Don't rely on others judgements of you ...

Title: Boxes (2004)
Media: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 15cm x 15cm
SOLD

I was having coffee with a gorgeous friend this evening and we were solving the problems of the world and musing about life when he said something that I just had to get written down ...

"Have the confidence in yourself not to rely on other peoples judgements" - Matt Kleinhans

(Matt is an artist in his own right - he is a designer of stage sets, movie costumes etc - not to mention having a great ability to draw too)

Its amazing - one small change in any aspect of our life affects so many facets of ourselves in ways that we could never have imagined. We often bend over backwards to earn respect and admiration only to discover we have no control over how others peceive us. Letting go of the illusion of control changes has positive effects throughout our life.

Don't live your life in fear of others opinions or for someone elses approval - live your life for you and only you - because ultimately what you think and feel about yourself is the most important thing.

Secrets - There is nothing is so burdensome as a secret

Tilte: Torn
Media: Mixed media and acrylic
SOLD

Why do we need secrets? If we are living a life beyond reproach for the betterment of ourselves and others then what do we need to hide?

Secrets are awful things to keep - the repsonsibility, guilt, shame that is attached to secret keeping can make you quite sick. Sadly we often fail to recognize the effects that secrets have on our lives. They eat away at our heart and soul and affect adversly affect our relationships.

When you decide to share a secret with someone - you give a little of yourself away - if you continue to do that then there will be nothing left of you.

We need to give up secret keeping and live our lives openly, accepting personal responsibility for the decisisons we make and our behaviuor. Once we do this we will begin to feel peace within.

"As awareness increases, the need for personal secrecy decreases"

Walls can become prisons rather than protection

Title: Castle Windows (2004)
Media: Mixed Media and Acrylic
SOLD

"I create my own prison - no one else puts these walls around me"- Michelle

We often don't notice the walls we build around ourselves until the construction is finished. We confuse these walls with security. Suddenly we realise that these walls have actually created isolation - how did that happen? and when? The illusion of security has in fact become a prison.
Our isolation is of our creation - only we can break the prison.

The main reason we do this is for protection - we are afraid of letting anyone in in case they leave us - and ironically we end up alone anyway due to our own wall building.

"Why am I afraid to show you who I am - you might not like who I am and it's all that I have" - John Powell


I just want to share this comment (I know that a lot of people don't take the time to read the comments on posts) - but I think this one is very important ... thanks Kay!

"beautiful post... how true and how sad. When we strip away the masks and lay ourselves bare we risk all, but in risking all we may find ourselves, and 'be found' happily for who we are." Kay de Lautour Scott

Studio Sell out continues

I've listed another 5 artworks on Trademe - check out the ridiculous bargain prices!

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/SearchResults.aspx?searchType=all&searchString=sophia+elise&searchRegion=100&type=Search

Negativity and judgmentalism

Title: Bursting With Love (2006)
Media: Mixed media with Acrylic
Size: 20cm x 20cm
SOLD

There is so much negativity in the world around us and its easy to be drawn into it and become part of the negativity, chaos and confusion if you're not careful.

In our work lives we are rewarded for analyzing, comparing, criticizing and being negative - even though we are told that we need to have a positive attitude. We're always striving for better results and to achieve more - and what better way that to examine everything and find the faults. It's really easy to see how we can be drawn into it and then for this way of thinking to cross over into our personal lives.

Of course it's important to be able to see whats wrong in a situation so that you can make changes for the better - but you need to be very careful not to let judgementalism creep in. When judgements become part of this process that's when negativity really takes a hold .....

Negative thoughts - breed negative actions - lets turn it around - stop the negativity within our lives - the unnecessary competitiveness that can come from it and the judgements.

Listen to your inner guidance

Title: The Thinker (2006) - Based on one of Eschers artworks
Media: Acrylic with resin
Size: 15cm x 15cm
SOLD

There was a comment left on my last post which made me think about this ...

that sometimes the more we think the more confused we actually get. We think that thinking will help us resolve a problem - even asking advice from different people - but ultimately we some how seem to end up paralysed with all these thoughts ...

Sometimes we just think too much when we have a problem to solve. We think if we can solve it we will be ok. When we end up getting ourselves into total confusion we then beat ourselves up for not being intelligent enough to work it out. This starts a downward spiral which will continue unless we do something to stop it.

So next time - just stop - wait for your inner guidance - everyone has it - its always there - we just mask it with over complicated thought processes.

Every time you dont follow your inner guidance you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness - Shakti Gawain

Obstacles are gifts

Title: Time time time (2004)

Media: Mixed media and acrylic

SOLD

Events in life are learning experiences and if we don’t take the opportunity to learn from the experience the first time round then we will get another chance and another until we do get it.

