living a creative life

Having a Plan

2012-02-23T17:29:00.000-05:00

I don't have a plan! I know, I know! Do you?? January starts with such good intentions. All the books roll out to organize and plan your year. Exercise equipment is everywhere. Gym memberships are on special! All the blogs I read had ideas for the new year. I even bought a book about the business side of art with all the plans you could ever want! I admit, I was tempted to put one in place. But I know myself better than that. Why set myself up, I asked? Now, it's almost March. Are you still doing what you set out to do? Have you followed the plan?

I believe the adage "fail to plan, plan to fail", so I guess I do plan, loosely. I plan my compositions. But when I paint, I like to be open to the painting to tell me where to go with it. Sometimes it's better than anything I had planned.

I think you have to have a set destination to really chart a direct course and follow it. But I'm more of a stroller. I like to dally in the green meadow or stop and look up to watch the bird in her nest. I have an idea where I'm headed, but it's less about getting there and more about the pleasant diversions along the way. For me.

Not everyone is built this way. You may need a schedule and timeline to get things accomplished or you feel uncomfortable. I feel uncomfortable and restrained with rigid deadlines. I have them and I meet them. But I don't thrive on them. I think we are bent one way or the other. Which way do you lean? And while deadlines and destinations keep things moving forward in the world we live in, we need balance.

I say embrace it! Don't fight it. This world needs all kinds. Those who are strollers keep those uptight deadline makers from taking themselves to seriously and the planners keep us from driving off the road into the ditch while we watch the scenery! It's a win win thing if you ask me.

The painting above is the beginning of a self portrait I started this week with my portrait group. I can see myself beginning to emerge in a cloudy haze. (yes, it's very flawed and needs work, as do I!) That's how portrait painting works for me. And I love it and the thrill of seeing the likeness (hopefully) emerge. Over the years I've wanted to focus more on my portraiture (among other things!!) so I joined a group that paints once a week. So here's the balance. I do it once a week (plan/structure) but do it in a way that I find relaxing and with fun people (loose/strolling). I think that's a balanced win-win plan!

Over the next few weeks my plan is to show you a few ways to use your sketchbook for fun and not just to work out your values or compositions. And I'm trying to get back to blogging weekly. Thanks for reading. Now go create something!

Finding Your Artistic Voice

2012-02-21T12:46:00.001-05:00

Have you ever struggled with what kind of art (music; writing; etc.) you want to do? We live in a world with so many rich choices it can be mind boggeling. Are you like me and love everything and want to do absolutely everything?  This can be a good thing since I believe diversity makes you very well rounded and a more interesting person. It can also be a bad thing. So many choices mean we don't focus on any one thing long enough to be really good at anything!

There are those of you whose path seemed predetermined at birth.  You picked up a paint brush and some oil paints and ureka! It was magic and you never wanted another medium. Some of you do landscapes and find never ending inspritation from the vistas before you. Some of you played a jazz tune the first time and now every note you play has that familiar edge, as though it was a part of you. Like you were meant to play that way. I envy you. For many of us the path is not so clear.

A great deal of us finally find something that speaks to us along lifes way. A passion that has not presented itself before or is reawakened later in life. Something that we find so compelling that we can't get enough. That, is when the magic happens.  Finding your passion is the beggining of finding your voice.

Next you must master your craft. This takes years. Life get's in the way. Unless it's your career path as well, you must make time for it and time gets shorter as we get older! But here's what I tell all my students: you have to master the skills before you can use them creatively. Only when the skills become rote do we have the freedom to investigate our creativity through our art. I'm not saying you are never being creative in the early stages of your art. But I am saying it is much easier to experess yourself if you have more than a basic vocabulary! So is it impossible make good art when you are just beginning? Some of the pieces I am most fond of are those that have the freshness of inexperience! One lesson is to always keep learning to keep your art fresh. Skill is not the end all.

Now you have your passion defined and your skill set in place. Now what? What makes you different? What makes you special? I believe we are created with unique and individual traits. In the same way, I believe each of you has a unique and individual way to create using your art. A "style" or voice that is only yours. I also think we all have something to say that no one else can say quite the way you, and only you, can.

But hold on. You are going to change and so will your art.  Therefore, so will your "voice". It's a comfortable place to find your "grove" but a dangerous place to stay. Let me suggest that as you grow as an artist your voice gets deeper and what you have to say becomes clearer. All that takes time. Life is process and so is your art. The trap is to find something so comfortable you never grow beyond it.  While there is safely in having the skills and knowing what your message is, an artist must continue to grow. To find something new and fresh to speak about. At some point people will tune out if they've heard the same thing a thousand times. And isn't art a conversation, really? Aren't we really expressing something through another "language" of sorts?

So I guess my message today is: All this buzz about finding ones voice is a nice idea, if that were all there was to it: Found passion-check. Learned skills-check. Have something to say-check!-heck. How dull life would be if that were all there were? How dull is art that say's the same thing over and over again?

Think about it.

What's Wrong With This Picture? The Value of a Good Critique-Pt.2

2012-02-07T11:07:00.002-05:00

Tom - Alla Prima

What's Wrong with this Picture? The Value of a GoodCritique-Pt.2

First, let me say thank you to all of you who commented onthis blog--and there were a lot of you!! Most of you receive my blog on an email list serve so your responsescome to my inbox and not directly to the comment area on my blog for all tosee. It would be nice for you all tosee the comments that land in my inbox and have a dialogue. There is a setting I need to change for that,but like so much else--someday, maybe...

The number one response I got asked if a bad experiencecaused me to write this. The shortanswer is no. Have I had bad experiences? Sure, I have. My first college watercolor class was adisaster and I received a D! I've satthrough many a scourging critique and have been rejected for memberships andshows. People have said unflattering things. (and why is that what we remember?) That, my friends, is the life of an artist. It comes with the territory. You must develop a thick skin or never letyour work see the light of day. So many ofyou do that very thing. I still feel the sting of negative feedback, as do my mostaccomplished friends. You will neveravoid it, you must learn to deal with it.

My aim is to encourage you and your talent. Life is process and so is our art. Robert Henri wrote in The Art Spirit "Athing that has not been begun cannot be finished". Yet how many an artist has pulled their toefrom the water to avoid getting wet? They begin, but they let criticism stop them from finishing. If criticism is what you fear, I say you mustjust jump in feet first and brave the water- get yourself all wet! Or if that'snot your style, wade in slowly, getting used to the water slowly. Let's face it, repeated exposure will desensitizeyou. You also can't finish if you quit! While Mr. Henri was talking about a single painting, I would add that asartists we are never "finished" with our art. We continue to grow and evolve. And "constructive" criticism helpsus do just that.

A few of you thought I wanted feedback on the painting Iposted because of the title of the blog "What's Wrong with thisPicture?" You were very kind inyour comments. I love the painting (Ialways love the latest one that finished well) and only threw it up therebecause my readers want to see my artwork. The title was really a metaphor. By definition Critique means "the art or practice ofcriticism" and Criticism means "the practice of judging the merits and faults of something or someone". While a little convoluted, the idea was thatmost often feedback is negative and some of those doling it out have dubiousmotives. So "What's Wrong with thisPicture" has two meanings. Sneaky,huh?

I try now to look at criticism from any source withobjectivity. I ask myself if there isany merit to their view, even if I don't like what I'm hearing. I try to separate my personal feelings fromtheir reaction to my art. And I try toremember that for everyone who loves my art, there will be those whodon't. And that's OK. I don't like everyone's art myself. You have opinions, don't you?
Find a safe place to nurture yourcreativity. A place where you cangrow. Don't let criticism stop you fromdoing what you love and expressing yourself through your art and showing theworld. Do learn to use it to make youand your art better, remembering that there is always room to grow andimprove. That's the value of a goodcritique.

What's Wrong with this Picture? The Value of a Good Critique.

2012-01-20T13:06:00.000-05:00

Being an artist can be tough. Art school can be cruel. You have to develop a tough skin if you want to be an artist! That being said, there is a line between a valuable piece of criticism and an opinion.  And the difference is: who delivers it!! Because every criticism is really only an opinion. The bottom line is there are really no hard and fast rules in art by which we can measure its worth.  Art is personal and subjective. And everyone has an opinion.

I think it's very valuable to surround yourself with people who's opinions and criticism is constructive and delivered in the right way.   I have friends whom I respect as artists and have credibility with me because I know their work and trust their eye. These artists have raised my art to a higher level. They give their opinion only when asked. And we support one another and have a safe place to do what we do, without judgement.

Yet there are those self appointed critics who feel the need to let you know what you lack. I am always amazed when fellow artists or others give me unsolicited advice or criticism. If you do that, you had better be Picasso yourself or you are only making enemies. Again, advice, criticism, opinion or whatever you call it may have value and be legitimate, but only if the person delivering it is someone you respect. Someone you want to learn from. Those generous with their time and talent and interested in helping me be a better artist.

Artists are sensitive people. But the truth is when you put your art out there you are essentially asking the world to look at what you do and to judge it. I don't paint them to put them in a drawer. It would be very mature and together of me to say that others opinions of my work do not bother me. That wouldn't be the truth and I don't really believe artists who say that. My paintings all carry a part of me, so it is personal. If they love them, I'm happy. If they hate them, I have to decide if I value their assessment. If I do, I could be bruised. But I've learned from entering juried shows, from being in critique groups or having them in a class that these situations can lend objectivity to my work and teach me valuable things.   And- that it's not always valid. Ultimately I need to learn to find those who can reliably help me and keep growing as an artist. Just realize that if your paintings have no flaws, then you have arrived and now you have no where to go. And most likely, no one to go with!

Grizzly Bears and Art

2012-01-11T09:43:00.000-05:00

Last summer I had a grizzly bear encounter. It's only significance to this blog is how it relates to my life and my art. As is my habit, I want to share the metaphors with you.

The short version is that while in Montana visiting our son in Glacier National Park I had a very close call with a grizzly bear. In case you don't know, Grizzly's are mean and very unpredictable. They are the last type of bear you want to meet!

My sister in law and I took a very short trail to the hotel to return a room key. The trail was a horse trail we had just seen traversed by four riders. We thought it a short trip and the guy's needed the bear spray for their trek to the river to fish. I figured it was safer than the narrow highway with little or no room for pedestrians and a blind curve by the hotel. Surely all the bear hype was just that - hype? These parts were so full of people and bears tend to shy away from the more populated areas. But I was wrong. Lesson number one: it's not the first time I've been wrong...

So down the trail we go. Getting further in, the path becomes dense with brush and trees. I was more uncomfortable now. Talking loudly and walking quickly to alert any bears we were on our way, I noticed movement out of the side of my eye. Turning to see what it was, up on hind legs popped a young bear not ten feet away!! I looked him full in the eye and we stared at each other for a beat; long enough for me to register some real fear. (Note: You are not supposed to look a bear in the eye!)

Now you might think this a stretch, but how often has your art gotten you into any real danger? My guess is, not often! So what are you afraid of? Why are you not doing more with your passion? The answer is that you looked the bear in the eyes and you are afraid! He's big. He's powerful. He could consume you and your life or at least change it forever! It's risky to walk down that path even with bear spray! If you really pursue this art thing, it could be a huge failure. It could take all your savings if you quit your day job. You could find you are a no talent hack and you were just deluding yourself all along! It could be a huge disaster! Or...

The young bear then came out of the brush at us!! We screamed and ran-- hearts beating outside our chests!! Yes ran. (and no you are never supposed to run). Your odds are thin to nil you'll ever out run a bear. So why did we run? In short, instinct took over. And there's the next lesson. We all have that same instinct. My sister-in-law lives in Montana and is married to the director of Parks for the state. She knows better. We both did. And yet, we ran! We ran because there was imminent danger and we let our fear dictate our actions. Bears that pop up out of nowhere give you no time to think! The lesson here? Practice so you are prepared when the bear pops up!! What is the bear you fear? Figure that out and then prepare and rehearse so that when you meet him, and you will if you wander around in the forest long enough, you are prepared to live through it!!

Luckily, the bear ran straight as we ran forward and he disappeared into the dense cover on the other side. The lesson? Most of the time you just see a bear at a distance. But if it gets as close as ten feet, or even appears to charge at you, and if you can run faster than your sister-in-law, your odds of survival are better! (Just kidding!) My thought is that while I don't take unnecessary risks, I have learned that taking calculated risk usually does not kill me. So, while you might see a bear on your path, it's highly unlikely it will be as bad as you think it will-- if it even happens!! You must take some risks in your art to get any further.

Recounting my trauma to my son later, I was still very shaken. I had cheated death! And my heart still raced when I thought about it. In this very deep way he said "Mom, you are more alive now than you were before!" He knew what I felt having had a similar experience himself. But what he didn't know, was how profound that statement was for me. I was indeed more alive for having that experience. Do I want another one? Not on your life! Yet it reaffirmed some things. One, my understanding that the here and now is all we really have. Two, what I worry about is seldom if ever as bad as I fear. Three, keeping my eyes open and being prepared help keep the fear and self-doubt at bay.

I want to live with more intention now. I do have a greater sense of urgency to experience life more fully. And I don't want to waste another moment with the unnecessary. I want to live my life and do my art more fully.

And I have to thank a bear for that.

Bucket List-The Final Piece!

2011-12-15T14:09:00.000-05:00

Reid's beginning to model the face

And so, here I am at the last two days of the workshop. I have observed a great deal by watching every morning. I learn best visually. So every morning I watched and made notes on what I observed or what he said. Someone would ask him a question and he would say, "I don't know. That really doesn't help you much, does it?" But when I thought about it, sometimes I don't know how to answer a student's question. Maybe I don't know. It's not a crime. Yet, I know he knew what he was doing and why. Mr. Reid seemed totally at ease with those types of answers. Many times he had fine answers. In fact at one point he said he thought we ought to be less concerned with "all that", which I took to mean the mechanics, and just paint. Several times he would tell us not to do something and then do that very thing! I find this to be one of the biggest problems with teaching/teachers. We get so used to "doing" a thing and it becomes so rote we forget how to break it down for the beginner. But I did find him to be one of the better teachers I've had overall.

Fri. Reid demo-Joseph Wolveskill

What he did do that I found very valuable was talk through his process as he worked each morning. As he drew he talked about what he saw and what he was drawing and why. When he painted, what colors he was using and why, water to paint ratio,or brush work. I was a sponge. I tried to repeat something new each day with good and bad results. Each afternoon he would go around to every student. Every day I got a new lesson and something to work on. The first day I told him I was trying to "loosen up" and he told me " I don't know what to tell you. I know that doesn't help you, but keep trying." I was a little freaked out by that. I thought, OK, well, what do I do now? So I just kept trying. And then he would come back around and tell me to lose an edge or finish what I started. When I repeated what he told me I had success. But old habits die hard and I kept falling back to my old way of doing things. Two steps forward and one back.

I came away with a renewed understanding of the importance of the gesture: The portrait, but especially the figure is stiff without its proper gesture. Correct proportions. The value of measurement. Line and edges: Changes in the direction of the line and lost and found edges. These are key in leading the eye and creating importance. Color: the temperature of color and where we place that and why. Warm colors come forward and cool recede. The extremities are warmer in color. It just reads right- even if exaggerated.

The models each day were of different ethnicity, which was very helpful. We had an African American male and female, an Asian female, a native American and a blond haired blue eyed Caucasian woman. It's so important to be versatile and know what color mixes to use for certain skin tones. It is always a good idea to learn to draw many different body types, skin colors or differing facial features.

Finished Reid painting- Joseph Woveskill

In the end, I failed in my attempts on Thursday and was not hopeful on Friday. Thursday's demo had been of Joseph Wolveskill, a native American of Sioux decent. He was a colorful individual with a love of the history of his heritage and history in general. Thursday he was decked out in traditional native American garb and the painting Reid did was fabulous! I did not have him as a model until Friday. Friday Joseph wore an authentic cowboy "outfit". I watched the Reid demo in the AM and tried my best to draw and paint Joseph in the PM. About an hour and a half into the process I was so frustrated I could have screamed. (I may have...) I always have an awkward phase in a portrait painting which I work through most of the time. This time I was just so frustrated. I received some timely encouragement and instruction from Reid at this point and I turned a corner on the painting. The finished piece I am very happy with. I have an accurate drawing, I have good composition, I have lost edges, I have good values and strong color--and it's very loose!!

unfinished painting of Joseph Wolveskill
Friday PM.

I have not had the time to practice my success. With the approach of the holidays and other commitments I have had precious little time or energy to paint. This is my recurring problem! I leave you with a painting I did for a demo that a student told me was "Reidesque". So hopefully what I learned lies dormant and will revive itself in the coming months!

Happy holidays- posts may be sparse until the new year! Thanks for taking this little journey with me. Your comments have been great!

Happy painting! Michelle

Bucket List Part Two

2011-12-09T15:56:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all of you who even thought any of the pictures last week were mine. Sadly, I did not paint even one of those! All were Reid's. I will share some of mine, but be warned and get the children out of the room--they are not pretty!
Last week I wrote about the first two days of the workshop. Each night I would come back home with the kids (well, 28 & 26 are still kids to me) and flop down--EXHAUSTED! Being in a 9 to 4 week long workshop is more art than I usually do in a week! And that in itself is why I do them. I am able to fully focus and concentrate on my art for one week out of a year. Nothing but art for one week.

The first day. Seems stiff and
harsh to me.The only thing I like
is the chair!

Later in the week we are into a routine and I've found a coffee machine to fend off the afternoon fatigue. Reid is still doing the spellbinding demo's in the A.M. and I am still working to loosen up and paint with bold color and one stroke confidence! It's not happening! But he makes it look so easy!! I know it can be done, but can it only be done by the master? Can the sensei impart the knowledge in one short week? Is this student a little slow? Shouldn't I be getting it by Wednesday?
This workshop is painting the figure in watercolor. I am no stranger to painting the figure. I still have some issues with accuracy in drawing, which Charles helped me with a great deal. His dot to line and gesture drawing, which I have been doing for years and which is nothing new, once again made a huge impact on what I really see and what I think I see. Back to basics!

