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March 10th, 2010
by Seyi
Remember Monday when I wrote about my “dream job” being posted, finally???
While the deadline is only next Sunday, I still haven’t applied for it.
I just need to change a couple things on my cover letter and send it off, but I haven’t done it yet
………. I have it in my head that my only chance is if no one else applies for it.
Which is quite possible (I know one other applicant but she’ll not be eligible based on her
current position being a level too low) but it’s also possible that there will be 5-10 other applicants.
No word on the other position, I was told interviews would be in a few weeks.
Ideally, I’d find out before interview #1 who will have applied for job #2.
Because I am having big doubts whether I want to undertake the responsibilities of job #1 now…
On paper, the 2 are quite different too…
Job 1 (3 other people applied for):
4 possibly 5 employees to supervise
40 hours/week, Monday to Friday (I assume 8-5)
30 minute drive North, mostly highway
starting around $52,000/year
All benefits right away (including dental, vision and pension that I don’t have yet)
No possibility of any transfers for 2 years as job is highest level
Job 2 (closing in 1 week only):
not really anyone to supervise… just a term employee to replace me when I’m not there
40 hours/week, Monday to Saturday and a weird 1h45 minute break mid day and
ALL Saturday mornings20 minute drive South, mostly highway
starting around $43,000/year
All benefits right away (including dental, vision and pension that I don’t have yet)
Possibility of applying for something else anytime, if it’s a higher position
(this position is only 1 level higher than my current one now)
And if I don’t get either, this is what I have right now:
Current job:
No one to supervise (basically no stress)
Guaranteed 5 hours per week only (averaged 29 hrs/week in 2009)
Can be called as early as 6:30 am to fill in for anyone who’s sick, so temp-like in a way
8 minute drive SouthCan expect about $20,000-$35,000/year
Currently have medical coverage (includes prescriptions, massage therapy, chiro, etc).
Will be available for pension (based on my actual earnings) on November 9, 2010
Can apply for anything and everything as I’m at the lowest level
Huge benefit: LOTS of free time!
I’d like to fast-forward 3 months from now when both interviews will be done and
the dust will have settled. I can’t take the stress of the unknown!!
If I had to choose, based on the list above, I’d go for #2 for sure… but something tells me
I’m going to be greatly disappointed… but they can’t ever take away my current position from me,
that’s mine until the day I retire or the position is abolished
(at which time I hope my years of seniority will save me).
Ironically, the job that was 2.25 hours away has already opened… so they are looking for
candidates there too……. that one’s basically the same as job #1 in terms of responsibilities
and salary, but it’s far away so I’ve already made my decision about not applying over a month ago.
I have to tell myself that
if I’m successful at job #1 I should take it because I’m going to be “black listed”
if I turn it down. (I had this crazy idea of giving less than my 100% at the interview…
but I know this can come back to haunt me… especially with interview for job #2 soon after)
I should be ready and fully expect job #2 having many applicants as
I’m sure if it’s my ideal position, it has to be someone else’s.
I’m totally OK with staying as is, and there will possibly be a couple more openings
within the next year (if I tell myself this over and over and over again I’ll believe it  )
March 9th, 2010
by Seyi
I just found out about Natalie Perkins, who has an LJ, but is way more active over on her blog at Definatalie.com.
She is fancy, and smart and wonderful… and I always really enjoy reading what she writes.
She’s having a not-so-awesome-time right now, but even through that she
still manages to inspire me… and today she had the following quote from the fabulous Margaret Cho.
I think Margaret Cho says some really meaningful things, and a lot of them have really stuck with me…
and this was no different, so i wanted to jot it down here.
Maybe some of you will love it too?
“And I have a lot of self-esteem, which is amazing, because I’m probably somebody who wouldn’t
necessarily have a lot of self esteem, as I am considered a minority.
And if you are a woman; if you are a person of color; if you are gay, lesbian,
bisexual, transgender; if you are a person of size; if you are person of intelligence;
if you are a person of integrity, then YOU are considered a minority in this world.
And it’s going to be really hard to find messages of self-love and support anywhere,
especially women’s and gay men’s culture.
