‘Welcoming my Beauty’ at La Casa Azul Bookstore

Why is it that we tend to not keep our New Year’s resolutions?
How is it that the obstacles we face often come from within ourselves?
Can you imagine waking up in the morning and doing things for yourself with the energy and joy with which you help others?

Last Thursday at La Casa Azul Bookstore, life coach Beatriz Mieses posed these questions, sharing her own success story through the method she developed: “Welcoming My Beauty”.  At the workshop she invited us to write/share our resolutions and consider whether they were born from a place of love or fear.

The take-home lesson was: it's not your accomplishments that will help you love yourself, it's loving yourself that will help you reach your goals.

Beatriz spoke about cultural tendencies that point us towards shame, that keep us from developing self-love. Her coaching specializes in digging deeper into socialized behavior and developing the individual’s potential for self-appreciation.

If you’re interested in meeting Beatriz, check out the event she and other self-loving, successful women are organizing, our very own bookstore owner Aurora Anaya-Cerda is one of the featured panelists! 


Event details:

Love Yourself into Prosperity:

How Loving Yourself Leads to Unlimited Abundance

Wednesday March 6, 2013

6:00-9:00 PM

The Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz Center

3940 Broadway, New York, NY 10032

Register:

  http://loveyourselfprosperous.eventbrite.com/

Contact Beatriz Mieses

http://www.welcomingmybeauty.com/  

- Maria

Open call for art submissions

ABOUT LA CASA AZUL BOOKSTORE EXHIBITION 
2013  SEASON

La Casa Azul Bookstore is pleased to announce an open call for submissions for our 2013 exhibition series that will take place in our bookstore gallery space.

There will be 3  shows to begin the 2013 season, each show running for 8 weeks, with 6-12 artists being chosen from entries to be included in the group exhibition based on a particular theme. Work submitted may be of any traditional or non-traditional mediums or genre (painting, drawing, collage, photography, printmaking, sculpture, new media, site specific installation, performance etc.).

We are seeking submissions or artwork that focuses on the following THREE themes:

El Barrio (April - May 2013 Exhibit)
East Harlem is is home to La Casa Azul Bookstore and part of our commitment to celebrating and cultivating Latino literature and art. Please submit work that is furthers this commitment, and focuses on the East Harlem community and neighborhood.

Frida (June - July 2013 Exhibit)
La Casa Azul is named after the home of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Frida has not only inspired the name of the bookstore, but touched thousands through her work since her death. In celebration of her work, please submit original work inspired by the art and life of Frida.

Children’s Book Illustrations (August - September 2013 Exhibit)
Childrens books are an important part of La Casa Azul Bookstore, particularly the art that tells the story to children, just as much as the words printed on the page. We are looking for art that has been used in childrens books, or is in the spirit of this style.

SPACE
Exhibition space is roughly: 400 Square feet
Maximum size of work: 20”x 20”
Artists will be notified by early March 2013 if their proposal is accepted, no phone calls  please.


ELIGIBILITY & TERMS
DEADLINE to submit for the 3 shows: February 28, 2013 at 11:00 pm
• Call for entries is open to established and emerging artists, illustrators, graphic designers, photographers, writers and art and design students. Students and professionals are equally encouraged to enter.
• All artwork submitted must be ready to hang / install.
• Artists are responsible for the delivery and pick-up of final work selected.
• Artists submitting work in new media, interactive, film, or video: you will be required to use your own equipment for the duration of the exhibition.
• Artist is responsible for assigning a retail price, from which La Casa Azul Bookstore claims 30% commission. Works do NOT need to be for sale to be considered

HOW TO APPLY
Please submit all of the following documents by attachment to: gallery.lacasaazul@gmail.com
Subject Line: 2013 ARTIST SUBMISSION / (THEME YOU ARE SUBMITTING FOR)
• Resume, artist statement (1-2 paragraphs) and bio (1-2 paragraphs) in a single PDF document
• Cover letter describing work/exhibit proposal in a single PDF document
• 2-5 Images/sketches of projected work (see image specifications below)
• Contact information, including link to website

Image Specifications:
• Image format: JPEG, 72dpi – 800K Maximum size.
Note: This equals 600 pixels on the longest side for horizontal images and 450 pixels on the shortest side for vertical images
• Rename each image with your first and last name (example: 01firstname_lastname.jpg)

Artist will be informed if their work has been chosen for an exhibit by March 8, 2013.

About La Casa Azul Bookstore:
Grounded in Latino culture, La Casa Azul Bookstore is dedicated to providing cultural, and educational programs via literature and art in East Harlem. It is our vision to foster public awareness and appreciation of the arts by being a focal point where people come to find unique gifts and participate in culturally-based workshops that celebrate Latino traditions.

La Casa Azul Bookstore
Visit: www.lacasaazulbookstore.com
Follow: @LaCasaAzulBooks

I began the year by re-reading Borges

I realize now it was a good choice, reinforcing my love for books early on in 2013.

Borges is, I find, a true animator of human thought. He takes a hypothetical- what would you do if you met a later version of yourself? - and makes a scene of it: younger Borges enters his own room and finds, lying down on his bed, another, older Borges. They exchange quips, ask important questions, argue over who is dreaming whom. We read along, entertained by the revelations, wondering how exactly this is going to end. In the work of Borges, philosophy has the quality of the detectivesque, of the historias poliacas he knew so well. 

Borges, who lived from 1899 to 1986, is known for having been an avid reader. He was and continues to be an excellent advocate of reading. For one thing, his stories lead to further book hunts. One can read Borges without understanding the allusions (Spinoza’s philosophy, the battle of Masoller) but there is always delight in doing a bit of extra research and realizing: ha! the battle of 1904 in Masoller did take place! It was the last battle of the Uruguayan Civil War. Or in finally checking out Ben Johnson’s work or beginning to think about the Kabbalah...

Borges is a strong advocate of texts simply because he understood reading as a legitimate way of spending time, as a way of informing our human experience. He was also, of course, an amazing craftsman, composing stories of clever structure and deliciously precise word choice.  His stories and essays are ever present in my own interpretation of memory, in my relationship to human history and the history of human thought. Borges is essential to the way I think of stories and imagination.

If you haven’t approached Borges yet, or if it’s been a while since you entered his labyrinths, I recommend finding your way to a collection of his short stories.   

At La Casa Azul Bookstore we have Ficciones in English and El Aleph in Spanish, and can always help you find more of his works, stop by any time!

Happy, powerful reading to all.
Maria