Lori Portka

It has been sunny here all week.  Like, really sunny and in the 70′s.  It is delightful.  The thing about long and dark winters is that pleasant weather is really appreciated.  Really.

My Mia is the sweetest girl.  I am so grateful for my pets who help to keep me grounded in the present moment and teach me about unconditional love and forgiveness.

This space clearing and renovating is happening in my house right now.  It is all about clearing out and making space to breathe deeply and live in beauty.  (Thank you Hannah Marcotti and this book.)  We are making literal space by taking down a wall, creating a big, open and welcoming room.  And all the color that was on the walls is now a gorgeous White Diamond. I can’t wait to share the photos once it is all finished.  

Plus, I am going through every inch of this house with the following rules from Soul Space:

If I do not absolutely love it, I release it.

If it does not make me feel amazing, I get rid of it.

If it is beautiful but makes me feel lousy, I let it go.

If it is broken beyond repair, I toss it.

If it is expensive and carries negative emotional weight, I sell it.

If it is in good condition and no longer feels like mine, I donate it.  

All of this is making me very happy.  

This is my newest painting, just in time for Mother’s Day! It makes me think of mothers and grandmothers and older wise women who are not our biological mothers, but still have that motherly energy in our lives.  My own mom and mother-in-law get sweeter with each passing year. It seems that with age comes a certain innocence and kindness.

I love this photo of me and my mom because we are laughing so hard.  I don’t even remember what was so funny at the time but I love that this moment was captured.  My mom and I seriously have the best ever laughing fits.

I made this painting for my mom during my Hundred Thank Yous project.  When I was little she used to say “I love you this much,” and spread her arms as wide as possible. I would try to spread my arms even wider to show I loved her more. We would do a similar thing when I would say, “I love you to the moon,” and my mom would say, “I love you to the moon and back!”

Both paintings are available as prints and greeting cards in my shop.  All orders by May 6th will ship in time for Mother’s Day (US shipping only by May 12th.)

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In other news, I started Vivienne McMaster’s course Be Your Own Beloved today.  I feel that it will be really transformative.  I just know this.  You know how when you know things?  That.  Here is my first selfie, Taking the First Step.  

I’m doing some upgrades! One of my big goals for a while now has been to create prettier packaging for my products. But it also needs to be simple and easy to put together.  I’m looking for sweet cloth bags.  Let me know if you have any good sources!  

I’m simplifying and beautifying around here in business and life.  It feels good.

How fun it was this weekend to get a package of greeting cards with my artwork from Sellers Publishing Inc, the company that licenses my artwork.

This one is my favorite because there is glitter on the sun and flowers!  So pretty!  I love what it says on the inside too.

This is the painting I made for my sister for my gratitude project, A Hundred Thank Yous.  She’s been having health issues so I made this for her in the spirit of wishing her ease and peaceful health.  I was so happy when I read the inside of the card- a perfect fit for why the painting was created in the first place.

So far my first licensing deal is going really well.  The people are warm and friendly and easy to work with and they give credit to the artist on the back of the cards.  Grateful all around.  

This book is seriously rocking my world. It has come at exactly the right time and is completely changing the way I see my home.

My new Danskos. More importantly, not wearing socks with my new Danskos. It’s still cold here but the sun is out and the socks are off.

Artwork in progress.

This gorgeous little book, 365 Gratefuls. I will be doing a giveaway soon with this book!

Blue skies.

I am also loving Alana Sheeren’s Transformation Talks like this one with photographer, Vivenne McMaster.  And Trust Notes by Kristin Noelle (one of my most favorite emails to receive.)  Such goodness.

What are you loving today?

I was a teacher for years and I loved it for a long while.

 Then I started working with Early Intervention and I loved that too.  There was a lot of flexibility and I was doing evaluations- it was a good change.  I loved the kids. But I knew it was not the work I was supposed to be doing forever.  I knew I wanted to have a job that was more creative and less clinical.  I wanted to be an entrepreneur.  