It’s all about how you have to look a certain way, or else you’re worthless.
You know, when you look in the mirror and think, “Ugh, I’m so ugly, I’m so fat, I’m so old.”
Don’t you know that’s not your authentic self?
That is billions upon billions of dollars of advertising:
Magazines, movies, billboards, all geared to make you feel shitty about yourself,
so that you will take your hard-earned money, and spend it at the mall on
some turn-around creme that doesn’t turn around shit.
If you don’t have self-esteem, you will hesitate before you do anything in your life.
You will hesitate to go for the job you want to go for. You will hesitate to ask for a raise.
You will hesitate to call yourself an American. You will hesitate to report a rape.
You will hesitate to defend yourself when you are discriminated against because of your race,
your sexuality, your size, your gender. You will hesitate to vote. You will hesitate to dream.
For us to have self-esteem is truly an act of revolution, and our revolution is long overdue.
I urge you all today, especially today in these times of terrorism and chaos, to love yourselves without
reservation and to love each other without restraint.
Unless you’re into leather, then by all means, use restraints. Thank you.”
i want to love everyone (including me) without restraint. how beautiful would that be?
March 8th, 2010
by Seyi
Conversational Hypnosis is an art largely made up of the language you use.
As a hypnotist you must learn to bypass the critical factor using a set of Stealth Tactics in order to enter peoples minds.
Stealth Tactics are very helpful in the field of conversational hypnosis in this manner.
Once you learn how to use them you will be able to deal with your subjects in a way
that you have never experienced before.
Stealth Tactics are simply a way to do one of two things; get into the mind unnoticed by your listener
or complicate them to the point of allowed entry.
You really want to learn how to mask what you are doing in order to enter the mind
and leave your suggestions.
This takes a fine skill as it means you must bypass the critical
factor and defeat resistance.
While it is important to know how to sneak in bypassing all resistance.
Now you need to learn how to go beyond that. You must learn how to use resistance in a way
that is helpful to you as the hypnotist.
Believe it or not, resistance can actually help you to get where you need to be inside the
mind to carry out your purpose.
The Law of Reversed Effect is very useful tool however it can also create problems
in your hypnotic relationship. It can really bring out the worst relationship in a hypnotist
and subject when used too often or in the wrong way.
The problem with this tool is it puts your listener in a combative frame of mind.
It becomes a question of you versus them and can be damaging to the self esteem.
Lets face it no one likes to be controlled by someone else, it makes them feel weak and can
ultimately give a person a poor psychological frame to continue to grow from.
As people we feel we need to have control of our lives, if we dont we start to overcompensate
with feelings of low self esteem and destructive behaviors in our relationships and with ourselves.
The bottom line is the more a person feels out of control the more they
will fight to take that control back.
When they put this instinct into motion the Law of Reversed
Effect happens and they will fail causing more damage and hardship to the self esteem
There is a solution to this and it is not to abandon all you just learned about the Law of Reversed Effect!
The best way to combat this problem is to use the resistance you are stealing from them to
uplift the persons self esteem. The idea is to build on your rapport at the same time you are
sneaking your suggestions in.
Use your tools and skills to get the person to like you more, give them a feeling of control
back in their life.
The best way to do this is by redirecting resistance.
Redirecting resistance is very simple in the idea of it. It is to purposely give a person something
to resist that will fail.
This will give them the feeling of power back, they were not at the mercy of
all outside influence and they defeated some external suggestion making them in control of something.
A good example of this would be if you were a real estate agent and you have a client
that wants to buy a house. He has found the house he wants but is still having some second thoughts,
he hasnt quite signed on the dotted line just yet.
As a fantastic real estate agent you give him many options to consider when purchasing a house,
one of which being a variety of upgrades.
After hearing about the upgrades, new kitchen tile, fireplace so on and so forth.
Next thing you know he decides on no upgrades but he buys the house.
Now here you have redirected the resistance. You have given your client something to resist other than
the suggestion you initially wanted to take place. Your desired outcome was for the man to buy the house.
