Category: art

art, change, choices, creativity, decision-making

Leap: The Work of Art that You Live

Christa Avampato

“Your thoughts, words, and deeds are painting the world around you.” ~ Jewel Diamond Taylor

Life isn’t happening to you. You aren’t being forced into a job, relationship, home, frame of mind, or attitude. These are all choices. How your days unfold is a result of your decisions, one after the other.

And here’s the really beautiful part: everything, and I mean everything, can be changed, fixed, and improved. And the person to do that is you.

It is within your power, within your right, to have exactly the life you want. If something isn’t working, if something is bringing you down, then you can take the steps to correct that. You can move toward joy, from wherever you are right now.

Your life is your canvas; paint a picture you’ll never grow tired of looking at. Don’t accept anything less.

art, choices, creativity, decision-making, design

Leap: Curate Your Life

Christa Avampato
Photo from Lifehacker

“Life is your art. An open, aware heart is your camera. A oneness with your world is your film.” ~ Ansel Adams

“Curating a creative life” has been my tagline for this blog for several years. At one point my obsession with change got the best of me and I toyed with changing the tagline as I thought about how I wanted to craft my career and my businesses, Chasing Down the Muse and Compass Yoga. After a couple of days of a new tagline, I changed it back. There’s nothing wrong with sticking with what works and makes us happy. I realized it’s much more than a tagline; it’s my mantra.

It would be easy for a museum curator to just get any pieces of art up on the wall but that’s not the role of a curator. He or she carefully chooses what kind of art to install, and how and why and for what purpose. An art exhibit needs to hang together. It makes a cohesive statement and the pieces support the whole.

Your life is a living, breathing house of art. You are the sole curator of it; you decide what to add, what to toss, and how it comes together. And you are the only one who gets to judge its worth and meaning. You have the best job in the world and it’s the only job you really need to do. Don’t just live your life; craft it by your own design.

art, blogging, creativity, theatre, time

Leap: Why Create Art?

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” ~ Edgar Degas

I believe in the deep healing of art. I didn’t always believe that. I knew it was healing for me but for a long time I thought my work in the arts was frivolous, self-indulgent, and a waste of time. How time changes and teaches us!

In the 8 years since I left professional theatre management, I have not missed it. The impossibly long hours, the stress and pressure, the constant hustle. Even when you have a job in that business, you’re always looking for work because a gig is gone in the blink of an eye. But I miss it now, in a very deep and passionate way.

More and more, I have thought about trying my hand at it again now that I have a bit more business experience under my belt and a few more lines of time around my eyes. This time I won’t be creating the environment for art for my own sake, but for the sake of others.

art, creativity, Life

Leap: Pain is Rubbish

Christa Avampato
Image from Khalil Gibran

“I subscribed to the notion that to be able to express yourself in an artistic form in life, you have to live in perpetual pain. It’s nonsense…you don’t have to live it to represent it.” ~ Colin Farrell

The actor Colin Farrell gave this quote in an interview with Ellen earlier this year. As someone who used to work in entertainment, I sympathized with his former perspective. I used to share it and as I got older I realized that empathy went a long toward telling a story with honesty and integrity. Living a life based on method acting was tremendously flawed, less fun, and ultimately less productive than living life from a healthy, balanced perspective.

As a yoga and meditation teacher, I sit with a lot of suffering and pain. It is possible to feel empathy and compassion, without sending ourselves down into a dark spiral. There’s no sense in diving onto a sinking ship. We can’t help people who are drowning from that perspective. It’s far better for us to be on solid ground and offer a hand up and out of the water to those who need us. It’s actually the only thing that does any good.

adventure, art, creative, creativity, education, health, healthcare

Leap: We All Have to Get High Somehow

Christa Avampato
My friend, Blair, posted this picture on her Facebook wall and it perfectly sums up how I feel about getting more creative outlets to more young people.

“Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.” ~ Twyla Tharp

We all want to be high. Once we feed the soul, once we know that feeling of being truly alive, we will crave it more and more often. The happy soul is a hungry beast, and eventually it will require your full attention.

