This summer I have spent more time back in my hula hoop. I had just started to learn about hula hoop dance when my husband went into the hospital in Arizona, and I spent many hours that year practicing outside the hospital and at the park with my new friends in the flow arts and circus prop communities.
It was one of the only healthy reprieves that brought peace and laughter that year. I would often dance with my hoop in hospital gardens or outside the emergency room while waiting for the nurses to let me visit. After a few sessions, I realized that nurses and family members of patients would watch for a bit while waiting (there’s a lot of waiting in hospitals!) also, and it brought a smile to their tired faces too. Since learning the hula hoop, I have branched out to practicing with fire fans, poi, and staffs, and I am eager to learn some contact juggling. It is a perfect combination for me of dance and concentration that melts my stress and allows me to feel a sense of progression and achievement every time I nail a new trick.
So, when I discovered this morning that something had gone wrong with my WordPress template, I knew I had to update with my latest finished painting, Fairy Flow. This is based on the peaceful feeling I get holding my hoop after dancing for my life!
After painting Fairy Flow, I decided the flow arts were the area I am most pulled to concentrate on right now, and I immediately started this painting, which I am tinkering with on the daily right now:
I hope to launch the web store my friends have been asking for with this collection, as well as a coloring book for kids featuring hula hooping animals coming out next week on Amazon!
I’ve also added an email subscription form to update everyone on my art activities and give away freebies without having to use another service. So please sign up – I’ll be emailing a free coloring page version of the Flow Fairy painting to all my new subscribers!
Until next time, stay creative!
~ Heather