As he was having resistance to that you gave him the upgrades to resist. It really doesnt matter to you if
he upgrades his fireplace just that he buys the house.
The beautiful thing here is you both win. The person resisting feels as if they have regained control
of their life again and you get to slip in the suggestion with little to no resistance.
Redirecting resistance is solely about finding the things people will be able to resist
instead of your original purpose.
As the conscious mind focuses on the idea of resisting your new idea the old one
goes in unnoticed and usually becomes valid.
When you do this, you can do this as well. By accepting the invitation to resist the second part of the
statement you are automatically making the first part true.
There are thousands of ways to use this principal, and it will be combined with all the other
principals you are learning in order to create a whole.
As a Stealth Tactic redirecting resistance is very powerful and will be an awesome
skill to store in your toolbox, especially when it is combined with other stealth tactics.
The next Stealth Tactic that we will cover here is that of refocusing attention.
The concept here is to make a suggestion and implant it and then refocus their attention elsewhere.
This principal is similar to seeding ideas but creates a more powerful effect.
In refocusing attention you will plant the seed in their mind then before it is
noticed you will focus attention on something other than resisting the original idea.
The power in this tactic is that the original idea will go unnoticed and start to grow as
you focus the person elsewhere.
The key is to refocus the attention before the critical factor
gets a hold of it and starts to criticize it.
When you put this skill into action you will drop in the suggestion and
refocus the attention repeatedly.
Suggest, refocus, suggest original idea, refocus and so on and so forth.
If there is no conscious information coming from them then the suggestion will have the
time it needs to grow within without time for resistance.
Eventually it will appear to them as their own idea and people tend to
agree with ideas they think are their own.
An example of how this works is if you were having a conversation with a friend and
they suggest an idea or make a statement in passing.
The statement is only a small part of a much larger conversation but it is still there.
Then maybe 5 months down the road you are having a similar conversation and you state the idea as your own.
You may not even know the idea came from your friend because you were not focused on the
statement itself you were focused on the entire conversation that was taking place.
You see here how this one layer effect of refocusing attention can be powerful and
has probably happened to you at one time or another.
Now think about the same idea but in layers of five, six or seven layers of different topics,
much, much more powerful. This idea of layering creates an overload of information to the
point of lack in ability to keep and focus on the original idea.
There are ways of distracting attention that will make this tactic even easier.
The first way to do this is to simply change the topic, a new set of information to focus on.
You can also confuse them. This will focus them on trying to decipher what you have said and again
focus will be distracted.
Another way to distract attention is to overload the person with details and facts.
An overload of information will cause their conscious to focus on finding a place for all the details
you are giving them, when really these details are probably unimportant.
Now it is very important to remember to use repetition in this process. On the other hand, it is also equally important not to come back to the idea so often that they figure out on a conscious level what you are up to.
There are degrees with which you must alter your repetitions. If you are working with a very sharp
minded individual you will need to repeat less and mask your suggestion more.
The opposite happens for the simpler minded; you will need more repetitions
and can make your suggestion in more blatant statements.
March 6th, 2010
by Seyi
It is absolutely amazing what a little (or a lot) of self-esteem can do for a person.
In fact, self esteem can pretty much make or break you. You see, we are all in control of our
self-esteem and how we see ourselves. So, if you’re a person that has low self-esteem and you see the
world as a place that brings you bad luck, illness, or other misfortune then you are in essence contributing to your low feelings.
On the other hand, if you are a person with high self esteem, you focus on the positive
and build yourself, then you will not experience much misfortune and will be better able to cope
with those low feelings if they resurface.
So, stop focusing on the negative and surround yourself with positive people and watch success manifest.
Sometimes it is hard to believe that you have the power to boost your self-esteem.
However, if you work towards improving your self esteem, your life will change for the better.
Just remember that it doesn’t matter what others think or what they say about you. Instead, focus on
feeling good about you and know that you are here for a reason.
Also, you control what kind of person you are and what you can accomplish. You are in control of your destiny!
To instill this in your head and heart, use positive affirmations every single day.
All day long you should tell yourself “I am worthy. I have a purpose. I believe in myself.
