Don't you wish you could just kick off your shoes and run wildly barefoot without a care in the world sometimes? That's what I had on my mind last month when the little ladybug walked across my day planner right before I took off on a 2-week Artist Soul Retreat.

I find the visual of "kicking off shoes" a fitting metaphor for freedom. You know how it feels to kick off your shoes after a long day at work? It's a freeing relief both physically and mentally. When the shoes come off, your role associated with them comes off with them, and you begin to relax and unwind. You are free to spend the rest of your day as you wish, perhaps submerged in activities that are rejuvenating and replenishing to you. I find this the core essence of an Artist's Soul Retreat.

Occasional retreats from our everyday worlds are a creativity and well-being necessity, and so I've designated May the official Artist's Soul Retreat month on Creativity Portal. If you missed it this time around, don't worry. Our celebrations may be called upon at any time, and as often as you need them.

Violette's "Journal Bliss" Update
One treat I enjoyed early on in my retreat was reading Violette's new book "Journal Bliss: Creative Prompts to Unleash Your Inner Eccentric" (read two excerpts). Violette's whimsy and humor inspired me to dabble freely with mail art and finger-painted doodlings, and after a half-dozen trips to the post office, I cherished how much fun I was having letter-journaling my daily adventures to far-off friends. A few later revealed that my poetic handiworks inspired them to create. Isn't it cool how creative inspiration spreads like this in books and mail and in between us all?

Violette informed me that she wanted the book to have a resources section, but the publisher didn't make room for it. So she kindly put one up on her Web site and guess who's included on it? Weeeeee!

Finally, if you're curious about the results from that blog doodle book-giveaway featured in last month's NewZine, you can visit: Violette's participant doodles and Elsha's winning doodle for creativity. Thanks for participating!


Chris Dunmire
Creative Director & Publisher
www.creativity-portal.com

P.S. I titled this issue "Mastery through Repetition" to give special attention to art coach Barbara Bowen's latest piece, Creativity Explored: Enhancement through Repetition. Barbara is gifted in her writings about creativity tools and techniques, and this is a great reference article when you're in the process of learning something new.

'365 Pictures' Writing Prompts
Our creativity-inspiring daily picture/prompt feature is now in action, and we couldn't have done it without this amazing, generous cast of collaborators.

A special THANK YOU this month goes out to our June contributors whose prompts will surface between June 1-30. Be sure to check out their Web sites and blogs for more creative inspiration!