So I started to take classes in art and I started to make art and sell art while I still had my day job.  A lot of the time I felt terrible. I felt like I was doing something wrong because I wasn’t doing work I loved anymore and it seemed to be taking me so long to make a change.  I felt guilty because I was working in an important job, but really wanted to be doing something else.

Honestly, there was good period of time that I was so unhappy in my work and I beat myself up about it a little bit.  Then something changed.  I realized that there was reason that I was still in my job.  I decided that it wasn’t the right time for me to leave until it was the right time.  In the meantime, there was good work for me to be doing.  

I started praying to be of service.  I worked hard to change my attitude.  Some days I was really successful with a new improved attitude, some days I wasn’t.  But overall, I knew I was in the right place in the moment.  I found peace in that as much as possible.

I started working with this family that I really felt connected to.  I adored the whole family.  There was an important meeting that I attended that I think my presence there changed the outcome for future placement of this child.  The parents were grateful for me.  I new it was important work I was doing.  I knew this family was why I needed to be in my job a little longer.

The timing of leaving my teaching job was a really important experience for me.  It taught me about the right timing of things.  It taught me that everything is unfolding just as it should. 

I just needed to stay clear about what I wanted and work toward that, but also have gratitude for where I was at the time.  It was a combination of taking action for the work I wanted, while at the same time, being grateful as much as possible for the work I was doing.  I believe it was this action that helped me get to where I am now.  Once my work was finished with this family, I was able to leave my job.  And I did.  And the transition to doing art full time was (mostly) easy.  I believe it was easy because it was the right time.  I had waited long enough.

Lisa Sarick wrote this Prayer for a Work Day.  I love it so much.

Prayer for a Work Day 

Divine Spirit, please guide me today.

I am about to go out among the people.

Help me to remember that every interaction is a holy meeting,

That using my gifts and talents is a privilege,

And that if I have nothing else to offer,

I can smile,

Or listen,

Or hold still

and feel You in my heart.

Help me to be open to what you want me to hear,

To all you want me to see,

And to Your Grace in unexpected places.

May I serve with love and gratitude today

In my little corner of the Universe,

And may it somehow bless the world.

Oh money!  

My friend, Lisa, and I wrote out our money lineage  last week.  Money lineage is the history of thoughts and beliefs we have about money.  It was so shocking to both of us when we each uncovered a deeply-held belief about money (from childhood) that we didn’t even realize we had!  We saw patterns that were repeated in our lives as a result of the false beliefs.  Our money beliefs were so severely unhelpful that Lisa led us in a Skype session of EFT to clear out the old belief and install a new one.  The whole experience was powerful and heart-expanding.  I knew I had to take this energy and pour it into new paintings.

I made Money Serves My Highest Good for Lisa and other beautiful souls who value living an abundant life.  It is a reminder that money is here to help us do our best work in the world.  Money helps us live our passion and purpose and be of service in our truest possible way.  With money, we feel free and live free. And this is good for everyone.  Thank you money!

Next week I will share my story about the scary money belief that I uncovered + the painting I made to remind me (and other lovelies who relate) the truth about abundance.  

*Money Lineage comes from Fabeku in telecastic 6 on this page.  I highly recommend it!

I have noticed that I can be easily influenced at times.

There are lots of lovely people on the internet who are reeeally good at marketing. I can get caught up in thinking that I NEED what they have. I need the book, the course, the teleclass- and then, I will have it right.  Then I will be good enough.

I made this painting to remind me to step back and check within my own heart. Maybe the class/book/blogpost will serve me well (so many have!)  Or maybe I just need to sit down, lower the noise of the web, and do what I do.

Paint with love.

If this painting speaks to you, the print can be found here and the original painting here.  xoxo

I was on the west coast last week and walked into Cafe Gratitude with my husband.  The woman behind the counter was so radiant and gorgeous.  She beamed of good health and joy, kindness and love.

Before I could even sensor myself, I said to her, “You are sooo beautiful.”