I can and will accomplish my goals and overcome obstacles. I am strong. I am courageous.”
This trick alone will boost your self-esteem immensely.
When you recite your positive affirmations, get into them. Feel the power.
To begin, look at yourself in the mirror and repeat your affirmations with a smile.
This will instill the words deep into your psyche and will cause a positive reaction in the universe.
By keeping a positive mental attitude and your head up, you will become stronger and more focused.
Then, no matter what life throws at you, you’ll have the courage to succeed because you know that
this too shall pass and is not a reflection of you as a person. It is a mere condition.
Here are some additional tips to build your self-esteem:
1. Think of self-esteem as building block to success. Start from the inside out.
Keep a positive mental attitude at all times. See yourself as a person with high self-esteem.
Stay content and happy and pay these positive feelings forward. That is, always try to compliment others
and see the best in others. By concentrating on others, you’ll also learn to see the good in you.
2.Be appreciative of what you have. Be thankful for small blessings. Take time out to enjoy the gift of life
and never take it for granted. In no time at all, you will feel better about yourself and you will notice
that you can handle things more smoothly.
3. Know that you can and will improve your self-esteem with a bit of effort.
Just like Rome wasn’t built in a day, it will take some time to eliminate negativity and see yourself
in a more positive light. The key is to just keep trudging along and evolving every day.
4.Don’t focus on the past. Instead concentrate on the future. It is very important not to dwell on the past.
Instead concentrate on how you plan to make a change today. After all, everyone makes mistakes,
but it is those that move on that are most successful.
In conclusion, improving your self-esteem can be done. You have the power to change yourself for the better.
By believing in you, you can move mountains. You can build and sustain a strong foundation.
You can make a difference in the world. One step at a time.
March 5th, 2010
by Seyi
As you recognize and use your gifts, you develop a better self-image,
higher energy, and increased good humor.
Part of developing self-esteem is making a commitment to yourself not to try to please the world.
If you wish to live out your giftedness and become strong — strong enough to take you from
exhaustion to emotional health — then it’s critical that you make the time to learn and adopt
the vital skills of a person with healthy self-esteem
8 TRAITS OF THOSE WITH HEALTHY SELF-ESTEEM
1.They live with an attitude of humility. When our gifts and talents are discovered by others,
our self-esteem immediately feels the positive thrust of that affirmation.
2.They speak the truth as they see it, without fear of rejection and with no intent to harm others.
Speaking the truth lovingly is not dependent on whether the recipient is able to hear it. It is never part of our life’s assignment to mind other people’s business.
3. They know how to separate feelings from the message being delivered.
Those with good levels of self-appreciation will find it progressively easier to separate
emotions from the content of another’s communication and will recognize the importance of differentiating
between the two in their own communications.
4. They recognize the role that emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt play in people’s lives.
They no longer take their anger, fear, or guilt at face value but instead learn to look beneath
the surface to determine the reason for and source of those emotions.
5. They don’t simply follow the followers. It’s like the timekeeper setting his watch by the clock
in a jeweler’s window so that he can blow the lunch whistle exactly at noon, only to find out that the jeweler was setting his clock by the timekeeper’s noon whistle.
This is another example of followers following followers.
6. They look for reasons to release others and believe in the ability of others to make decisions.
We can help those we love by believing in their abilities and encouraging them to use their gifts.
Persons who have healthy self-esteem themselves are better able to respect and appreciate the
abilities and skills of others.
7. They are accountable in word and deed for what they say and do. Can people count on us when we say
we’re going to do something? When we make a promise do we do our best to keep it?
Becoming strong again means taking full responsibility for our actions, which quickly builds self-esteem.
8.They know the past is the past and the present is the present.
They recognize that to be emotionally healthy they must move from victim to victor.
The strong person with a growing self-esteem is the one who refuses to let the past
control what happens today.
Rather than chasing temporary emotional rewards by playing games with the truth,
you can learn to stand up for what you believe, speak the truth in love, live through the stormy times
with energy and joy, and little by little rewrite your life script.
