The African American Miniature Museum

 Happy Monday and March. Yes, I am late with the March post. Better late than never. I found this interesting video about folk artist Karen Collins who took a personal tragedy to uplift and inform Black children on their rich history. She created the African American Miniature Museum.

Here a wonderful video all about her art and how she created it. I am sure you will all enjoy it. It is a reminder to me that we can each make a difference in the world.

Dream thought #113: I feel, therefore I can be free.

"The Black mother within each of us -the poet- whispers in our dreams; I feel, therefore I can be free. Poetry coins the language to express and charter this revolutionary demand, the implementation of that freedom." - Audre Lorde

Creative Notebooks: Part Trois

Happy Thursday, my friends. Sharing with all of you, my new creative journal! I love making these composition notebooks for myself. Make them pretty and unique to me. Fill them with all my wild, creative and intuitive ideas for my whole life. It is also a different kind of journaling. It a great way to keep all my creative ideas together. I love going back to look at old ideas I had.

     

My process is very in the moment. I pulled these images that spoke to me. This is lovely but I felt it didn't have enough of me. I needed more of my "Shellness".

I put in one of my favorite pictures of me as a little girl. To honor that part of me that still is alive and watching what I do as an adult. I put in two other quotes and then put a picture of my father on it too. I still do ongoing work to heal things between my father and me. Though a person dies, it doesn't stop the relationship. I love my father. I wish I had known him better.

I already have been writing ideas down. With this creative upswing in my life, despite the uncertain times, I am excited about my future. All that the great and wondrous manifestations that are coming in my life. Do you keep a creative journal? Please share in the comments, I love to know.

Happy Swan of Dreamers Day.: February 27th

Happy Thursday my friends.My sweet blog is 12. Wow!!
I want to thank all my long time subscribers and my new ones for
taking time out of your day to read my blog.
I know blogging isn't as popular as it once was.
I still enjoy doing it. I'll keep Swan of Dreamers
up as long as I have love, time and creativity to keep
it going.



Here's a sweet virtual cake to share as I celebrate
this day.



Here is my very first blog post.
Rereading this reminds me that you just have to start.
The best way to learn is in the doing of it. That's how
you gain experience. Wishing you all a wonderful
Thursday. Remember, you are always welcome here
at Swan of Dreamers.

Manifest Monday: Ride that creative wave

Happy Manifest Monday. Can you feel the time
ticking down. It's going to be Winter on Saturday!
And Rise of Skywalker comes out Thursday night?!
I'll be seeing it on Friday.

I am sharing my favorite way to create content.
Here goes,it's real simple. Especially if you
don't have a lot of time to create. Create
when you get inspired. Here's the trick. When
the inspiration hits, create and create till
you can't anymore. Ride that creative wave!!




When I feel like that, I write, work on my monologues,
plan out goals I want to accomplish. I use that sacral chakra
energy which is from right above your belly button.
I let it all out. I get a lot done for myself.
I co wrote a screenplay with my creative partner like
that. I wrote blog posts, newsletters and other creative
writing way in advance. When I couldn't create because of other
obligations,I still had content to use.That is how I keep Swanofdreamers going
since 2008! That is how I keep all my social media accounts running.



Then when I can't create, I spend time filling myself up.
With watching movies, youtube, reading books, walking,
watching the clouds sail by, listening to music, playing with my son,
spending time with friends. I fill myself up creatively then
when I am ready I can let it flow out of me.
Fill then Flow..Fill then Flow..It may not work for
everyone. It works for me. It's simple. It may work for
you.





If you have that creative ideas you need to do. Try this
way. Leonie Dawson calls it riding the Donkey. We are
all born with creative gifts. Don't let them fester.
Let them out. This method requires no lists or planning.
Promise me, if you feel the creative wave upon you, ride
it. Let yourself be surprised on how much you can get
done in your life!

Happy Swan of Dreamers Day

Swan of Dreamers turns 11 today. I am proud of
my sweet dreamy blog. I am happy that I have
continued to write here. Regardless of whether
blogging is hot or not, I will be here as long
as I keep enjoying it. So far, I do. It is a
haven for me. I hope for all of you too.
Thank you to all my subscribers.
My old friends and new ones,
you are always welcome here.



All my love,

May your Muse be with you always...

I wrote this 10 years ago here about my Muse.

This is what struck me from what I wrote:

Yes my inner Muse is flitting all over the place.
Sparking me to do this and that. So this week I'm
going to play around. I'll see what catches my fancy
and my eye. Who knows what creative opportunities I
will draw to myself. Summer to me is the time to
indulge into deep creative passions and fantasies.
The long hours of bright sunlight and blue sky is
perfect for all of this.


Of course, now I have an active six year old.





