Jessie Marianiello, she is a painter who created the Northernly Painting Retreat for herself.  She retreats to a cabin in the north of Minnesota to get a lot of her painting done. I thought I can do the same thing. I can look at all these painting classes as one big retreat.  Like being an art apprentice and learning from all these wonderful teachers. If I add up all the instructors I end up with 34 different teachers.  Now that is pretty intensive in itself. I am looking for a catchy name for it now. When I find the right one I'll be posting on Facebook about how it all goes. Just the fact of turning this idea around has made the overwhelm disappear.

The next time you are having issues and frustration try reframing your situation. A new outlook may just be what you need.

Kickin It Old Skool Blog-a-Thon - Favorite Movies

For a movie buff - All time favorite:  Lord of the Rings.

Many women don't like these film due to all the battle scenes.  I love them on several levels,the actors, (I do love Viggo Mortensen)  the story and then all the costuming and set design and the music.  I really got into the details of filmmaking with these flicks.

Other films I like:

While You were Sleeping - Favorite Romantic Comedy
Christmas in Connecticut the Barbara Stanwyck version 1945 - Christmas Movies. I also love White Christmas, Its a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story
Old movies - The Quiet Man - favorite flick with John Wayne in it.
Fantasy - Harry Potter Movies.
Thriller - Hunt for Red October, you can't beat Sean Connery in a film.
Science Fiction - Star Trek, Star Wars movies.

There are many more but these are what first came to mind.  I love the whole movie experience, my daughter and I have bonded over many flicks and now call one another after seeing a new movie to share experiences and critiques. I do love a good story and movies take me there in new ways.

Hunger Games

I am off to my friend Jolene's this afternoon for an Art date.  The best kind of fun if you ask me.

Here she is showing off a page in progress the last time we met which was in January, yikes that was too long ago.

Dave and I went to see Hunger Games yesterday, there were a few things i would have preferred they did differently but all in all a great job.  If you go see this movie pay attention to the sound. This is one of the best sound editing jobs I recall hearing.  Sound editing you may wonder, what is that, or who pays attention to that. After watching the Lord of the Rings Trilogy so many times I began to appreciate movies in a different way.  I notice the costumes, the art direction, the sound and more.  It really makes for a rich visual experience when you notice all parts of the movie.

In Hunger Games I expected the costumes to be more outlandish so that was a bit of a disappointment. In this movie the sound flowed so beautifully from high drama to the softer moments. It was beautiful.  I had read the books a couple years ago so my memory isn't as great as it could have been. Cinna was one of my favorite characters and I was pleased that Lenny Kravitz was playing him but disappointed that he had so little air time. Then I think ,was he more prominent in the second book or the third book?  I guess I will have to re-read them to know for sure. Plus they consolidated some characters, I understand why they do it but I wish they wouldn't. I also think they didn't go far enough in their portrayal of the horror of it all but once again they wanted to keep a certain rating.

I also liked that we have a strong female character written by a woman made into a successful movie. Anyways I am digressing a little bit here. My recommendation is go see the movie and pay attention to the sound, it is amazing.

Thankfullness Thursday

I thought I would join in with this group today. My friend Kim posts about this every week. Today I am thankful for all the writers, actors, directors who make wonderful movies. They really lifted me up this week and I am so grateful for their efforts to make good movies with engaging stories that lift the human spirit. I rented a few this past weekend and finally got around to watching them all.

First there was this one which was truly delightful. I remember Julia Child from when I was a kid and I learned so much about her life that I didn't know. I have this desire to grab her book and try some new recipes now. What a delight this movie is.