Unconditional Living and the Law of Attraction - New Heartful Art by Raphaella Vaisseau

What is unconditional living? Students of the Law of Attraction believe that what a person thinks, says, and does creates a vibration that attracts more of the same. Like attracts like.

Everything in the Universe is vibration. Some vibrations are higher than others. The more a person is in alignment with the vibrational essence of their desire, the more likely it is to manifest. Abraham-Hicks teaches that we each have an "emotional guidance system" (our feelings) within us that is our indicator of how close we are to vibrational sameness with our desires. This is key. When we feel negative emotions, such as sadness, fear, or worry, we are separating ourselves from that which we want, and, because we are on different vibrational wavelengths from our desires, they cannot manifest.

If everything in our world is vibration, and higher vibrations get me closer to God as well as manifesting my desires, I want my vibrations to be as high as possible every minute of every day. All year in 2014 so far, I've been waking up in the morning with the intention to pick a word that resonates with me for the day that can keep me on a high vibration. I pick words like confidence, exhilaration, clarity, happiness, appreciation, and hundreds more, and I write them on a chart I have on the wall. When I began, more than eight months ago staying aligned with the high vibration of the word I picked for the day was more of an effort, but now, with practice, it is easier.

We've all heard the phrase "unconditional loving" and many people strive to practice it. In my studies, I've been practicing unconditional living. I don't want to feel happy just when good things happen, I want to feel happy all the time. I don't want to feel clarity just when I've had a good night's sleep or a great cup of coffee, I want to know clarity and have access to it all the time.

The practice of unconditional living is something that has evolved for me over the past couple of weeks as I've made a point to notice when I'm happy or sad and why. I observe if something happened to affect my mood, and yes or no, I've made a deliberate effort to stay on, or get back on, the higher vibration regardless of what happened or what is going on. As an example of what this might look like in real life, before I go to the mailbox, where I often find checks waiting for me, I remind myself that I intend to stay in a good mood either way, checks or no checks. That's just one example. But perhaps you get the idea.

I created this Feel Good poster to put on my wall to remind me to do just that - Feel Good regardless of conditions. Besides, I love it so much, it makes me feel good. So, I'm happy to share it with you too. You can click on the poster to go to my etsy shop where you can buy it if you'd like. Enjoy it, share it if you'd like, and feel good.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

ERA: Speak Up and Support New Efforts to Pass the Equal Rights Amendment with Heartful Art by Raphaella Vaisseau

In 1923, Alice Paul authored the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Amazingly, it remains unpassed to this day.

According to a July 24, 2014 Ms. Magazine blog post by Stephanie Hallett, new legislation has been proposed by two US Congresswomen, Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Jackie Speier (D-CA), to finally get this thing passed.

The text of the ERA consists of 24 words: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

Click here to purchase Raphaella's version of the ERA as an 11x14 poster on Etsy. To support your activism on this issue, volume discounts and smaller versions of this artwork are available. Mail copies to your congressional representatives and ask them to support this important legislation.

Share this news with your friends. Join the congresswomen, Ellie Smeal (Feminist Majority President and publisher of Ms.), Terry O'Neill (NOW President), and other leaders and activists in stepping up.

Speak out. The time is now. Pass the ERA.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

Desiderata - The Ageless Wisdom of Max Ehrmann with Art by Raphaella Vaisseau - Heartful Art

"Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence," so starts the beautiful words of Max Ehrmann's Desiderata.

The piece is jam-packed with wisdom. Another of my favorite parts is this: "You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here."

The art shown on the left is an 8-1/2" x 11" poster.

This poster comes in four choices of border in both this size and the larger 11x14 size, shown on the right.
I'm happy to note this poster in either size is a bestseller in my Etsy store.

A treasured gift for all ages, put it in a poster frame, mat it for wall art, or mail it to a friend in the envelope provided at purchase. Above all, enjoy it and read it often. "Keep peace in your soul ... Strive to be happy." -Raphaella Vaisseau

Sun and Moon by Raphaella Vaisseau for 30 Days of Get Your Art On - 9.22.11 (RV - Day 4)

"Sun and Moon" is my latest ACEO (artist trading card). It represents my love for our earth, and our benevolent celestial bodies, the sun and moon. A continual source of wonder and amazement, I honor their place in our sky.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

THREE ACEO - 30 Days of Get Your Art On - 9.21.11 (Raphaella Vaisseau - Day 3)

On my third day of "30 Days of Get Your Art On" I am celebrating the number 3. Here's a little original art card that I painted today and named "THREE". It's watercolor on Fabriano watercolor paper and measures 2.5" x 3.5" in the ACEO tradition.