I don't have the large amounts of time to be creative
like I did in my free maiden days. I have found ways
to still be a creative as amom. When I get inspired
whether it be from me looking for inspiration or
an idea comes to me,I follow my Muse to create in
the moment. (Yes, my Muse is more like a child now.)




Jake is sitting here playing with his Legos, as I write
this post. When he wants my attention, I give it to him.
Then when he's occupied again, I dive right in. My Muse
is like a patient child who waits for my attention again.
She understands. Summer is still a perfect time to indulge
in your creative passions. Whether you have a time consuming
job, a busy parent/grandparent, caretaker of relatives, you
need to stay creative! Creativity is part of who we are.
It keeps us alive and vibrant.

May your Muse be with you always.

Two Tips to keep your Blog going

One of the nicest comments that I get is that people who followed me way back, rediscover my blog and say wow, I can't believe you are still here. Yes, I have been blogging consistently since 2008. Are there are times when my life takes over and Swanofdreamers get neglected? Yes. Are there times when I have no inspiration? Yes. Are there times when I say I should let go of blogging? Yes!



One of the things about Swanofdreamers is that I try to make it an extension of me. So if you read my blog and meet me in real life, I am the same person. Now, they call it branding. Back in 2008, for me it was about being authentic. I do make an effort to blog about what I like. That is probably why Swanofdreamers has never become a huge blog. What it has become is a refuge and place where people find peace, creativity and comfort here.
That makes blogging a joy. See even baby Jake agrees.


My first tip I use to keep Swanofdreamers going is to use my draft folder. Whether you are on blogger, wordpress, typepad, you have a folder where you write posts then save them before you are ready to publish. I use that draft folder to the ultimate use. Whenever an idea comes up, I write it on a post. I write it out as much as I can then save it. Then I come back to when I feel ready or have more writing to add. Sometimes, I write posts months in advance. If the Muse whispers to me, work on a winter post in Summer than I follow my Muse. This makes it fun for me. There are no rules. The only rule is to get the writing out of my brain onto to a post.Then it helps me catch up and get posts ready ahead of time.


(one of my numerous Blog headers I've use over the years.)

Another favorite is having special blog posts titles that I use again. I have several: Dream Thoughts, Romantic Vignettes, Actors on Acting, Dreamy Thursday. A few I have let go, some I use frequently. When I see a cool quote or beautiful picture, I know I can use it for Dream Thoughts or Romantic Vignettes. I don't have to think. I just feel and then do. The template is already there, I just have to plug it in. It helps to keep me connected to my blog and my readers when life get busy being Shell.

I want to write a story about this beautiful sistah for Romantic Vignettes. (I know some may see this image as not romantic.) I think she looks beautiful. I don't know her name or why she poses. My mind goes on a whole bunch of ideas on how I can imagine a whole back story for her.



Next year will be ten years of blogging. Wow!! Sometimes, I say I'll stop and do something else. I love Swanofdreamers. I feel I'll keep going until I don't feel it anymore or I want to shift to something different. I have thought of moving Swanofdreamers to another blogging platform which is something I need to investigate more. Swanofdreamers will always be here as long as I am. Hopefully, these tips will give anyone starting or returning back to blogging ideas to keep the fires going. Creativity is always there. Waiting to be used by you.

Dream Roundup from June - August 2016

Happy Friday, my friends. Here is a Dream Round up of a few of my favorite posts from June - August of 2016. Enjoy. If you are new to Swanofdreamers, welcome and please come again.

Somewhere in Time Day: June 27th



You have the Power!


Bloom


I pledge Allegiance to myself


A Red Letter Day

Romance

Happy Thursday, my friends. I am late with this post. Family obligations came up that I had to focus on. I am back with my word of the year. My word for 2017 is Romance. When I first got the word Romance, I asked for divine confirmation. Oh did I get it. I kept overhearing conversations on Romance and seeing the word everywhere in print, books, TV.



When I talk about Romance, I don't exclusively mean being in a romantic relationship. Romance for me is a way of looking at the world. Seeing the beauty and specialness in the ordinary. One of the dictionary meanings of Romance is a quality or feeling of mystery, excitement, and remoteness from everyday life.


For example, I love flowers especially roses. They give me a romantic and happy feeling. I decided this year, every week to set money aside for roses. In my local stop n shop, I can get roses for Five dollars!



If you ever meet me in person, I'll usually have a skirt on. I live in The Bronx, we can get cold weather down to zero degrees. I still wear my skirts. I bundle up with tights and warm boots. Why do I wear skirts? It gives me that romance feeling of being in another time and place. Like I'm walking the moors or going to the post from Thornfield Hall instead of shopping in my local dollar tree. I have seen how my previous words of Wild and Bloom have enriched my life deeply. I am open to see how Romance manifests in my life.




I invite you all to cultivate more Romance in your life. Have a wonderful Thursday, my friends.

