Sunday, July 31, 2016

Monday, June 27, 2016

I wrote you a story - "Compassion and the Pebble"



*When I began searching for a photo to go with my little tale I realized that so many people have written about pebbles in shoes lol - but I'll post this anyway. My version;-)


So let’s say you have a pebble in your shoe.

It’s really painful at first, but soon your foot goes kind of numb and you forget about it.

Time goes on and you’re just use to it being there.

Suddenly somebody runs up to you and yells “OUCH!! I’ve got a pebble in my shoe and the pain is so horrible I can barely breathe!”

At that moment your foot remembers and you are in so much pain, having forgotten about the pebble in your own shoe, and you remember when you got it, how terrible it was, you have empathy for your friend with the new pebble and your foot begins to throb from all the time it’s been stepping on the pebble.

It’s unbearable but after a while your foot gets use to the pebble again and kind of goes numb and you do the best you can.

Until the next time you see somebody else in agony over a pebble and it happens all over again.

So this is what happens when you have some great sadness, grief or pain inside of yourself that you haven’t quite worked out yet, or come to terms with. You just put it away somewhere inside you and forget about it. 

But when something happens like a war or tragedy, maybe close to you or maybe even very far away, it touches on that sore spot inside of you and gives it a shake and wakes it up and you live it all over again.

This is one of the reasons that we have more trolls, more negativity and hate errupting during times of change or emotional hardship. Sometimes people in great pain lash out.

If you add in the fact that the Internet and social media acts as a magnifying glass on world events, sometimes only showing us the horror, then you can maybe understand the suffering that goes on inside of people.

I want to give you some advice to end this and say, if you have a pebble in your shoe, stop, take it out, bring it into the daylight, examine it, smile at it and put it on your favourite bookshelf where you can visit it any time. Then you can remember the pain it caused you, and smile and feel grateful that the worst of the pain has stopped, and even though your foot remembers, it can also wiggle around in your shoe, pain free most of the time.


And the next time somebody yells “OUCH!”, you can say “Oh, I remember that, yes it’s terrible!”, but this time you can have compassion for your friend and maybe show them what you did with your pebble. 

Friday, May 20, 2016

2nd Interview!



What a nice way to begin the weekend!!

Second interview out today! @Papergirl_YVR Hurray!

Please read and share!

Interviews!



I think I have two interviews coming out today wowee!!!

Here is the first by the amazing @ArtistStrong

 http://www.artiststrong.com/creative-spirit-jenn-ashton/ 

Please comment and  share!

Friday, April 22, 2016

From Grade 1


If schools taught kids from day one:

how to read
structural and functional anatomy
what it means to earn and save money
respect and compassion for every living thing
maths and how to code
a few different languages 
how to play an instrument
how to be creative in art
how to meditate
how to take care of things they have


I think the world could be a better place.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Emboss Mag


Hey kids - 6 page spread in the Spring (vol1) issue of @embossmag! Grab a copy here!

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Meet Elton



Ok, I have been waiting so long to show you this, but can now as the event has begun, here is the information about how it works and where you can view in person, please share around!

Meet Elton. ;-)

If you are the winning bid, your name will go on the plaque beside mine and the painting will be donated to the Hospice where it will live. So you don't get to 'keep' the painting, (but I'm pretty sure I can make you a good print!):

Oxygen For The Soul
February 18 - March 13

Abbotsford Hospice Society in partnership with The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford and Abbotsford Arts Council has engaged local artists to create works of art for Abbotsford's new adult hospice, Holmberg House.

A total of 37 art pieces on display are being auctioned. All the paintings will be donated for permanent display in Holmberg House with all of the artists and generous donors being recognized on plaques.

Art Exhibit - February 18th to March 13th
The Reach Gallery Museum and Kariton Gallery

Reception and Auction - March 17th
The Reach Gallery Museum
Tickets $25
Available for purchase at The Reach, Kariton Gallery, and online.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Thursday, February 4, 2016