Learning Changes Us… or Does It?

by Barbara Hartsook February 27, 2010

Learning is such fun. It’s profitable. And it changes us. But only if we apply it. Four of us rode together, returning home from a weekend motivational conference. We broke the trip in half by stopping for lunch. I had picked up on an idea early in the weekend and was excited to try it [...]

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Do Sports Teach Kids How to Live Life Beyond the Game?

by Barbara Hartsook February 19, 2010

The Superbowl is behind us, and with March coming, Madness will soon keep us near the flat-screens. Shortly after that we’ll have The Opener. All American sports… football, basketball, baseball… soccer, track, volleyball. Great fun… but are sports good for life beyond the game? Can learning to play sports teach kids how to live life? [...]

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How to Paint a Portrait from a Casual Snapshot – A Tutorial

by Barbara Hartsook February 10, 2010

Even the most casual snapshot can be a treasure for finding a reference for painting a portrait. If it draws your eye more than once, chances are you sense a story to be told, written, or painted. This stock photo was given to participants in a painting contest at Innographx.com/forum a year ago, with instructions [...]

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We Attract to Us That Which We Are

by Barbara Hartsook February 3, 2010

We attract to us that which we are… I read that years ago. I was young enough it stuck as a piece of esoteric philosophy… Understood only by the initiated… But as the years have evolved, the truth of that statement has manifested itself. Slowly perhaps, but none the less. Life has initiated me, and [...]

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What Do You Think Makes an Effective Tweet on Twitter?

by Barbara Hartsook January 30, 2010

@beanfair asked the question on Twitter: What do YOU think makes an effective Tweet? Is it a call to action? A tease that makes you curious? a great link or…? My answer is Yes. All those things. I am a life-learner, curious beyond measure, and ever-antsy to do something! so Yes, all those things. A [...]

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Do We Doodle to Doodle, Solve a Problem, Find a Design?

by Barbara Hartsook January 22, 2010

Why do we doodle? Just to pass the time? To find a design? To examine patterns? If I have a pen in hand and paper near by, I’m going to doodle. My name, a curved line, what’s being said by someone else — and that may also be in a curved line — or sometimes [...]

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Name that Painting in Six Words

by Barbara Hartsook January 15, 2010

I’m not very good at naming things. I agonize over headlines and story titles, anything that must be told quickly and completely. I love words, you see. They tell pictures… Even giving title to a painting challenges me — I guess because I want the viewer to relate visually and emotionally and create their own [...]

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How Do You Handle Hurtful Remarks?

by Barbara Hartsook January 12, 2010

It’s universal you know… thinking whatever offensive, hurtful remark gets thrown at us is because of us. It isn’t always… Liz Strauss says to distance ourselves from the event. Her points are excellent — think, think, realize, decide, and think some more. Read the point specifics on her blog… I’d add this: Realize the offensive [...]

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Story Puts the Happy in New Year

by Barbara Hartsook January 6, 2010

I have to share a happy new year story with you. It’s called A Walk in the Snow with Not-So Strangers. I was roaming the Internet from the Technorati site, and through a series of clicks from here, found myself on Katie Paine’s blog. In the side bar were titles of recent posts, and this [...]

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What Do You Want to Do In This New Year?

by Barbara Hartsook January 5, 2010

Tidy up. That’s what I want to do. Sort out. Pitch. Give away. Save. Make room for what’s to come. Get rid of the clutter on my desk, in my closets, and in my schedule. It’s that time of year we think about new goals, shedding pounds, prettying up our homes, wishing folks Happy…  these [...]

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