Making summer 'funner'

We stumbled across this adorable and inspiring list of ten ways to break away from the sometimes humdrum pattern of summer and experience something new, enriching or liberating (thanks to Atlanta's own South of Market Blog!). Here are a few suggestions about how you may fulfill some of these activities around Atlanta:

1. Come see us during the Westside Art Walk this Saturday, July 17th, from 11-5!

2. Trips to lakes and beaches are definitely fun, but are also time consuming. If all else fails, splash around barefoot (#6) in a rain puddle.

4. In the city, it's difficult to find space for gardening, and that is where Artichoke Bliss, a community garden off of Edgewood Avenue, comes in. More information and updates are available on their Facebook page (linked above).

5. WonderRoot offers many interesting opportunities. We think the songwriting workshop taking place July 26th at 6pm sounds like a great time.

7. Or maybe give a gift. We love these interesting gift ideas from The Peak of Chic blog's recent post.

10. Revisit literary classics, such as Catcher in the Rye and Walden; or, Life in the Woods, or pick up something touching and more contemporary, like Randy Pausch's Last Lecture, which has enjoyed 94 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List.

The best things...

Quote by John Ruskin

I recently ran across this image when perusing one of my artists' Facebook pages a few weeks ago and since then, I have not been able to stop applying it to my daily life. The affect the poetic image had on me is two-fold. Not only have I recently learned more about graffiti, stenciling, and wheat pasting than I ever thought I would need to know (thank you Exit Through the Gift Shop), but I have also been spending a lot of time trying to re-focus my attention of what is truly important. Life is fleeting and I have realized sometimes the most important things in my life are those that are often the most undervalued. Some of my favorite examples are: the color the sky turns when the sun is setting, a really good cup of coffee with a close friend, a two hour phone conversation with someone I haven't seen in 6 months, and a long drive without any necessary destination. If I was asked today to share my favorite things from the last few months, these are some of the things I would mention.

Fortunately for me, when others are asked the same thing, I would wager that some of them would mention visiting a museum or gallery they love or even spending time with one of their favorite paintings. I feel so blessed to be able to offer that respite to passersby and gallery-goers daily. If not every day, at least once a week, I have someone actually thank me for doing what I do and that feels so good. So I just wanted to say thank you in return.

Thank all of you for the support over the last 2 years and for allowing me to do something that I love. One of "the best things in life" is knowing that there are people out there who appreciate art and that I get to share my passion for art with them. I am truly so appreciative.