Reid at work Wednesday A.M.

Right and below is the same model he did in the A.M. I was happy with the gesture and the drawing, but the face is harsh and she still looks cut out and pasted on the page. All things I am working to overcome. It is not as harsh as the first one, so I feel I am making some progress.

The floor beside Reid was as colorful as his paintings!
He snaps the brush on the floor to remove excess water...

My work Wednesday P.M.

Somehow I find myself over the hump and staring down the last two days of the workshop. I have a little panic attack since I have not produced one painting I feel good about. Please don't misunderstand. I am not being overly critical of my work. But when you know where you want to go and what you want to achieve--you know when you are not getting there. This was a turning point for me. There were many fine artist I was with who made great strides quickly. Others were struggling like I was. Reid was right there, encouraging and giving help but I just couldn't get where I envisioned myself going!

I will end part two with these reflections: On Thursday I wondered if I should just make peace with what I could do as an artist. Maybe my "style" was so strong I could not break free enough to do what I saw. And should I? Then I thought "why bother to learn anything then, or admire anothers work?" If I gave up just because I couldn't do it the way I thought I should by now, what was the point of taking the workshop? I am always telling students that no one is a virtuoso without training and most of all practice. The very definition from Miriam Webster is: one who excels in the technique of an art. Excellence is never a waste of time. But it does take time.

Reids version of the model.

And second, I clarified what I was hoping to learn and that was not trying to paint like someone else. I do think it's possible to get so enamored with someone elses technique or style that you "copy" them at the expense of your individual voice. What I wanted was to have that same control with a looser look and a better overall artistic voice. Looking around the room I noted that although each artist was looking at the same model, all are painting her in their own way. Your art is like your fingerprint. There is no one in that class who could paint like Reid, though a few could get close. But even those that were close had a unique quality to their painting that no one else had.

I went in Thursday morning understanding that I was there to stretch myself, not paint the way I always painted. That meant being willing to fail again on Thursday. But do I make the progress I want in the coming days? Yes, I do. In the end I learned some valuable lessons that I think have changed my art. (yet it only comes out every other painting!! Old habits die hard!) I'll show and tell all next week!

Bucket List

2011-12-02T14:29:00.000-05:00

I've never felt the need for a "bucket list".  I mean it's such pressure, right? What if you don't get it all done?? And doesn't the list change over the years?? And why make yet another list?? But I have to say, I just crossed one off the list... and I've never even made one!

For years I've been following several artists who's work I admire. Years ago it never occurred to me I would ever meet them, let alone take a workshop from any of them.  Yet I watched their websites and read the workshop adds in the back of magazines, dreaming that someday...never realizing I was mentally making a bucket list.

Since my mom's death four years ago I've honored her memory (she was very supportive of my art) by taking a workshop. These are not just vacations or gifts I give myself or things I can cross off a list. This is serious stuff! They are a time to reflect, (often I am alone in a hotel) on my art and myself. They are a time to meet and interact with other artists and share experience.  And it's a time of learning from artists who's work I greatly admire. They have all been growth experiences.

I've blogged each year about my experiences. (I will try to post those in the sidebar as archived posts for you to look at) As luck would have it (a figure of speech, I don't believe in luck) my son moved with his job to Phoenix, Az. I wasted no time checking out online the famous Scottsdale Artists' School. The kids were just minutes from the school and one of my favorite artists was going to be there in November! It was the beginning of August and that workshop was full with a waiting list a few weeks later. Without really thinking it through well, (like how I would get there and where the money would come from!) I put down my deposit and I was in.

So I saved my pennies and planned my trip with great expectation hoping I wasn't building it up too much and be disappointed. I reasoned that at least I would spend a week with the kids in the sun and warmth of the southwestern landscape that I love, so no matter what, it was worth the cost. And I was right. The time spent with the kids was awesome. And Charles Reid did not disappoint!

Now if you don't know Charles Reid, google him! He is one of the most talented living watercolor artists in this country. (not just my opinion) His style is loose. Very loose. But I am drawn to that because, while it seems that loose would be easier, quite the opposite is true. So most of us struggle to be loose and still make something recognizable!

First day, first demo

What I experienced is an older (older than me-so that's relative!) artist who is self taught in watercolor. What makes his techniques interesting is that he was an oil painter who uses watercolor the way you use oils. But what makes him remarkable to me as an artist was the way he modeled form and manipulated the medium! At one point I told him if I tried to put those same colors in those same intensities on my paper to paint a face, it would look like a clown! He just said, sometimes it does! His never did....

Finished painting

For the rest of that morning I sat transfixed as he painted a portrait in two hours. It was inspiring. It was daunting! Each afternoon we struggled to implement what he taught. One day "getting it" the next day "losing it!" And I found myself afraid that I didn't have what it takes to paint that well. So the fear paralyzes you. And if you are paralyzed you cant grow. That was just the first day. It was a week long, people!!

I have many things that need to be done around here for the holidays-so let me finish this blog in the coming weeks. I'm looking forward to sharing what I learned with everyone. The challenge now is to keep painting that way so I don't lose what I've learned! Check back next Friday for more workshop adventures!

Day two.

Bittersweet

2011-11-03T22:21:00.000-04:00

Bittersweet is what I would call the last few weeks. The fall will soon give way to winter. While the brilliance of autumn has muted now to warm russet colored reds and oranges and the weather has cooled, these day's still hold warmth in both temperature and color. I love the earthier colors later in the season-the dusky purples and red browns of the trees and the ochers of the fields against the deep blue of the November sky. I love color!

When I walk through the forest now most of the leaves have fallen. This emptiness highlights the bittersweet vines bright display. Nondescript during the rest of the season, bittersweet vine makes itself known as a star when most all else has been spent. Its hard yellow orange outer shell breaks open in thirds to reveal a deep orange-red berry.

There are many theories for why it is called "bittersweet". One theory is that one varieties bark, used for medicinal purposes, tastes bitter but leaves a sweet after taste. Another, that the vine, while beautiful, will eventually choke whatever it wraps itself around. One variety, called deadly nightshade, having beautiful red berries that when ingested prove mildly poisonous. My reason would be because it's berries keep their orange outer shell and red orange berries until the early winter snows fly and the birds eat them. Sort of falls last hurrah!

The meaning of the word is self explanatory. Bitter and sweet at the same time. I find myself happy to let go of the heat and green of the summer to welcome the cooler temps and bright fall colors. But along with that I am reluctant to leave it and head into the long cold (and in the Midwest-dark and gloomy) winter. I love the snow and cold and find great beauty in winter, but each change of season holds a bitter and sweet side at the same time.

This painting was from a piece of the vine I brought home to do a watercolor sketch in my journal. The finished piece is now up at Wingspread Gallery for the holiday season. Using the vine I brought home with its berries for inspiration, I enjoyed using the bold shapes and colors in an almost abstract way. Like the earlier painting of maple leaves showing negative and positive shapes, this paintings focus was bold color and pattern. I used the angles of the shell to contrast the round shapes of the berries that follow the lines of the vine itself.

And to get creative with the whole theme here: What activities or thoughts in your life are "choking the life" out of your creativity? How do you view the duality of bitter and sweet in the creative process? Does the bitter aftertaste of failure (and it's going to happen) keep you from trying again? Do we "consume" the "bright red berry"-that flashy easy part of our art that poisons our creativity and kills our growth?

Yeah, I know, "where does she get this stuff??" But it's something to think about...

Art and Reality

2011-10-19T08:27:00.000-04:00

I am not a fan of reality TV. And how can they call it reality?! How "real" are these people with a camera pointed at them? Some of my friends watch The Bachelor. My daughter can be caught watching a Housewives drama. (a study in sociology, of course) The kids love Chopped, a reality competition with chefs who create gastronomic delights from four or five ingredients chosen by the show. My husband even found one about golf! And who doesn't watch Hillbilly Handfishin'? A show that takes a group out into the rivers of Mississippi and teaches them to "noodle" or catch catfish with their hands!  They are modern day game shows in a way and there is something for everyone. And they seem addicting. I really have no use for them.

But wait. Now there is one for artists! Yes, you read right-a reality show about art and artists. It has the same premise as all the others. Project Runway for the arts. But I like it! It's called Work of Art-The Next Great Artist on Bravo. The premise is not new. Challenges are issued, there is an elimination each week, a large cash prize and an exhibit in the Boston Museum of Art for the lucky finalist. But what I find most interesting are the challenges and their results. I am never disappointed as a group of talented individuals give me a charge of inspiration with their take on the challenge. I have to admit, I am in awe sometimes.

Last season I began to pull for the artists I thought had the most potential. I watched each week as they struggled to use their unique creativity within the constraints of the challenge issued and asked "could I do that"? I watched talented artists with amazing skills choke under pressure and sympathized since I've done that!  I saw the drama as artists let their personalities get in the way of their talents. I watched an artist who I viewed at first as ho-hum rise steadily to each challenge and move through the weeks gaining confidence. I realized that small steps done steadily move you forward.  Large glimpses of occasional brilliance are great, but what do you do in between? I think you can loose momentum.  But those flashes of brilliance are a thing to behold. And I saw some awesome art and amazing skills.

I've seriously thought about taking on the challenges myself each week, but that's not reality. On what plannet is it possible to lock myself away in a room with unlimited supplies and devote myself to creating.  But isn't that the dream?? And for a few lucky artists it is a reality. And I will be watching!

Turning Negatives into Possitives

2011-10-06T17:51:00.001-04:00

If you read this blog often you know that I draw a lot of metaphors for life and art from my love of nature. I have a deep connection to nature and need to spend time outdoors to keep myself balanced. I am continually amazed at what God (or whatever you call or believe it to be) reveals to me through creation. Creating is a very spiritual thing for me. And my personal experience tells me that most "creatives" are pretty spiritual people in some form.

This week I was doing a demo for a class on negative painting. Using an old lesson, I wanted a new spin because I get bored doing the same thing over and over again. On my walk the brown leaves are starting to crunch beneath my feet, but the colors are just starting to show.  Last years color was disappointing, so I am hopeful for this year. With so much rain the colors should be spectacular this year and I am watching daily as things turn a bit more each day. If past years are an indication there will be one or two brilliant weeks of incredible color.    Inspired by a few fallen leaves with some color that I picked up to do a journal page with, the idea for my demo came.

The painting above uses both negative painting (painting the space around the subject) and positive painting techniques (actually painting the object).   The simple principle is that the negative space is what shows the positive forms in my painting. But it's hard to see and do because we are not used to seeing things that way or doing it! I am reminded that in my art as in life the "negative" when viewed objectively is not necessarily "bad". It is in fact a necessary part of the whole of the painting, and our lives. We need to get past the idea that the "good" things or those things that give pleasure are the only valuable things. While none of us are going in search of pain and adversity, the truth is that without the negative the positive would be that much less defined or appreciated. In nature, all these dreary rainy day's (which most of us view negatively) have made for one of the 10 wettest years in recorded history in Ohio. But the "positive" to that negative is that it should be one of the most brilliant shows of fall color in many years as well!

I just had to share with you how multi layered the creative process is for me. Look for the lessons you can learn from the things you see as negative in your life. And try a negative painting to cement the idea that those very spaces define the positive ones! Changing how we see in art as well as life is part of the way we grow.

So what started as a search for a new way to teach a basic principle turned out to be a new take on an old lesson for me. As I navigate some negative space in my life I'm finding it makes the positive aspects more visible.   Shifting to view the "negative" as not "bad" or unnecessary changes how I handle it. And yes, it's easier said than done!

Wasting Creative Energy

2011-09-30T13:01:00.000-04:00

Last week I talked about using 3 mediums to paint the same scene. I completed two, which I already posted. My plans were to take the scene and expand it in a panoramic (10x20) format in oil. As I did small sketches in my sketchbook to work out the composition, values and clarify my idea I became frustrated. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I know from past experience that to push this painting until I have a clear vision, is a waste of my time. The frustration stems from knowing it's not right, but not being able to identify why or what. Yet. I need to step away and get some perspective.

Experiment on Yupo paper

Sitting there on my easel was a photo of a friends dog he graciously let me use for a painting. I knew right when I saw it, I had to paint it! I put it there as a reminder and I had been looking at her for over a week now. I quickly switched gears and decided to play with some ideas for the painting of this dog. Playing is how I like to start a painting anyway. So I did a few dot to line drawings to find the right angles which I knew were important for the tilt of her head. I did a fast sketch on some Yupo which I bought to experiment on and see if I liked it. Disaster! (a new learning curve I don't have time for right now, but will explore in the future! Yupo is a synthetic paper with a smooth nonabsorbent surface.) While I loved some of what happened with the Yupo I lacked the control I wanted. This "playing" is not a waste of time. In that freedom I saw what happened on the paper while finding colors and strokes I thought would work on a finished piece. This time I had an idea, a clear vision of what I wanted to say and how to say it.

Gurdy-inquisitive and playful

My earlier frustration told me that this painting needed to keep that playful spirit and convey what I experienced in the brush work and color on the Yupo.  Most important, I decided to let go, have fun and not worry about the outcome. The painting that resulted was spontaneous and had the playful character I was looking for. The energy and playfulness was there.

Sometimes it's better to shelve something that is good in favor of something better. It's not that I can't or won't revisit the idea or that I wouldn't have worked through it and made something happen. But for me it's better not to waste too much creative energy on something that is frustrating me.  That photo sitting there for a week was begging me to paint it.  Most of my paintings are painted in my head before I ever do a sketch or bring out a brush. It's part of my process.

I know that we don't always have the luxury of putting a project aside. But if I do have to push through I often take a break or set off in a different direction while I look for inspiration to finish. It usually comes, and if it wont the result is never my best work.

Now I will put those pictures of Glacier back up and ponder what, why and how.  If it never comes into focus maybe I will scrap the whole idea and instead use the 10x20 as a vertical for a waterfall!  Who knows what will present itself? This I know: I don't have enough time to paint as it is. Why waste it trying to make something happen when it is repeatedly falling flat. The next inspiration is just around the corner-or was there all the time!

A Hint Taken from the Season's

2011-09-24T14:25:00.000-04:00

Farewell summer. The day's are cooler and the colors are beginning to turn. Mother Nature is not rushing into fall but instead is easing into the change. (so far) I appreciate that. A more gradual approach to change suits me better. I find I don't like change and yet tire of sameness.

View from Many Glacier - Pastel

Fall is my favorite season. I'm not sure why, but I think it's the color. While spring has startling color after the muted tones of winter, Fall makes a much bolder statement. I love the paradox of the colors so warm and intense, just as we loose the heat of summer. It's like natures last hurrah before a blanket of snow covers the earth and the cold makes dormant the very trees that screamed life only a month before.

I need the rhythm of seasons. Just as I get tired of one another starts! It must be part of who I am because I also find myself loving variety in my art as well. Right now I am painting the a Glacier park scene in 3 different mediums with different formats. I like each painting for a different reason. But how would I have known if I had finished the first one and not tried any other way? This approach allows me to find what best expresses what I want to say. It may seem to others like trying to reinvent the wheel or a waste of time. Maybe if I had thought out what I wanted to say thoroughly I would have know which format or medium best expressed that? Since creating is largely intuitive for me, decisions make themselves in the process of even the best planned paintings. Often it is better than what I planned originally and I go with it. Sometimes it's a huge mistake!

I may not do this multiple painting thing often, but I find it valuable. I helps keep my skills sharp in all mediums. It helps clarify the idea or reason for the painting in the first place. I stop when I feel I've said everything I want to say about that subject.

Quick journal of a lone last larkspur of summer.

I'm taking my sketchbook journaling in a different direction as well, by recording what nature has for me each day. The last Larkspur or hummingbird of summer. Nothing big or dramatic, but the small "poetry" presented in nature. With this in mind I look for something to paint that day and do an quick sketch in watercolor or pencil. What a gift! Like a gratitude journal in paintings!

Try one of these or both and let me know what you think. How do you explore a subject or make decisions on execution? Look up the inspiring work of Kevin Macpherson's Reflections on a Pond. http://www.reflectionsonapond.com/
While he does not change his medium he paints the same scene everyday of the year. Now that's exploring a subject!

Just a few ideas to keep things fresh. A hint taken from the seasons. We are nothing if we are not creative!

Sketchbook Journaling

2011-09-11T20:55:00.003-04:00

That I was able to paint plein air while on my vacation in Montana was a gift! Unless I go on a specific painting vacation do my vacations and my painting go together. These days however I always take a sketchbook and a very small box of paints and I try to do at least something small when I can steal the time. And I look for small snippets of time more often now!

I remember the first time I took a sketchbook and paints. I was so timid I never took them out! The next time I did them in my room away from the eyes of onlookers. Gradually as I gained confidence, I became a brave artist and painted away from any crowds. The more accustomed I became to it the less I worried about others and the more I wanted to record my adventures with my art. When focused, I don't notice the occasional onlooker, and they usually don't bother me either.

Notice the picture # for future reference
Yes, I took a lot of pictures!

A sketchbook travel journal is a wonderful way to keep memories even if you don't actually paint much in them. You can take a photo, note the number of the photo and make notes for the future painting. I note colors and impressions, details and even feelings to evoke the memories back at the studio. That way when I go to paint it the scene comes to life again.
If you get a chance, you can paint a small scenes as time allows. A sketchbook journal is the perfect size to do quick studies. Many of my paintings are unfinished because I had to move on. Some of those unfinished sketches are favorites of mine. I'm not sure why, but I try to remind myself it's not always about finishing. Sometimes it's just about starting-isn't it?!