March 4th, 2010
by Seyi
Memo to that Massachusetts school where children in physical education classes
jump rope without using ropes: Get some ropes. And you — you are about 85 percent of all parents —
who are constantly telling your children how intelligent they are: Do your children a favor and pipe down.
These are nuggets from “NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children”
by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.
It is another book to torment modern parents who are determined to bring to
bear on their offspring the accumulated science of child-rearing.
Modern parents want to nurture so skillfully that Mother Nature will gasp in admiration
at the marvels their parenting produces from the soft clay of children.
Those Massachusetts children are jumping rope without ropes because of a self-esteem obsession.
The assumption is that thinking highly of oneself is a prerequisite for high achievement.
That is why some children’s soccer teams stopped counting goals
(think of the damaged psyches of children who rarely scored) and shower trophies on everyone.
No child at that Massachusetts school suffers damaged self-esteem by tripping on the jump rope.
But the theory that praise, self-esteem and accomplishment increase in tandem is false.
Children incessantly praised for their intelligence (often by parents who are really praising themselves)
often underrate the importance of effort.
Children who open their lunchboxes and find mothers’handwritten notes telling them how amazingly
bright they are tend to falter when they encounter academic difficulties.
Also, Bronson and Merryman say that overpraised children are prone to cheating because they
have not developed strategies for coping with failure.
“We put our children in high-pressure environments,” Bronson and Merryman write,
“seeking out the best schools we can find, then we use the constant praise to soften the intensity of those environments.” But children excessively praised for their intelligence become risk averse in order
to preserve their reputations. Instead, Bronson and Merryman say, praise effort
(“I like how you keep trying”): It is a variable children can control.
They often cannot control cars. In 1999, a Johns Hopkins University study of some school districts that abolished driver’s education courses experienced a 27 percent decrease in auto accidents among 16- and 17-year-olds. Odd.
Not really. Bronson and Merryman say driver’s ed teaches the rules of the road and mechanics of driving,
but teenagers are in fatal crashes at twice the rate of other drivers because of poor decisions,
not poor skills.
The wiring in the frontal lobe of the teenage brain is not fully formed.
Driver’s ed courses make getting a license easy, thereby increasing the supply of young drivers who
actually have holes in their heads.
Their unfinished heads should spend more time on pillows. Only 5 percent of high school seniors
get eight hours of sleep a night. Children get a hour less than they did 30 years ago,
which subtracts IQ points and adds body weight.
Until age 21, the circuitry of a child’s brain is being completed. Bronson and Merryman report research
on grade schoolers showing that “the performance gap caused by an hour’s difference in sleep was
bigger than the gap between a normal fourth-grader and a normal sixth-grader.”
In high school there is a steep decline in sleep hours, and a striking correlation of sleep and grades.
March 3rd, 2010
by Seyi
A Staten Island mom who underwent bosom-boosting surgery got far more than she bargained for -
“essentially four breasts,” her lawyer claimed yesterday.
The 2003 augmentation operation and subsequent procedures left Maria Alaimo, now 47, with
“double-bubble” deformities that caused “pain…disability, loss of self-esteem, humiliation and
embarrassment,” according to a lawsuit she filed.
It also contributed to the end of the mother of two’s marriage, her lawyer Michael Kuharski
told the Staten Island Advance.
Alaimo, who started out wanting only a pair of full 36 C cups, now is suing Dr. Keith Berman
of Staten Island for $5 million in damages.
Opening arguments in a civil trial were made in Staten Island Supreme Court yesterday.
Jurors were told Alaimo found Berman through an online ad and paid him $7,000 cash for the surgery.
Post-op photos show heavy scars on Alaimo’s breasts, which appear flattened on the bottom
with severe swells the size of a softball on top.
Kuharski called the “double-bubble” deformities “horrendous.”
Berman testified he fully warned Alaimo about the potential risks of the surgery,
but Kuharski told jurors the doctor was concerned only with collecting his fee.
March 2nd, 2010
by Seyi
Hi all,
I cam across this interesting blog post, and thought it was worth sharing.
Today I want to talk about self-esteem. How is your self-esteem and how do you feel about yourself?
During my many years of being married to my ex, he continually chipped at my self esteem.
