"Identify and celebrate your mentors. Dance, paint, write or sing your appreciation. They'll feel the blessing, but you'll LIVE it."
— Angi Sullins Mentor Mania

Bonus: See Angi's online film, The Heavens Rejoice. You. Will. Be. Inspired.

The Girl Blue Project: 5 Years and Going!
By Chris Dunmire, Publisher

I first learned about The Girl Blue Project in 2006 when I published an interview on the Creativity Portal Web site that Nancy Mills had with its founder and director Marlow Wyatt. The Girl Blue Project is a creativity-fostering self-awareness program for teenage girls in Los Angeles County. More »

Are you aware of any non-profit, creativity-fostering organizations for kids in your area? Tell me about them.

More on Respecting the Creator's Copyright ©
If you were amused (or not) by the Copy 'n Paste Bandits piece in the June 15 newsletter, you'll recognize the notice at the top of this newsletter is likewise prominent.

My friend Heather Blakey, publisher of the Soul Food Cafe, has an informative Q & A piece crafted about copyright that drives home the point many artists, writers, and creators try to communicate to those who are unfamiliar or disrespectful of copyright. While I encourage you to read Heather's entire article, she gave me permission to share the following snippet:

"An artist's expression (their painting, photograph, sculpture, story, etc.) is called Intellectual Property: it is something created by the artist that did not exist before. That intellectual property is, in essence, each artist's livelihood. Their income, their means of supporting themselves, is derived by their ability to produce unique works for the marketplace.

Unauthorized usage of an artist's intellectual property is THEFT and is against the law. Any use of an artist's work without their permission (be it downloaded images from a website, scanned images from a print or book, calendar images used to be framed, etc.) is an infringement on the artist's rights and is illegal."

Most likely, if you are a creator of intellectual property and value the compensation and context of your work, copyright is important to you and you practice the Golden Rule. It is important to me and a major tenet the Creativity Portal upholds: to honor and respect the manifested expressions of creativity of everyone, and that respect includes asking permission to use a creator's work. Sometimes the answer is no. And that is also the creator's right.

Challenge/Solution Newsletter Highlights:

A cool thing happened while I was putting together this newsletter. I suddenly became aware that many of this week's features are possible creative solutions to the challenges many of you may be facing right now. So for fun I listed some challenge/solution pairs that popped:

Challenge: Want to journal, but have limited time?
Solution: Try One-Sentence Journaling.

Challenge: Too many projects, not enough energy?
Solution: Prioritize with Energy Lines.

Challenge: Bored with traditional collage art?
Solution: Square off with Collage Cubies.

Challenge: Unsure about pursuing art as a career?
Solution: Read an inspiring testimony to the rewards of being an artist.

Challenge: Blocked in your art/craft/writing/other creative work?
Solution: Take a Creative Escape.

Challenge: Need some 4th of July party theme ideas?
Solution: Try Creativity Portal's Independence Day resources.

Chris Dunmire
Creative Director and Publisher

Creative Careers in the Arts Interviews
Interview with Abstract Expressionist Painter Lynda Lehmann
By Molly Anderson-Childers
Q: Any advice for young artists on presenting a professional portfolio to a gallery or competition? A: My advice for artists who are just starting to put their work "out there," is to pay attention to three things...

Inner Voices of Creativity
Authenticity to the Rescue!
By Anne Marie Bennett
Claiming my own authenticity has been a huge step towards freeing myself in my art as well as my writing. This inner voice whispers loudly to me whenever I lose faith in myself, or when I start buying into the worries about what other people are thinking about my work.

Art of the Song Creativity Corner
Taking a Creative Escape
By Eric Maisel
A creative escape is like getting away for a romantic weekend with your lover — except in this case your lover is your creative nature.

Collage Cubies: Innovative 3D Paper Sculpture (Updated!)
By Chris Dunmire
Fun-to-fold form of collage reveals its full sense of "artness" at the end when cubed. Updated with new 11" x 17" printable template!

A Tool for Managing Your Creative Energy
By Behance Team
Creative teams juggle multiple projects at once, and as energy is spread across projects prioritization is all but lost. Energy Lines are a simple way to prioritize and use design to guide creative energy.

Creativity & You: A Love For All Seasons?
By Dan Goodwin
Each new creative project we take on has its stages of growth and development, its own four seasons.

Too Busy to Keep a Journal? Try One-Sentence Journaling
By Quinn McDonald
While reading one of my favorite sites I stumbled across a comment from a busy reader who said, “I wish I could keep a journal. But I don’t have time. I’d have time to write one sentence a day, and that wouldn’t work.”