One blog ending, New ones Beginning!

Hello All!
I hope you are still around here somewhere. :)  I've finally decided that I would just start another blog instead of posting here and linking/embedding pictures and video.  Actually, I've decided to start 2, maybe 3 blogs and try to focus my topics in different blogs.  The one that is already set up is a belly dance blog and the first post is published.  Please join me there!  www.narahsblog.blogspot.com

I may also start one for just artwork.  Definitely, I'm starting another for my latest calling for focus: Tarot and Reiki.  Currently I am finishing up my homework to complete Doreen Virtue's Advance Angel Card Readers class.  Tarot has interested me for years and have a few decks, but this class really called to me and I have learned a lot.  Soon, I'll be offering readings!  The longest reading will be 30 minutes until baby can be away from Mama for longer. ;) But, I promise you will get a lot in that 30 minutes and it will be so worth it! :)  Also currently, I have decided to offer distance Reiki!! You can paypal me with the details of your concern to vinegar and glitter (at) gmail (dot) com.  It is $30 for 20 minutes of Reiki and an email summary of the experience.

Lately, it's felt like I'm "coming out of the spiritual closet" as I tell others about my abilities.  Though I may have mentioned Reiki here before, I have not mentioned that I am an Empath. This means I can feel and take on others' energy as my own to transmute it.  It may be physical pain, but most often it is emotional.  Instead of just not talking about it because I've felt that no one would understand, I've decided to fully own these abilities and use them in my healing work.  They will truly enhanced my Reiki healing and insights into Tarot readings.

This blog will be posted to momentarily: http://www.healingreikiandtarot.blogspot.com

Please check out the new blogs, follow and share! I will post here when there are new posts on these blogs and when the new ones are created.  Thank you so much for spending your time here and sharing my space!

Namaste!

Narah YouTube

Sometimes the video bar down at the bottom shows my videos and sometimes not, so thought I would point you to my YouTube channel, so you can see what this belly dance talk is about. ;)

Go here: http://www.youtube.com/user/tribalbellydance?feature=watch

Belly Dance Art, Jewelry and Costumes

My Etsy shop now has these items and more.  Many more pictures to take a look at over there too. 

Please take a look over at www.bellyartsmama.etsy.com 

and share with friends.  Even if you can't buy, please go ahead and favorite items you like. After a whole lot of mish mash, I think sticking to belly dance art and costumes in my Etsy store makes the most sense.  

Enjoy!! Please let me know what you think! :)

HEALth and HEALing

In my last post, I showed you my Sanctuary... my Studio.  Since I went on my mini art retreat, I've really prioritized yoga with meditation, doggie walks and art time.  This post I wrote in a local Pittsburgh Facebook group (for local folks with thyroid disorders) sums up my experience since then:

"In the spirit of encouragement, I thought I'd share some great things that have been going on with me. Over the last week, I've been doing chakra balancing yoga including meditation in the morning and another meditation (sometimes chakra focused, sometimes not) in the evening before bed and my body, mind and spirit have shown wonderful healing signs- like my nails are in better shape than I saw them after the cleansing fast [I did this fall], which I thought was amazing and I'm more patient and joyful. I'm better able to center myself. I know it's really difficult with kids to get the time and space to do these sorts of things, which is why I haven't been as consistent in the past. But, the more I do yoga and meditate, the more results I see, and the better able I am to adjust to all the things that get in the way or break my concentration, like Angelo running his cars over me or throwing a fit in the middle of my practice or sitting in my lap while I [do pranayama] [or the doggie sings her "omg you're in the floor song in my face and/or licks my face]. I'm better able to accept that this is what a Mother's yoga practice looks/feels/acts like. I've also made sure to do art journaling almost every day, whether I can get some "just me" time or not. (Anti-perfectionism!!!) Surprisingly, all this has led me to do a little more cooking and managing the laundry better. Or maybe that shouldn't be so surprising. :) I often think as our energy system as a bank that you have to make deposits in to have anything to withdraw. :) Hope this helps!"