I noticed that while I had many photos, I couldn't remember even a week later where exactly I was, why I took the photo or other relevant things from my vacation. As the idea evolved, I began to make written notes about each day of my travels.Now my journals are full of written records of my journeys with pencil sketches as well as tiny and small watercolor sketches. Now when I go through them it is much more than a photo album, it is a record of my experience in the "here and now" of "then and there", if that makes sense. I don't know about you, but when I get home it takes weeks to get back into things and by then the memories have faded. But having those written notes is nice.

I have sketchbooks that are just for travel, but I also keep sketchbooks for everyday. Every once in a while it's such fun to go back and read my impressions of something or see a quick sketch. I don't write a daily journal nor do I sketch daily. I find I'm doing it more and more as a way to observe and then reflect on some of the important and the not so important things that interest me artistically. I try not to be serious about them either. They are for my eyes only and I have fun and play in them.

Recently I was rereading The Pastelist's Year by Elizabeth Mowry. She writes about a journal that she keeps to record nature and the impression it leaves on her during her walks each day. I thought I might take my journals in that direction for a while beyond the travel journal and sketchbook where I work out compositions and things. I love the idea of recording the wonders I see on my walks.

So there are many ways to keep a sketchbook journal and just as many reasons. I find the value of keeping one grows with each journal I fill. Besides which, they are just fun!

Change Your Scene

2011-08-29T12:07:00.000-04:00

First painting of the week.

I spent the summer thinking about how to keep my work fresh and ever evolving. About how to keep my life and art from getting predictable and staid. There are a few things I figured out might help, but the most significant thing I did was experience a change of scenery.

A change of scene helps jump starts my creative juices. Seldom do I come back from a trip and not have an abundance of ideas and reference for paintings. Most of the time I have ideas in abundance when I'm there, but when I get home the reference photos just sit. I am not a great studio painter. I realized this summer that I am an experience painter! I paint best from life. On scene. Everything translates to the painting better if I do it as a whole experience. I personally like the paintings better as well since they tend to be loose and more painterly because I don't have time to fuss with details. I have to get right to the point before the light changes or the subject moves, etc.

My change of scene this summer was a week in Montana. My husbands brother lives in Helena and my youngest is working at a hotel in Glacier National Park. Joe, my husbands brother and the director of Fish, Wildlife and Parks for the state of Montana and Alice his wife shared their Montana with us. I am ready to pack my stuff and move there tomorrow! Montana is such a rugged, untamed and expansive place. You never lack for a vista and my painters eye was on overload the entire week.

Rarely when I vacation (unless I go with a painting group) am I able to paint since we are usually on the move and packing around painting equipment is heavy! But my husband encouraged me to take it and paint whenever I could. For a plein air painter, Montana is a gold mine!

sketch of the first day's fishing excursion,
does not do it justice! Painting fast means
you have to think quick and make fast decisions.
I shouldn't have kept the front flowers!

The first day turned out to be a day just this side of heaven! Long story short the guy's wanted to fly fish so we dropped them off downstream and headed upstream so Alice could fish the pond and I could paint on private property. Golden hills dotted with pines (and pine scent), grazing cattle, a rushing creek in a field of wildflowers with grass so tall it came to my thighs! All against a backdrop of mountains and an expansive blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds! My kind of place! I was able to paint two plein air watercolors while the men fished for almost 5 hours. The sun was hot and the paints dried out fast but I persisted. It was the perfect day. And there were four more to go!

Quick watercolor sketch on the boat
of the gates of the mountains

The next day we took the pontoon boat down the Missouri river where steep limestone cliffs form what Lewis and Clark called the Gates of the Mountains. Again the scenery was breathtaking. I had taken my gear and painted small sketches as we moved down the river. This was such a challenge and so much fun to paint and catch "spots of color" (a term Charles Hawthorn used) of the right value that explained the forms!

View from Many Glacier Hotel

I was able to paint again when we went to see my son at Glacier. Many Glacier Hotel has the most amazing views and we got up early and watched as the sunrise painted the mountains orange while a moose and her calf grazed across the lake! The boy's went fishing once again and I set up to paint just outside the hotel. The view was breathtaking and as is always the case it was hard to decide what to paint. I chose a view and painted to my hearts content. AND I was actually pleased with the finished piece! But who could go wrong with such beauty?

So Montana taught me that for this painter, the experience is key. Until I experienced the grizzly bear up close and personal. (I haven't figured out how to turn that into a creativity blog yet, but it'll turn up! stay tuned) This change of scene did more than give me reference material. What I know now more than ever is that my experience of a place is heightened by taking the time to paint it. I will remember the experience more richly because I took the time to really absorb it. Get a sense of the place. Fully observe the colors. Inhale its essence. Soak it up in all ways with all my senses. And as artists, isn't that what we do? As a chef, a decorator, a musician or any of the arts? It's all about our senses and experience!

So to keep my work exciting and fresh I know I need to vary my experiences. (that's always been true of my life anyway!) That I am a much better painter in the studio if I first experienced the scene as fully as possible. This is often done in my sketch book and I will detail how that helps and what I do in my next blog. For now, go experience your art! Keep things fresh and consider a change of scene. I highly recommend Montana!

Slugs and Cheerleaders

2011-08-12T16:41:00.005-04:00

One day my friend referred to someone as a slug. Since we are both gardeners, I understood right away what she meant! I had to ask her what she thought the similarities were. To this she replied that a slug moves very slowly. It eats whatever is in it's path, even and especially decaying things. It is plump in the middle and rather slimy leaving a slimy trail behind it as it travels. Basically it is a pest that makes a mess out of your nice carefully tended garden. And finally as any good gardener knows, to bait a slug you set out a saucer of beer. The slug is drawn to the beer, wades right in thus drowning itself! Suicide by beer! Now hold that thought.

I walk every day. Almost every day I don't want to walk. I get up and say to myself, "I don't think I'll walk today." It's weird because I have to literally force myself to do one of the things that I enjoy so much and is so good for me both mentally and physically. Some day's I sneak myself into it by just putting on my walking clothes when I get up. That way, if I feel some energy I'm ready to go. Most day's I'm ready after a cup of coffee jump starts me. Some day's I just have to force myself by telling myself I'll just do a short walk today which always turns into the full course.

Once I'm out there I always wonder what all that hesitation was all about. I regularly get ideas for blogs and paintings or figure out a problem while my brain wanders and my feet plod on. Every day I marvel at creation and the amazing natural world-never the same day twice! My body loosens up and I feel the energy of the walk fill my body. I just feel better all the way around. And while I'm walking I'm so very grateful for that day and the ability to walk.

Back to the slug metaphor. All of us have an inner slug.  I'm sure my inner slug is not about nurture, or I would have gotten rid of it long ago by the simple act of defying it every day. Nor is it all about nature. If that were the case I would have drowned in my beer years ago!   I keep repeating...balance! We all have something we need to balance.

A lot of what I do as a teacher is encourage people not to quit! I do that because I wish someone had done that for me when I was making my way in the art department. Many of you have told me that my encouragement has meant a lot to you and that means a lot to me.  One student even called me a cheerleader! Which is in a way, what I do for my students.

But in the end its all about putting one foot in front of the other isn't it? It's hard to learn a new skill but there is a certain thrill at trying something new and then getting the hang of it. The real test is whether you hang in there when it gets tough. When you don't progress as you think you should.  When you didn't get out of a class what you wanted.  When the skill set seems to be more complicated than you bargained for and you cant paint (or cook, or write or sing or dance) the way you want.

When I haven't walked in a while I notice changes. My energy level goes down yet I feel antsy. I ache more and have less flexibility. My mood is less optimistic.  In short, I feel "sluggish"! In my last blog I talked about taking a break and the restlessness I feel when I've been away from creating too long. I was getting that antsy feeling, but noticed I didn't really "feel" like going out to paint. So just like with the walk, I gave myself a little push and viola! Back in the saddle I went.  And I wondered what all the hesitation was about!

Soon I will be starting classes again. I am eager to get back to what I love to do. I will see many familiar faces eager to get back to the routine and time carved out for their art. A class is a great way to make time for your art. It surrounds you with like minded people and hopefully helps you move forward with your skills. But what if you are not able to take a class for some reason?

In coming blogs I will be exploring how to stay in the game of art. I'll give you some practical ways to help you make your creative endeavours more vital and less random.  I will be your cheerleader!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

2011-07-22T15:49:00.002-04:00

Remember when you went back to school and you had to write your first paper on what you did on your summer break? I must say I am enjoying my summer! Right now half the country is in this terrible heat wave that does not look like it will give way anytime soon. I am in one of those unlucky states. My grass is turning to straw before my eyes. (bright side: I gave up watering) I have to hit the pavement before 8 am for it to be cool enough to walk my dogs! (bright side: I'm not wasting the morning) In short, it's H O T! And so I changed my blog background to cool pool water!

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not complaining. I'm getting to a point in my life where I'd rather have this than cold. But as cold with winter, the heat forces me inside to the AC. (and what did we do without it? Can you remember? I can- and it wasn't pretty!) So inside I've been. My current ride has no AC so I patiently wait for my real ride to come home from work before I venture out, hopefully into the cooler evening air. (long car story- bright side: I am forced to catch up on all the indoor stuff I've neglected due to the "busy's" or outdoor needs)

So you would think I'd be in my studio painting right? Well, you would be wrong. Why is it so much easier to think about doing something than to actually do it. I mean, it's not like I don't love doing it. It's not like I don't have things right there waiting and ready. It's not like I'm out of the house! But I just walk right by. I've painted plein air a total of once. It's almost the end of July-I think I missed the perfect weather! But you know what, "it's all good!" as my son says.

"So what have you been doing?" you ask. Well, I've been redecorating. You know, painting and organizing and arranging/fixing stuff. We have a wedding next summer and the house was looking a bit run down and my tastes have changed. And I've been reading. There's no time for much pleasure reading when teaching and doing the regular routine. I've been cooking. I get out of the habit when I'm busy and we eat poorly. I've been purging. Not food :), but I had a huge garage sale and got rid of most of the stored stuff in the crawl. Now THAT was freeing. And visiting with friends. And when I look at what I've done, it's all creative related since that's just who I am. The decorating, cooking, reading, seeing friends. All pleasures and things I find enrich my life. Things that get the squeeze when time is short.

In The Artist's Way it talks about taking artist "play dates" as it were. Having experiences that don't involve actually creating are one of the exercises she uses to stimulate and rejuvenate a blocked creative. I realized in a way that's what I've been up to. An extended "play date"! Like taking a vacation from my vocation! While I'm not feeling blocked, I was feeling a bit frenzied.

So I write this not to catch you up on what I am doing with my summer. I write this to remind you that its OK not to be doing what you normally do and take a break. In fact I recomend it. Do I recommend you take long ones-like an entire summer? That's relative to your situation. After that busy May/June with all the classes and the Decorator Show House, I really needed some time off. There are times in life when the break is forced. There are also times in your life when you just need some perspective and some distance or a rest. And to everything, there is a season. To be honest, I am still painting with a group of friends once a week. The photo above is a quick study I did recently. It's been nice to have that one activity and those great friends and no pressure, just art for me. But just that one thing. For now.

I know myself well enough to know I wont stay away from it all too long. It calls to me and eventually the voice gets pretty loud. The urge becomes too great and I begin to clean a palette or sketch an idea and there you go! I don't know about you, but I become restless if I have not enough creative outlet. I'll bet you do too. Ever thought about that? That restlessness is telling you something. For my dad it always signaled the need to travel. For my friend Lindi, she makes a meal that feeds her soul as well as my belly! For my sister, she spends hours making handmade cards that are works of art and labors of love as wonderful as the gift. For my mom, she used to write and I stumbled upon her poetry the other day. That is a wonderful insight into her soul. My soon to be in-law Christy gets the urge to throw a party! Tom MUST golf! (maybe not creative, but definitely an urge that must be met) Everyone needs their creative spot scratched!

So, soon I expect to be restless. When my mother died I did not feel restless for a long time. Then one day there it was. So in the wisdom of my years I know the tide will always come back in. The voice will be so loud I can no longer ignore it. For now though, I am going to enjoy the peace, the heat and the AC! Have a great summer whatever you do!

driftwood

2011-07-06T20:07:00.002-04:00

Much of what I do as an artist is serendipitous. Meaning that not every piece is a masterpiece. Much like life, I just keep making the best decisions I can and I hope will turn out well. The more I know and the more experience I have as I move forward in life, the better my decisions and the more often I have a successful outcome. But in my art the really good pieces almost seem to paint themselves. I often feel it is a spiritual experience.  I cannot make a mistake and it is a thing to experience. Yet I cannot, for love, money or blood, recreate them...The other stuff I can...

This is the experience my fellow artist all have.  In fact, I have not met one that does not share this experience. I had one say they enjoy a 2/3 success rate, two out of every three. Mine is a bit lower. Quite a bit. Which leads to the discussion about what success is, really. But that's a whole other blog...

Last weekend we took the dogs to the river. Max, my retriever loves to swim for sticks. Cloe, my schnoodle loves to roll in smelly stuff! Anyway, my husband handed me a piece of driftwood to look at. It was beautiful. Gnarled and warn down by the water. Who knows how long it floated, what kind of wood it was, how far it traveled, what had shaped it. But it was a work of art.

I remember thinking I could never create something so beautiful in all its raw simplicity. (and you know nature moves me!) That God himself had a hand in the design of this piece. There was lots of other driftwood to be found on that riverbank, but none that was so beautiful to me.  And I wondered about the process I personally go through to create. Each piece having a different journey along the currents and meeting unique forces that shape them, but still flowing in the same river of my personal creative experience. Some of those results are good.  Some of it is awful! And every so often, I get some fine "driftwood". And it gives me a lot of joy! My happy thought is that when we create and that happens, we share something with a much larger creative force. Serendipity? Call it what you will. The driftwood is on my coffee table...

Art Speaks-But Did You Really Catch What It Said?

2011-06-24T09:48:00.000-04:00

I know I've been a bad blogger! But sometimes your life just gets so crazy somethings got to give! But hopefully sanity has been restored (well, if you call it that) and life may get back to semi-normal- which is my normal.

My last blog I talked about speaking with your art. This blog I want to explore that theme a little farther. As a woman's board member for the CMA (Columbus Museum of Art) I volunteered for the Decorators show house. A major fundraiser of the woman's board, the show house is a Columbus area home redecorated by area interior designers and open to the public for 3 weeks.

As a volunteer I was basically a docent for several show house rooms. My job was to read the designers intent and explain the intent and the prominent features of the room to visitors. It was a lot of fun and having a flair for the dramatic I was well suited to it. I would bullet point the important things I read in my head, prepare a little speech and tell the visitors what they should know about the room. What I found was that not all the docents had the same way of doing things. Several people who came through more than once told me that the last person had not mentioned this or that. Had not had the enthusiasm for the job I had. What can I say? I like people and talking!

What interested me about these comments were that the rooms came alive for the public when they understood the designers intent and were shown it's fine points. One room, the Veranda, was a stand alone space. It was cobalt blue and white and very beachy. A showstopper on its own, but when I explained the floor was hand stenciled like Mediterranean tile-people were excited! They bent to touch it. They examined it from all angles. Asked questions, etc. Nodded their head when I gave the well known designers name. They were just a little more engaged. A little more informed about what it was they were seeing.

A room that stood out for me was the "He Den". In the designers explanation I found much to appreciate, but you did not get all the details and thought put into it from a brief glance around the room. What was most interesting to me was the art in the room. The designer had chosen a wonderful piece from Ryan Smith an instructor with CCAD who's large painting of the demolition of city center was the center of the room and design. The colors for the room were pulled from this painting and when I explained it's meaning there were many excited comments.

What this experience brought home to me is this: What we do as artists (and I consider interior design to be a form of art!) is to speak through our art. But rarely does anyone "get it" as a stand alone. My thoughts are that a piece may touch you for it's color while the artist may not have intended color to be the voice for the piece. Not that it matters if it speaks to you. I just think the meanings are deeper with information. I'm always happy to explain my intent when someone is viewing and I notice they are always then more engaged with the piece. If they watch me demo they are always more likely to like it or even buy it since I've detailed my thoughts on process and intent as I go. They are more invested and understand the piece better.

The motto for the CMA is "Art Speaks-Join the Conversation". How appropriate.

Speak to Me!

2011-05-05T19:14:00.002-04:00

"Windy on Deck"-watercolor on paper

Recently, when painting with a friend she asked why I was using oils and not practicing what I had learned at my last workshop with Mary Whyte which was watercolor. Well, I commented, "did you see the failure last week?" I had tried the week before and had less than desirable results. I made mud and other horrible, horrible things. This week I had retreated to something less demanding. Something more forgiving.

But what she said struck a nerve. I had learned much in my head, but as of today had not been able to apply it to my satisfaction. I tried but I kept failing and found excuses to move away from the failure. My friends words kept echoing back to me and when that happens I know what I have to do! Those thoughts are there for a reason!

So I began to apply the paint as I had seen and heard Mary do. I remembered: "Float the paint over the first wash". Float, we had asked? She explained, she demonstrated. I tried, made mud. I reasoned that it was impossible to put complimentary colors together and get clean color. But I had seen it done! I was pretty sure it was magic and only a hand full of people possessed such a power! So I tried again, made more mud...eventually I asked myself why I was doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. (isn't that the definition for insanity?) So, I thought, do what you know how to do and you will not be so frustrated. So instead of trying to conquer the technique I did what I know how to do the next day and what I made was what I always make-WHICH IS WHY I TOOK THE WORKSHOP IN THE FIRST PLACE! To change what I always do and have better language to communicate with! Argh!

After a few long agonizing painting sessions I have to say I had a breakthrough. I think I get the "float" factor! A lot of scrap paper and paint later but I think I may have mastered it for today. Tomorrow? We will see. But this day and this painting have what I learned stamped on them. I think I learned it. Now I need to keep using my new skill so I don't loose it cause I sure worked hard enough for it!