It is heartbreaking to see someone, especially a young person, turn to chemical means for that high. My dad suffered with addiction for most of his life, and our family felt those effects in dramatic and tragic ways. What helped me come to terms with my father’s decisions was to feel that high – after running, yoga, writing, or creating a piece of art. It is a delicious feeling. My father didn’t have those outlets so he turned to other means. The same thing is happening with so many Americans today, particularly those still making their way through school.

We ask young people to say no to drugs, alcohol, and other habits that will eventually destroy their health, but we don’t do a sufficient job of recognizing the need to feel that high. We strip schools of art and music programs. We cut physical education. We prioritize testing over emotional and mental development. We’re creating a generation of very good test takers but we are doing a poor job of helping our young generations grow into healthy, happy, productive, and creative adults.

We need to do better. Is art the answer? For some, yes. Is physical activity the answer? For some, yes. Is a creative outlet of some kind that is supported, encouraged, and celebrated by society the answer. Yes, for all of us.

art, creativity, home, inspiration

Leap: Paint Your Space and Get Inspired Thanks to YOLO Colorhouse

Christa Avampato
Image from Yolo Colorhouse

“Color possesses me. I don’t have to pursue it. It will possess me always, I know it. That is the meaning of this happy hour: Color and I are one. I am a painter.” ~ Paul Klee

I went to my friend Amy’s apartment last week. She bought her own place a few years back and has done a lot of renovations. The renovations are amazing – I didn’t even recognize the space! – and the change that inspired me the most was her sense of color. She repainted every room and it gave the space such a lift.

Color changes the way we see the world and our place in it. I’ve shied away from painting because I was never sure how long I’d be here and in New York City landlords usually require that you repaint back to the original color before you move out. That was a roadblock to me until I saw Amy’s place and felt so much different when surrounded by beautifully colored walls. A trip to her home gave me the nudge I needed. So I’ll paint it all back whenever I move – big deal! The inspiration is worth that extra work.

Now that I spend more time at working at home, I really need my space to be a source of pace, sanctuary, and creativity. That’s a tall order for a tiny place but Amy showed me it was possible. I took her advice and ordered 2 gorgeous colors of environmentally safe paint from YOLO Colorhouse, a woman-owned startup based in Portland: Aspire .04 for the walls and Clay .06 for accents.

I’m going to take before and after pictures so I’ll share the color make-over when it’s complete. Want to bring a little more color into your life? Check out YOLO Colorhouse!

art, entrepreneurship, photographs, pictures, yoga

Leap: My Yoga Photo Shoot with Photographer Michael Vito of Third Place Media

Christa Avampato
Washington Square Park, New York City. Photo by Michael Vito.

Michael Vito, photographer and Founder of Third Place Media, recently did a yoga photo shoot with me in Washington Square Park in New York City. We had a blast together and I wanted to share the results with you a) because I love them and b) because you should get on Michael’s calendar if you’re looking for top notch photos, yoga or otherwise. Click here to view the album.

In the coming weeks, Michael will be putting together a guest post for this blog to explain how he, too, recently made the leap into a freelance life. Let’s hear it for another brave soul who said, “Geronimo!”, and never looked back.

art, community, creativity, theatre, writing

Leap: The Art of Collaboration and My Interview for PBS Mediashift with Jim Nicola, Artistic Director of New York Theatre Workshop

Christa Avampato
Once the Musical, a New York Theatre Workshop production, won 8 Tony Awards this year.

I am thrilled to announce that an article I wrote based about the collaboration process at New York Theatre Workshop is now posted on the inspiring PBS site MediaShift. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Jim Nicola, Artistic Director of New York Theatre Workshop, who made me believe in the magic and power of theatre again. As you may know, I spent the early years of my professional career as a manager of Broadway shows and national tours. I’ve been out of the business since 2004 and until I interviewed Jim, I hadn’t missed the process. Now I’m reconsidering how I might slowly ease back into that wacky and wonderful world of professional theatre.

