Stephanie's Studio

L is for Liminal liminal adjective    lim·i·nal  \ˈli-mə-n ə l\ p 30% of words Definition of  liminal 1 :   of or relating to a sensory threshold 2 :   barely perceptible 3 :   of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition  :    in-between ,  transitional <in the  liminal  state between life and death — Deborah Jowitt I like to pursue new ideas, when the day and my mind are very fresh and malleable. Going from a restful sleep to awaking in the morning have been the times I've done some of my best work. In fact, those hours are my favorite times for doing yoga and exercise, as well. I find this liminal or transitional state as an area that is not fully set or settled. I've said what it's not but I can easily say what it is: fruitful. In a liminal, early morning state, I am awake but still open to my dreams states. This odd time is conducive to creativity a...

Theme Reveal As a writer, I tend to avoid the exclamation point, as a matter of style and form. My theme for the Blogging from A to Z  April (2015) Challenge however, re-images and embraces it. Each day, I will blog about points of wonder, joy, excitement, celebration and yes, things that deserve an exclamation point. During the month of April, join me for uplifting, inspirational Exclamation Point blog posts. Back Story What is the A to Z April Challenge, you may be asking, if you're  new to this blog? Each year bloggers are asked to dig deep into their reservoir of ideas, challenging themselves to blog in a marathon event. The challenge is three fold. (1) We are asked to blog every day, apart from Sunday for the month of April. (2) The posts must progress alphabetically. (3) We are encouraged to visit and comment on between 5 and 10 participating blogger's blogs per day. Gratitude Many people go behind the scenes of making this project a s...

For a while now, I have been blogging about voice. I recently shared a post here, called  Speaking Your Truth . During the A to Z blogger's challenge I also wrote a post called  Saying No to Being a Yes Woman . As a writer, I play around with POV (point of view) in my novels. There are many POV's in "No Barren Life"  I am currently working with switching from the protagonist's voice to the antagonist's perspective in the novel about sirens and a blues singer called "Out of the Blue." Oh how I am struggling with that one. To go from a light, well meaning character to a very dark evil one, reflecting their intentions and voices with equal stature is very challenging. More on that as it develops. Voice and making decisions plays a huge role in my daily life, as it does for just about everyone. In art, writing and daily life, I have a tendency to be very open. Sometimes I over reach set goals, in my desire for openness and experimentation. Openness inc...

A major running theme in my posts has been transition recently. I was delighted to find that our topic for the month over at  Creative Every Day  is Transitions. Creative Every Day is a year long challenge, to do as the title says--create daily. Creativity is given a wide birth--it can be writing, visual art, cooking, crafts--whatever it is you consider creative. I have found much food for the soul through that challenge over the years I have participated. I greatly appreciate the people that come forward to comment on my blog from that website. We support one another in whatever way works best for us, often that includes commenting on each other's blogs and even joining them as followers. Transition can seem beautiful and often it is in the end. However, getting to the new state, going through metamorphosis and change, can be ugly and painful. As many of you know, I have been transitioning from working full time for others to working for myself as a freelance writer and...