Then, in response to someone asking me how I stayed active and whether it was easy or just a great habit I said, 

"I've been active most of my life, but definitely been through periods of time where I'm sluggish and tired and just not motivated to move. Moving to Pittsburgh where there's a huge variety of classes to take really helped. I LOVE to dance, and have taken belly dance, hip hop, and stiletto fit classes. Also some yoga classes since I always practice longer and do a bigger variety of poses in a class than at home because someone is making me. Even though the cost and the hassle getting there are concerns, I made the commitment to keep going to classes and if I didn't go to class then I was more active at home. No, it wasn't easy at any point when I had to force myself to go to class when I was/am tired. Repeating "remember how good you feel afterwards" helps get me there. Since going on my mini art retreat, I remind myself of all the benefits I've reaped so far and that helps me to keep walking the dog and fitting in at least some yoga before/after even if I have to do only standing poses and plank in the kitchen while the eggs boil (did that this week some time). I really think meditation and art help give me the peace of mind and therefore extra energy to keep going. Also, I can _really_ feel it when I go too long without yoga. My body hurts [when I go too long without yoga]. I used belly dance and yoga to heal after several car accidents years ago, so experience tells me that it's going to "put me back together". A friend of mine talked about her method to motivate herself to keep walking: she said "just don't think about it. Just put on your shoes and go." It's a way to keep from talking yourself out of it... which I've done on plenty of occasions. Also, walking the dog is easier to motivate for because I know she needs it to be healthy too. She also lets me talk out any issues I have or problems I need to solve. I've had many "Aha!" moments on our walks; guess they are like meditation too. So, I guess to sum up (ha ha), I just keep remembering all the benefits and focus on that."

Currently, I'm not taking many classes, but I do consider them the boost I needed to motivate myself on my own.  The past few years have been relatively unhealthy ones for me (among my "periods of time where I'm sluggish and tired and just not motivated to move").  After having Angelo, many things (not always  directly related to him) "went haywire" among the people I love and am close to.  My Dad having strokes and being in and out of the hospital was part of that.  Because I had a small child, I really shut down parts of myself so I could keep going.  But that method really caught up to me. A little over a year ago, I was really not healthy despite eating pretty healthy foods and not being a _total_ couch potato.  I tried, but I needed to try harder.  I felt pretty beaten down.

Now that I'm on the other side of that, I can share what has helped me and hope that it helps someone else.  Along with the commitment to eat healthier and moderate portions, exercise, meditate and do more art- generally honor and nurture my Whole Self- I recruited help.  There were people who helped me push along the path to better health.  

First I saw a massage therapist 2 weeks after I miscarried last June.  She urged me to do a detoxification program, which lead me to see the naturopath.  He encouraged me to journal and that renewed habit lead me to call the really amazing psychic I saw at the beach when Angelo was 3.  She confirmed something that was in the back of my mind- that I should talk to a life coach- someone who listens to what you are going through/pondering/trying to figure out and helps you find solutions and clarify your goals.  Michelle Ward, the When I Grow Up Coach, helped me to sort out many things I needed to let go of and stop doing just because I felt obligated to.  (If you sign up with Michelle, which I highly recommend, tell her Kimberly Minardi sent you, please!) This freed up energy to start looking into my heart and forgiving (myself and others) and letting go of a lot of Pain I was holding onto.  An excellent book that I read to help this process is "Unconditional Forgiveness- a Simple and Proven Method to Forgive Everyone and Everything" by Mary Hayes Grieco.  

My vision board had goals on it that only my heart understood at the time (my mind kept saying "I'm not sure why I'm choosing this), but because it was too closed I couldn't see or feel what they were.  Now when I look at it, I'm amazed!  It really helps support the idea that if you trust even the quietest whispers of your intuition and collect and collage images that speak to you, you can push your life forward in the direction of your choosing.  Truly, truly amazing!  

Speaking of collaging images that speak to me and health and healing, here are some sneak peaks into some of the art journaling I've been doing:

When I scheduled the Art Journaling Workshop with Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, I knew it would make me focus much more on art journaling than other creative efforts and I am so so glad that I did.  I am really excited to share this process at the workshop, so if you can make it, it will be so worth your while, I promise!  :)  If you live too far away to come to the workshop, I am working on getting some materials together to be able to offer an ecourse or perhaps an ebook.  No idea when it will be ready, but just wanted to get people thinking about it.  Feels scary letting people know my plans, but it really feels like something that just has to go out into the world.  :)  

Thanks for hanging in on this long post.  I hope it is useful for you. :)

Sanctuary

Originally, I meant to have the studio ready (tidy, presentable) for a big reveal at the end of February since I posted teaser shots of it in progress last year.  However, when I go up, I tend to jump right into creating or clean up a little so I can create more easily (or do yoga, etc).  Even my 2+ hour cleaning efforts a few days ago barely put a dent in it.  Clearly, that tidy and presentable space won't be happening any time soon and if I took pictures, you wouldn't have any idea what you were looking at. ;)  Since I am a recovering perfectionist, I'm not going to wait until the space is "perfect" to show it to you.  I'm posting these pictures I took a couple of months ago after we had a cleaning service come in (didn't have them come back because, though the job was OK to good, it was expensive enough that it should have been Excellent-Perfect IMO.  Not sure if that really happens with cleaning services.)