She looked at me and said, “Thank you so much!  I’m just a reflection of you.”

Her words pierced into my heart.  I cried.  My husband teared up too.  The truth of it was almost too much to bear.  We weren’t talking just about physical beauty.  It was deeper than that.  For that moment I felt the oneness of all of us.

Real beauty comes from inside and radiates out.  Always.

If you have the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)  maybe you watched her recent two-part interview with Nate Burkus, The Things That Matter.  

“I believe your home should tell the story of who you are. What you love most, collected and assembled in one space. All your objects, finds, hand-me-downs . . . spelling out who you are to the world. Fact is, there isn’t a single item in my own home that doesn’t have a story behind it. This book celebrates the philosophy that things do matter. They have to. They’re what we live with and touch every single day. They welcome us home at night and greet us each morning on our bedside table. They represent where we’ve been, who we’ve loved, and where we hope to go. They make us happy, and I can’t think of a more beautiful way to live than that.”  

—Nate

I was so grateful to hear him say that things matter and that we cherish things because of the memory they hold.  

My husband, Jay, and I decided years ago to bring home a piece of art from every place that we visit.  I could take you on a tour of our home and show you each painting, photograph, ceramic vase, lantern, stone – and tell you the story behind it.  I believe things carry energy.  I love having the sweet energy and memories of time spent with Jay all around my home.  

All the artwork in my home matters to me.  I cherish what we have from artists I love, found in places I love, with people I love.  

Last week in LA we went shopping in the downtown Mexican Market.  It was a joy-filled day spent with dear friends we adore.  I came home and decorated my studio with my favorite things found in the market.  

Color, beauty, love.  It all matters.

The Light That Shines from hailey bartholomew on Vimeo.

We woke up this morning with our friends, Hailey and Andrew Bartholomew in Los Angeles.  I am so grateful to be here!  This morning we watched The Today Show and saw clips of her documentary, The Light That Shines.  So fun.  

I love her work- her photography and films are brilliant works of love and art.  So here we are, with people we adore.  I’m feeling deeply grateful.

So, this morning I woke up feeling foggy and was a little slow to start.  If I’m being honest, it was a bit of a rough weekend. My husband and I were stuck in an argument that kept repeating itself and each time it restarted we both felt more weary and wanted it to stop.  Everyone with a partner knows how that is, right?  We worked it out, but today I woke up with a bit of an emotional hangover. 

It’s a good day for self care.

I made my favorite tea in my favorite Anthropologie mug and green juice, and I asked that I could let go of all the stuff in my mind that didn’t matter and was bringing me down.  I wanted to go into my studio this Monday morning with a clear purpose, open-hearted and ready to do good work for the world. 

But in that moment, I wasn’t feeling ready at all.  So I meditated. I sat for today’s meditation with Deepak Chopra’s 21-day meditation challenge (which I love.)  The meditation was about Dharma – working with the universe – finding out what special talent one has to give and then sharing it with the world.

Funny how often life unfolds when you step back to let it work for you – during the meditation, I got an order in my Etsy shop from a lovely woman who wrote this to me:

“Hello!  My children and I made vision boards for ourselves yesterday.  I put your artwork front and center on mine, and my daughter used it on hers as well.  It was a meditation woman from the cover (and then the smaller picture of the same art inside) of Natural Awakenings Magazine a few months ago.  That piece speaks to my soul.  Thank you so much for creating and sharing it.  I went to your website this morning and saw all of your other beautiful pieces.  Your light shines through your art.  Namaste.”

I teared up at the end and felt so grateful!  It pulled me back into why I do this art.  It focused my attention on what matters, changed my perspective, and pulled me out of the pit.

I am back in my studio: Happy Light on (I’m making sunshine inside even when it’s very gray and snowy outside); Pandora station Brighter Than the Sun, and two beautiful dogs sleeping peacefully in front of the heater. 

Blog post (check), fill orders and finish custom order painting up next.

