Native American Art Show & Sale 2012

California artist John Balloue will be featured at the Alamo Native American Art Show and Sale coming May 19th and 20th to theAlamo Women’s Club (1401 Danville Blvd. Alamo).  John’s works have been shown in galleries and museums across the country and have been included in many published illustrations. Inspired by a photograph by John Choate (1848-1902) at the Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, PA., John created “Delegates for Peace,” a painting depicting five Sioux Indian Chiefs from the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. This painting was chosen for the commemorative poster for the world famous Indian Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2001. John was awarded the honor of being named artist of the year by the Indian Arts and Crafts Association and is listed in Who’s Who in the West, Marquis Publication, Providence, New Jersey.

Born in 1948 in Richmond, California, John is the son of a Cherokee father and a mother of English and Irish descent. He is a registered tribal member of the Western Band of Oklahoma Cherokee. After returning home from Vietnam, he attended California State University at Hayward graduating with a B.A. in art in 1975.

Although he began his career painting abstract canvases, he was gradually drawn to creating more realistic paintings that reflect his Native American heritage. “Not being raised on a reservation,” he says, “art is my way of understanding, keeping alive and honoring my Native Ancestors.” After painting in a realistic style for over 30 years, in 2003 he needed to try something new. He began experimenting with color and texture to create a more contemporary look and feel to his work.

“Now my work is more innovative and experimental in nature,” John explains, “Color is the primary means in which the change has occurred. Color is said to be a barometer of emotion and the strong use of color is reflective of a passionate approach to painting. Besides it just looks cool!”

John’s passion for his work and subject matter is evident in all his pieces. Many paintings will be available for sale and viewing at the Alamo Native American Show in May. John is looking forward to meeting the young and old and to share his experiences as a Native American artist.

I’m Playing Words with Friends (By Myself)

Words with Friends (“Words”, “WwF” or “Palabras con Amigos”) the mobile device app, has become insanely popular—so addictively popular that people of every race, religion and species are playing “words” everywhere; at home, while driving, in the gym, at their kids’ sporting events, even at church (I picked up 18 points for the word “heathen” last Sunday). The popularity of WwF was never more evident than when acclaimed thespian, Alec Baldwin, was thrown off an American Airlines flight for failing to turn off his game when asked to do so by a flight attendant. As popular as Words with Friends has become, we all do realize it’s just the game Scrabble played alone right? It’s Scrabble played on your phone or iPad or laptop, but it’s still Scrabble. The biggest difference between Words and Scrabble is that Words is played in cyberspace with supposed acquaintances while Scrabble is a board game played with actual friends who gather together to engage in communication, camaraderie and the consumption of Doritos or M&M’s.

While apps and online games have replaced the need to actually interact with real live people, once you’re engaged in a desolate and lonely game of WwF, it’s hard not to be competitive. Let’s hypothetically say someone, who will remain nameless, plays the word “conquistador” for a triple letter, double word, quadruple back flip for a total of 324 points, I, because of my poor draw of letters, can only play the word “dot” off her “o” for a whopping seven points. See, it’s still Scrabble, but now, as the popular 70’s singer Leo Sayer sang, I play “All By Myself.” For the purpose of this article, I am currently engaged in a game of Words with Friends with my wife, Julie, who is obviously not so nameless anymore. While most people might think my twenty-year career as a brilliant word crafting writer would give me an unfair advantage, those same people might also be surprised to learn I have never beaten the woman at this game of chance. However, as I organize my thoughts for this article, I will also be utilizing the Thesaurus of my brain to, once and for all, annihilate my competition in this Scrabble-like game.