Besides learning a new skill I learned something less concrete. I learned how to find my artistic voice. Mary challenged us to decide before we began what we wanted to say in our painting-there is always a reason you want to paint a certain thing! Find that and learn how to tell the viewer what it is! "If you are not excited about your painting, others will not be either! Your passion will show through your work!" (Mary-ism)

And that my friends is the lesson I think I really want to share with you all. Speak! And speak to me! What do YOU think I was trying to say in this painting? What was so interesting or captivating I had to paint this painting? I think it's clear and I think I communicated my excitement!

Changing Your Scenery

2011-04-16T20:05:00.002-04:00

Every year since my mother passed away three years ago now, I have taken a workshop in the spring. I feel it honors her memory since she was so supportive of my art. And I believe her spirit goes with me on these adventures. Each one has brought some new insight that has added to my experience as an artist. I take this time to reevaluate, rejuvenate and find new focus and insight.

This year I traveled to Chicago to take a workshop at the well known Palette & Chisel downtown. I have always wanted to take classes or workshops there since I lived in the area years ago. Now that my son lives in the city, I had a place to stay and I took advantage of that.

This workshop was a week long. Longer than any of the others I have taken. I also chose a workshop with an artist I was not too familiar with but whose reputation was amazing. I could not imagine the breadth of what I would experience.

Her name is Mary Whyte. (www.marywhyte.com) I learned of her through a DVD I bought randomly on painting portraits in watercolor. I liked how she worked and I wanted to begin to focus on my portrait work and I have to say-the Palette and Chisel was part of the draw! But I did not really know the extent of her talent or reach. Nor how I would grow in such a short time.

Some workshops you attend leave some feeling "why did I spend all that money when I already knew that?" I have not had that experience yet and this proved more than I could have imagined. Mary was a wealth of information. So much so that I took copious notes and still feel I could have used another week. While I have been doing watercolor a long time and have most of the technique down, what I learned was more about the less concrete side of my art. Focus and Concept chiefly among much else.

I won't bore you with the details just yet-I'll have more to say in future blogs-but I want to encourage you to step outside your comfort zone. If you take classes from me, take them from someone else to learn something different or see a different way of doing things. Give yourself the gift of nurturing your creativity. Mine the gold from each source you can find. Much of your digging may yield tailing's, but there is always a nugget you can find to add to your knowledge. Occasionally, like this week for me, you hit the mother load!

Not only was it worth the cost, time and frustration of driving in downtown Chicago (a blog all it's own!), but my change of scenery gave me the awesome chance to visit and spend evenings with my oldest and his girlfriend. I won in every way this time!!

I will post more thoughts on what I gleaned and encourage my fellow creative's with what was shared by the others I met and the experience of being with a tribe of like minded creatives'!

How To Be Inspired!

2011-03-27T16:02:00.003-04:00

In preparing for a mixed media class, I was searching for still life objects that inspired me.   If you've ever had to put a still life together you know it takes thought and can be a challenge to find pieces that might be fun to paint. Earlier in the week I was reading a lesson for a course I'm taking online called Creative Pathfinder, the author brings up a point that I think we overlook. The idea that having down time or "play" time is squandering your time. When in fact nothing could be further from the truth! It is precisely during those times when ideas and inspiration come to me. Does that happen to you?
It does not happen every time I take a walk or go to the Zoo. And there is no guarantee that goofing off will provide a brilliant idea.  Which may be why most of us work through our dry uninspiring days with more work! At least we feel productive or can show our boss we did something. And something is better than nothing? Maybe not. My thoughts are that sometimes I need to just do the work! It is true that the more you do something the better at it you get. But that applies to skill's, right? Go with me here-does it apply to what inspires us? Will your work be better if you are using your skills to produce something that you are excited about? Is your answer YES?  Of course it is!
So I took the article to heart. I asked myself "where can I go to find inspiration?". I ended up at one of my favorite garden centers where I bought pansy's and a garden mouse! Excited? You bet! Inspired? All over the place!
Do this for yourself please: take some time to play and find inspiration. It is not a waste of time!   So I thought up these questions to ask yourself. What do I really enjoy? Who do I enjoy experiencing it with? How do I feel when I am doing this? What causes me to be the most creative? Is it a time of day or maybe a place?  Am I my most creative and have the most inspiration when I am alone or engaging with others? What has inspired me in the past? What intrigues me now? Do I need to stretch myself to learn new things? (These are just questions to stimulate ideas and self awareness.)
Now go do it! And then write me and tell me about it. I'd love it if it were contagious and we do some really awesome things with the right side of our brain!

What Really is Failure?

2011-03-16T09:24:00.001-04:00

John

A blog or two ago I wrote that I had let the pressure of performance derail my painting attempts. I think I really wanted to do well and was disappointed that I had "failed" in my view. But I had tried. Years ago, I wouldn't have even considered showing up for such an event! That is growth for me.

While talking to a student she remarked that she occasionally produces something she will actually show to others. I remember that day too. It was a milestone for me to feel I could show someone my work and I was proud of it and did not expect riotous laughter from the viewer! What I know now is that the more you paint, draw or produce whatever it is you do, the more often that will happen. I mean honestly, the odds are just better with numbers (hours and miles of paper/canvas). A point driven home to me in the book the Tipping Point.

So while I may not have had the success I wanted in that moment, I realize that I have stretched myself beyond my comfort zone (risk) to even put myself in those high pressure experiences. And I have gained valuable experience for the future. Since then I have had several successful paintings. And a few not so.

Last night I was painting with some friends. I was using a panel painted with red (risk) to cover the monstrosity (failure) I painted the week before! I've never worked on a red toned panel before. Red is such a strong color and one I use sparingly. Since I had no expectations or pressure I was up for the experiment. The resulting painting I am very pleased with. (success) See a pattern?

I share these thoughts to let you know that I fail more than I succeed. But my successes come closer together than they used to. And what, really, is failure? (that's an entire blog itself!) I am trying to remember that failure, like any other experience is a learning tool. It doesn't unnerve me as much as it used to because, I guess I'm more used to it! I don't shield myself from it as much as I once did. And when I succeed, I celebrate because that means I've learned from my mistakes!

Go forth and fail. The end result will be more success. Bet you never thought of it like that!

Primrose and Inspiration

2011-03-09T15:47:00.000-05:00

Primrose Row-4x9 watercolor, unframed

I saw primrose on sale at the grocer for $1.50 each. I bought two and then went back a week later for 3 more! I was so cheered by their bright colors and promise of spring! To give them light I lined them up on my kitchen window sill. The sun shone in and back lit the petals with a glow-I had to paint them. By the time I got back, the sun was behind clouds and only peeked out briefly while I painted, but I still felt good just painting a row of primrose. I call it Primrose Row!

Primary Palette-5x7 oil, unframed

Today I took the blue, yellow & red ones and plunked them down in my painting room to do a study with primary colors. When I was finished loading the paint on my other palette I noticed how nice they looked right there on the palette and then I realized I was using a primary palette-hence the name! What fun!

Think spring! Thanks for reading-stay tuned!

Michelle

What I learned at the Art at the Arnold

2011-03-07T10:30:00.005-05:00

Ashley- Art at the Arnold

Last year I blogged about the cathartic effect Art at the Arnold had on me. (see earlier post 10/14/10 about last year!) This years experience was not as profound in a sense, but no less a learning experience. If you'll allow me to blather on I'll get my impressions out of my head!

Any time I participate in a competition and see all the amazing artists crank out this phenomenal art I think to myself "what was I thinking?!!" It's extremely intimidating and my self doubt whispers - "never again should you put your work out next to these other much more accomplished artists!" And, no, it's not different in that sense at the Arnold.

What is different are the surroundings and the vibe. The Arnold is very much about Arnold.  Last year only the finalist's had a chance to chat with the "Govenator". I did get some nice shots of the secret service men holding the artists and the throngs of onlookers back!  This year he came by on Saturday to our competition area and graciously spoke to each of us. To me he commented that watercolor was the hardest medium, which surprised me, so I asked something like "you know watercolor?" Yes he had tried it years ago and decided it was too hard and left it alone. I was impressed. He told me my work was lovely or something and moved on. What I learned? : Even Arnold Schwarzenegger has his limits! This is a man who has been the best and a winner at many things- but decided that watercolor too hard! I may switch to oil! :)

The Arnold is also about competition. And there was some stiff competition. I decided early on I was not in the running and was just hoping to produce something that I wasn't embarrassed to show!   Those whose work I admired had put in many more hours honing their skills than I have! Just like the athletes competing in any of the other events had spent hours practicing and working to compete, so have these amazing artists. One artist had spent 50 day's doing 50 paintings. Another had taken life drawing classes since that was not her strong suit. And my friends are painting all the time! What I learned? : I don't need another workshop or better brushes - I need to log more painting time.

At one point early on Saturday, I was so frustrated and so unnerved that I was completely unable to get it together! This was a critical point and I turned to my friends for help. They really saved me! John said "Too much negative space!" Ugh! He was right! I told my friend Karen that I was unable to get a drawing I was pleased with. (and the clock was ticking loudly in my head!) She said "just redraw it until you get it right- don't go with something you aren't happy with! And she was right! What I learned? : That I can freak myself out and my friends helped me pick myself up and put my skills to work. I need my friends!

I was much more pleased with my painting last year than this year. I felt in "the zone" last year while I was painting. I loved the subject and had a vision when I began the painting. While I never made the semi-finals, I enjoyed the process and was happy with the painting and that was enough. That happens to me often. The stars align and the gods smile on me while I paint and make decisions (a big part of painting) with ease. That was not the case this year, AT ALL! I remember years ago watching a documentary on Arnold as Mr. Olympia. He would try to get into fellow competitors heads with his comments about or too them and that was very much a part of his plan.  In those same sentences he also told himself and others how great he was!

I had let distractions and intimidation by what I saw around me get in my head.  I listened to the voice that tells me "You're no artist! You can't paint!  You have no business here!" and I didn't counter it with "you can do this! " What I learned? : To do anything well, you MUST keep your head in the game!

The winner this year was a very humble young man from Chicago who also competed the day before in some type of race at the Arnold. After his award I spoke to him and asked how he had done in his race. He told me he beat last years time and that was what he came to do. He achieved that goal. About his first place art award he said that last year his piece would not have even been considered. That it's all about the judges. He was probably right. What I learned? : All you can do is your best and on any given day it might be judged the best. Most often, I won't be! But I will try to beat my personal best every time from now on because that is really all I can do!

I love Art at the Arnold!

Footprints

2011-02-18T10:49:00.001-05:00

Value Drawing-Martha Smith

As I began my daily walks again I was challenged by snow. I usually don't have much trouble walking in the snow, but the ice storm had crusted over the snow and made it hard to walk on. Each step I made my weight broke through the ice crust.

On the sidewalks where others had walked, their footfall had made the walk uneven with snow and ice making it hard to walk without slipping or twisting my ankle! When I finally made it to the path around the pond it was less traveled and not as hard to navigate. I found that someone before me had left a nice set of footprints in the snow and that if I stepped in those I did not have to break the ice and do the work! The stride was long, but doable. So in someone else's tracks I found a safer, easier path to take.

Value painting-Nancy Lubis

Do we do that with our creative path? Do we find someone else's tracks an easier path to take? Have we taken from a teacher we admire and tried to mimic their style instead of challenging ourselves to find our own? Have we gotten into a "safe" way of doing our art? Making art that "sells", or a way of doing things that is formulaic? Are we looking for a short cut or easy way instead of doing the work of breaking through the ice ourselves? Have we avoided the work it takes to learn the skill it takes to move our work forward?

Value Sketch-Susan Smith

I asked this of myself as I walked around the pond. The answer was yes and no. I have done it the easy way and I have put in the work and forged my own path. But the path of creativity never ends! Which is the beauty and the joy of it. There is no limit to creativity, no end to your journey. So when you think you have found your place in it, move forward- don't stay there too long or you will quit growing. While it is easier and more comfortable to stay where you are because life is good here and the unknown is a scary place, you will also never see what awaits around that curve in the path. What's around that curve could be life changing!

Value Sketch-
Myra Brenneman

This weeks sketchbook challenge I want you to see shapes by drawing big shapes first, medium shapes next and then small shapes. Drawing the big shapes first helps us to place the large masses in the right places on the paper and gives us the big picture before spending time with smaller shapes and details. Details are over rated anyway!

Happy creating!

Use It or Lose It

2011-02-11T09:49:00.003-05:00

I have not been for a walk in weeks since the arctic air moved down to Central Ohio and decided to stay! It was either way too cold with single or very low double digit temps or it was icy and treacherous. I will walk in the cold and the snow. But you cant keep your footing on ice! And I'd like to not break any bones! So I figured I had a pass. But my body didn't think so. My dog's don't think so. (they LIVE for their walks!)

The other day I took a walk. That was not an easy walk. It has snowed, melted, rained, iced, and snowed some more making it a little slick and hard to walk because I kept breaking through the ice under the snow. I did get a work out! And my body told me the next day it had been too long. The muscles were sore and I was a little fatigued when I got home.

drawing using observation from
the dot to line drawing!

While I was out, I wondered how I could have gone so long without being outdoors. I find peace when I'm out in the elements, what ever they may be. Each season has a rhythm and beauty all its own and I find my balance when I am in touch with that. It was lightly snowing and the dogs were running full tilt, slipping and falling and chasing each other and imaginary squirrels! Not the first walk I've taken in the falling snow, but it was still magical. The brambles that had obviously not seen the recent and brief sunshine were still encrusted with ice and sparkled like glass. There were deer tracks and birds darting back and forth. It was quiet and I thought of how removed I'd been from all of this beauty.

Which brings me to my thought for the week. Walking is good for me. I do it for my body and my soul. Your art is good for you too! We do it for many reasons, but it's good for your body and your soul! Like my muscles the next day that reminded me I was out of shape in just a few short weeks, your art will suffer if you step away. Am I saying you can never take a break? No, I think we need breaks. Sometimes to heal, or gain perspective. Sometimes just to rest from a busy schedule. But I am reminded that you do lose some of the ease of use you have built up using those skills repeatedly. And you may lose some of the wonder at what you can do with a brush in your hand, or whatever your tools are.

sketchbook work by
Suzanne Camper

Before I go on, I'd like to reflect a little on last weeks sketchbook challenge. After image drawing. What a pain! I personally hate that exercise! But I do it often to sharpen my observation skills. While reading The Art Spirit by Robert Henri I ran across a quote that reaffirmed the concept. "I have often thought of an art school where the model might hold the pose in one room and the work might be done in another. The pupils would have their places in both rooms, one for observation and the other for work. The pupil could return to the model for information. He could make any sketches he might desire to make-for information-but these drawings are not to be carried into the work room. Into this room he carries only what he knows." !!! Exclamation mine!

color study finding value in color-
Judy Richardson

In the spirit of use it or lose it, the sketching challenge is designed to keep you drawing in short bites for six weeks. This weeks focus is value drawing. Four values. Find the darkest value (cast shadow), and the lightest value (use the white of the paper), then find two values in the between the two. Squint to remove color and too many values! Remember value=form. They don't need to take too much of your time. Just try to do one daily. I cant wait to see them!

Whatever your creative outlet is, exercise those skills this week! Now go create!

After Image Sketching

2011-02-05T14:43:00.000-05:00

What a week. If it's not the weather, it's the unexpected that squeezes in and takes over the time set aside for my art. But keeping up with the sketchbook challenge, I have kept my sketchbook close by. I don't need to pull out a bunch of supplies, I just need paper, a pencil and an eraser.

No matter where I am or what I am doing there is five minutes, a napkin and a pen from my purse to draw a quick sketch! One of my students is learning to draw because in retirement she will be able to draw with minimal supplies and maximum flexibility. Basic supplies, basic skills!

This weeks sketchbook challenge is "after image" sketching. Simply look at an object for 30 seconds, look away and sketch what you remember. It's not as easy as it sounds! This is a great exercise to teach you to look, really look, and remember details. This teaches us how to decide and mentally record what details to include in a quick sketch. When capturing a quick sketch I look for the main idea I want to convey. It could be the way the person is leaning in to the other person at the table. It could be the delicate nature of the spring blossoms. I might love the lighting on the statue in the courtyard. I only have a few minutes to record the essence of what attracts me to scene before that light changes or that person moves.

It also shows you how much you really don't normally record mentally. The more you practice this exercise, the better your recall skills will become. You will learn to decide quickly what is important to the sketch. And since you can only sketch what you remember, your sketched will be brief and will include only what you can recall. So for those of us for memory issues, lets hope this strengthens our recall skills!! It couldn't hurt, eh?

Now, back to the sketchbook!

Oh, My, the Details

2011-01-29T18:00:00.002-05:00

student watercolor by Martha Smith

These are busy times for me. But it's good to be busy. When I'm not, I do less. I rationalize that I'm on vacation or hiatus. But really, I get lazy and I take it easy when there are no deadlines or commitments.

It's funny, because I didn't paint much at all for six weeks. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't idle. And it was always on my mind. But it didn't use to be that way. It almost haunts me now. What's that about?

Now that there is less time, I seem to want to paint more. Do I desire to do it because I have less time to devote to it? I think my urge to create comes and goes. But that doesn't mean my creativity comes and goes. It needs the spark and sometimes all it takes is cleaning up the studio! That simple act of being in the place where it all happens, reminds me of a painting I want to do. Which leads me to just do a quick value sketch. Which leads to a small color study. And so it goes. It's in me now.

student watercolor sketch by Lucy Kilbane

That's one reason I issued the sketch challenge. I believe that your art and your creative energy gets into your soul. Like any practiced skill, a sketch enables you to really look at something. How often in the day do you really look at anything beyond a quick glance? So by doing it daily, for weeks, I'm hoping to start a habit. To make some addicts. Yes, sketch addicts! I want it to inhabit you and haunt you when you don't do it!

