Tag Archive | Vallejo

Playing the Good Psalms of the Psaltery

Dec9
Alkaline

Isn’t this a great looking bike? So Stylish.

Baby Psaltery1

This is my Baby Psaltrey by Zither Heaven

I had a wonderful day at the waterfront in the city I live in, Vallejo. I got on my Alkaline HyBike, www.hybike.com; placed my baby Psaltery in the basket and took off. It was a beautiful, brisk sunny day and I loved being out. This bike gets me to the waterfront in 10 minutes. I Found a nice place to park in front of the coffee place, Panama Red. I was pondering as to whether to get a rich, taste intensive, Pumpkin Spice latte, but I decided on their house blend. I sat at the bench, rosined up my bow and started playing scales. I am starting to get the feel of where the sweet spot on the string is. As I was playing, a man and a woman came up. The husband said that he had seen a Psaltery before, but never up close. I asked him if he would like to play it and he did. I told them the short history of the Bowed Psaltery, that it was created by a German school teacher who wanted an instrument for students to learn that would be easier to play than a violin. He said that he plays in a band in Vallejo at a local club on Marin street from 5 to 9. I had no idea there was a club here in Vallejo.  My husband and I are going to have to hear him play.WateronWater1109

While I was Practicing Danny Boy. I had another person who was curious about my baby Psaltery, made by Zither Heaven. She loved the sound and wanted to know more about it and where she could get one. Again I gave the short history on the Bowed Psaltery and the website, www.zitherheaven.com I happen to  mention that I will be teaching a beginning class on the Bowed Psaltery in the spring. She was interested in taking the class I handed her a card. Yay, another potential Psalteryist! When I was getting ready to go home, I saw a mother and her kids walking. I think they were waiting for the ferry. I asked Denise, the little girl, if she would like to play my Psaltery. I showed her how to hold the Psaltery and the bow and in minutes she was making some very nice tones. She told me she is learning the guitar. She is teaching herself. Another fellow guitarist. What a great day. I got to ride my Alkaline HyBike, which is now being charged. I got to play my Psaltery in the sunshine and playing next to the water, which is one of my most favorite places to be. I got to drink a great cup of java and talk to other people about this very special instrument. I am starting to feel like a Johnny Appleseed spreading the good Psalms of the Psaltery. The more I play on the baby Psaltery or Rose, my Baritone Psaltery, the more I feel this is a very special journey I am on and enthusiastically open to where this path will lead me.

Come one, Come all to my concert

Mar11

I finally got the PSA (Public Service Announcement) to play on my station, VCAT, Channel 27. I just wanted to share with you all. It is also on YouTube right now. Here it is without any further delay:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4P2ZEdFMMo

CD Cover for Let Their Voice Be Heard

The voices behind the Concert/Benefit

Feb18

I am so excited. I just sent my concert evite to everyone in my email address book. If you are in the Vallejo area, I would love for you to support not only myself, but the rest of the guest singers/musicians participating. Here is the official flyer:

This is the official flyer of the Let Their Voice Be Heard concert!

You can also go to my “Visions Alchemy Visionary Events. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but this is a dream of mine for 10+ years. It is finally manifesting. Part of the concert will have a presentation given by Rita from Loma Vista Farm to educate the community with all the wonderful things Loma Vista Farm has to offer. And because I am so grateful for my brother, Gabe and fellow musicians/singers, Ed Rosenback, Lee Wingfield and his son, Jim Wingfield. I wanted to give you some information on the caliber of talent that is sharing the stage with me:

Ed Rosenback-I have known Ed since 1997 when I started going to the church. He is truly an inspirational  and dynamic singer.  Not only is he a gifted singer, he is an equally talented songwriter and wordsmith. I’m excited to have him as part of the lineup.
 A professional musician since 1963, Ed has performed in a variety of styles and venues with groups in Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Louisiana, with featured performances in Nashville and Las Vegas. He has recorded prolifically, is a Life Member of the Musicians Union, and holds a B.A. degree in Music History, Theory & Composition from San Fransicco State University, an Honorary Doctorate in Metaphysics from the Universal Life Monastery in Seattle, Washington, and was ordained as a Minister of Divine Science by the Dean of the United Divine Science Theological Seminary in 2011. Ed is a veteran performer and singer-songwriter, and is pleased to lend his talents to this most worthy cause.
 