Blessing the boats by Lucille Clifton

Happy Saturday. Saturdays usually find me and Jake having a whole free day figuring out what to do. Some days, we stay in with bad and cold weather. Other days, find us out and about. Life is always an adventure with a four year old.

Today, I took time out to post on Saturday. I rarely post on Saturdays, I don't know why. Like a blog is 9-5, weekday thing. Heck, I don't even work a traditional nine to five anymore.



I'm sharing this Saturday with you via this lovely poem by Lucille Clifton

Blessing the boats by Lucille Clifton
may the tide
that is entering even now
the lip of our understanding
carry you out
beyond the face of fear
may you kiss
the wind then turn from it
certain that it will
love your back may you
open your eyes to water
water waving forever
and may you in your innocence
sail through this to that

Happy Poetry Month

Happy Friday, my friends. It is April 1st. I love when April comes along because Spring is starting in earnest now. It's also Poetry Month! Because who doesn't love Poetry? If you hate poetry, then join me this month. I am going to share all kinds of poetry: formal, blank verse, free verse,haiku.

To kick off Poetry Month is Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African-American woman, to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Her poetry is full of powerful imagery. I love how she tells stories through her poetry.

A great example is one of her famous poems: Sadie and Maud. Enjoy.

Sadie and Maud by Gwendolyn Brooks

Maud went to college.
Sadie stayed home.
Sadie scraped life
With a fine toothed comb.

She didn't leave a tangle in
Her comb found every strand.
Sadie was one of the livingest chicks
In all the land.

Sadie bore two babies
Under her maiden name.
Maud and Ma and Papa
Nearly died of shame.

When Sadie said her last so-long
Her girls struck out from home.
(Sadie left as heritage
Her fine-toothed comb.)

Maud, who went to college,
Is a thin brown mouse.
She is living all alone
In this old house.

I love Journaling!

Happy Valentine's Day, my friends. I hope this day finds you spending time with the people you love the most.

Today, I wanted to share something I love with you today: Journaling. I have been keeping journals since I was 11 years old. My inspiration from keeping a journal came from Anne Frank. When I was 11, I watched a tv movie called The Diary of Anne Frank starring Melissa Gilbert as Anne. Though Anne died tragically at a young age, her diary has inspired people for generations including me.

When I heard Jaime Ridler, a wonderful creativity coach, was launching her Give a girl Journal program to inspire young girls to journal, I had to join in. Journaling is freedom for me. It's a place where I can express my feelings, ideas, thoughts and dreams. When you are growing up, you need a place to just be for yourself. Even as adults, we need that anchor that a journal or journals can give us as we navigate in our lives. I especially love looking back on my old journals, to see how far I have come. Reading the seed of ideas years in the making that have manifested wonderfully in my life.

My first journal was a 5 year book diary. Which I still have today.

Since then I have expanded that love that I now keep many journals. I have my regular journal for my life,

Here is an inside page I decorated.


Then the front cover.


My journal for my spiritual life. Here is a page I did to celebrate the Winter Solstice.


Here is my journal for all my creative ideas. A page with a script idea below.


Taking a regular dollar school notebook and transforming it into a cool cover for my creative journal.



If you want to know more about Give a Girl a Journal and see how you can get involved, click here for all the info.

Birthday Full Moon Sunday

Today is a very special day for me!! If you haven't guessed from the title above of this post. It's my birthday!! Woo hoo!!! I am 47 today.


Here is one of my favorite baby pictures. If you have been to my blog before, you have seen this picture of me at 3 months old. I think I still look pretty much the same.



I'm one of those birthday lovers who not only love to celebrate my birthday but everyone's birthday. Birthdays are special days that needs to be celebrated.


I'm wishing a Happy Birthday to all my fellow Aquarians out there.If your birthday happens to be on January 24th like mine, well you get a special hug from me. We had a crazy blizzard here out on the east coast yesterday. Last night was the Full Moon in Leo. Since the energy of the Full Moon lasts for another two days. I claim this Full Moon for my birthday too.



I always call this moon the Rock Star Moon. Leo Energy is all powerful and radiant like the sun. This picture of Jillian Hervey of Lion Babe echoes all that Rock star energy for me. All my Leo sun and moon babies, this is your special moon. For all of us, where can you be more of a Rock Star in your life? Are you playing second fiddle in your own life? Are you not speaking your truth and dimming your light to allow others to shine. Oh, no more. It's time to be seen, be heard and stand out!! If you are an Aquarius like me, you know we Aquarians love our freedom. If you are not free in parts of your life, it's time to be Free!! This is a recent favorite picture of me in December when I went to Atlantic City. See that big smile, I felt free on that day.



I'm wishing to all of you some of my birthday magic. May the rest of your Sunday and the upcoming week be filled with freedom, glorious self expression and happiness.