And with this publication I must thank the editor of MediaShift, Amanda Hirsch, for her continuous support of my writing. I am humbled and honored to now have the chance to work for her on a project that is near and dear to her heart. Amanda and I met because of this blog. She was moving to New York City from DC with her husband, Jordan, and she was searching for people writing about creative living in New York. My blog popped up in her search.

The internet has such a lovely way of tangling together fates and futures. I recently went back to that first introductory email that Amanda sent to me over 3 years ago. True to form, she closed the email with “keep writing.” I’m glad I followed her advice and encouragement.

Let me know what you think of the article on MediaShift!

art, change, comedy, community, courage, television

Leap: A Lesson from Comedic Actor Sherman Hemsley, Star of All in the Family and The Jeffersons

Christa Avampato
Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford as George and Louise Jefferson

It wasn’t until much later that I realized how revolutionary his character of George Jefferson was at the time. While he was making all of us laugh, he tore down social barriers and prejudices that existed for centuries in this country. A black entrepreneur who wasn’t intimidated by anyone, least of all his prejudiced white neighbor? That was a revelation, particularly to have it showcased on network television. His co-star, Isabel Sanford, was the first (and so far, the only) Black actress to win a Lead Actress Emmy Award (for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1981.) Clearly, we still have a long way to go.

A South Philly native, Sherman Hemsley passed away from natural causes on Tuesday. His bravery and strength, his ability to creatively challenge the conventions of his time through his own performances, has cemented his contribution in the performing arts. As my sister, Weez, so beautifully said, “He finally got that deluxe apartment in the sky.” R.I.P. to another Trailblazer who is gone too soon.

art, comedy, meditation, New York City

Leap: I’m Teaching a Meditation Class for Performers on August 20th

Christa Avampato

I’m so excited to announce that I am teaching a meditation class for performers in partnership with G.L.O.C. (Gorgeous Ladies of Comedy) entitled Showing Up and Tapping In: The Keys to Your Success as a Performer.

Event details:
Date – Monday, August 20th
Time – 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Location – The Breslin at the Ace Hotel, 20 West 29th Street, New York, NY
Cost – $5 to cover the cost of the amazing space at the Ace Hotel
Everyone is welcome – women and men who are performers and fans of performers!

My friend, Amanda, introduced me to G.L.O.C. during their Bridesmaids screening event last year. Since then I’ve been receiving their e-newsletter. Recently, they mentioned they were looking for more resources to help their members. I reached out to the hilarious Glennis McCarthy, Founder of G.L.O.C., and we immediately bonded over our desire to support performers and the need for attention on smart humor in the world of comedy.

We are hoping this class is just the start of a wonderful series of events to support performers and anyone with even the slightest hint of interest in performance. RSVP through the Facebook invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/206787669450646/

Here is a brief description of the event. Hope to see you there!

Showing Up and Tapping In: The Keys to Your Success as a Performer

If Woody Allen is right and 80% of success is showing up, then the other 20% is how you show up. And not just at an audition, a rehearsal, or a performance, but how you show up in life. Your lucky break isn’t somewhere down the road; it’s right now because opportunity is everywhere.

One interaction can change the entire course of your life and that interaction almost always happens at an unexpected time and in an unexpected place. So how do you prepare so that you can recognize that moment when it arrives and make the most of it? How can you prepare to be lucky?

As a performer you have to refresh your content and your performance constantly. Meditation helps you tap into your imagination at will and with ease in a deep, consistent way to discover new ideas. By learning to quiet the mind, you give your greatest ideas the chance to rise to the top. Meditation gives you a way forward.

This event will provide a sample class geared toward performers who want to enhance their creativity. It will include a few basic standing postures that can be done in your everyday clothes. The breathing and meditation techniques will all be practiced seated. You will also receive the sequence of postures and techniques after the class so that you can continue to practice on your own. You will find that these tools and techniques will help you identify hidden opportunities to advance your craft, make connections with people who can help grow your career, and develop a system to make sure you are continually in the best shape possible – physically, mentally, and emotionally.