If you would like to see full progress, first see this and then this post.

Stairs leading up to the attic.  There are some amazing pictures on Pintrest that show painted/mosaic tiled stairs and would love to do that here.  My "Peace, Joy, Freedom" reminder at the top so I see it every time I go up. 

The belly dance and yoga space.  The mirrors and foam floor tiles are from the public studio I ran in Morgantown (Earth Movement Studio).

Shelves of distracting supplies.  It's great having them open and available, but I often have trouble being present with my practice thinking of all the things I want to make.  Maybe a curtain or sliding closet doors are in the future here?

View looking towards the stairwell.  Do you see that pocket door sawn in half?  I don't know who did that, but it breaks my heart.  (There's additional storage behind the mirrors, so that corner gets oversized and spill over items.)  There's a bathroom to the left.  Very convenient for washing brushes and palettes. 

View from the belly dance and yoga area into the mixed media and sewing area.  That's Josephine wearing the witch hat.  Her dress is to the right.

The mixed media area.  Just a couple of days ago, I started re-arranging things here to suit the way I am currently working.

Closer look at the really cool vintage shelves my husband found for me.  I think it's made of cut up wooden crates.  It looks like words/advertising on the bottom inside of those cubbies. My boxes of paint sit on top of this beautiful chest my brother-in-law carved and he and my sister made as a bridesmaid gift.

Sewing area with the cutting table in a regular state of piled up stuff when I'm not sewing.  Angelo's easel and art table are here too.  A fabric organizer will go on the wall to hold more of his art supplies; yes, yes it will.

When I walk into this sacred space of mine, I am washed over with happiness.  I just love being in there.  Even just going up to get something or drop something off makes me smile.  In here, I know my Soul gets to speak, and I am so grateful.

Another post is coming soon!  Some Art Journaling sneak peaks for ya!  Have a great day, my friends! 

Performing in Coraopolis next weekend (Jan. 21st)!!

Malia, "the Diamond of Hawaii" is coming to Pittsburgh!  Workshops Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 21st and 22nd) and a Gala show Saturday night!  Ishtar is playing the show and I'm so excited to be performing with them!! Doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8:00pm!  Only $12!

Here is the Facebook event.  Here is the website where you can buy tickets for the show and register for the workshops.

Also, tonight was the first night of my new belly dance class series!!  Wow, I am really happy to be teaching again!  Feeling very grateful that the Cultural Trust contacted me about being an instructor at their education center- a great place to be!!  If you need the website for more information or to register, it is here.

Art for Sale, Art for Play, and Art that Moves

There's a new album on my Facebook profile.  Some of the items I have for sale are posted and I will list them on Etsy for you if you would like to buy.  All items will go into a listing made specifically for you and your actual shipping cost (vs. an estimate) will also be listed.  Enjoy! :)

This is but one of the Artist Trading Cards I've enjoyed making as of late.  Such a nice, no pressure way to enjoy playing with my supplies.  More to be posted soon.  

Monday's Open House at the Cultural Trust was a great success!  Lots of people and a great response for my class... it's very very exciting!  

You (and your friends who are interested) can register here for the weekly class starting tomorrow at 7:00pm: http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/event/3287/belly-dance-class 

Free Belly Dance Class and New Class Series

• • When

    Monday, January 9, 2012
  • Time

    6:00pm until 9:00pm

• Where

  TRUST ARTS EDUCATION CENTER, , 805/807 Liberty Avenue, Downtown, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Description