Sometimes the experiences we are given get more and more intense - they seem much worse than the first. This is because, for some reason, it takes more to get through to us so that we can actually learn the lesson life is giving us.

We will often ask "why is this happening to us AGAIN. Haven’t we already been through this?" Maybe it's because we’re just too stubborn to learn it – or we just can’t see it.

If you have ever wondered what the lesson is that you’re supposed to be learning – and where you went wrong last time - take heart. Sometimes we don’t even realise what we have learnt until we have learnt it - be patient.

"Problems are messages. Obstacles are gifts for learning. I have the opportunity for many gifts today. I hope I see them" - Anne Wilson Schaeff

How do we define gifts?

Title: Nurture (2004)
Media: Acrylic
SOLD

How do we define gifts - if we make good use of bad rubbish then isn’t that a gift in its own right?

This could be applied to just about anything but what I'm talking about more specifically today are the gifts that aren’t tangible. The things that we don't see as gifts because they might in fact seem like the worst things that could happen in our lives.

Through the various jobs I’ve had - I’ve met people from all walks of life and the one thing that I’ve realized is that there are no "normal" families that we see on TV or dream of. We have created this illusion ourselves - even the families that appear to be “normal” on the outside are often hiding all sorts of things underneath – we just don’t know what they are. In fact dysfunction is the norm. We all have feelings and memories that we need to work through - we may have been beaten, molested, over indulged, ignored etc.

The question that we need to ask ourselves is “what have those experiences taught us - how have they affected us - what lessons do we need to take from them and how can we integrate them into ourselves and move on” When we continually feel anger, hurt, blame and denial then we are the ones that suffer. It's completely up to us what we do with our lives.

I love how Anne Wilson Schaeff puts this -
If my life resembles a garbage dump, it is up to me to sort through, turn over the soil and plant the flowers to make use of all the natural fertilizer.

The coffee or the cup ...

Title: Autumn (2004)
Media: Acrylic
Size: 20cm x 30cm
SOLD


I received this via email a couple of years ago and got it again today - thought it was quite timely .... I chose this painting as I felt it symbolised really well what this story was about ... with the wide gold border to represent the cup .. and the bright flowing colours - the coffee within ...

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers got together to visit their old university professor.. Conversations soon turned into complaints about stress at work and in life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups, porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, metal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite- telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.
While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups. And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee: the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee that was provided to us. Enjoy the coffee!

The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, speak kindly, Laugh often.

Birthdays ...

Title: Celebration (2005)
Media: Mixed with Resin
Size: 50cm x 75
SOLD

As you get older - and I think especially once you've had children - your birthdays tend to take on far less significance to you. Well I know that's the way it is for me ... I could happily slip under the radar .. and just get another year older .... and hopefully a little wiser ...

However, today I wasnt allowed to do that ... I was totally and utterly completely spoilt - and I'm not talking in a materialistic way - it was about people showing me that they care and that I'm important in their lives ... they each expressed it so differently from texts to phone calls, emails to cards, gifts to meals, hugs to kisses, poems to talks ... thank you !!!

One of my best friends really overwhelmed me with her thoughtfulness today .. which included her planning a secret for my children to give me as a surprise .. everything about this friend is so full of love and generosity in every way .... down to ensuring that my kiddies had a present to give me that was very special ....

It made me realise today, that birthdays arent about getting older at all, they're a day to celebrate your special bond with your friends and family. I feel truly grateful for my wonderful friends and family ... today I counted my blessings not my years .. and thats exactly the way it should be ....

Free rice for those who need it and increase your vocabulary

Title: Rising Sea

Media: Mixed media with resin

Size: 20cm x 20cm

SOLD

My friend Melissa found this great website today. It's a bit of fun and doing something worthwhile. When you guess the right meaning of words, they donate 20 grains of rice to the UN World Food Programme. http://www.freerice.com/index.php

You can set it to start at level 1 (which I did) and the kids started to play - they felt such a sense of achievement - not only at getting the words right - but at donating 20 grains of rice with each word. Each time they reached 100 there was a mini celebration and they worked together to donate 1000 grains in total tonight.

Was a really good educational experience for them to learn new vocab - to help others less fortunate - and for our family to talk about why people are starving - how we can help - who pays for the rice - how it gets there - how many people it would feed. Actually I have to confess I found it a little addictive myself and ended up donating 6300.

