Grids and Dots: The Abstract Art of Raphaella Vaisseau at Studio V Gallery's Artists of Venice Exhibition Jan-Feb 2012

Studio V Gallery is a hip, edgy gallery in the Arts District of Venice, Florida at 206 West Miami Ave, on the island at the corner of Nokomis. Owner Victoria Miller is a talented local artist herself. Read more about her and view her paintings on bluecanvas.com.

Her current "Artists of Venice" exhibition opens January 14, 2012 from 6-9pm. My original abstract paintings will be among the art from twenty artists showing work at the gallery through the end of February. I'm pleased to say that in addition to the abstracts, I will be showing two of my signature layered creations of color on color: Ruby (shown on right), and Seaweed. These layered watercolor paintings often take years to complete, with as many as seven layers of watercolor paint applied over another.

Included in the collection of abstracts on display will be a series of grids and earthly shapes, including Grid 6 and Swiss Grid (shown to left).

For more information about my art, or for a private viewing at the gallery during the months of this exhibition, please contact me directly at 941.993.7001.

Come to the January 14th opening (6-9pm) if you can. I'd love to see you there and personally share my art with you. For more information about the gallery itself, contact Victoria Miller at 941.412.6051. Except for special events, the Studio V Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm and Saturday, 10am-3pm.

Review of 2011 and Declaration for 2012 in the life of Raphaella Vaisseau

Continuing the focus of the past few years, 2011 has been about reducing debt while developing new and more profitable streams of income and streamlining business practices. Intention and focus paid off for me in 2011. It was a good year. I succeeded at building a more solid foundation for my work in the world, enjoyed time with family and friends, and explored more of the beautiful Florida environment where I now live.

As my new foundation continues to support me going forward, I will create more space in my life for creativity, new artistic expression, and expanded opportunities for sharing my art with others to enhance their lives. Again this coming year, I will be expanding and simplifying at the same time.

2012 is a Year of Freedom. As I stand in knowingness and act on my inner guidance, I will step forward into greater expression and fulfillment of my life’s work. I am committed to manifesting my greatness in the form of my art, writing, my being, and my expression.

We are all great. We all have greatness. This year I have become more aware that it’s up to me to let my light shine more brightly than I’ve dared to before. In claiming my own authority, as stated in my ministerial blessing from 1978, I’m confident and more ready than ever to speak up, step out, and be visible. No more waiting until “whenever.” My focus this year will be on being courageous, taking action, listening to my inner guidance, and staying in alignment with my inner being on a day by day, moment to moment basis. My emotions will be my guide.

“Life is supposed to be fun,” says Abraham-Hicks. That’s where I’ll be living in 2012. Joy will be my song.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

I Can Do It! Tampa 2011 - Part Two: Louise Hay et al

November 11-13, 2011 I attended an I Can Do It! Hay House Conference in Tampa, Florida with two of my friends Joanie and Elaine. (Note: If you missed Part One of my experience of the Conference, read about it here: I Can Do It! Tampa 2011: Part One: Marianne Williamson.)

Wayne Dyer gave the keynote presentation on the first evening in which he encouraged us to treasure our magnificence, live from the end, and assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled. Live from the place as if it were already an accomplished fact.

Much of what was said served to remind me of what I already knew to be true. Yet it was exhilarating to be in the presence of many of my favorite authors – people who are my role models, people who to my way of thinking are walking their talk. Louise Hay and Cheryl Richardson have a new book out, You Can Create An Exceptional Life. They were adorable as they talked about mirror work (positive self talk while looking at yourself in the mirror), and shared hints and tips of how they live their lives. One of my favorite take-away affirmations is one Louise has had in her bathroom (directly across from the toilet) for decades, "I bless and prosper everyone in my world and everyone in my world blesses and prospers me."

Doreen Virtue is always a pleasure to experience. Sweet vessel of light, she works with angels assisting people. You can participate in her weekly call-in show on hayhouseradio.com every Wednesday or listen to rebroadcasts throughout the week.