Recently I read something by Charles Reid that reminded me how much we miss and how childlike we become when we do our art. It's because we are rediscovering the wonderment of a child in the world around us that we have seen so many times before but forget to look at closely anymore. The colors and shapes. The light and shadows. The curve and line. The details. Oh my, the details. To do your sketches, you must really look. See what you've been missing?

If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.-- Dr. Seuss

Baby, it's COLD Outside! Stay Inside and Sketch!

2011-01-21T10:27:00.001-05:00

Sitting here this morning the sun is brilliant as it reflects off the new snow! My laptop weather bug reads 5 degrees! That is cold. I know that cloud cover is like a blanket that traps warm air to the earth. So I guess the trade to see the sun in winter in the midwest is this arctic cold!?
Life is like that. There is always a trade, isn't there? You give up one thing for something else. So what will you give up for your art?
I ask that question because I think we all make decisions that take us places. But do we do it with intention or trial and error? With purpose or do we allow life to float us along on the tide?
With the sketchbook challenge, I want to encourage you to make a decision to put art in your life daily. It's a small step that does not require that great a sacrifice! But you WILL see rewards. And if you can learn to draw better, your art will improve as well. I'm glad the importance of drawing was drilled into me in school. It has served me well. I believe it is foundational.
As I said, the object is to learn to see better. The sketch is secondary, really. Seeing what is really there is what we miss so often. This weeks suggestion is to do the "dot to line" drawing. The above sketch is an example I did today in less than 5 minutes. Basically making a small dot every time the object makes a direction change. It is really a form of countour drawing, where geometry is critical. Draw a round apple with this method. Lots of dots and small straight lines? Make it fun and learn to see direction changes while you draw!
Today is worldwide Sketchcrawl day. Visit the link: http://www.sketchcrawl.com/ to see the concept and the fun. I will try to get a group together to do the next sketchcrawl-are you game??
Stay indoors and warm and SKETCH this week!

Practice Makes Perfect

2011-01-14T08:12:00.001-05:00

I bought an old piano from my mom when they retired and didn't want to move it. I took a few lessons, but did not have the time and energy to pursue the piano at that time. When my daughter was about six, I signed her up for piano lessons. She took piano lessons until she was in middle school. At one point, she was pretty good. Now, we neither have a piano nor did she really play it much when it was here! But the point is, with a little brush up practice she can!

When she started, I didn't expect her to sit down at the piano and be a virtuoso. We got "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and other simple songs. As time progressed, we go more complicated tunes. What happens is this: desire plus practice=skill. She liked playing the piano. The more she practiced, the better she got and the more she liked it. And the more others liked it too! While she never progressed beyond playing to composing, she could have used the skills she possessed to express herself creatively in that way had she wanted to.

Without skills you don't have the tools to create. Your skill set is the underpinning or foundation that frees you to create. When the skills become practiced they become automatic and secondary, and your creativity can be more fully expressed.

Some of you are going to take this six week sketching challenge. What I hope to get across is the idea that consistent practice of this basic skill will give your artwork more breadth. I can't say how it will effect you individually and that's the beauty. Just as each of our artwork is different, so will be this learning experience.

I will try to post weekly with some photos of sketches-not just mine, but students as well. Feel free to email me yours to share. Happy sketching!

Blogs, Bloggers and Blogged Down!

2011-01-06T22:12:00.006-05:00

Happy New Year!
Let me start by saying, I visit lots of blogs myself. Mostly blogs of artists I admire, but I do read a variety of them on a variety of subjects. My main complaint is they don't post often enough! I am always impressed by daily blogger's and daily painters. Heck, DAILY anything impresses me! But even the daily people miss a day here and there. It's allowed.

Like I said, I visit quite a few of them. If you do that, then you are sure to get some fresh content from one at least. I don't visit everyday, except those who do it daily. Most bloggers are probably busy actually doing what they blog about which is why they don't have time to post more often!  But what about me? I need an update! I need their inspiration. I need the push they give me to do what they are doing!

Like the organizational blog I read. She emails it to me weekly. I love that blog! Sometimes I even do something in it. I know I think about being organized more because it's in my face now. And I find that helpful. Something to aspire to!

Then there is the cooking blog. I don't really like to cook anymore, but I like it that someone does. And that I could go to this blog and get ideas if I did in fact ever really want to cook again.

Now that its the new year, I will start reading the Weight Watchers blog again! I'm hoping to be motivated to get back into the diet I started last year~ you never know!

The blogs are endless. And while I read them and wish others would post more often, I realized that while I try to post twice a month, it doesn't happen. I get "blogged down" with other things. I rationalized this holiday season with my failed attempt at posting daily to inspire creative holiday's, that there aren't that many readers. Besides, I did have to deal with the flooded basement that derailed many of my plans for Christmas anyway. (the clean up crew pushed the contents of the room into the crawl and blocked access to the tree, ornaments and other decorations.)

But then I learned how to check the stats page on my blog site. That tab show how many hits you have to your site. While not rock star status, I apparently have a few more followers than I knew. So I'm inspired again!

And with the new year came all the new year resolutions on the blogs. Well, I will spare you that because for me new years resolutions are suggestions that I can argue out of by February!  Instead I am going to incorporate an idea I read in another artists blog.  While I was only going to use it in my classes, I decided instead to share it with any of you that read my blathering. (those of you who do not do visual art, but have some other creative talent-see the idea below) It is a challenge to sketch (or in my challenge to sketch or do small painted studies) each day. There are suggested guidelines and each week in class I will demo or suggest a way to change it up and create variety and excitement in your sketch book. I encourage you to check back weekly for the updates and hopefully see a few daily sketches.  We will start in two weeks when my classes start back up. I'd love to hear from you if you plan to do this. I think making a commitment to something-like putting it in a blog!-gives you accountability and keeps you going. I have a sign up form to keep you honest-and you get something at the end!

Now, the guidelines are: Sketch daily, weekends optional, for six weeks. That's 30 sketches. If you do not get to it one day, do two the next. The size is up to you but I suggest a sketch pad at least 8x10-but it's up to you. A sketch is not a drawing. It should take a maximum of 30 minutes! Each week I will suggest subjects or different methods to keep it fresh.   You may paint them, but they need to be done quickly. The idea is to get us using our right brain and training our eye to see and record daily. At the end you will receive a little card giving you artistic license!

For those of you non-visual artists-is there any way you can challenge your creativity with bite size exercises that use a foundational skill?

I have a neighbor who is doing a Bento blog-do you know what a Bento is? I didn't! And that's the beauty of a blog!

Skills

2010-12-20T10:56:00.000-05:00

Again and again I come back to the difference between skill and creativity. Let me repeat: Skills are what enable you to execute your creative ideas well in your medium or choice of field. Once a skill becomes innate you use it like you use your hands-you don't have to stop and think "OK, now, move that finger to the t on the keyboard, and that one to the o-great I just typed "to"! But I had to spend hours practicing keyboard lessons to become good at typing! And then hours to become faster so I could type almost as fast as I could read or think. You have to pay your dues!

I think most of us want instant gratification. When taking a class, students want to walk away with a masterpiece. I try instead to help them find the joy in the medium and build on skills to bring them along to a painting they not only think is pretty good, but one that was enjoyable to produce. The most asked question is: what can I do to get better? My #1 answer is always- "take a drawing class". Why? Because if you cant draw a scene or object accurately, how can you paint it? Drawing is foundational to good art. Do I need it if I don't do representational art? Maybe not, but you will need other foundational skills. Your time is never wasted on basics!

From a recent art newsletter I get I read a quote I'd like to share:
"That power to project a concept or idea in your work comes down to not letting skill become a barrier between what you want to say and how you are able to say it. I think that is why so many artists focus on foundational skills such as drawing mastery. The pendulum swings both ways—innovative ideas inform skill; skill allows you to execute your vision."

That's what I'm talkin' about! Said so much better- I'll bet her writing skill set is better!

Floods

2010-12-18T09:34:00.000-05:00

There are things that happen in ones life that are beyond our control. I have to say that while not a natural disaster, the basement flood has left me immobile. (and so has this Christmas! My brain is on overload!) So much to do, so little enthusiasm to do it!
I think my main problem, and the one I have with my work as an artist as well, is well, I'm not sure! I'm not lazy. Not unmotivated. I am stretched a little thin, but then so are most people. Maybe it's focus? But its really more like a series of "floods"! And someone must clean it up and repair it.
While reading a short devotional yesterday, by an author I have read for years- his words fit my mood today. " Thorough. I have just taken my Webster's Dictionary off the shelf and looked up thorough. He says it means "carried through to completion, careful about detail, complete in all respects." And further he says "The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail "
I am bored with details. Not a good character trait. But we all have a few bad ones. And as I've shared before, I great out of the gate, and I'll get to the finish line, but not in any record time! What is it they say, slow and steady? That would be me! So instead of beating myself up for my faults, or making huge changes that make me crazy-I'm going to try harder. Yup, that's it. While I admire anyone who can change whole personality traits in a single bound, I take a little longer. And, as they say, God is in the details. (or the devil, depending on who you talk to)
And I'm going to buy some waders.

Failed Paintings

2010-12-03T16:03:00.000-05:00

While the basement dries out and the painters paint, there is little I can to do and little space in which to do it! Since I am feeling a bit better (wonderful what a little NyQuil and 8 hours of sleep can do for you!) I ventured into the studio to actually work on the Christmas card idea.

Here's the thought for the day: While you may possess the skills to carry a project out, you still need to think through process before you start. And even then, if all the stars are not aligned you may not get what you want. I used to just accept that and move on to another project. Sometimes I still do. But these days more often I repeat the painting using what I learned in the last one to better the next one. I mean, isn't that what it's really all about?

But here's the thing with watercolor. Sometimes the beauty is the very quality that makes it so hard to control! I think that's why I like it. And yet, today I had two failed paintings! Not that I can just whip out two good paintings in one day. I was doing smaller studies to figure out which process I wanted to use and what colors, etc. I just don't like them!

So, my lesson today is: try and try again. If at first you don't succeed -yada, yada. Chuck the frustration and think about what your goal is. What do I want this painting to say? How can I best make that happen? And sometimes, you just have to except that you don't have what it takes to pull it off. Maybe you lack the skill? Maybe the tools? Maybe a clear concept? Time? But figuring that out can put you on the path to some change and improvement!

Creativity and a Flooded Basement

2010-12-02T15:10:00.001-05:00

OK...I give! I caught this cold and the basement flooded! I'm having the great room painted so this place looks crazy! There are 7 people traipsing through my house!

Chaos...pandemonium! There has not even been a creative thought except how best to take a nap! But you know what?? I see a light at the end of the long tunnel. There will be new carpeting in the basement now, I can paint the walls down there while the floor is bare concrete (something I didn't plan to do nor have time for) and have a new basement! I am having the very tall walls on the main floor painted and have to finish painting where the walls to the catwalk meet upstairs. In short- I have a load of stuff to do that has nothing to do with Christmas! Not to mention- this is where all my money is going!!

Upon reflection, I see that each home improvement project is begun because of some disaster! So when I get a room finished and decorated, I'd probably live with it my entire life if some impetus did not move me toward change. I did not use to be like this. I used to rearrange the furniture almost as often as I vacuumed. I had new decorating ideas and new home improvement projects going all the time. I refinished furniture, stenciled and faux finished walls, made curtains and slipcovers, shopped flea markets- and I loved it!

I think decorating fulfilled a creative need of mine. At the time I was not painting. I had only done ceramics in high school and in college I got a D in watercolor. That was enough to discourage me from continuing. (I was easily discouraged!) Fine art was not the focus then and I put my efforts into practical applications in school and decorated my home with a creative gusto.

Now that I paint, I do not find the need for change in decor the way I once did. In fact, I am going white on white with natural elements which I find restful to the eye and enhance my paintings on the wall. (or is it really because there are too many color choices and I love them all so much I cannot make a decision??) I do love color!

I guess while this blog series is not at all turning out at all the way I had hoped, I am learning to stay open to all possibilities and try to roll with the punches. Not easy for me, and Christmas cards will be late, but I will most certainly not be watching all the programs I DVR when I'm too busy to watch regularly! I will keep you posted on the progress of my Christmas prep as well as the decorating ideas I may have.

All this falls under the category of creativity. It all serves to keep my creative spirit alive and fresh. It matters not how it manifests itself, and I can let it's sources and applications change. Change is the only constant in this world. Control is largely an illusion! I think I will try to embrace that and see where it takes my creative spirit!!

Until tomorrow!

Yesterday

2010-11-30T10:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a flurry of activity in the early energetic part of the day. Monday is always the get-it-together after-the-weekend day. It started out as usual, but by midday I could tell I was coming down with something. By later in the day when my energy usually lags, my whole self was ready for bed! But I still had things to do and I pushed on. By dinner I realized I had not made it to the computer to blog! But I just had nothing to say that related to creativity! I just wanted my bed and pillow!

Today I am sure I am getting sick. So why tell you (or really me!) this? Because I think sometimes you need to stop and regroup to let your creativity be reborn. I think you need change of place and space. This cold will give me a break. Not one I wanted or have time for, but one I will use to recharge somehow. We don't usually stop unless we are exhausted or finished with the "to do" part of our day. Sometimes we are forced to either slow down or stop altogether. And that can be a good thing.

Maybe I will read all the magazines or a book I don't have time for. Watch a movie or listen to some music. But one thing is for sure: I don't feel like doing anything on the list of things that simply must get done! Will they? Maybe not those that really didn't need doing anyway. Life has a way of culling my list sometimes.
So, the holidays will have to wait while I endure the misery of some bug. Not to sound too philosophical, but I think I will make the best of a bad thing. I will try to use the down time to recharge my creative batteries...or just sleep!

The Gift That Keeps Giving- Giving!

2010-11-28T12:39:00.000-05:00

Gifts that keep on giving...

Studies show that doing for others benefits us as much or more than those we are helping. There is a huge trend once again with the younger set to volunteer. It's funny how in vogue it has become. A new wave led by past presidents and famous people. Oprah, Bill Gates, Clinton, and many movie stars. Lets not forget the past - Lady Di, Mother Theresa, Jimmy Carter, JFK. But until I saw my daughter serving humanity all over the place did I realize I've dropped the ball.

Thanksgiving reminded me how blessed my family is and how little I give back these days. Funny, when I was younger we had less, but gave more-maybe because it didn't seem like much? I was a whorl wind of volunteerism. But then I had a lot more energy. Today I have more resources and less energy!

I write this because we want to find way's to give back this season. We always say we will, but often don't in the holiday rush. This year, like this blog, I intend to do what I say. I think that volunteering is a gift we can give that keeps on giving. It seems special at Christmas and we should do it then, but we can continue all year at any pace we chose.

Think about where your creative gifts lie and then use those gifts in service to others this year. You can write a check or just show up and serve physically if you can think what to do. You will feel better, your physical and mental health will be better and you will be helping someone else. Who could ask for a better gift?

day 8, almost 9

2010-11-27T19:35:00.000-05:00

OK, so before midnight counts! And what to write? As far as creative went, I did little. I sent off my oldest and his girlfriend to their home in Chicago and vowed to come see them and the Macy's windows (a sight to see at Christmas- the old Marshall Fields!) and skate on State. I would never skate, but pictures and a painting would be nice.
I did do some holiday gift shopping today. On my list, if you remember, I wrote "gifts that keep giving". We're not talking fruitcake here! I want to do some original gifts that will be remembered. The vacation scrap books are one. Then I think I will give the gift of the arts. Tom and I are going to get tickets to six shows this next year for a gift to each other. We are going to take dance lessons again as well. These are things that last through the year. Hmmnn, who else could I gift that way? And what other types of things keep on giving? Stay tuned!
I also did some decorating outside but did not get it photographed in time. I will post the decorations soon. The cards are still being worked. I don't know if I will go with what I have already or if the new idea will pan out to be better. I need to get that done or I will have to print them myself! Stay tuned for that also...
And, that, that's all folks! (till tomorrow)

day 7

2010-11-26T18:24:00.000-05:00

OK. I know I'm basically writing for myself. And what do you think, if anything, is to be gained? Well, the act of writing this blog is creative! So, I have achieved my goal just by writing this if I continue on through the rest of the month. Is that sneaky or what??
I will admit, I have been really busy and am having a hard time with writing every day. But I am trying to stay true to my goal of making Christmas memorable with new memories. Some things will stick and become tradition. Many, like the drink I tried yesterday from -wait for it- the Martha Stewart website, are just not keepers. (Yes, even Martha has a bad idea now and then!) But the centerpiece was a winner.
Today was "Black Friday". I never go out on the busiest shopping day of the year. I don't like the crowds. But today I thought I'd give it a try. That is also not going to be a tradition! I saw on the news the people, mostly women, waiting in the rain for the stores to open at midnight. In an interview one woman said they all eat Thanksgiving dinner and then the women leave and go to the outlet malls and shop all night. "It's a tradition" one said. To each his/her own!
So, I tried to shake it up with a Black Friday shopping trip. And where did I do the most damage. At home online! But I did something different. At least I'm trying new things. And that my friend can bring up creative ideas in your mind. By putting myself in a situation I usually tend to avoid I did come up with some creative gift ideas. Which will have to be bought another day...
Till tomorrow!

