1.31.2022

# Seek Out the Arts # The Chic Assignment

The Chic Assignment | February 2022


Welcome to the first Chic Assignment of 2022! The Chic Assignment is a monthly challenge where we seek out the arts and improve the quality of our overall lives. Be sure to invite a friend!

The Chic Assignment is brought to us by The Chic Society. The Chic Society: Become a member of The Daily Connoisseur to get exclusive monthly live streams, access to my weekly members-only Vodcast, penpal program, and more. Only $1.99 a month (upper tiers are also available).



Chic Assignment No. 1 Discover the music of Valerie Coleman. Flutist and composer Valerie Coleman is Performance Today's Classical Woman of the Year and one of the top 35 Women composers in classical music, according to The Washington Post. If you want to smile this month, listen to Imani Winds performing Valerie Coleman's "Umoja."

We will learn more about Valerie Coleman in the mid-month check-in, but for now, you can visit her website to learn more about this talented composer. 




 
Vincent van Gogh, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Chic Assignment No. 2  Enjoy the art of Vincent Van Gogh

We knew the day was coming when we would study the iconic Vincent Van Gogh. It's hard to believe that Vincent felt like a failure in his artistic life and how he is so famous his work has almost become a given... a cliche. Learning about Van Gogh was one of the most interesting portions of my art history class in Paris and I'm excited to delve back into his sad but interesting life with you this month. You can learn more about Van Gogh and see his art for free here

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Chic Assignment No. 3 Journal your gratitude this month. Before you start groaning... just hear me out. Write ten things you're grateful for each day this month. Don't overthink it. It doesn't have to be the top ten things. There is no pressure here. You don't have to feel guilty if you forget to write something big down. It can be that you're grateful for something as big as your children or something as small as the rose by your sink. It can change every day. Just write the first ten things that come to your mind. If you forget a day, don't beat yourself up over it. Try to do it each day. I've been doing this since the beginning of the year and I'm noticing some very curious and positive effects. 

Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 


Chic Assignment No. 4 Go outside and notice the birds. Whether you have a garden, a balcony, a front porch step, a nearby park, or an open field near your home, step outside this month and notice the birds that are native to your area. We tend to take wild birds for granted, tuning out their call and not noticing their habits. But they are a part of everyday life and noticing them can bring us back into the present moment. This was the inspiration behind my poem, The OWL. I noticed the Owl in my garden at Christmas time and it inspired me to write poetry. 

If you feel inspired by any of these assignments, I would love to hear from you. Record your observations in the comments and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog. 


I hope you enjoy this near year of Chic Assignments! The Chic Assignment series is brought to us by The Chic Society, the private membership group on YouTube.  Joining The Chic Society gives you access to my exclusive members-only vodcast, which is published every Friday. I also do one livestream a month or do a Zoom call where we can all visit together and we now have a penpal program! Membership is only $1.99 a month. 


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7 comments:

Debbie said...

Hi, Jennifer. I listened to the "Chic Assignment" this morning and then went right to the Valerie Coleman video. What a joy to listen to! I am looking forward to the rest of this month's chic assignment. Thank you for taking the time to put it together.

Jodi L said...

Hi Jennifer
Love the Assignments this month!
We live in a 10 acre forest property, the house is situated directly in the middle, with trees surrounding. I am constantly aware of the wildlife around us but I love watching all the species of birds, and there are a lot!
An excellent book I read recently called What the Robin Knows by Jon Young, tells how all the different species are aware of each other as well, how they avoid one another and how they help one another. They are such smart creatures. Just fascinating! I highly recommend.
I love these assignments that you suggest every month - I look forward to them because they are guaranteed to enrich my life in a way I wasn't expecting.
Thanks Jennifer! Happy New Year to you.

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Debbie- Wonderful! Thank you!

Hi Jodi, thank you for that book recommendation. It sounds wonderful! I'm so glad you are enjoying The Chic Assignment this year.

~ Jennifer

Wynne Kelch said...

Wow, I love Valerie Coleman, Imani Winds, and Umejo--thank you for the discovery!

Unknown said...

Thank you Jennifer for your inspiring content and assignments. I have always responded well to being given an "assignment." It's a motivating factor for me to work on self-development. Your assignments are instructional and fun! Many Thanks!

Mary said...

Hi, this is Mary. just wanted to mention an article in The Atlantic, entitled ART SHOULD BE A HABIT NOT A LUXURY. When I was reading the article, it immediately made me think of the daily connoisseur, (SEEK OUT THE ARTS)and the chic assignment.

I will leave the link to the article here

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/01/art-consciousness-happiness-exercise/621374/

Have a wonderful day!

Mary

Stacie said...

Dear Jennifer,
I'm so excited to restart the Chic assignments. My friend and I are searching
out the arts in our area, and we went to the Van Gogh interactive exhibit. It was wonderful!!!
I'm also looking forward to hear what you are learning from your gratitude journaling. My husband and I implemented a "Thank you list" when we go to bed. We each tell the things we are thankful that day. It's wonderful to do before you fall asleep. Blessings, Stacie