Saturday evening's keynote presentation was from Gregg Braden, "bridging science and spirituality." He talked of history, assumptions of science, Heart Math and the Global Coherence Initiative and purported that "strong collective emotion has a measurable impact on the earth's geomagnetic field." The main point I came away with from this session is that cooperation is key. Choose love. Choose cooperation.

Carolyn Myss opened Day 3 of the Conference and spoke of prayer and grace. Her prayer is, "God, give me the courage to see You in everybody." And in difficult situations, she prays "Keep me in a field of grace." The graces include 1) a sense of Reverence (my life is holy), 2) Piety (see the divine in others), 3)Understanding (having empathy), 4) Fortitude (courage to do what I know in my heart is the truth), 5) Counsel (not to betray myself), 6) Knowledge (sacred truth, revelation), and 7) Wisdom (wise choices, holy force moving through me).

Debbie Ford was next, and is the author of The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, which I can personally vouch for as a life altering read. I first experienced her transformational work in a televised workshop on Wisdom TV around 2001, so I was very excited about being in the room with her in Tampa. First she shared the opening of her movie, The Shadow Effect. Then she walked us through a few exercises so the participants could have an experience of embracing the shadow, and thus having a breakthrough. Her belief is that "when we fall in love with our dark side, it becomes a part of our light." There is only love, she says.

Already filled with inspiration and insight from the motivating speakers I journeyed on. Joan Borysenko's latest book is about burnout and appropriately titled Fried. She listed stages of burnout and steps you can take to recover. If you're emotionally exhausted, working too hard, have diminished self care, and start isolating, you may be in burnout and this book could help. A take-away for me was to ask myself what revitalizes me and put what I love first. Figure out a way to fit it in. Doing this will increase the total amount of energy that I have. She suggested we be mindful of what the energy of aliveness feels like and do more of that. Ah, more food for the soul.

Last but not least was Marianne Williamson, who gave the final keynote talk. It was with Marianne that my I Can Do It! Conference began on Friday, and I was eager to hear more from her. She began with a prayer to be a vessel of love and then explained, "Just as the absence of light is darkness, the absence of love is fear." She urged us to be willing to see things differently and accept that everything people say to us is either love or a call for love. Interesting, she said, that the word communicate has the word commune within it. Her daily prayer each morning is "for the happiness of everyone I interact with today." Make everything spiritual. If you're going to make a call, make it to be a blessing for the person you're calling. Send love to them in advance. Ask self, "Where am I not as loving as I could be? Where am I not as much of a blessing as I could be?" Then have a change of heart. Say to God, "What can I do for you?" Marianne ended with asking the audience to turn to each other and repeat Namaste as "The love in me salutes the love in you." She encouraged us to do this throughout each day as we walk in the world. So that is my intention. That, and incorporating all of the wisdom and insight I gained in this fabulous 3-day experience with these great teachers into my daily life.

Namaste.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

Apache, My Calico Cat 04-24-1996 to 11-28-2011

Apache joined me and Muffy, my other cat, in 1996 and we became a family of three. We lived in West Hollywood, California then. A year later, we drove up to Ashland, Oregon to begin my life as a full-time artist. They were the Heartful Art cats, and today is the end of an era. Muffy passed into Spirit during the closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, shortly before moving to the Gulf Coast of Florida later that month. Apache passed from my arms into the Heart of God this afternoon. During the past 17 years, my cats and I moved dozens of times and through it all they were by my side and adapted to whatever came next. From Ashland we went to the San Francisco Bay Area. What loyal creatures they are. Big hearts. Faithful companions. Soft fur. Love in a purr. I will miss Apache most in the nighttime when she came close to be with me. I send my love and light for the highest good to both of my beloved felines, but at this time, especially to Apache who is free now in Spirit. Namaste.
- Raphaella Vaisseau

I Can Do It! Tampa 2011 - Part One: Marianne Williamson

As promised, I Can Do It! Tampa energized my mind, body and spirit. I attended the 3-day conference with my friends, Joanie and Elaine. We stayed at the Marriott, across the street from the Tampa Convention Center where we enjoyed a 12th floor view from our balcony and comfy beds. Happy for our girlfriend time together and anticipating enlightenment, we attended keynote speakers, various conference workshops, and breakout sessions, and rejoiced in the inspiration available to us. After each event, we shared our insights and breakthroughs over salad, oatmeal, or rice curry and vegetables.