2010-11-25T12:30:00.000-05:00

Well, almost made it before noon! Here is the centerpiece for Thanksgiving table. It's very pretty in real life, all burnt orange and rust with vivid red berries and orange bittersweet shells!
Got to go finish the rest before the guests arrive-
Be Thankful!

day 5

2010-11-24T08:42:00.000-05:00

OK. The cleaning and mundane is almost over. (until after the party!) Now, let's have Thanksgiving!
In creative mode, I've decided upon a table decoration that is natural. That will have to be done tonight as will setting the table. (I'll post photos after) I'm going cyber surfing for a new drink. Last year we had pomegranate Martini's which were just OK. Oprah liked them, but not my favorite. This year I'd like something that you can drink with or without the alcohol. (it impares my ability to execute!) The food is unexciting-with that many you have to do the usual and lots of it. There will be a slide show on TV of our vacation-the kids will love it. And we will of course play cards. I wonder if anyone would sit for two hours while I paint them? Lets see, a turkey induced coma...it might work! See you tomorrow

day 4

2010-11-23T09:15:00.002-05:00

I honestly do not have time to do this today! And I doubt anyone is following, so does it matter? Not in the grand scheme I suppose. It's just that I have been really trying to finish what I start. There is something to be said for finishing at all. And it's a good feeling to finish well. Not all things will finish well. But I think that quitting is worse than ever starting. And once started, it is good for the character to finish. Don't hold me to it!
So, that said, I have nothing creative to do today. Let me rephrase-I have creative things I could do-but the tyranny of the urgent demands my attentions. This is where I usually get frustrated. The tedious and mundane. In a perfect world, scrubbing the toilet would have as much excitement as painting a masterpiece. In the real world I only do it because somebody has to and if I get it out of the way I can move on to the fun stuff. And if I am honest, can be put off at least for a time to do the something, anything else!
I've read all kinds of organizing books and home keeping books (from Sidetracked Home Executives in the 80's to It's All Too Much this decade). I've put in place systems I no longer use, feeling bad that I do not have what it takes to keep it up. I will probably always struggle with organization. At my age, you either make piece with who you are, or you live with all kinds of angst! I'm kinda done beating myself up for my flaws. We all have them, let's get over and on with it!
This translates into my creative life as well. I've struggled with the disciplines I need to become better at my craft. I am not very single minded and lack focus. But I think there is a way to turn weakness into strength. So the creative me is finding the joy in little victories. Trying to move forward after the hard hit of defeat!
Today I post, to continue in what I have started. Today I take up the mundane and tedious to make room for less chaos and more order to my Thanksgiving. Today I will try to find joy in cleaning a toilet and vacuuming the floor, paying the bills and grooming the little dog so people will pet her again!
Today, even though it is so boring and you are thinking "what is she writing this for?" I write because I said I would. People need to do what they say they will. Even if no one notices or cares. Builds character. So does cleaning toilets. (picture me with a toilet bowl brush held high in victory!)

Day 3

2010-11-22T11:43:00.001-05:00

Hey there! Yes, I try to get to this before noon, but life being what it is...
Yesterday I planned the photo albums of our trip, downloaded 254 photos to Walgreen's and had them printed. The albums will be too small, so I'm off today to find bigger ones.
I also gathered from my yard these dried hydrangea blooms. You cant tell because of the flash, but they are the most beautiful shade of burnt sienna! I plan to use the absolutely gorgeous phthalo green (light shade-tube paint names!) colored pumpkin as the vessel and arrange the blossoms in it. I will be out today on my walk gathering bittersweet to add color to the arrangement. If you cant guess, I have a natural theme to the holidays this year.
I also painted and decided on the design for my cards this year. Stay tuned for more on that.
I was busy making gravy ahead and my special meat balls to freeze so I have stuff done and can hang out more instead of work. In case you are wondering, I am not teaching this month, so I have time to do all this fluffy stuff!
I think that's all I have to share today. I have a list a mile long, but I only use the list as a jumping off point. I try to pick 2 or 3 things I feel will add flavor to the festivities without too much fuss. There are other things I am going to add, but right now I'm in plan and execute mode! See you tomorrow!

day 2

2010-11-21T10:21:00.000-05:00

Well, all you get today is the brainstorm list. It's not that long, because my brain didn't storm to well at the time. There will be additions I'm sure!

Think up a new dish, drink or game to play at Thanksgiving-video this
watch vacation DVD
Centerpiece for table
hand make gifts - albums, scarves??, ornaments?
cards-pine cones, ornaments, flowers, birds, snowmen, lights, candles, nutcrackers
change up indoor dec for Christmas
outdoor Christmas decorations-planters, window boxes, new wreath?
Gifts that keep on giving-?
cookies-
hostess gifts ??
Test new recipes for Christmas-get pear/onion tart recipes from Paula

Here are the rough ideas I will start from. I have already made a map and a plan for some of them. Tomorrow you can see what comes from these ideas and the rambling I do in my head! Lets have some fun-

Creating the Holidays!

2010-11-20T10:12:00.001-05:00

There are a lot of things I'm thankful for. And I love the holiday's for the family, friends and celebrations. One thing that really gets my juices flowing is all the creative things I can do for the holiday's. There are the decorations which I like to change up each year. There is the cooking that I also like to change up, although the family does not! (I think they have stories...) There is the gift giving, which can be very personal and very creative. There are cards which I usually design and paint myself. And the list goes on.

Sometimes I dont have the time to get it all done, but I think part of what is energizing are the endless possiblities. My right brain can spiral out of control! I become giddy and money is no object. SCREECH! No wait, my bad! Huge budget constraints here-and guess what?? A lack of funds makes me more creative-and I feel better about making do. I mean, do I really need eight boxes of teal ornaments I will never use again? This is not the White House after all!

So, how will I make the holiday's special this year? I dont know yet, I've been so busy working and doing I havent had time to slow down and let the right brain run through the possiblities-or the impossible yet fantastic-ideas yet! But stay tuned. I intend to infuse this blog with my own special creative crazy thoughts. Each day until Christmas, I'd like to blog about how to make this Thanksgiving and Christmas creative and joy filled. Who knows where this will go, but it will be fun to think out loud.

So today I start by making a list and checking it twice! This is called brain storming. Or mapping. It is a creative process, and if you are not familiar with it, check out http://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu/content/1_StudySkills/study_pdf/mindmap.pdf. My brain is really stormy, so check back tomorrow for the crazy list of possible and impossible options for the Holidays.

The Art of Healing

2010-10-14T18:32:00.003-04:00

Ballroom Dancer - Arnold
Sport Festival '10

I have an ongoing class with the most wonderful group of women in it. They come and talk, laugh, sometimes cry and create art. We call it art therapy. Because, in a way, I think it has ministered to each of us at one time or another. There is some great wisdom in a room full of women! We have solved the worlds problems and helped each other with our own. Do we bare our souls each week? No, but there is a time and a space if someone has a need.
It is so much more than a teaching opportunity for me. I have tried to create a place of encouragement and acceptance for their art. Along the way it has become a place of encouragement and acceptance to our whole selves.
I've written before about my mothers illness and her death. She died the week before Christmas. The following year we grieved each event as a first without her. Its all part of the grieving process. But I wasn't sure I would ever really find joy again and that Christmas I just could not celebrate with my usual enthusiasm. It just fell flat. I remember telling my husband that I just didn't know if I'd ever feel the same about Christmas. My class members were there for me through it all.
Why be so public with my grief? Everyone goes through it, don't they? Yes, of course. I'm not special. Hardly. One reason, I am not a with-holder. Ask my husband! I try, but I don't swallow things well at this age. I'm not sure it's healthy to keep things in. Its not healthy to let everything out either. Again, balance!
But it was interesting to me the first time I realized I felt a real sense of joy again. A friend had recommended me for an art competition at the Arnold Sports Festival. I was apprehensive, since I don't like competitions much. But my friends would be there and I wanted to take a peek at the sports festival just once. So I entered.
There were 40 artists from all over central Ohio. Several fine artists I recognized. I was in the company of some pretty exceptional artists. We worked from live models the first day and took photos and worked from those the next. The creative energy was palpable! I remember being buzzed with the combined energy of all that talent in one space!
On the second day, a surprise visit to the art area by Sylvester Stalone held another type of energy. Not just the star power, though it was really cool! Stalone is an artist and spoke to each artist about their work. It was energizing. That was the day I realized I could have a day where grief would not creep in. I was enjoying myself in this amazing place with these amazing people!
This November, again through an artist friend, I will participate in a charity event for the Columbus Fresh A.I.R. Gallery. Fresh A.I.R. Gallery exhibits the works of individuals affected by mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders. Through art, they educate the community and work to break down the stigma of mental illness and substance abuse by bringing focus to the artistic vision. I will be painting from a live model with several other area artists. We are part of the entertainment for the evening. I hope I do well! (for more information go to: Invitation to Art of Recovery)
So I've used creative energy to nurture others to be creative and to heal and I've been nurtured by others and their creative energy and have been healed. I know many of you have the same stories to share. Let me know how using your talent has led to a better place!

Do You Paint Every Day?

2010-09-17T12:11:00.000-04:00

A lot of what I write about comes in response to things people say to me about my art or about making art. Frequently, someone will ask me a question that makes me to stop and think hard before I answer. Lots of times this is because I have no answer, or at least not one I have thought through. Those questions are great because I have to go back and find them an answer. If the question is asked more than once--I pay attention to the question-not my answer! Because I believe there is a reason it was asked more than once!

The question asked more than twice recently has been "Do you paint every day?" The answer is "no, I don't". I brush my teeth and take a shower daily. That's the extent of my non-negotable daily habbits! Some might call this flexible. Others, unstructured. I'm not going to judge it anymore. It just is. I will admit to a certain lack of structure. Oh, I have some or we would never have toilet paper! But I am easily distracted and find that priorities change like sifting sand! Hour to hour, day to day.

It is a good goal. To paint every day. It has occured to me to make that a priority. Instead, I paint when I feel like it or have a deadline or commision. Sometimes the structure kills the "mood". It really does.

As I walk this creative path, other things have fallen away allowing me to see further ahead to where I want to travel. The process of just putting one foot in front of the other had been the best course of action. Its not always the same action, but it is always in the same direction. And there have been detours!

I think the question and answer served to remind me how far I've come as well as where I need to go! I write this because the answer to the question is "no, not today, but maybe tomorrow!" In other words, I may not be able to at this point in my journey, but looking at that question has helped me to see further down my path! And if I keep walking, the path will take me there.

I don't believe in coinsidence. Pay attention to not just the large things, but the small things that fall in your path as well. What question have you been asked more than once recently?

Still life with fruit

2010-09-10T08:47:00.001-04:00

I did a demo for class the other day. When you work fast and don't over think it, things stay fresh and loose. This was done to show how to use a split primary palette-warm and cool of each primary. I love to work with fruit. While not as complex as a flower, you can always find fruit and vegetables!

It is always better to work from life. The nice thing about still life is that it stays the same, like a photo. Unless it's fruit! I've done a still life with fruit for a class and forgot the fruit in my bag for weeks! Not a good idea.

And always remember, everything looks better in a mat!

Carpe Diem

2010-09-01T10:28:00.001-04:00

Watercolor sketch from a winery in Napa

Today I turn 50. Anyone who says 50 is the new 40 has rocks in their head! Do I hear an "amen sister"? It's just a number. They say that too. Right... Who are "they". "They" are younger! I used to be "they" once. (smiley face)

So why blog about my birthday on a creativity blog? Because while painting with a friend this summer I asked her how in the world she finds the time to get out so much to paint. Her answer gave me pause. She said she was sixty something and that if all went well, she still only had fifteen or so years left to paint. She was going to pack in as much as she could for the rest of her life. She has a passion to paint and a gift to share!

To be honest, I'd never thought about my friends age. She is vibrant and full of life. But she is also obviously a realist. I have trouble planning for tomorrow, let alone thinking long term like that.

I gleaned many things from our conversation that day, but the mind is the first thing to go. That, however stuck with me. The bible says we are not even promised tomorrow. Dead Poets Society (or Horace, I can still use wikepedia!) reminds us the Latin "Carpe Diem" or "Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future". Is that the message? Every day you don't do something, is one more day you wont be able to. When life is viewed like that, the perspective change is great! But what chaos would ensue if we all lived like we were not going to be here tomorrow? I don't know, but let's try it! I'm not getting any younger! (another smiley face!)

loosen up!

2010-08-10T12:27:00.000-04:00

So often I am asked by a student to help them loosen up. They tell me they are perfectionists or "Type A" and have a hard time not controlling every detail. I guess my work can be described as loose. But I work at that look. I have a tendency to work very tight and detailed. You have to be practiced in a craft and skilled to even loosen up! So before you go beating yourself up for being so perfectionistic or "type A", look at things another way.

First you must take the time to be disciplined and get your skill set down well before you can even begin to express yourself artistically. It begins to happen each time you take a step to practice your craft. So since you are type A, you are way ahead of the game. Those of us who are not, lack the discipline and order to get those things accomplished as quickly.

It's that Yin-Yang thing again. Balance kids! Yes, some of us are born neat and tidy. Others of us are born loose and messy! But all of us need to find the Yin to our Yang! And that means we need one another. You can learn to loosen up from me, but I can learn to be more organized from you. If you think about it, it's really a win-win.

I used to feel that my lack of order and tendencies for clutter were a bad thing. And when you cant find your keys and your late for an appointment, it surely is. But the good in that is that I have a lot of room to improve. And you know, I'm not all stressed out if a pillow out of place or there is a hair on the sofa! I used to want so bad to be like my father, who is very disciplined and orderly. I am more like my mother who was just organized enough that she knew which pile something was in! Not a total disaster, but an orderly mess. Dad trimmed all the bushes into neat rows, mom's spilled over and flowered in bowers that arched onto the lawn. There is beauty in both ways of doing things.

An article I read recently said "Brain Chemistry is tied to Creativity. Creative people may think broadly and make unusual associations because they are less able to filter out information." This has something to do with fewer protein's in creative brains! Who knows? So I say, love the genes your born with! Embrace that side of you that is dominate and work to bring the other extreme into a balance. My motto has always been that you'll get where your going if you have a plan, but you have to be open to the detours that make life so extraordinarily exciting! It's about the journey.

So if your too loosey goosey, tighten your grip. If you are a little too tightly wound, practice letting go. In the end, it's just that. The end. Embrace your strengths, work with your weakness and enjoy the ride!

Plein Air and World Peace!

2010-07-27T11:58:00.005-04:00

I love to plein air paint. If you are not familiar with the term, it's just french meaning "in the open air". So outside. I love it because I am outdoors in nature. It is never the same day to day even in the same place because the light changes, the weather changes, the flora changes. I like that because I guess I bore easily. It's a challenge each time to complete a painting in one sitting or two. You learn more because you are forced to think fast. I think that helps me not get so caught up in the perfection of a finished painting. I can put the failed pieces aside knowing that I could have done better with more time! Or that's what I tell myself!

Another reason I love it is I do it with some really fun and talented friends. I don't get to do it as much as I'd like. Time, finding a free friend, and weather (I'm a fair weather painter. I can take the heat but loath cold weather. Rain is bad for watercolor too!) are all things to consider. I won't paint many places alone anymore. Just last Monday evening a group of us were painting at Goodale Park downtown. The pond is lovely with water lily pads and lotus blooming. We were all positioned quite close to one another just next to the pond.

While I was painting some guy came by and started to watch and then engaged in conversation. That’s distracting anyway when they don’t move on and you can’t paint and talk at the same time- like me. He was asking a lot of informational questions and was really in my personal space, making me uncomfortable. I turned to face him and get a good look at him in case I needed to identify him in a lineup! He commented that drawing/painting is a gift. You know me, I don't believe that, I told him it is largely learned. THEN: (wait for it!)… He says he’s been in jail twice and there are guys in there who have no training and can draw like a photo. Oh, but he’s not a murderer or anything, just DUI convictions! (he could have led with that!) I think he was just messing with me, and I didn’t go running out on the lily pads or anything! But next thing I know, my friend is standing on the other side of me, with his 6 foot plus frame and say’s “can I watch you paint too?” The guy moved on. And thanks John!

Now in my fertile imagination I can take care of myself. In my mind I am a tough, ass kicking, Karate expert. An ex FBI SEAL sniper who packs a glock. Kind of a cross between Clint Eastwood, (my friend Sly) Sylvester Stalone and Dolly Parton, (they are a distraction which gives one the advantage!) - who does the vigilante thing on the side.

My mind is a wonderful place! I think very creativly. My body on the other hand has betrayed me! I couldn't do a one armed push up if my life depended on it. My dad's in better shape! I don't own a gun and don't know any marshal arts. So the reality is I have to embrace that and be careful.

All humor aside, that is not the only reason I paint with friends. I am a social person. I love people. They energize me. You know those quizzes in magazines that tell you what kind of dieter or exerciser you are? What kind of creative are you? Do you like to create in solitude and order? Or do you like the buzz of activity? Do you do best side by side doing your own thing or in collaboration with others? There are many such questions and the results can help give you personal insights that get you where you want to go.

It helps to know yourself. Then you can play to your strengths. I bet you can guess what type person I am. But knowing these things about myself means that now I make sure I take a class or paint with others regularly. Not just to get the work done, but to learn from them and to energize my own work. I also spend a lot of time alone. I think that's all the more reason to make it a point to do what I love with people who share my passion. A shared passion connects the human spirit. Now if we could all just realize that we are all connected! World Peace- Yeah baby, and all from my plein air group!

The Yin Yang of Creativity

2010-07-22T00:05:00.001-04:00

Last winter I wrote quite a bit about being blocked as an artist, because I felt blocked as an artist. I read volumes about creativity and unlocking or unblocking it. I tried a lot of things to unblock it. The most recurring theme that presented itself was that negative energy blocks creativity. Negative situations, thoughts, actions/behaviors and so on. While I agree with this, I also have to disagree.

Eastern religion teaches balance. The yin yang of life. Though I practice Christianity, the duality of man is still the overriding idea. So while I agree that negativity might block our creativity, I have to say I've learned a huge lesson from the eastern philosophy. A surprising lesson.