Some days he wasn’t so bad, but there were other days that he always had something to say about me
that wasn’t very nice. I went through periods of time thinking that I didn’t make him happy because it
was something that I should have done or could have changed about what I did.
At the beginning of our marriage, if he hurt my feelings he would apologize and try to make things better,
but as time went on, and he started with his cheating on me with other women, he would say things to hurt me,
but then would not care about what I felt.
I was left to deal with his hurt all alone and I would look back at myself and think about what I could do
to make our marriage better. I wanted him to love me, and I didn’t know how to make the hurt go away.
With time many couples let themselves go to some degree and I thought that with my having our daughter
and then trying to take care of our household, the taxes, his business and my working that it may have
caused him to see me in a different way, however, to be at all fair about this, I have to say that LIFE must go on….the bills getting paid, taking care of children, working and such is something that I HAD to do…
regardless of how he felt.
What I didn’t know at that time, was he was actually seeing someone else and was just picking on
me so that he could get an easy way out of the house to go and see her without my wondering why he left.
Self esteem is something that you need to keep hold on tight of because without feeling good about yourself,
you start having the feeling of not caring about things and feeling as though you are not worth it….
but honestly, YOU ARE VALUABLE AND YOU MEAN SOMETHING….. please take care of yourself if you are
experiencing going through these feelings.
Find someone to talk to that can show you that you don’t have to feel bad about yourself.
It’s not always something that YOU do, because marriage is made up of 2 people, not 3. ……
and if both of you want to work out a marriage you will do it TOGETHER!
Posted by Debbie
February 28th, 2010
by Seyi
Here are some symptoms of low self-esteem in teenagers:
• sleeping all the time, lack of energy and motivation
• sudden drop in grades or interest in academics
• neglecting their personal appearance
• slurred speech
• skipping meals or binge eating, leading to sudden weight loss or weight gain
Low self-esteem is unfortunately pretty common in teenagers. There are a lot of physical, emotional and
mental changes and sometimes it is overwhelming.
Changes in their bodies and their own inability to control their emotions can make a teen feel
confused and scared.
The urge to fit in with their peers is very strong, and any perceived rejection by friends or
classmates could lead to low self-esteem.
So, what’s the solution?
Different activities like sport, workshops can help them to get focused and pay attention to something else rather than their “problems”.
They have to do something they enjoy doing. If they like painting encourage them to paint, if they actively involved in any kind of sport activity support them to be better at it. They have so much energy,
they just have to guide it into the right direction.
Low self-esteem in teenagers is not a disease. It’s just their response to the overwhelming tasks, o
bligations and their willingness to fit in to the group or team.
Team building activities for teens that are less competitive are a way to encourage personal growth
and social skills in a safe and non-judgmental setting. This is a good practice not only for shy teens or those
with low self-esteem,but for overly confident and overbearing teens who can benefit from an atmosphere where
the focus is on cooperation and team building.
February 26th, 2010
by Seyi
Ask a dozen artists what their creations mean to them and you’d probably get a dozen different answers.
But to a group of Boulder women who paint and draw together for a few hours each week,
their creations are motivated by one common bond: their art is an escape from homelessness.
On any given Wednesday, the Carriage House Community Table, which provides daytime shelter and food
for the city’s homeless community, provides two hours of artistic instruction to women.
The work is part emotional outlet and part self-esteem building.
“Sometimes, it’s difficult for people to express themselves verbally,” said Joy Eckstine, executive director of the Carriage House. “This is an outlet for people. When people are feeling so down about themselves, I think it can help them start rebuilding some of their self confidence.”
About three years ago, Eckstine noticed the propensity for art that so many of the people using the shelter had.
Some of her clients left art as thanks for a hand up, while others simply displayed a natural knack for creativity.
So Eckstine partnered with Susan Stephens, a Boulder artist who has since volunteered her time at the shelter.
“Sometimes,” Stephens said, “you find an extraordinary talent” in someone.