To me, the number three stands for expression. It represents a quest for discovery, an exploration, a constant learning, growing, and a commitment to experiencing the fullness of life. It teaches us to use what works for us, and let go of what doesn't. The quest it encourages is to keep true to one's path with the intention of knowing ("to know that you know that you know"). Knowing from that true place inside what is right and true for you - for each one of us.

I am more certain every day of something I wrote years ago: "It is in being true to myself that I am of most use to others. It is in expressing the joy of my own heart that I am open to hold and behold the hearts of others. It is in seeing my own beauty that I am able to experience the magnificence of others." - Raphaella Vaisseau

We each have our part to play in the dance of life. As we learn to be true to our own self-expression we gain strength to discover, develop, and express our spiritual gifts.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

30 Days of Get Your Art On - 9.20.11 (Raphaella Vaisseau Day 2)

Today is Day 2 of creating art for 30 minutes a day for 30 days (Get Your Art On). I'm using the same rules Traci Bunkers listed when she originated this project:

• I’ll make art every day for 30 days and post what I have done.
• I don’t have to finish what ever I’m working on that day, I just have to work on something.
• I have to work for 30 minutes, but can work longer if time permits. 
• It doesn’t matter what I do for the art making, as long as I work on art.
• I won’t feel guilty for taking the time to work on art and I won’t have to justify why I’m doing it.
• I don’t have to go into detail in my post about how I did anything or what tools, materials I used (unless I want to).

Years ago I made a similar commitment to myself when I agreed to write for publication for 60 minutes a day for 30 days. I wrote up a contract with myself, signed it, and did it. The distinction "for publication" was intentional so that in this hour I would work only on projects I planned to submit to publishers. Stream of consciousness writing or journaling did not count toward my 60 minutes. It was powerful. By the end of those 30 days I had redefined myself as a writer. I enjoyed doing it, I felt transformed in the process, and I loved keeping my word to myself.

In these 30 Days of Get Your Art On I have an inner distinction as well. I plan to use these 30 minutes a day for creating art outside of my normal activities as an artist in my company, Heartful Art. Integrity will be my guide.

As you can see in the picture, today's project is unfinished. It's a work in progress. I believe it is the beginning of a grid abstract, of which I've done many. (See some of them here.) I never know what direction my art will take me as I layer the paint, since I like to paint from my heart rather than from my head. I've never before photographed (or shared!) a project at this early stage of creation. It will be interesting to see how this painting births itself and how I feel about the transparency of the process. For now, it is good.
-Raphaella Vaisseau 

Raphaella Vaisseau joined the Creative Challenge of Traci Bunkers 30 Days of Get Your Art On - 9.19.11 (RV Day 1)

One thing leads to another. Never has that been more true than now with the internet. From the ACEO Etsy Street Team blog's latest post, I clicked on Ayala Art's link to see her little painting in her Etsy shop and explore her creations, thinking I might add an ACEO to my growing collection of originals.

From there I clicked over to Ayala's blog where I noticed the title of today's post as "my 17th day of 30" - which totally got me curious. I looked around the blog and saw a button for "30 Days of Get Your Art On - tracibunkers.com" - which I clicked on right away.

Voila! Enter the magical world of Traci Bunkers. So intrigued was I that 30 minutes later I was still roaming around in her site, amazed by her artistic expression and technical savvy. I wanted to play along with her and the other artists who are in the game. I signed up, put her button on my blog, and committed to 30 min/day for 30 days of creating art and posting it here. Then I got to work creating.

Here's the result of my Day 1: "Flower Magic" a 4x6 original watercolor painting matted in an 8x10 double mat (porcelain blue core over magenta). I felt the presence of faeries as I painted, and enjoyed the swirls, ease, and flow of the petals and leaves.

It feels so good to just create. To paint. To be a part of an artistic challenge. To give myself the gift of art.