Please give it a go - even a few minutes spent will make a difference - it doesn't cost you anything at all - just time - and we all have bit of time that we can spare to help others less fortunate - and of course - you may even enjoy yourself and learn some new words in the process :-)

I choose this painting to go with this post because a year ago when I did it I used rice as the texture. Now, I feel mortified that I actually used rice in this painting. I'm looking at it thinking - how many people could that have fed? Here is a necessity of life I used without second thought to create a luxury item - art. Therefore all money from the sale of this piece will be donated to charity

Paul McCartney says go vegetarian decrease global warming

Title: (I can't remember! lol but it reminds me of global warming)
Media: Mixed media with resin
SOLD

GLobal warming is not my usual subject but one that my son and I have been discussing a lot lately. He's an avid reader and loves science so is developing an interest in global warming issues, recycling, saving the environment etc.

Most people dont know that I'm a third generation vegetarian and my children are fourth. Being a vegetarian has mainly been for humantiarian reasons because we feel passionately about animal rights. But now we are adding decreasing global warming to our list of reasons for choosing to be a vegetarian.


Today the New Zealand Herald published this article

McCartney: Go vege

Former Beatle Paul McCartney is urging the world to go vegetarian in a bid to fight global warming.

In an interview with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), McCartney said the global meat industry was a major contributor to global warming. "The biggest change anyone could make in their own lifestyle would be to become vegetarian,"

McCartney, a longtime vegetarian and advocate of vegetarianism, said. "I would urge everyone to think about taking this simple step to help our precious environment and save it for the children of the future."

McCartney says the amount of land and water used to maintain the meat industry makes it a major contributor to climate change and complains that most environmental groups do not list vegetarianism as one of their top priorities.

"It's very surprising that most major environmental organizations are leaving the option of going vegetarian off their lists of top ways to curtail global warming," he said.

A 2006 United Nations report found that cattle-rearing generated more greenhouse gases than transportation.


I wonder how many environmentalists, greenies etc will take this step to decrease global warming????

The art of saying sorry - apologising

Title: Pieces of me II

Media: Mixed media with resin (painted in red, black and metallic gold)

Size: 20cm x 20cm

FOR SALE: $80 contact sophia@sophiaelise.co.nz

“I'm sorry" can be two of the hardest words for some people to say. Yet they hold such power - they can mend relationships, heal pain, dissolve anger and incite forgiveness more easily.

Saying sorry is incredibly difficult for some people - and is something that sometimes needs to be learnt. Once you have mastered the art of apologizing (well lets hope you don’t need to do it too often! lol) it makes you a much more desirable person.

The three key elements to a true apology

1) Sincerity - a sincere apology is true, genuine and pure. Before you apologize you need to understand what it was that you did wrong and how you hurt the other person - and most importantly that you are truly sorry for what you did. An insincere apology can be really offensive and will show when you make your apology.

2) Take responsibility for your actions - Don’t make excuses. Take full responsibility for your actions. When you add a justification or an excuse to your apology you strip it of sincerity.

3) Promise that you will try to do better - When you apologize it means that you don't ever want to cause that person pain again - therefore when making an apology you need to attach a promise to it - that promise is not a rash one - i.e. That you will never do it again but a promise to try harder to make sure that it never happens again. Keep that promise and work on your weaknesses so that you fulfill it. This is also an important act in re-establishing trust.


There’s another benefit for you when you learn the art of sincere apology - people respect you. It takes courage to admit you’re wrong.

STUDIO SELLOUT!!

I'm having a sellout of some of my smaller pieces - they are all listed on Trademe now for $1 reserve!! So grab an original artwork for less than cost - and waaay less than the gallery prices. These are the first paintings I've listed on Trademe in over a year - it's not something I do often lol - so dont'miss out!!

go to www.trademe.co.nz and search for Sophia Elise

Simple philosophies to live by ...

Title: Flower (2006)
Media: Mixed Media (decoupage, acrylic paint, crackle medium and resin)
Size: 20cm x 20cm
SOLD



Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forgive the one's who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Internet creating opportunities to unite people on the same path

Title: Immortality (2006)
Media: Mixed
Size: 30cm x 45cm
SOLD

Today I received an email from New Zealand artist Kay de Lautour Scott who's based in Italy. Amazing soulful art - and such inspirational words too. Take the time to check out her website and blog http://www.kay-thereisnopath.blogspot.com/ and http://www.kayscott-artist.com/

Her email had this quote at the end - it's been a while since I've seen it

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of their skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." - Nelson Mandela

Love is what should unite us - not hatred of a certain race, country or even an individual. When you let hatred leave your heart and your life amazing things happen. Let love be your bond with others - when you do this you will see your life improve and your relationships with others grow beyond your wildest dreams.