My three-day journey began on 11-11-11 with an all-day workshop with Marianne Williamson. Her newest book, A Course in Weight Loss, offered sound advice, practical exercises and plenty of revelations to me personally. I immediately saw the wisdom of embracing healthier eating, and intend to work through the book’s 21 chapters on my own, or with a small group of women in Venice starting in January 2012.

Marianne taught us that “every moment gives us an opportunity to rise to the occasion of our higher selves” and challenged us to consider “any thought that is not love is fear” and “any thought that does not support my perfection is an attack.” Throughout the three days of the conference this theme in different words was interwoven from various speakers as a deeper understanding of the importance of self love.

That first morning in Tampa, as I listened and participated in the Course in Weight Loss exercises, I felt a shift within me. My journey of self-love and conscious healing of my inner child began forty years ago in the seventies when I found a path to spiritual awakening. Yet, here in this workshop with Marianne Williamson, another layer of onion was being peeled; another petal of the perpetually opening lotus blossom opened, and I glimpsed further within.

Already the price of the conference admission was worth it, and I had just begun.
-Raphaella Vaisseau
P.S. Click here for slide show of my 3-day experience at I Can Do It! Tampa, November  11-13, 2011

Shop Etsy.com for Holiday Gifts from Artists Around the World

Here's a selection of art I've discovered on Etsy.com celebrating amber, gold, brown, metal, wood, glass, and all earthly treasures.

Click HERE to view it live on etsy or click on individual pictures within the Treasury to view selected items. Have fun!!! Of course, I also have my own Heartful Art on Etsy as well. -Raphaella Vaisseau

New Fe Bailey PSA from Tropical Healing: What can you do to reduce plastic consumption?

Fe Bailey's new Tropical Healing PSA video (below), "What Can You Do To Reduce Plastic Consumption?" states that "we all have the choice, power, and responsibility to reduce plastic consumption." This is something I have been more and more committed to in recent months since I learned that recycling simply isn't taking care of the problem. Conscious people have been carefully recycling for decades, believing we are making a positive difference in our world. Yet much of the plastic we think is being recycled is not. Some is down cycled or simply shipped to third world countries.

I discovered this while listening to an interview with Annie Leonard about her book, The Story of Stuff. Here's a link to one of  Ms. Leonard's videos: The Story of Bottled Water.

As this relates to the Tropical Healing PSA below, The Story of Bottled Water also answers the question, What can you do? In the notes below the video is this suggestion: "Before the bottled water craze hit, we took it for granted that public fountains were part of any public building: schools, offices, sports stadiums and parks. Let's bring them back! In the U.S., many state building codes mandate that there be one source of public water for every 1000 people the building has capacity for. Why not subsidize public water fountains as part of local efforts to build green?"

As for me, personally, what I've done (am doing) is using cloth bags for groceries, and I fill glass water bottles to have in my fridge and to bring with me instead of buying the little disposable plastic bottles. It takes an extra effort and planning ahead, but it's working for me and I feel good about it. Next step for me: I will discontinue using plastic merchandise bags even if they claim to be made with recycled bottles, and switch instead to paper bags.

Please share your thoughts and comments about this and your actions and ideas about reducing plastic consumption in your life. Bravo to Fe Bailey and her crew for making this film, and to Annie Leonard for her work on reducing consumption in many areas of our lives. Thank you to both of these women for their proactive contributions to making a better planet for us all.
-Raphaella Vaisseau