Christine Hager-Braun

Christine Hager-Braun

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Job, Career or Calling – Why Do I Create?

Happiness on a Rainy Day, Fiber, 14”h x 18”w x 1”d, mounted on canvas   Recently I read the following parable in the book “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth: Three bricklayers are asked: “What are you doing?” The first says, “I am laying bricks.” The second says, “I am building read more

Creating New Opportunities to Connect With You

  In the past, I had opportunities to show my artwork and my hand-made fabric journals at various local venues like my studio, my friend’s studio, at art festivals, at the Gallery and Giftshop of the Hillsborough Arts Council, and the Bull City Art and Frame Company. These venues allowed me to connect personally as read more

Express Yourself to Gain Clarity

  Have you ever felt confused in a time of uncertainty, overwhelmed with emotions, and racing thoughts clouding your mind? You are certainly not the only one! I’m right there with you. We all experience challenges: difficult relationships, financial issues, loss and grief, or health problems. Every so often, we all need to clear our read more

Which creative habit would you like to have but don’t really commit to?

  Which creative habit would you like to have but don’t really commit to? What would you like to practice but never seem to get around to?   Oh, I can think of so many options! Mainly because I don’t limit creativity to artists. We all are creative, we just express it in different ways. read more

Happy Thanksgiving!

  ©Christine Hager-Braun, Acorns, Fiber, 4″x6″ Dear Art Lovers and Students, As an artist I spend many days in my studio creating art quilts in solitude. Although I enjoy this quiet time, the interaction with you is a vital component for not feeling lost in a void. I’m grateful for each and every one of read more

Monday’s Mantra: Everything in life

It is comforting to know that bad luck, challenges, pain and suffering will not last forever. We might struggle but there is the light at the end of the tunnel. But unfortunately, joy, happiness, or comfort eventually come to an end as well. C’est la vie – such is life! Accepting impermanence requires us not read more

Monday’s Mantra: Trust is built

“Trust” is a big word which describes so much. When we trust someone, we feel safe with that person, we feel comfortable showing our vulnerable side and sharing our painful or embarrassing secrets. Trust allows us to approach difficult topics or opposing opinions in an authentic way and yet know that we care about each read more

Monday’s Mantra: Happiness lies not in finding

How do you define ‘happiness’? Often we assume that we need to reach the next step to be happy. Once we can buy new clothes, a new car, a new house, you name it, then we will be happy. Once we go on vacation to an exotic destination, an adventure trip, explore far away countries, read more

Monday’s Mantra: I am not a product

We are all born into ‘circumstances’ on which we have no influence. We are born into a specific geographic region, our parents’ socioeconomic environment, our family’s religion. While we grow up, we have dreams, but not always the opportunities to realize these dreams. However, at some point, we can no longer blame ‘circumstances’ for the read more

Monday’s Mantra: No man ever steps in the same river twice

No matter how hard we try to be our best selves, we sometimes seem to be repeating the same mistake, seem to respond the same way, or show the same behavior time and again. Although we appear to be going in circles, it is not really true upon closer inspection. We are going more in read more

Monday’s Mantra: The Point of Life

Is happiness the same as having fun? Or is there a deeper meaning? Is it the feeling of excitement when you reach a goal? Is it the sense of competence when mastering a skill? Is it the exhilaration of being the center of attention, or can happiness surface in the quiet time of solitude? Is read more

Monday’s Mantra: If you think you are too small to make a difference

Have you ever felt small and insignificant, unsure of yourself? Were you afraid that your voice would not be heard, and your opinion would not matter? Were you concerned that your idea would be considered unreasonable, your dream belittled, and your actions would be minimized? We all have these occasional doubts about ourselves. However, at read more

Monday’s Mantra: You may have to fight

Sometimes it takes great determination and perseverance to reach our goals. We might have to defend our strategies repeatedly, we might need to request funding for a project every time we reach a ‘milestone’, we might need to reiterate to our colleagues or our boss that we will meet the deadline. However, there are also read more

Monday’s Mantra: Self-care is not selfish.

While we occasionally encounter people who are all about ‘me first’, there are also those among us who care deeply about others and act accordingly. However, sometimes we are faced with the question “How much can we give, how much should we give?”   There are many commitments we certainly accept without thinking twice. Having read more

Monday’s Mantra: Intuition

How often do you make a decision in a split-second without really analyzing the situation? Sounds kind of foolish, maybe even dangerous! Yet we all know when a deal is too good to be true, when something sounds ‘iffy’ about an offer, or we are cautious about an explanation. Intuition is a sixth sense, formed read more

Monday’s Mantra: People often complain

How often do you find yourself with a to-do list that is a mile long and complaining that you have only 24 hours in your day? The sense of overwhelm can cause a sense of paralysis which makes things even worse. So, how can we prevent feeling stressed? There are different approaches to getting tasks read more

Monday’s Mantra: All progress takes place

As humans, we are creatures of habit. Most of us are much more at ease in our usual surroundings, among familiar people, and situations with predictable outcome than in circumstances that are different or even strange. But in order to learn and to expand our horizon, we need to test new ways. Have you ever read more

Monday’s Mantra: Confidence comes

Of course, we prefer to be right instead of being wrong. Of course, making errors frequently nibbles on our self-esteem. Why are we so afraid of being wrong? Because all eyes seem to be on us, because we question our own abilities and we are concerned that others question our capabilities as well. How can read more

Monday’s Mantra: Aging seems to be the only available way

We all hope to live a long and fulfilling life. Yet at the same time, we are not enthusiastic about getting old. An increasing number of wrinkles adorn our face and our body loses its firmness – we don’t look what society considers ‘beautiful’. Over the years came a few aches and pains and maybe read more

Monday’s Mantra: The most important thing

In our busy lives with hectic schedules, long to-do lists, and places to go, go, go, we might not take the time to stop and think about the things that matter deeply to us. There are days when we feel overwhelmed and hence, forget our daily intentions. It seems impossible to carve out time to read more

Monday’s Mantra: Reality is always kinder

How do you respond when someone tells you ‘no’ to a request? Do you get angry, accusing the other person of not supporting you sufficiently, blaming them for not caring about your needs? Or do you withdraw, because you feel you are not worth the help you had asked for, you are not good enough, read more

Monday’s Mantra: The first step toward change

As humans, we feel most safe in an environment that is reliable, consistent, and familiar. Nevertheless, we experience frequent changes. Changes in relationships, in our surroundings, in our health. We might not like the changes we are facing, but there is nothing gained from ignoring or avoiding the new circumstances, or in blaming others for read more