Painted Nativity Scene Project

Hi All,

I hope things are going well for everyone.  Recently, my family and I were going thru "the big photo box," after my Dad passed away; reminiscing and looking at pictures.  While looking at old pics I came across a few photos of a project I helped put together around the year 2000.  It was a fun job and an old school project as well.

While in the Air Force I was stationed near Honolulu, Hawaii.  Every year during the holidays the city hosts displays in downtown and a parade.  This particular year, some folks from the church we attended, put a nativity scene together and asked if I would help out by doing some artwork for the display.

Painting nativity scene panels on large sheets of plywood with acrylic paint

The project was a lot of fun.  Very much a cartoon style display, but the as you can tell, the characters weren't exaggerated either.  Almost like coloring book style artwork.  As you can see by the top photo - outline first, then fill in with color, then finishing with airbrushed highlights and shadows.

Working on details.

At the time I still had my hand in doing airbrushed artwork on a regular basis.  Years prior to this, most of the illustrating I did was created using traditional media; including airbrush.

Bethlehem to my left, camel and wise man on my right.

Unfortunately, I didn't come across any photos of the completed project.  When painted, the panels were constructed into a little stable with nativity scene.  It all came together quite nicely and was a beautiful display.  It was a fun project to help out with.  I hope you enjoyed it.

Have a great day.

Peace,

Tom

On-line portfolio: www.behance.net/tk-art

On Facebook:  www.facebook.com/pages/Tom-Kreienbrink-Art-and-Design

Sleep Issues - Energy Meridians

Hi All,

Last week, I wrote about holistic sleep remedies.  I had a client who needed help getting to sleep at night, so I did a little research on line and in my own materials; books, notes and things, and came up with a number of natural sleep enhancement actions and remedies you can do or take.  It's a good list of ideas and can be very helpful if you're having trouble sleeping or falling asleep.

Shortly after publishing the post I had a thought that something else could be affecting her sleep; her Chi Energy or one or more Energy Meridians could be out of balance.  In particular, if you're Chi is out of balance, you may have problems sleeping at certain times.  You may also be tired certain times in the day, when you should be awake and energetic.  I'm going to try to explain...hopefully it makes sense. 

All of this comes from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).  In particular, Chinese 5 Element Theory (see Element attachment).  In TCM, there are 5 Elements related to systems or organs in the body.  Some are Yin, some are Yang, and two Regulators.

The Five Elements - broken down in a very basic way.

Each organ in 5 Element also relates to an energy meridian.  And - before I get too far ahead of myself - each organ has a time of day that it relates to (according to the Circadian Clock).  The Circadian Clock is a 24 hour "clock," showing the times during the day and the dominant system/organ meridian during that time.  For example; Gallbladder is dominant from 11pm-1am.

Circadian Clock

When an organ or system is out of balance it has an energetic affect on a person.  As an example, if you normally go to bed at 10pm, but find yourself wide awake nightly at that time, your Triple Heater is out of balance.  Likewise, the opposite system, Spleen (directly opposite on the Circadian Clock), is most likely out of balance as well and you may find yourself tired from about 9-11am.

A graphic showing the path of the Lung Meridian.

Each organ or system has a corresponding energy meridian, (I'm showing a couple examples).  Meridians are energy channels throughout the body.  The points are used in modalities like acupuncture and acupressure, and each affects various systems and parts of the body.

A graphic showing the path of the Kidney Meridian

I'd learned about this in my reflexology program.  I'd taken a class that was a hybrid reflexology, polarity therapy, and TCM 5 Element class.  In the class I learned that I could balance these systems by holding the source point and reflex area (or the organ itself), and help clients balance the energy in their body.  Now this is a very simplistic explanation.  There are protocols that are associated with balancing the organs, systems or elements.

So back to my client...after our regular session this week, I did some energy meridian balancing with her.  I brushed the meridians (to open them up) and did some balancing on the primary one out of balance and it's opposite.  The next day I received an email telling me that she was able to get to sleep at a normal hour and slept great.

There are so many holistic therapies and various forms of medicine.  We're all a little different and some work for us better than others.  This happened to be the right thing for my client.  If you find yourself awake when you should be sleeping or tired when you should be awake, this may be something to look into.  If you're in the Phoenix area - let me know if I can help.

Have a great day everyone - and be kind...a little goes a long way.

Peace,

Tom

I'm a massage and holistic therapist in Phoenix.  Check out my website at:
www.HolisticTherapySolutions.weebly.com
Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HolisticTherapySolutions