As I was trying desperately to rid myself of my "negative energy" and to unblock my creative self, I became very aware of the negative. It was as though in my attempt to exorcise it, I amplified it. That's a bummer! And try as I might, hard as I could, as focused as I was on being positive-right behind was the negative! Ouch!

But the yin yang idea teaches me that although the negative might be perceived as bad (and I'm not saying it's not here-believe me) the two are, well...They just ARE! My understanding now is that I need both to make me who I am. That the two exist as one. I don't know if I'm stating it right, but I am the artist I am-the person I am- because of both the negative and positive. And I can learn to work with and be productive in and with both.

For example, where would country music be with out the dysfunctional relationship? Without troubles who would sing the blues? Many of the worlds greatest masterpieces were created by tortured artists working out their angst! And lets not even go there about literature... I have to tell you, the books that stand out in my life are not the ones I've read that had only positive things in them. The human experience, the good, bad and ugly are what make for good reading! (I don't know if you can translate this to my Foodie friends, except to say-without the failed or experimental dish gone wrong we would be eating oatmeal every meal world wide!!) Sometimes we have to embrace the negative and deal with the fact that it just "is" to unblock ourselves. To just relax and accept that we cant control what is. From that has come some of my best insights and consequently my best art.

I think the current trend is to "positive think" yourself where you want to go. While I do believe that, I have found great comfort in my failures lately. And I am accepting all of me. The good/bad person I am. The good/bad artist. The artist who doesn't make a masterpiece with each attempt even though I've been at it for years. I am forgiving myself. And others. For being human. For the universal yin yang factor.

Does that mean I sit back and not try to be more positive? No. I think making the negative a positive is still my goal. But without the negative, where would the struggle be? How would we grow?

Just another thought.

Doing

2010-06-30T15:53:00.008-04:00

Photo: Me-Plein Air Painting

Most of my students lament at some point that they only do their art in class. Because there is always something more important that needs their attention. I still find that I have more to do than is humanly possible and that I need to do it all or a lot of it before I "play" (that is make art). I would not call myself a high energy person, but I would say for the most part if I am upright I am in perpetual motion.

There is always something that needs to be done. I feel guilty watching TV (even though I do it practically every night ) or reading a book or taking a nap. Relaxation you see, is reserved for when all the work is done. But the work is never done! So you either never relax (or create) or you feel guilty? The only out you have is a vacation-where that's what you are supposed to do-relax. (Unless of course, you married to someone who thinks relaxing is doing!) And we use that idea that work is more important as a reason to feel that creating is not.

Two students have said to me recently - and what am I going to do with all these paintings?? It seems that we think it's only valuable if it the art will then do something! I understand having a pile of things that are dear to your heart, but are just sitting around collecting dust. Why add to that? But do we use that as yet another reason to not create, so we don't add to the pile?

Reasons like these abound. For some reason, maybe because we enjoy it (which is another subject), we feel it cannot be as important as getting something done. But why can't getting a painting done be as valuable as getting the laundry done? Why is your job more important to you than your creativity? Aside from the fact you have to eat? I believe we place value on things according to what people will pay for them. My day job is more important because I have to eat! While that is true, does that really mean your music, writing, cooking, painting is less valuable?

Love, happiness,a child's laughter, a rainbow, a purring kitten, a breeze, your health. All these are things that have no monetary value placed on them, and yet they are what makes life worth the living. Ask yourself, are these things that bring such joy "doing" something?

So, if you only have time to create in a class, take one. And keep taking them! If your worried about paintings piling up, shift your thinking. Make it about the process and getting better and not about the piling up factor. Give them away, sell them on Etsy.com or give them to a charity. Free art will always uplift someone who hasn't the funds for real art. And you can recycle. Paint over not so good paintings. Recylcle watercolor paper.

But most of all, challenge your ideas about how your time is spent and what is valuable. How dull would be a world without the arts? I say soak them up, like a sponge. Make it more valuable in your own life and perhaps others will shift their thinking as well.

Not everything has to do something. It can just be.

Caught in the Rain

2010-06-03T09:39:00.010-04:00

It was a brutally hot weekend. It's a wet week! I appreciate the rain, until the 7th straight day. But for the most part, I really love the dark brooding skies. I love to turn off all the noise and listen to it's rhythm as it hits some metal thing on the chimney.I find rain calming. A break from the heat. I really, really love a good lightening show!

But like most things, rain has both a Yin and Yang aspect to it. On one hand the rain waters the dry soil and plants, cools the heat, takes down the humidity (sometimes) and best of all-brings pollen and other allergy makers down a notch.
But it can be destructive as well. Flooding, hard rains and hail ruin crops and the occasional parade and picnic!

This morning I took off to walk thinking I would get it in before the rains that were forecasted. That didn't happen! About midway through my usual route, it started to sprinkle. No big deal, I don't melt! In fact it was cooling since the temperature had already reached 70 degrees. So I kept going. Lo and behold, the downpour! Needless to say I picked up speed eventually jogging. Now, I know that you get just as wet no matter how fast you go. (some fact I picked up from one of my children studying something I don't understand- I'm sure!) But you get it over sooner is my reasoning! So sad to say, running is not my thing. I peter out after a few short blocks! Still probably a mile away, I had to slow down and walk in the rain.

I realized I could embrace the rain that covered every inch of dog and woman and focus on the good in the situation. Or I could be upset that we were soaking wet, that I almost brought an umbrella and that it would take more time to dry them off and get into the house and on with my day. And the lesson began to sink in. You can make the best of the rain and your situation, or you can fight it. You can run and try to escape it or get it over quicker. And being an action oriented person I prefer "running" at a problem. Or you can choose to embrace the whole of it and let it teach you something.

I've been fighting some situations in my life. I think all the mental strife and boxing air takes my creative spirit away. Who has time to think creatively, let alone actually create when so much energy is being used to fight what is? It's a reminder that if my creativity is slow to come I should take a look at my circumstances. Am I accepting of what I cannot change? This is a lesson I guess I have not completely internalized, but I'm grateful for getting caught in the rain! If your human, it's going to rain. How can we use it to create? What can our trials bring to the process? We need to create both in good times and bad. And its cheaper than therapy. And eventually, the rains must end and we can see the rainbow!

I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends!

2010-05-27T12:46:00.001-04:00

We creatives are a fragile bunch. Since I think everyone is born with creativity, that means all of humanity has their share of insecurities and fragile feelings! Some people are adept at protecting their inner child, and some of us will never learn this since it is our nature to let life in through the front door! Self protection is an afterthought for us. And most of the time, the experience is a good one. By being less wary and more open I have experience great joy in relationships and deep lasting friendships. I understand and appreciate both ways of living life.
In my journey I have noticed that my creativity is affected by others in both good and bad ways. But when it comes to my creative side, I've found that I need to be a little more protective. That doesn't mean less open. No, that just means I need better boundaries and screening.
Creativity is fragile. That part of me is fragile. I've learned to surround myself with the people who understand and appreciate my life's calling. I'm not saying I am not friends with people who don't appreciate my art. I'm saying that I don't drag out my inner creative to people who might damage it. It's hard enough to stay creative with the rejection one gets from critiques in school, from not being accepted to this show or that, from those who do not "oooo and ahhh" over your best work, the list goes on! Your putting part of yourself out there artists! These works are your children! Treat them as such. Respect them and the process and don't listen to those who do not! (do not confuse this with those who give constructive criticism. But get that from someone you respect and who has your best interest at heart!)
But those who are supportive of your creativity are gems. And I have gathered many into my corner. Recently I wrote a friend that I didn't feel like gardening anymore, a hobby we shared like the obsessive compulsive perennial buyers we are. She wrote back to encourage and included this: You've lost that gardening feeling.Oh, that gardening feeling.You've lost that gardening feeling, cuz it's gone, gone, gone, and you can't go on,Whoa whoa whoa. (a Righteous Brothers borrowization).
That's creative! That makes me laugh and gives me joy, and even made me want to plant something. But larger than that, that humor and creativity from one of my best and lifelong friends, translated to me! Juiced me up and made me laugh!
In correspondence with another friend during that incredible snow in February that left us all crazy, he wrote that he was canceling our meeting to make snow angles. I wrote back with a cocky "OK then. But try an angel instead, angles tend to cause trouble." His response was classic and made me laugh as you can see above in the photo!

And yet another friend invited me to her garden to witness and paint the beauty and unfolding miracle that was blooming in her front yard. This simple act of sharing her vision and the beauty that she and her yard possessed produce a painting in kind. Not bad for a couple of hours of perfection! You take that when you can get it.
Those are example's of friends who shared their own creativity with me. It gave me appreciation for my own, since I could appreciate theirs! And then there is my best friend and also my husband and kids. My sister and mom and dad. These people have nurtured and protected my fragile creative side and helped it grow. I am blessed to have them and their support.

Yes, people energize me with their wit, creativity and humor. I need people. People who need people are the luckiest people in the world. OK, wrong song! But seriously, surround yourself with those who respect who you are and what you do creatively, even if it's just for fun in your spare time. Limit your time with those who would seek to bring that down, knowingly or not. I doubt they know they even have this effect on you. This is a hard journey, don't make it harder on your inner creative!

Most of all, people treat you the way you teach them to. (Dr. Phil) The bottom line, and the root of the issue is: do you believe in your own value and the value of what you create? If you don't, why would they treat you better than you treat yourself? Do you feel you/your art is important?

It's something to think about, huh?

A Mothers Gift

2010-05-14T20:38:00.010-04:00

Last spring I received an unexpected package on the porch. It was from a mail order nursery and I knew I had not ordered anything that spring. Upon opening the package and looking at the invoice, I found that my mother had ordered these flowers for my yard the previous fall while she was bed ridden and dieing of cancer. I remember her telling me that if she couldn't enjoy them anymore, I should. She died that December. As you can imagine, I cried, and cried. For day's. And I eventually planted them. They seemed to not thrive during that year and eventually disappeared. I thought I had killed them. I was very sad to think that the last gift my mother had given me I had lost.

This spring those little buggers returned! How surprised and sentimental I was when I noticed they were back. This last week one sent up a beautiful spike of small peach flowers which darken each day at the bottom as new ones open above in a paler shade. Whenever I see them, I naturally think of my mother. But now, since a year has passed, I can see them without so much sadness. I feel like they responded last spring to my grief and shrivelled from sight to ease my pain. (yes, I think like this!) But this year maybe they returned to bloom and remind me that though all things must die, there is more.

Now I know that most likely, they will die off again in late summer as many perennials do, to return again the next spring. But the irony was not lost on me. My mother gardened her whole life. Raised on farms, she had a need to touch the soft warm earth each spring and coax vegetables and flowers from the soil in every place they lived. While stationed in Alaska, (I was not a twinkle yet) she discovered permafrost. Permafrost is when the ground thaws out, but only about 6 inches or so. Things sprouted up, and died a week later. Their roots could not go deep enough to make a life in the cold Alaskan soil. The year she died, my heart had permafrost.

I have to say, of all the things she passed to me my love for gardening is one of the things that makes me think of her the most. I am doing a series of floral watercolors right now and I keep thinking about how mom each spring would drag home flowers that she could not plant because she hadn't the strength anymore to dig the ground. But she could still spend $$! So she would coerce my father or pay my son or beg me to plant them for her! And the yard just filled up with color!

This all reminds me that I have to keep painting. I may work on a painting and have a permafrost experience some days. But sometimes the rewards from planting are the surprise flowers that come from what you thought had died or from seeds you had forgotten you had sown.

Look for the surprises in the small things and appreciate their willingness to teach you!

The Path

2010-05-11T18:05:00.007-04:00

I spent a lot of my childhood in Colorado. Dad, being the adventurer he is, was always taking us all over the state. I like being outdoors and have fond memories of blue skies, wide open spaces and mountain vistas. It was not populated like it is today and you could adventure without seeing another person for days. It was a close to paradise as I can imagine. (if you like that sort of country! And who doesn't?)
Since I believe in creation and the Creator, I think I am not whole, not balanced if I spend too much time away from nature. Everywhere we've lived has had a wooded path to walk. In Illinois we lived right by the old cable car lines that were the first commuter "trains". Those were turned into a long series of paths that went on forever. Here we have one that winds through the back of the neighborhood. I try to walk every day. I also walk around the other developments sometimes if there is snow on the path or it's muddy, etc. It's just not the same.
Walking through woods has a medative effect on me. (in my imaginary world I do Yoga on mountain tops, dessert sand dunes and tropical beaches. In the real world I walk the path!) No distractions but the occasional rabbit or jogger. My mind wanders. And I see the gradual change in the cycles of life. The spring is brazen with color. Maybe a visual reaction to the drab winter landscape, our eyes are assaulted with color. Lots of it. But what stands out each spring is yellow. That's the color I think of when I think of spring.
Now all I see are white flowers. The wild rose blooms, dogwood, the locus tree blossoms and something that resembles honeysuckle. The white shows up well against the foil of green that is so predominate in the warm months. I think there are colors that are dominate at certain times of the year. Have you noticed that as well? And the funny thing is-that color shows up in my work at the time! And with each change of color, I have a new favorite! Have you ever explored one color? Try it. But I'm babbling now!
Who cares? And what is this got to do with creativity? Well, I guess I was thinking that I get my best ideas for paintings on these walks. Or I see something I need to come back and paint. If nothing else I get exercise so I can stand to paint in the studio a while. I believe the recent popularity of plein air painting is in response to artists needing to get out of the studio and paint from "life". Always the better option.
And nature is never static or boring. Often hard to get along with, nature is in a state of constant flux. So the idea of painting the same scene many times will always result in a different painting.
Friends who don't paint landscapes tell me that all that green gets boring. I don't quite understand what there are looking at! Yes, summer is green. The sky is blue. If your not looking close!
So my thoughts are this: find your inspiration. Today its the path. Tomorrow it's the child on the swing set. For me, I can always count on creation to spark my creativity!

Do the Math Baby!

2010-04-26T09:11:00.007-04:00

OK, so I had a really good day the other day! And yes, it carried me for a while. But how do you create when you aren't having a good day? Well, I guess for me it used to be I just didn't! I always had to be in "the mood" to paint. I had to have "inspiration" to start. The planets had to be aligned and the god's in their good mood's!

As you can imagine, I didn't get a lot done. I think that was creative immaturity. Sure we all have times when you get in a zone and can do no wrong. But that's the exception to the rule. Waiting for those times is like waiting for lightening to strike!

When I began to take my art seriously, I really struggled with how to make art and create when I didn't "feel" like it. The model then would be the dinner dishes. Who ever wants to do the dishes after a long day and a good meal. Wouldn't we all like to just sit down with a glass of wine and the TV or good book and that full stomach? But the dishes don't take care of themselves, just like a painting won't paint itself. So if your waiting for the dish fairy, good luck with that! (and send her/him my way!!)

So then, my art becomes work? Well, in a way, but not the way you think. And if it does, don't you loose the magic and "therapy" that art brings to your life? Not at all. Beginning is just that. When I start washing dishes, I may hate the idea, but there is a certain meditative thing that happens while I mindlessly clean up my mess. I forget while in the process how I might hate this job, and my mind drifts to other things. I've solved problems, righted relationships and sung show tunes! And it's funny how when it's over and done with and I feel so much better and have a nice clean kitchen to wake up to!

I think the same holds true of the creative process. I might just dread starting a painting. But once started, the creative juice kicks in and I begin to feel the source and find my strength. I get a charge, so to speak, and if I do this routinely, I am less likely to loose the charge and let my batteries drain completely. (another problem-another blog)

Does this mean I have a masterpiece each day? Heck no! I'm talking process, not results. I still fight the thought that results are from the gods! But the more I use the process, the more often the chance for a great result!

That's just doing the math baby!

A Good Day

2010-04-16T21:20:00.008-04:00

Yesterday was 78 degrees. The sun shone bright and it warmed the last of the cold dark Midwest winter away for good. I was thankful for it's warmth and light.

I'm also thankful for a big dog who needs a daily walk to burn off excess energy, which means I get a daily walk. I'm thankful I can walk! My mom had both knee's replaced and I have friends who have issues that hinder walking. So every step I take I am grateful.

I walk along a forested path that skirts my "hood". On warm days-like yesterday-there are people walking, biking, skating and kids playing. As I walked a young boy headed down the path toward me carrying a squirt gun. He was preoccupied looking for his prey. As he got closer I said "don't shoot!", which brought and impish grin from the young warrior. The hunt and the grin were universal. As I walked on I was reminded of my own early hunting days.

The late afternoon sun and air was full of gifts for my inner artist. Colorful birds darted among the canopy of trees, singing at the top of their lungs. The forest floor was covered in patches of nodding light pink flowers, singularly nondescript, but en mass a pink carpet. Among so many bare or barely budding trees appeared the occasional apple tree blooming away. How did they get in the forest, I wondered. The air was fragrant with the lilac trees that lined the street off the path. Further down a gust of wind sent the petals from a flowering pear like a blizzard through the air to dust the ground like warm snow. My senses were on overload, as were my allergies!

Almost home, I stopped to let a small toddler and his mother pet the dogs. He was afraid of big dog, so I made him sit away from the child. As he reached down to pet small dog, she reached up and licked his little hand. He burst into wonderful two year old squeals and giggles!

Yes, yesterday was a good day. I painted outdoors in the morning. I taught a class in the afternoon full of women who teach me as much as I teach them. And I took a walk. What more could one ask for? Legs to walk, nature in bloom, doing what you love, and the delight of children. Yes, it was a good day!

Creative Olympics

2010-02-20T10:33:00.010-05:00

OK. I know I said blogs were narcissistic. That I did not want to write about me and my life. All because I saw the movie Julie and Julia! But heck, what else do I have to share from but my personal experience? So, here's your chance to change channels!

I've been having creative issues. I've been blocked! This is nothing new for me, or you I suspect. I heard the same from a few of you. I think that as creative people we need to realize that our creativity is something to be nurtured. Like a muscle that does not get used, your creativity can atrophy!