Lee Wingfield-I met Lee when I came to the church and for 3 years we worked together (along with his son Jim ) as the music ministry. Because Lee and my vocal ranges were exactly an octave a part, we created some rich harmonies in our Sunday service arrangements. When I took a sabbatical from the church, he continued to flourish as the music director. 
Lee is the current Music Director for the SOM Church in Vallejo and has been involved in the music program here for about 16 years. He is the author of approximately 35 new thought songs. Also as a satirical literary writer, Lee won the Vallejo Arts Councils writer of the year award in 1998

Jim Wngfield-Jim ia also a talented singer and prolifiic songwriter. He is the kind of musician that can improvise and add musical color to any style of music you  can think of,  when  you come to the concert you will experience this first hand. He along with Ed and Lee are part of the “Free Spirits” music group that plays every Sunday at the Church. There will more to information to follow. He is such a busy musician. I will sit down with him so he can fill me in with his upcoming and current music projects.

Gabriel De Los Santos- Gabriel is my younger brother, but there are times I forget. His very rich and soulful voice will engulf you in his songwriting creations and in the arrangement of Amazing Grace he will sing with me.

If you are not in the area, please let your family and friends who are in the area to help support this wonderful event.

Botticelli Woman Art is getting ready to launch store

Feb14

Botticelli Woman ArtI used a Scrapbook page for this design. I like the feminine color of Pink.

Yes, I am taking the plunge and putting up my newest art work for sale. I started focusing my art on creating 3D images from printing images from

my computer, watercolor art and incorparating fabric pieces too. It will manifest in the forms of greeting hards, wall hangings, book marks etc. I will also be creating more hand painting designs. I am having a great creative burst and taking advantage of this.

I will probably set the price for these 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 for $5 to $10, I will be opening an Etsy shop soon. and there is a store in Benicia where I have been selling my greeting cards. What price would you comfortably pay for this work?

I like the feminine look to this one.

This is actually mounted on a removeable square. I just forgot to remove the thum tack first:)

Thinking outside the box in a different way

Feb5

I hear this phrase , “think outside the box” all the time. So I started thinking, instead of thinking outside the box, why not go inside the box and re-shape it into a shape you like? who says the box is made out of a rigid substance? maybe the box is make of pipe cleaners or clay? It is like being a visionary alchemist. We use things that may not fit in our life and visualize them into something else. Just a thought…

Amy is a happy girl who loves to dress up.

Today I finished my art project for the Humane Society of the North Bay’s Denim and Diamonds Barkitecture fundraiser. What is this. I will go into details in a moment.  The project I created is an 3D  8 X 10 wall hanging . A cat  I named Amy. Amy is wearing a jacket and skirt made of denim to go with the theme. The photo I have included doesn’t really show the 3 dimensions, but it is still cute. My designs will tell me what to name them. Amy was made with watercolor paper,  gold fabric paint, clear rhinestones, 3d scrapbook roses and a touch of decoupage sealant. The frame I got from a thrift store. It was a little weathered, but the frame was well built. I took two coats of Indian Blue acrylic paint and two coats blue glitter paint. I never worked with fabric before or made a jacket or skirt, but for the first time, I am very pleased with her. I really want her to go to a good home.

What is the Barkitecture fundraiser for the Humane Society of the North Bay? It is an annual event in which organizations and individuals build dog houses and cat domicile’s and then they are auctioned off. They also have a silent auction (that is where Amy will be) and people write down their bids. They also have fabulous food and drink.  This is one of the Humane Society’s well attended and successful events, the dream child of the HSNB Director, Peter Wilson. I have known Peter for quite a while. We both met when we worked at Pet Food Express.  If you are in the Vallejo area, please plan on attending. Like I said it is really a lot of fun and a very good cause. For more information go to www.barkitecture.net

Imagination is a powerful thing to waste

Jan29

All creation starts in the imagination.