I love this day! 

(I am SO giving this customer lots of extra goodies in her package today!)

Painting made for Gene Baur, founder of the Farm Sanctuary. Hundred Thank Yous Gratitude Project.

I love animals of all kinds.  It is crazy how much I do.  When I was little I loved my stuffed animals so much and cared for them like they were my little friends.  In some ways, I suppose they were.  I am a highly sensitive person and I feel things on a deep level.  Especially when it comes to animals.  

Painting made for a teacher that I worked with years ago that I asked why she was a vegetarian. I stopped eating meat that day, got my hands on as many books as I could about the subject and we became dear friends. Hundred Thank Yous Gratitude Project.

Growing up we would go out to dinner on Sundays when my dad got paid.  It was a big deal because we didn’t have a lot of money so dinner was a splurge.  But my parents always wanted to go to Ponderosa Steak House.  I never wanted to eat the meat.  I wanted the side dishes- the potatoes, green beans, corn.   When I begged to make my dinner just the salad bar, my parents wouldn’t hear me.  I remember it causing me terrible anxiety and I would work out a plan that would result in my eating the least possible amount of steak.  

I was young and really clear that I didn’t want to eat animals.  But it would be age 22 before I called myself a vegetarian.  

The painting I made for Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi. Hundred Thank Yous Gratitude Project.

I also learned early on that I am not the activist type.  I am more of the hold-the-space-of-love type.  I tried volunteering for animal rights organizations and spreading the word about factory farms.  But I generally avoid conflict so this was super stressful for me!  I also do not believe it is my job in this life to tell others how or what to eat.  But I am so very clear on what is right for me to eat.  

Having a plant based diet continues to be one of the most wonderful things about my life.  It is an act of self-love.

One of the other ways I help animals is to donate.  The profit from this pack of cards goes entirely to the Farm Sanctuary, a beautiful sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY for rescued farm animals.  I love the work of Farm Sanctuary so much that I made Gene Baur, the founder, a painting for my Hundred Thank Yous project (painting is above.)

In other news, I am very grateful to be in a magazine (other than a Stampington Magazine) for the first time!  Kris Carr added my Self-Love Prayer Flags to her list of Top Kitchen Picks for healthy living in Organic Spa Magazine. 

Have a beautiful weekend!  xoxo 

Oh my goodness.  It’s GIVEAWAY time!  

My 2013 Year of Love Calendar + Gratitude Pack are part of Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Giveaways this week!  

Enter here and winner will be chosen on January 12th. 

I am so happy to be a part of this since New York Times Best Selling Crazy Sexy Kitchen is my favorite cookbook.  I am working my way though it and so far my husband and I love every recipe.  My cells beam with joy to be fed such healthy and delicious food.  (I’m not even exaggerating – they beam.)

Enter here to get the details and win!  Good luck loves. xoxo

What’s Real with Liv Lane from Lori Portka on Vimeo.

Oh how I love my friend, Liv Lane.  Oh how I love her e-course BuzzWorthy.  

I read this page and was blown away by Liv’s past experience in marketing and promotion.  She left the corporate world in 2007, but took all of her savvy business skills with her and shares them in Buzz Worthy.  The course really outlines what to do in detail + she has superstar experts in the field that share their wisdom.  I was also blown away by this list (scroll down to Amazing Experts.)

I have some extra calendars and it is time to get them out and into the world!  So my holiday gift to you- Buy One Get One Free Calendars.  

While I am at it, I decided I would add Prints and Posters to the mix!  Buy one as a gift and get one for yourself.

Calendars:  Get one free with every one you buy. Automatically!

Prints and Posters:  Buy one and write the title of your FREE second print/poster in the “note to loriportka” box as you check out.

How Long’s the Deal?  Monday and Tuesday only, December 10-11.  

Thank you lovelies!  I hope the season is treating you well.  I hope you are not overwhelmed.  I hope you are finding time for hot chocolate and twinkling lights.  With Much Love, Lori