Forgiveness

Title: Pieces of Me

Media: Mixed media, acrylic and resin

Size: 25cm x 25cm

For Sale: $80 contact sophia@sophiaelise.co.nz

Painted in black, red and metallic gold

In August my friend Donna Steel came and visited and I was giving her lessons on how to create abstract art. This was a hilarious session for her given that she was predominantly a landcape artist. So we concentrated on loosening up her style, dry brushing and just letting go. During the session we had together we played around with hesian fabric as a texture. This was one of the pieces I created - it's been waiting for over 7 months to have resin applied!!!

FORGIVENESS
Forgiveness doesn’t mean you don’t remember your hurts. It’s something that you choose to do in spite of your pain. You need to be bigger than your hurt inner child and bigger than your raging ego. Be realistic - don’t expect pain to go away because it won’t straight away. That always takes time. True forgiveness is whole hearted and doesn’t look back - it is about continuing with your lifes’ journey.

"Don’t wait to feel in the mood to forgive. Take yourself in hand and set out toward the serenity you seek. Forgiveness is your choice to make." - Toni Sciarra Poynter

One for the guys .. and girls too ... it's all about love

Title: Sealed with a Kiss (2006)
Media: Mixed
Size: 25cm x 25cm
SOLD



I received this via email - it's not the full version ... just some exerts - some great gems in here too - very simple to do too - try and look beyond what they're saying into the reason they're reccomending it ...

When she walks away from you mad [ Follow her ]
When she start's cussing at you [ Kiss her and tell her you love her ]
When she's quiet [ Ask her whats wrong ]
When she ignore's you [ Give her your attention ]
When she pull's away [ Pull her back ]
When you see her at her worst [ Tell her she's beautiful ]
When you see her start crying [Just hold her and dont say a word ]
When she's scared [ Protect her ]
When she steal's your favorite tshirt [ Let her keep it and sleep with it for a night]
When she tease's you [ Tease her back and make her laugh ]
When she doesnt answer for a long time [ reassure her that everything is okay ]
When she look's at you with doubt [ Back yourself up ]
When she say's that she like's you [ she really does more than you could understand ]
When she grab's at your hands [ Hold her's and play with her fingers ]
When she tell's you a secret [ keep it safe and untold ]
When she looks at you in your eyes [ dont look away until she does ]
When she misses you [ she's hurting inside ]
When you break her heart [ the pain never really goes away ]
When she says its over [ she still wants you to be hers ]

- Stay on the phone with her even if shes not saying anything.
- When she's mad hug her tight and don't let go
- When she says she's ok dont believe it, talk with her
- Call her at 12:00am on her birthday to tell her you love her
- Call her before you sleep and after you wake up
- Treat her like she's all that matters to you.
- Stay up all night with her when she's sick.
- Watch her favorite movie with her or her favorite show even if you think its stupid.
- Give her the world.
- Let her wear your clothes.
- When she's bored and sad, hang out with her.
- Let her know she's important.
- Kiss her in the pouring rain.
- When she runs up at you crying, the first thing you say is;"Who's ass am I kicking babe?"

A gem from a friend ... kindness

Title: Ripple (2005)
Media: Fabric and Acrylic
Size: 20cm x 20cm
SOLD


I have this fabulous friend who sends me these little gems from time to time ...

A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves. -Lawrence G. Lovasik

I agree that no act of kindness is ever wasted - although sometimes you hear people say "why did did I bother" - you have to have faith that there will be benefits - either for that person - or with the ripple effect that kindness has - at very least it has helped yourself - because you know that you have done the right thing - and being able to live with yourself is far more important than anything else.

Let us all practice kindness to each other, every day, in the things we say and do - it doesn't have to be big - sometimes it just needs to be giving that person a bit more latitude and understanding during rough times ....

Remember being kind to another is being kind to ourselves.

Regret - have none

Title: "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow" - Albert Einstein

Year: 2006

Media: Acrylic and resin
Size: 20cm x 20cm
SOLD

Katherine Mansfield said it well "make it a rule of life never to regret and never look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can’t build on it; it is good only for wallowing in"

You need to decide when you look back - are you doing so to beat yourself up over past events and mistakes - or are you taking stock, making amends and moving on.

We have all made mistakes in the past that have hurt other people and often ourselves too. Admit our wrongs - make amends and move on. You cannot build on negative emotions such as guilt or regret.

"Owning and making amends for your mistakes afford you the opportunity to build on your past and integrate it. " - Anne Wilson Schaeff