  WINTER DANCE CLASS KICK OFF ART OF DANCE OPEN HOUSE January 9th 6-9pm 6-7pm STILETTO FIT (formerly Club Dance), beginners with Instructor, Jame Elis 7-8pm STILETTO (formerly Club Dance), intermediate/advanced with Instructor Jame Elis 8-9pm BELLY DANCE all levels with Instructor Narah Kimberley Arrington Minardi Join us for an evening of free classes, refreshments, and fun. R.S.V.P. required. Enjoy a free Soul Ice to cool you off after class. REGISTER AT TRUSTARTS.ORG/EDUCATON OR 412-471-6079 WINTER CLASSES SCHEDULE Art of Dance Classes for Adults, ages 18-up STILETTO FIT/Pump Pulse (formerly called Club Dance Workout) Instructor-Jame ElisMondays: 6p-7p beginners 7:15p-8:15p inter/advanced6 weeks for $50 or $10 for drop-ins. For the every woman looking for a sizzling hot dance class. Dance to the hottest music while sculpting and toning your entire body. Excellent lower body workout, non-stop calorie burning strength class. Great stretching component, and high energy dance session. Heels preferred, not mandatory (comfortable shoes allowed). This is closest to being Beyonce that you will ever get! BELLY DANCE Instructor-Narah Kimberly Arrington Minardi Thursdays 7:00-8:00pm. 6 weeks for $50 or $10 for drop-ins. Learn the ancient art of belly dance! A dance of pure joy and celebration that will tone your whole body and increase flexibility and endurance. This transformative dance builds confidence and body awareness. All the while, you are having so much fun, you will think you are "cheating"! This class, suitable for beginners as well as those with experience belly dancing will begin with a yoga warm up, move into belly dance technique, continue with combinations or a mini-choreography and end with a cool down. If you'd like to join us, let us know on the Facebook event!  See you then! Happy New Year!!

Holiday Hafla Tonight!

Enta Omri, probably my favorite song Ishtar plays, is my song for tonight!! And a little bit of sparkle in my costume for the festive holiday theme.  If you are in the area, come join us!  It's a lovely way to celebrate!

Beginning the Belly Dance teaching adventure again!

I'm going to be available for private lessons in my home studio in a couple of weeks. (We are in Mt. Lebanon, and there's a bus stop on either side of my house. Two buses go there, Mt. Lebanon and Bower Hill rd. I think 40 and 42, but don't quote me on that.)

I've been feeling the pull to teach again and am inspired to answer that call! 

I have a Master's degree in Occupational Therapy, a certification in Yoga for the Special Child, about 14 or so years of yoga experience, have been belly dancing since 1993 and teaching belly dance since 1997. In recent years, I've added mixed media collage artist to my creative repertoire and it has opened my whole life up to creative possibilities. I've danced in troupes, lead student troupes and danced solo; studied Turkish, Egyptian Cabaret, American Cabaret, American Tribal, Tribal Fusion, and a good dose of various world folk dances. My students appreciate my precise breakdown as well as my ability to get to the heart and soul of the dance. 

I can teach 1-5 people in the home studio, a haven of creativity, as it is housed with my other artistic pursuits. 

A one hour session for one person is $60, and for 2-5 people, it is $45/person per hour.

Topics include technique, history, costuming design, sewing, achieving dance goals, getting the most from your dance, stretching, strengthening, centering, emotional expression, creative vision and bringing that vision to fruition, and more!

I don't have this info up on my website just yet, but you can check out videos, costuming info, historical papers I've written and more atwww.tribalbellydance.net 

Email me or give me a call at 304-276-DANCE (still using the WV #, even though we are in Mt. Lebanon now.

Thanks and have a great day!
~Narah
www.VinegarandGlitter.com 
www.facebook.com/narah.arrington.minardi
http://twitter.com/#!/VinegarnGlitter

Sensuous Femininity

Belly Dance Collages part 4

If you've read any of last week's post, you know where these are from.  This is the last of the collages I have finished in the Belly Dance altered book.  Tomorrow's post will be something of a different nature. :)

Image from Lunagirl.com

A tag I made a while ago added to a new background.  Image is from Art Chix, I believe.  "My Gypsy Heart" collage sheet.

If you haven't checked it out already, I've added an Upcoming Events page.  Right now, it has information on my Artist Trading Card workshop at Sterling Yoga on September 30th.  There will be wine and chocolate too!  Fun!

Belly Dance Collages part 3

I believe all of these ladies came from Luna girl's Near East collage sheets.

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend! :)

Belly Dance "and Related" collages

More collages from the "Belly Dance" altered book.

In the pocket.

Out of the pocket.  Mata Hari hanging ATC.   Image from here.

Heart Song.  A collage I made last year and added to a new background.  Images found here.

You know I couldn't resist these guys when I found them at an antique show. :)

Have I told you about my Flickr photostream?  I finally uploaded some pictures (artwork, sewing, vintage finds).  They are fairly organized.  Hooray!