Check-in:

Morning Pages: Nothing this week. Nada. It was hard getting going after a break last time, so I'm not too surprised.

Artist's Date: Glimmerglass! Loved the Gluck, was puzzled by the Monteverdi ( Christopher Alden directed), which frustrated me, because I'm usually not quite so dense about symbolic directing. The singing was amazing and inspirational.

Walking: Nothing serious. The tendonitis is still an issue, so I'm not pushing things here. The PT is more important.

Synchronicity: I haven't been looking for it, so I'm out of shape. I'll have to think about this one and edit as needed.

Nice Thing for Me Each Day: light a candle

Issues: I'm leaving this one in from my cut and paste: get back in tune with Gail's breathing ideas and thinking about the notes - get so inside the music (a la Yo Yo Ma) that it comes from your brain, not your throat.

Technique, technique, technique. Breath. Exercise/PT

Goals:

Gigs: Syracuse Opera outreach: Mule. Oswego Opera: Carousel this fall.

Day Job: call temp agencies

Listening/Opera Videos: Manon DVD from library; new CD: Orpheus and Euridice (Gordon/Futral)

Diction/Dialect/Accent Tape: speech therapy exercises

Pedagogy Work: a good solid foundation of breath and relaxation

Creativity Book: The Creativity Book and Fearless Creating (Maisel), A Weekend to Change Your Life (Anderson)

Performing Business: update address book; revamp address labels; study Castel books before returning to the library

Sight Singing: focus on basic technique - use simple art songs

Acting: monologue memorization; basic warmup

Piano: scales; play through vocal rep

Cello: scales and other technical exercises

Guitar: scales and finger busters

Flute: technical drills

Physical Program: E2L and food combining principles; yoga/other stretching, Pilates, PT exercises, strength training 3x/week

Family: Christmas present work

Spiritual: DQT - focus on the Gospels

FlyLady: keep decluttering

Car: clean out; wash

I've discovered some interesting books in the library this summer, and will be using this blog to chronicle my journey of self-improvement. Having already gone through Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, I'll use that platform (morning pages, etc) while reading other books - saving a reread of AW for a later date. Also, as Eric Maisel's book The Creativity Book is meant to be done over the course of a year, I'll do one exercise from that a day. The check-in format from the CS AW group will be used as well - checkins to be done over the weekend. This is all prompted by my discovery of the website

Tools To Life

Check it out!

Creativity Book Response: Read the intro this morning. Ok - so he recommends using Fearless Creating to help with some of the exercises. I'll add that to my library list!

My choice of project for the coming year: rehabing my vocal technique. It's not exactly "creative" per say, I know. I could pick writing or composing, two areas I've been itching to re-explore, but the voice needs my attention first, and fits with the suggestions for the "non-creatives" using the book.

Workspace: the only real space I have - my bedroom. Task/Goal: keep the desk functional. Use FlyLady HotSpot cleaning each day to keep it cleaned off. Also keep decluttering room (and posessions in general).

Other steps to note:
1. Maintain a journal (thank you for the present, Aunt Charlene!). Connects up with AW. Fine - I'm sure there'll be plenty of times I'll need a journal as some things will be too private to post here - and I certainly don't want the world reading my morning pages!
2. Exercises (also as in AW - it'll be interesting to see if there are similarities). Some are pretty bizarre - good thing they are suggestions, although I recall Cameron saying we resist most that which we need the most. Right now, I can't imagine wasting good food ingredients on screwing up a recipe, but there'll be a method to the madness. Will have to see where that one goes.
3. Be an everyday creative - no problem!!

This will be an interesting journey.

Book: A Weekend to Change Your Life by Joan Anderson

An interesting choice of self-discovery reads, considering Maisel's statement that "you don't need to slip away to a retreat on the coast of Maine" to become a creative. I also have other books of hers on my list.

Current Fiction Read: The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. Am almost halfway through at this point. It's very touching, and I think about its message every time I crochet or knit (I prefer the first) from now on. I've always found creative, repetitive acts like these to be meditative, but hadn't thought about them in connection with healing during the grieving process. Interesting, since my grandmothers were the ones who interested me in handcrafts.

I never thought of myself as a political blogger, but have been thinking lately about all the family and friends I have that have served this country faithfully, both here and overseas - and I don't want to let their sacrifices to have been in vain. I've been a little haphazard in my voting over the last few years, but my hopes for this planet have to start with change in myself - which includes putting my money where my mouth is by voting and standing up for what I believe.

The debate tonight was certainly different. I found it interesting that on the final question, nothing bad was said about Edwards. The questions were at the very least, interesting, and in some cases, very pointed. I firmly believe in supporting our troops, but desperately want to see them come home. I wish this planet could pull together and work on the issues that truly affect us long term:

1. Caring for the environment and finding alternative sources of energy
2. Reform the educational system (and give our hard-working teachers the support they need and the parents the time and support they need to take part in their childrens' education)
3. Implementing universal coverage for health care - including some program that would encourage both the medical community and the patients to put preventative self-care first.
And
4. Funding research on curing diseases and issues like cancer, hunger, Alzheimers', and Parkinsons.

Who would I vote for right now? I'm not sure. I'm going to watch the rerun at 11 and maybe I'll have a better idea. I certainly need to put in more research.

RIP, Beverly Sills

She was my favorite soprano, and one of my favorite personalities - extraordinary singer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. Check out some of her performances on YouTube:



Obit from NPR:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11618782

Our two new poodle girls!

Sophie's sister is coming home with us!! Yahoo!!! Pictures to follow.

Our new puppy girl - meet Sophie!

Theme for 2007: The Year of Technique

A new beginning. I'm looking forward to Lucia (who wouldn't!) and the other gigs I've got coming up at the beginning of this year, but I'm also eager to find a place in the city I can call my own and really network. I met so many wonderful people over this last year, and am hungry to keep creating and singing as much as people will let me.

This theme will include not only vocal technique, but acting and speaking technique as well. I was given Stella Adler's acting text as a Christmas present (well - it was really a B&N gift card, but you get the idea), and have picked up Shurtleff's text as well, and will be working through those as the year progresses. I've reconfigured my work space to encourage this idea - pulled the two texts and have them in a nice white wicker shelving unit along with some basic singing vocalises, my audition binders (MT and opera), Ottmann's sightsinging text for review, and my workout equipment. And, of course, the two concert pieces, outreach scores, and my Ricordi score for Lucia...

Here's to 2007!

My Secret Dream

Your warm eyes laugh
And I feel free again.
Your smile lights up your face
And I smile with you.
The gentleness of your embrace
Comforts my very soul
And I feel I am who God intended me to be
for the first time in my life.

Things are quiet theatricaly right now, so I'm doing NaNoWriMo for the month of November in between auditioning and trying to find an apartment. Here's a link to the NaNoWriMo site and several pages with recipes - some even healthy - that another NaNo contestant put up on their site.






Best wishes to all fellow NaNo'ers!