Words with Friends, while highly entertaining, is just another example of our lone wolf society. When you have your phone or iPad, who needs actual friends? Our children have been playing computer games by themselves since they emerged from the womb. Nintendo DS was a favorite of our girls when we embarked on a road trip, when they tired of television, when they went to the bathroom or when they simply desired some down time. While the games do greatly enhance their hand/eye dexterity, it left them with thumbs the size of a corn dogs. Nintendo transcended into Play Station and Play Station eventually found its way to the bottom of a dresser drawer with the emergence of Wii. Fortunately, Wii did encourage some social interaction with family and friends, however once it was determined that Wii could also be played alone, my wife became a Wii widow. Speaking of my wife, she just played Quoz for 589 points. In what language is Quoz, a word? Bequoz I think she’s cheating.

Back in the day, the neighborhood kids (Clifford, Terry, Felicia and Angela) and I would gather together on a rainy day in Cliff’s sunroom to play board games for hours on end. When you’re a “gamer” or “board playa” in kindergarten, the games we rocked included Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land and Hungry Hungry Hippos. Granted, we did live a little fast in those early days. Games become much more interesting when you’ve got something riding on them. Not money of course, because a six-year old can’t really get his hands on cash, no instead we would stake a game with Oreo, Chips Ahoy! or Nutter Butter cookies. Playing board games was a chance to develop our social skills, which was crucial to our adolescent development. I recently read about an eight-year old child in Florida who proclaimed her best friend was her Droid cell phone.

As my underground game gang matured into our tweens, our board games of choice naturally evolved along with us. Me and the boys (Jeff, Derek, Troy, Luis and Mark) moved our high stakes games into the backyard fort at Jeff’s house. It was really his older brother’s fort, but he allowed us to rent it for $2.00 an hour because he had taken up heat lamp gardening. Chris became quite the businessman selling his extremely popular and odiferous plants to the neighborhood teenagers. Games such as Clue, Masterpiece, Life and Yahtzee were now our thrill of choice. Of course the stakes also matured and the grift became items such as firecrackers, cassette tapes and Playboy magazines (“for the articles”). Our conversations also moved away from topics such as cartoons to sports, girls and girl sports. Julie just played “dominatrix.” Let’s see, with her three double boggy letter and four triple word squares she just scored 713 points. Fortunately for me, I was able to follow that weak play with the word “dirt” capitalizing on her “t” for a nifty 11 points.

Perhaps the Godfather of all board games is Monopoly. Monopoly, a game of high stakes real estate, requires a player to exhibit guts, strategy, negotiation and a knack for getting out of jail free. Monopoly marathons in college were commonplace. Often following a wicked fun night of partying, we would commence a rousing game of Monopoly at the FRAT house around 2:00 a.m. and go until dawn. Assuming we could convince a few Sigma Chi little sisters to join us, the stakes became clothes and it was mandatory to down a shot of Jäger every time someone passed GO and collected $200. Oddly, I remember losing my pants when I landed on Park Place one too many times, but I was usually the last one to lose my dignity. Of course, there was more to the game than alcohol consumption and naughty voyeurism. There was deep, meaningful dialog on topics such as Reagan-ism, the Magic Johnson versus Larry Bird rivalry and of course, MTV’s hair band rotation. Julie played on my word “dirt” and her word “dominatrix” and scored 666.5 points in two different directions with the seldom-used word, “ambidextrous.” I strategically countered with the word “farter” using six letters for a total of five points. How did that happen? Score – Julie 1,594 points and Mike 26.

I’m not saying that there aren’t positive aspects of a game such as Words with Friends (or Mobile Scrabble as I like to call it) which does require that the participants utilize their brains far more than say Brick Breaker or Bejeweled, but my question is where does it stop? Will our children’s children eventually engage in youth sports online instead of actually going to a park or field to participate in a game of soccer, softball or lacrosse? Will virtual swimming take the place of swim team? My fear is that our society will become a bastion of overweight, socially inept computer hackers that’s can’t communicate in the real world. We’ve got to force ourselves to promote meaningful interpersonal interaction and it might start with a hard copy board game Darn it, Julie just played the word “gortex” for 214 points and I’m left with five “U” letters, a “Q” and a “Y.” I quit this stupid game and am going to the closet to find Apples to Apples, Balderdash or Sequence. Hey kids, “Daddy’s done working and it has just become Family Game Night. Tell mom to “put down her iPad and join the fun.”

