Even Tornados Need Rest

This week, I invite you to join me in allowing yourself some rest. I decided that every year, I will commit to taking a few days to recharge, and just actually Rest. What? Yes. (Even tornado’s need to rest.) When was the last time you did that? It was years for me. Maybe even decades.

The sad thing was I had not realized that I had not “rested” in those many years. It may sound a bit odd to go years without having rest and needing to schedule some quiet time like it’s like a job, but actually, it is the one thing I do that I get to tune out all the noise and let the big sky, quiet land, and mother nature look after me. This is a summer of wellness for me and it makes me happy to share andI invite you to join me. Care to paint under the big clouds outside?

Luxury is Time. Time to yourself. I heard these words before: “going off the grid”. It sounds like maybe something someone running away might do.. But for this girlboss, its something I decided to run toward. Kick off those stilettos my loves.

As an artist I invite guests to let go and create with me. To create is to be free. Painting with intention feels different than when I paint at a show, or at the United Nations, (Click here to read United Nations Blog). This is not a showcase. We are not promoting anything. This was just for us. Me and You - in the moment. We become part of the landscape.

I especially love to paint with people that say things like “Oh, I’m an attorney, I can’t paint” or similar. I usually respond with “Leave your body, and come with me”. I take their hand, put a paint brush in it and away we go. Then their eyes like to sparkle. I can see what they looked like as a child. The problem becomes getting them to stop… and this is where I discuss deliberate placement of color and how less can be more. :-)

I am an artist that understands how art can be inclusionary, and that moment of connectivity can be a seed for positive, good energy that lingers and can be stubborn to leave your body. I don’t understand it exactly but it connects us in a way that can’t be broken. Your smiles stay with me and feel it makes the world a better place. This moment of painting and the positive vibes shared knows no borders of language, ability, ethnicity, religion, politics, or other words that may be used to separate us. It only knows how to connect us, and this is why I believe in magic.

My desert art studio. :-)

The Sweat Lodge! My first time was last year, and I can’t wait to go back in. I’m not sure if it was Ms. Mary Lou’s Navajo stories, her beautiful voice filled with wisdom and experience, or the scent of the wood and rocks mingling with the 180 degrees of skyline with no structures.. It was over 100 degrees in there… it was dark. I wanted to give up. But I didn’t. It was magic. And when I came out, I was different. Like a baby unicorn.

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A post shared by Aviva Stanoff (@avivastanoffdesign) on Oct 4, 2017 at 6:54pm PDT

Tribal warrior, reporting for duty.

I didn’t know I could look like this. This moment was not planned. It just happened. Johnny Blue Eyes, Laura Austin and I were having coffee just after Sunrise. I was folding fabric I had painted with guests the day before. It was windy. Johnny told me to toss my poncho. So I did, and he started draping, Laura started shooting. These pictures were spur of the moment, no make-up, no lighting, no underpants… I didn’t have time for modesty. I knew one thing - we were inspired and I trusted these beautiful spirits. If there was a moment that captured Restival for me, this would be it. I love these pics of me - they are pure, they capture something that I didn’t know I had. This year, Warrior Portraits will be part of the program, I want that for you too.. My longtime colleague and friend Ms. Katherine Kirchner will be the photographer. She is completely excited to be the Official Warrior Portrait-ist.

I just didn’t realize that I had access to this kind of beauty. The land, the other people there with me, how bright we can shine when we are together just being. I continue to shine after that experience. I didnt realize I had to recharge, until I actually experienced it. Whether at Restival or somewhere else, in invite you to take time for yourself. Take time to connect with others in your wellness Tribe. Love your tribe and love them hard. I believe in magic, Join the movement.