-Raphaella Vaisseau

ETSY - Buying and Selling in an Artists' Marketplace Online

Have you discovered Etsy yet? I enjoy buying handmade creations of art directly from the artist so I often browse the hundred thousand shops on etsy.com for friend and family gifts or to add to my collection of ACEO miniatures (Art Cards, Editions, or Originals). Also referred to as art cards or artist trading cards, ACEOs are 2.5 x 3.5 creations of art that are traded among artists or purchased by collectors. I do both.

My etsy shop is heartfulart.etsy.com and has only a fraction of art found at my website heartfulart.com. I'm building my etsy store day by day and while I do, I'm enjoying the game that being a part of an online marketplace offers. The more I explore Etsy, the more I discover what it has to offer the handmade entrepreneur (like me). Their online labs provide educational videos, the etsy blog highlights sellers, techniques, products and more, and a new feature "shop stats" provide the sellers with marketing data to assist in getting found among the thousands of shops on Etsy. 

And then there's my personal shopping. It's entertaining to browse international shops or discover what artists are creating in towns and cities around the USA. My most recent Etsy purchase is an original ACEO from artist, Micki Wilde of The Secret Hermit based in the UK. The little treasure arrived yesterday, packaged with care. Etsy artists often package their art as creatively as the art itself. It makes it even more fun to know when I send a friend a gift I purchased on Etsy, it will likely be opened with delight. It's not a requirement to make the packaging extraordinary but it is more common than not.

This little ACEO from Micki completes the first page in my ACEO Collection Album (I use acrylic sleeves sold to protect baseball cards in a standard 3-ring binder).

Although some ACEOs are prints, I prefer to collect original art as these nine ACEOs are. The eight artists are from all over the USA and the world.

Start your own collection by entering "ACEO" or "ACEO original art" or "ATC" "ACETSY" or "art cards" in the handmade search field at etsy.com. Or start by taking a look at the ACEOs I have for sale in my Etsy store.

I encourage you to explore Etsy and see where your imagination takes you. It's almost September and the holidays will be here before you know it. Etsy artists await to provide you with the most creative gifts ever! - Raphaella Vaisseau

FACES - Etsy Treasury curated by Raphaella Vaisseau of Heartful Art

I'm happy to share my latest ETSY Treasury with you.  It's a collection of artists I've discovered while browsing the many shops of artists creating art from all over the world. Enjoy!!!

Team FEST - Florida Etsy Street Team

Wow. I just discovered and joined the Florida Etsy Street Team (FEST) and I am discovering so many new and beautiful things and people. Have you discovered Etsy yet? It's a marketplace for everything handmade.

My first sale was a postcard to a young girl in Nova Scotia. I've purchased from and sold art to artists and people all over the world from Estonia, Norway, London and all over the US. Yesterday I received an e-mail from someone in Singapore who was having trouble completing a sale on my website because of the customs forms, etc. At first I suggested we set up a conference call on Skype and I could talk her through a Paypal transaction. Then I remembered Etsy. I quickly uploaded her order in the "reserved" section of my etsy store and she was able to complete the sale within minutes using her credit card. Voila! No hassles. No worries about time difference. No forms to fill out. (I had already checked the USPS website for shipping rates and had added it to the reserved order.)

I have a separate paypal account set aside for my Etsy purchases too. Last month I realized my friend's birthday was coming up fast and money was short. I remembered my Etsy reserves and went online to search for a handpainted wine glass, which I was sure she would love. I sent the artist an e-mail and asked her if I could buy just one rather than a set of two and I asked her if she could get it to her in time. She said yes to both and the deal was done. What a fun and wonderful way to shop!

Here's a link to my heartfulart.etsy.com store. It's small. I only have 50 items uploaded compared to over 1,500 at www.heartfulart.com. As I learn more about Etsy, I'll add more products to my store and continue to discover new artists and new friends from around the world.

Here are a few of my favorite stores I just discovered this morning:

• My Mother's Garden - Mymothersgarden.etsy.com (ceramic garden art)
  
• cjBlue Company - cjBlue.etsy.com (Rescued * RePurposed * ReUsed * ReCycled * ReFashioned)
• iWunder - iWunder.etsy.com (hand knit scarves, hand dyed yarns, crocheted brooches)
  

Browse for more Florida artisans on the Etsy home page by doing a search with for handmade using the word "FEST" - happy shopping.