Spring Cleaning—Inside and Out

Okay, am I the only one, or do you too sometimes struggle with letting go of old possessions? Oi vey…I’ve lived in my home for 27 years and have managed to acquire a whole lot of “stuff.” Although I regularly donate and recycle items, it is an ongoing process to downsize possessions and clear old clutter. Whew!

Now, the great thing about this time of the year is that we have an opportunity to do some Spring Cleaning. Yep, there’s something in the air that gives many of us energy to “spring” into action and assess the things that physically inhabit our homes.

Did you know that there is another type of Spring Cleaning beyond the physical? Yep, I call it emotional Spring Cleaning. Emotional Spring Cleaning is what I often do with clients in my private practice—year round. I ask the ones who are seeking tools for stress relief or weight loss, “What are you carrying in your life that feels like a burden?”

Then, our work consists of hoisting the burdens off the client’s shoulders, and onto the floor between us. We metaphorically let the burdens gently spill onto the floor allowing each one to receive some light. From this higher perspective…we now let the “lightening-up” process begin.

We sit patiently together, identifying, sorting, and clarifying what each burden represents in his or her life. “Paths not taken,” is a recurring topic of discussion. Sometimes, even when outwardly a person’s life looks rich and fulfilling, inwardly he or she may be experiencing a sense of emptiness…a proverbial hole in the soul.

Guilt, shame, and regret are commonly uncovered during this inquiry process. For example, painful feelings due to:

  • Unrequited love
  •  Job challenges
  • Self neglect

In addition, many clients are carrying emotional burdens for other people—burdens over which they have no control or any power to change. The recently Oscar-nominated German documentary feature film Pina depicts several examples of “burdensome challenges” expressed as dance.

One surrealistic scene shows a woman struggling while carrying a man (dressed in black) on her back. This poignant piece is an excellent literal depiction of “carrying another” or another’s burdens. We watch the woman struggling to move forward, teetering from the weight of the man on her back, as she attempts to walk barefoot across a sandy beach. This unique (and quirky) 3D film, shares snippets of dancer/choreographer Philippina “Pina” Bausch’s colorful life and her fascinating personal perspective on a variety…of joyful and challenging life issues.

For the challenging life issues that are referred to me by doctors and other health-care professionals, I offer numerous tools, including hypnotherapy. The tools I share often assist in lightening emotional loads. The good news is, I see a recurring gift that many clients receive after they’ve gone through this process of sorting through their burdens with me. Once a layer of the emotional Spring Cleaning is complete and they have clarified and compassionately addressed burdens that are not appropriately theirs to bear — a clearing appears. After they’ve created some emotional space and added breathing room, they then have an opportunity to invite more balance into their lives today.

This empowering process can be a great way for each of us to update our “internal environment” and continually address burdens we have no control over. When we dive in to release and renew both physically as well as emotionally, we are honoring who we are in this precious moment—mind, body, and spirit. Finally, from this recharged place we can declare that indeed we’ve accomplished another year of Spring Cleaning…inwardly and outwardly!

To receive Trina’s FREE newsletter “Transformational Tips for Mindful Living,” sign-up on her website: www.TrinaSwerdlow.com
Trina Swerdlow, BFA, CCHT, is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, an artist, and the author of the 2-CD set, Weight Loss: Powerful & Easy-to-Use Tools for Releasing Excess Weight.
She is the author and illustrator of Stress Reduction Journal: Meditate and Journal Your Way to Better Health. Trina has a private practice in downtown Danville. She soulfully shares her creative approach to personal growth and passionately supports her clients in reaching their goals. You can reach her at: (925) 285.5759, or info@TrinaSwerdlow.com
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Certified Clinical Hypnotherapy services in California can be alternative or complementary to licensed healing arts, such as psychotherapy.

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