I woke up this morning with the vision of how to put my current 3D project together.  I have always had a vivid imagination. I identified with the TV character Ally Mc Beal in that way. I didn’t have as much as a romantic nature as Ally, but I could fantasize  just as well. I remember one afternoon, when I was in my pre-teens, I acted out different scenes from the Beatle’s movie Help. I had such a good memory, this was before we had VCRs, TiVo or dvd’s. When I was younger and had trouble sleeping, I would go to the fanstasy world I created. It got to be so vivid that I would really feel I was there. It was comforting. Of course I knew it was only my fantasy, but still when I wanted to escape, I could go to bed and fall asleep. When I started creating my real life experiences, that fantasy life eventually stopped.

When my husband and I decided to get married, we decided that he would move from San Francisco to Vallejo where I was living. I started visualizing a yellow house, living in a quiet, peaceful neighborhood. The house we eventually moved in and started our life together was a yellow house. It came with an organic garden and there were many squirrels, birds, cats. Everyone got along,  just like my vision. We got married in the house and we still live here. For our 4 legged kids, this have been the only home they have lived in. We have lived here St. Patrick’s day 2001.

I love using my imagination. Sonia Choquette says that it is good to have a healthy imagination. She went on to say that if you want validation that imagination is important just look around you, everything in our world was created in the imagination first. Even Einstein said that when he created his most famous equation, it dropped in when he was listening to music.

One of my skills as a Life Coach is to teach my clients how to visualize to bring into their lives, what they want. It is a simple process. The work comes when  a person has to let go of the filters, that keep him or her from becoming their own visionary alchemist changing what they don’t want into what they do want. Sometimes he or she doesn’t even know there is a brain-filter, that keeps them from seeing their clear vision. There is a saying I am going to leave you with “If you can see it, you can believe it, when you believe it, you can achieve it.”

Become a Visionary Alchemist

New Year-New Look

Jan11

This is a new year and I am bubbling over with enthusiasm. I started some good projects and completed them. I have a show on VCAT, Channel 27 in Vallejo, CA, called “The Paw Stops Here”. I met and interviewed some great people and heard some heart warming stories from pet parents. To hear the deep love they have for their non-human kids and the connection they have and understanding they have though they are different species is so life affirming that love is just love, it comes in all forms and the commitment is just the same. I also produced a short film on an organization that goes out into the community and harvests fruit that would other wise go to waste and donate that food to people in the community who wouldn’t have access to good wholesome food. The organization is called Food Rescue. When I interviewed the founders of Food Rescue, Adrienne Waterman and her partner, Jay DeYoung, they had harvested over 5300 lbs. of fruit. Since then it has doubled that amount since October 2011. Here is the link to the short film.

Other projects: I recorded a CD titled “Let Their Voice Be Heard”. The CD’s theme is promoting love, respect and dignity for all beings on the planet, what ever form they are in. I am a big believer in divine guidance. I know that when I am open and focus on the good and beauty in my world, wonderful things and events take place. I joined VCAT to learn about producing my own videos, started producing a show on animals, called “The Paw Stops Here”. I happened to play the technical director the song I wanted to use for the show’s theme song and he asked me if I had enough material for a CD. He happened to be a music producer and had a recording studio in his home! That is how it happened. Now I am planning a concert/fundraiser for my ongoing mission to enlighten and educate humans about the well-being and giving the much deserving respect to animals. Part of the proceeds of the concert goes to raise funds for the venue’s choice of an animal shelter or rescue group.  It is a win-win for all.

These kinds of things is what keeps my heart open and filled with joy and laughter. I love my life with my husband of 10 years, David and our 5 Four-legged kids: Oski 9, Moon 13, Fiona 6 all cats and Reggie 4 and Buster 3 both rabbits. We have a peaceful loving home. People who come to our home often comment on how peaceful and cozy it is. Well, David and I are both artists and we thrive on the loving and child-like creativity that flows throughout our home. It is easy to keep our sense of play when we have our 5 kids playing together, running though the house, creating their forts out of the various boxes and paper bags. They constantly remind us to take time for being present in our surroundings.  It’s a rich, full life.