Stephens provides cost-effective materials, like water colors, charcoal and pencils. While she’s a professional artist, she doesn’t ask the women who participate to take on any one style or
Brooke Blinebry, who used to live on the streets and now has a home in Nederland, draws with chalk during art class at the Boulder Carriage House. Art provides an outlet for expression and emotion, while helping build the homeless women s self esteem. ( CLIFF GRASSMICK )technique.
“I get them comfortable with the medium,” she said.
She provides artistic direction only when asked, or sketches out designs for those who are
“reluctant to attack a plain paper.”
The work is also about self expression, releasing emotions and creating a sense of accomplishment and escape for the women — any of whom don’t know where they’ll sleep later that night.
One picture hanging on the walls of the shelter, a self portrait of the artist, features a woman’s face with a single red tear creeping down her cheek.
“She’s expressing her past abuse in art,” Stephens said of the artist. “It’s a way to bring (feelings) out without having to do therapy.”
The group attracts women with an array of backgrounds. Some are what the city would classify as being temporarily homeless, while others have been on the streets for years and are considered chronically homeless.
At age 57, Terri Sternberg has been without a place to live for just more than a year. A classical violinist by trade, she lost her job and then her home in Longmont. She’s since become an activist for the homeless and
taken to the art classes like a fish to water.
“My father was an artist,” she said. “I remember being 3 years old and sitting next to him looking through art books.”
Now, she said she finds comfort and release retracing those roots.
She’s especially taken to electronic art, creating dozens of computer-assisted paintings using programs
These are some of the works created by homeless women as part of an art program offered at the
Boulder Carriage House. For the second year, the women s art will be on display and for sale druing a special exhibition at the Boulder Arts & Crafts Gallery, opening next month.
( CLIFF GRASSMICK )at the Carriage House and the Boulder Public Library.
Thumbing through a stack of her pictures, Sternberg stopped on one image that showed a house.
“Not having a house, I guess this is a good way of pretending this could be my room,” she said.
She said that when she was losing her home, she’d often end her days grappling with strong emotions
of sadness or anger. Art, she said, has helped temper the pain.
“It’s a big outlet,” she said. “If they had more stuff like this in jails or prisons,
it would be healing for people.”
Brooke Blinebry, 28, of Nederland, was homeless last summer for a brief time. She came to the Carriage House
looking for help. She got it and is now back on her feet and living in a Nederland cabin.
She found a talent making jewelry at the Carriage House art sessions.
“I think it’s hugely important for people to express themselves and find hope and joy,
no matter what’s around them,” she said.
Blinebry said the homeless are some of the most creative people around.
“I see people who do art with cardboard boxes,” she said.
Officials at the shelter say Blinebry is a success story., and they’ve asked her to help lead the art
sessions some weeks.
“I’m going to ask people to be as creative as they can,” she said.
In March, the shelter will take the art a step further, displaying and selling dozens of pieces at the
Boulder Arts & Crafts Gallery, a cooperative owned and operated by local artists since 1971.
The gallery will feature work by Carriage House artists from March 10 until April 4, with
a fundraiser and an artist meet-and-greet on March 12.
The pieces will be available for $20 to $50 each throughout the gallery showing.
Proceeds from the sale will be split between the Carriage House, to help fund ongoing operations,
and the artists as a source of income.
Lisa McDonough, a spokeswoman for the co-op, said this will be the second year the gallery has partnered with the Carriage House. Last year’s exhibition drew more than 250 people, she said.
It’s anticipated that the show will grow in popularity this year.
“I’ve seen how art helps us through time of trouble,” McDonough said.
She said art that’s created by the homeless, perhaps more than any other community of artists,
“you can tell it’s from the heart.”
Kris, a 47-year-old Boulder woman who asked not to use her last name, said her work at the Carriage House truly is a reflection of what’s in her heart.
A brain injury left her unable to work, and she’s living in transitional housing in Boulder.
The artwork, she said, is the best escape from her woes.
“You forget about your troubles,” she said. “It’s healthy self-expression of your feelings.”
Smearing her fingers across a pastel drawing of a mountain landscape, Kris chuckled.
“Obviously, I’m feeling good.”
Contact Camera Staff Writer Heath Urie at 303-473-1328 or
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