Do you ever try to create something and it doesn't come out as you had planned? Does that lead to frustration or can you just shake it off? And what if it happens more than once? I happen to be very sensitive to what I consider failure! There are times when I ask myself "and who told you that you were an artist?" I frequently consider myself a hack! Because I frequently "feel" that I have failed! That leads to a kind of creative inactivity, which has at times gone on for years! All because of self doubt and "feelings" of inadequacy I spiral into this place where I will do anything but art. A kind of fear sets in. I know, who thinks about this stuff this much??

Friends say, "do the art for the sake of it! Have fun with it!" And while there is truth to that, if you don't try to improve or move toward where you want to go, you stay in the same place! I know that's comfortable, but I'm not sure it's a good thing. I think we should grow. Try new things. Improve our skills. But with that comes the disappointment of not getting there as fast as you thought you should. Or fighting to get something right-which can be exhausting.

And last, the idea that it should always be FUN and JOY! Well, heck, if that were really true, how many of us would ever accomplish anything? I mean really, if it were only that easy! Nothing worthwhile is ever easy!! How different the world would look if some were not striving for excellence. I think excellence is seldom a waste of one's time.

But when it works-it is FUN and JOY! And that's the payoff! Like the Olympics-we train and practice and sometimes we get a medal. Most of the time we don't even place. That's the reality. But, cliche as it may sound, its about the journey. Beating our personal best. Striving to be the best we can be! And sometimes...the only payoff is just knowing you didn't give up!

So if your not, get back in the game! Back in the saddle, back to the easel! If your already in the game, set a few goals and as one of my students said, work to beat your personal best. And remember, you cant get where you want to go if you don't know where that is!

The Artist's Way

2010-01-17T19:56:00.006-05:00

The blog for this month should most certainly be about new years resolutions. Creative ones. The problem is, you've heard it all before. So how to put a new spin on an old idea was just too taxing for my 2010 brain.

Usually there is something that sparks an idea for a blog and I just run with it. This month that has not been the case. I have played with several ideas and they tanked. This blog is supposed to inspire and encourage you the reader to find the joy in your creativity. To get you out of your chair and into your studio, kitchen, sewing/craft room, or writing desk. (I'm sure I missed an outlet or two) But I'm at a loss. And because I'm at a loss creatively myself, I cannot write about it. Blogs can be very narcissistic as well. And I don't want this blog to be about me or about just my thoughts on creativity. While my experiences may be helpful to motivate others, I don't want to just put my crazy musings online to hear myself write! And are there really that many things to say about getting creative? Well, yes, since creativity is limitless, talking about it is as well! So why cant I blog?

Well, it's called the "block". You've heard of writers "block"? I'm calling it a "creative block". It happens to all of us. The reasons vary and don't really matter. Most people just wait for it to end. And hope it ends soon. But what if it's a long term block? And it's stopping a flow of joy that we get when we find fulfillment in our creative selves and work. So we should take it seriously and get back our joy!

It happens to me more often than I'd like. A long time ago I found a book called "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. She wrote the book after helping countless high profile artists get past their "block". The book is filled with helpful insights and ways to move past whats stopping you and give you a jump start to get back in the game. I highly recommend it, even if your not blocked.

On her website http://www.theartistsway.com/, there is a tool tab that outlines her "basic tools" to start you on you journey. Those would be the Morning Pages and The Artist's Date. I recommend that you go there and read about it. It's for every Artist and is helpful at all times. Give it a look and let me know what you think. I know from personal experience that these tools are helpful, as are the many other exercises she writes about.

So in this new year, lets shake things up a bit. Lets find our creative self and just ooze joy! Welcome 2010!

Passion

2009-12-16T09:28:00.006-05:00

My dad served in the Air Force twenty six years. He retired when I was in sixth grade. But by then he had a bug. The travel bug. Wander lust. A passion.

My life has been full of travel. There was a week long vacation every year. We usually drove, which I have good/bad memories of! But dad always managed to get away as often as was possible. Although we were comfortable, we were not rolling in the money. But there was always an allocation for travel. We stayed in motel 6 a lot. We found way's to cut back "here" to enjoy more "there".

My mother always wanted to go to Oberammergau in Bavaria to see the "passion play" about the last day's of Jesus. It is performed only every ten years and has been for almost 400 years. The villager's have done this since praying for deliverance from the black plague and war in 1633. Dad took her on a river cruise on the Rhine in 2000 and to see the play. When she returned, she told me that although wonderful, it never occurred to her it would all be in German! But it was an experience of a lifetime, set in some of the most beautiful scenery in the world! And it combined his love of travel and her love of religious history.

I think when you have a passion, it's a force to be reckoned with. It's a drive that has it's own momentum. I think passion is the creative force in all of us. What's your passion? And how, like my dad, do you find a way to make it a part of your life-even when it isn't easy?

Don't let your passion go by the wayside because of any of the many reasons that rival it! You don't need to be rich, thin, happy, talented, retired or anything else to at least find a small space to feed your passion.

Make a pledge, promise or new years resolution to put some "passion" in your life in 2010! Plan for it. Fail to plan, plan to fail. Make it a priority and find a space, some extra $$, a bit of time to feed your passion. This will pay off in way's that cannot be measured.

So, Merry Christmas and Happy New year. But one filled with, wait-did you get it? PASSION!

2009-11-12T19:49:00.004-05:00

I love the fall. I love the bold warm colors. I love the crisp chill in the air. I love that the light bends farther and all the colors seem richer. I was born in the fall, so maybe I have a natural association with it. School starts in the fall, and I always got new clothes and got to start all over again in a new (higher) grade!

I like the first fire in the fireplace, the first raking of the leaves, (which, to be honest, I don’t do anymore-but I like to watch Tom!), and the first frost. That is a thing of beauty.
Although it signals the end of summer and a transition to winter I don’t feel it’s the end of summer, or the beginning of the “dreaded” winter. (I actually like winter until about February, and then you can have it back!) Instead I see change. I see the cycle of life. I remember that, “to everything, there is a season”. That unless a plant dies and drops its seed, it cannot continue. Unless the leaves die they stay green and we never see the structure of the underlying branches against a fall sunset. I know there are tropical climates where the trees never lose their leaves, but there are seasons there as well, with cycles of life and death.

In that light, it is the death of one thing and a new beginning for another. If you think of fall like that you begin to think in terms of your own life and its cycles. Unless I let go of a thing, good or bad, I cannot grow and move on to new things. Sometimes we want to stay in a perpetual summer. (choose your favorite season) Try as you might to stay in that warm summer sun, the cycle of life has other plans. Change is the only constant in this world! But when you fight that flow, block the rhythm, stifle the natural order of things, to hold on to something you enjoy and is comfortable, you create friction.

There is a similar order to my creative world and maybe yours as well. We need to change and grow in our applications, our processes and our conceptions. We should try to view change as growth and strive to move out of the season that has treated us so well we don’t want to leave! If we keep doing the same things the same way, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow we stagnate and eventually smell! So in the end…its dies anyway! And isn’t that the whole point? It just whether you are going to fight the process or move with it willingly!

So my final thought here is this: just because you prefer one season over another does not mean you cannot find the beauty of that different season with the change and embrace it. Because the truth here is, you can’t stay there long either! Soon fall gives way to the first snowfall, which in turn is followed by the first crocus. And so it goes. I like the permanence of seasonal change! Think deeply, love richly, laugh loudly!

2009-10-23T11:23:00.003-04:00

All You Need is Love

Creativity. What is it and how do we get it? Webster’s defines "create" as- “to bring into being; originate, design, invent, ect. 2. To bring about, or cause”. I understand that. But the deeper question for me is-where does it come from. Unless you are God, your creation doesn’t come from nothing! It starts with a thought or idea. Maybe it starts with a feeling or something you see. But my point is it starts in your mind.

Since I believe that there is nothing new under the sun, I think we re-circulate things. We may put a new twist to it, or you may have not seen it before-so it’s new to you, but the reality is in the infamous words of the Beatles:

There's nothing you can do that can't be done

Nothing you can sing that can't be sung

Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game

It's easy!

Nothing you can make that can't be made

No one you can save that can't be saved

Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time

It's easy!

Nothing you can know that isn't known

Nothing you can see that isn't shown

Nowhere you can be that isn't where you were meant to be

It’s easy!

All you need is Love

Love is all you need.

It was there all along. So my theory is-stay with me here, creativity is born of love. I want you to ponder that. Creativity is born in unconditional freedom and love. Really ponder this. To really wrap your brain around it takes some thought. If we have unconditional love there is total support, total freedom, total access, total resources- just “total”, all, everything, complete, whole, whatever verbiage you need to use. There is no fear as I’ve said before, because there is no failure, no crossing the any lines. You are unlimited and limitless. That’s big, and empowering.

So, if I’m not feeling creative, or can’t seem to create (or am blocked), where does that come from? Am I feeling unloved or unloving? Could that be blocking the receptors in my brain where that endless creativity and energy come from? (I also think creativity is energy.) Or do you think I’ve lost a marble or two? It doesn’t matter, as long as you think about where your creative energy comes from. It’s a powerful tool if you think about it. Let's use our powers for good and not evil! Let’s choose love.

I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore!

2009-10-12T17:13:00.009-04:00

Well, I think I’m home to stay a while. I’ve decided I don’t travel well. While my father seems to thrive on going all the time and experiencing new places-my new motto is ““if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with! “(Dorothy-Wizard of Oz)
Now, I wasn’t looking for my heart’s desire exactly, my dad is. And if my dad wasn’t footing the bill, I doubt I would have ever gone to Europe at all! And I don’t want to sound at all ungrateful. I am totally grateful for the experience. But after 20 hours of travel time, you arrive in another country and you say “Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.” And so it began.
We were touring so much and experiencing so much, trying not to miss anything that I really did not have time to paint. I did two quick paintings and that was it! To me, that was so hard. While in Dubrovnik, I spied a man painting watercolor across from a beautiful church. In true artist spirit, I asked him how long he’d been painting and so on. Turns out he was on a “painting holiday” with a group from the UK. I was so jealous! Can you believe that? Here I am in one of the most picturesque cities in the world, and all I want to do is sit and paint! I was ready to miss all the touring and just plunk myself down and paint! As I continued through the city I saw several others of his group happily painting away to their hearts content!
I think I learned something vital about myself this trip. First, art is not what I do anymore, it’s who I am! I need it to calm me and keep me centered. And to really engage in a place or with a person/people, it’s best done while painting!
That’s a huge change from the Michelle of ten or even five years ago. I still had trouble calling myself an artist then, let alone practicing my craft in public. My how I’ve grown! But it’s really been less about my painting, and more about acceptance. Accepting that this is who I am and what I do and that that’s OK. It’s not a frivolity I indulge in selfishly! I’ve spent hours honing my craft and am proud of that. It’s that I can do something, and it has value for no other reason than because I did it. It no longer matters if it sell’s, or if someone raves about it, or it wins a prize. (Which- while I was gone I won nothing in a show I was in, but one of my favorite people won Best of Show! That’s almost as good as winning myself!) It’s being comfortable with who I am and what I’ve invested so much of myself in.
If you learn nothing else from traveling to Europe, I think it should be that they value the arts in a much more profound way. It’s not questioned as important, or viewed as something pushed to the periphery. It is part of the fabric of everyday life. It is learned as part of their history, which it is. And it is not separate from anything they do, whether walking down the street or eating a meal. It is unquestioned and important still today.
I am not sure if it comes from our Quaker/Shaker roots, but the idea that art is not intrinsic to a happy life or something to be viewed as unnecessary or unimportant makes me crazy! Yet I’ve gotten that message directly or indirectly from well meaning people who felt I was wasting my time on a “hobby” as well as from others whose motives were unclear. The bottom line here is -BUZZKILL! I think when we begin to pit function against form (or beauty) we kill something inside a person. Why would you not want your surroundings to be beautiful or your clothes to have color? It’s counter intuitive really.
So, getting back to the Wizard of Oz…I think it was good to get out of Kansas! But I’m glad to be back, and I think my new vision is to make sure my own backyard has LOTS OF ART! Let’s make art necessary!

Finish What You Start

2009-09-09T12:37:00.005-04:00

Being a right brained individual, I tend to have ideas. Lots and lots of ideas. That's the fun part. I love the beginnings, the freshness, the endless possibilities! Getting into the nitty gritty of a project tends to leave me cold. Details are not my thing. And I am not good at finishing once the enthusiasm is gone. Thank heavens others aren't so prone, or the world would be a very scary place!

I realize it takes all kinds and that I fit in there someplace. It is not a good character trait to start things and not finish them because I've lost the "mood". But I fear I am not alone! Are you out there? Do I have kindred spirits in the world of drudgery? Some of us are so consumed by fear of failure that we don't even start things! But that's a different blog!

To my credit I do finish some things. I managed to raise the kids without killing them with neglect. I am still married, though I suspect Tom wears different colored soxs a lot. But I forget and leave the laundry in the washer and have to rewash it. Or move it from the drier to a basket and istead of folding it, just pick out what I need for days! I forget dates because the calendar and I are not friends. Yes, I have issues!

So, here's a sketch I FINISHED this morning-largely to avoid doing other boring tasks-that I started this July while in Chicago with my family. It was good to revisit the sketch book and finish what I started. I had time to think about the good time we had. Though this will probably remain nothing more than a sketch, I did some art today. I finished something. Now maybe I'll be in a better frame of mind for those other menial tasks that must be done!

Go finish something! In the immortal words in Nike commercials: Just Do It!

On the Road Again! part 2

2009-08-31T13:00:00.008-04:00

This summer has flown by! I can't remember a busier summer-but they all seem that way these days! Do you think it true that the older you get the faster time goes by? I believe it. Time is such a precious commodity to me these days. No one ever has enough, no matter how we use it. What is that about? Are we really too busy, or do we just think all those other things are more important than nurturing our creative selves?

"On the Road Again " was supposed to be an adventure in nurturing my creative side. How? Well, I've been several places this last few months. Lakeside, Ohio; Chicago; Brown Co. Indiana; Sonoma/Napa Calif; San Francisco; Sausilito, Calif. And I will be leaving for Italy in a few short months. These were supposed to be painting opportunities as well as mini-vacations. (all were 3 days at most-but still!) I was so busy going, going, going, that I didn't have painting time! Ah, the best laid plans...

I have painted precious little at all this summer! And when I get home...I have too much to do to catch up from being gone to have studio time-Aarrrggghhh! If you can't tell, I am just a bit frustrated. But if I'm being honest, the real problem is not a lack of time. It is a lack of focus, a lack of structure and a lack of priorities. All of which I struggle with daily, let alone when something disrupts my routine-or lack thereof. I have never been very disciplined. (like writing this blog! I dont have time for this! But it is more for me than anyone else. "Chatty" is how my friend described one. Yes, but I tell you, this stuff is floating around in my head otherwise-this is therapy!)

But here is another nugget of truth. Being gone and in new places with new people gets my creative juices flowing! I have a million more paintings in my head than were there a few trips, photos and color notes before! I am really craving painting time now - since I can't fit it in right now! I have seen new things and experienced new places and people and am richer for it. And who can complain when they have done so much in such a short time-most of which was done within a few day's notice! That takes flexibility! I'm not very flexible either!

So, even though I don't have time to paint right now, I want to really bad! Maybe that's the lesson. Are you craving time to do what you love? Yes, we have to make the time. But sometimes I think it's good not to be able to do what we usually can. It makes us hungry! And I was doing other fun things as well as not so fun things that had to be done!

To everything there is a season... And the seasons change regardless!

On the Road Again! Part 1

2009-08-19T22:58:00.002-04:00

I love a good road trip! It's my preferred method of travel most of the time. It may take longer sometimes, but when you factor in how long it takes to get oneself to the airport, in the hour and a half before a flight, and if (and you know it will be) it's delayed, or you can land on time, get a car and get to your destination...unless its across the world, I'll drive! But I digress...

How does a road trip have anything to do with creativity? I'm sure you can figure it out. But here are some things that you may not have thought of. If your like me, you crank up the tunes! And you sing at the top of your lungs. Your in another county or state, so no one is going to recognize the crazy woman rocking out behind the wheel! I think this behaviour is essential on many levels! I highly recommend it.

If the trip is long, you have time to revisit some artists you may not have listened to for a while. My taste in music is very eclectic. I seem to love everything but rap. (opera, not so much either) Country has special appeal to me on a road trip. "looong neck bottle, leeggo my hand!" and "I dug my keys into the side, of his pretty little souped-up, four wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seats - took a louiville slugger to both headlights, slashed a hole in all four tires, maybe next time he'll think before he cheats!" , "where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases my blues away...and I'll be o.k." I mean, who can argue with that? And I cannot listen to Rascal Flats "my wish") without tears. Good a Capella Harmony makes me cry as well. Yes, music moves me.

But I was thinking about how much creativity goes into what we hear. The lyrics, the vocals, the instrumentation, and how we really don't think about what it takes to get it to the radio. We enjoy and appreciate, but not being involved in the process, we miss a lot. My musician friends get this. I can appreciate, but not fully. But they do it because it's their passion. And we listen because on some level it speaks to us. The musicians need to speak in that creative way, and we hear what they are saying!

So, my point? And not to be redundant here, but, EVERYONE has a creative voice of some kind. We may not all speak the same creative language, but we should visit other creative "states" along the way. It may lose something in translation, but we will be richer and broader for having taken the trip! Audit a journalism class, if you read the paper. Learn to cook french food if you like to eat it! If you get into it, you might understand and appreciate it better, even if its not your language. Or do what I did, think about it real hard...

So hit the road people -Visit a new "creative state" -Life is a journey!

Creativity as Therapy

2009-08-09T12:14:00.009-04:00

Years ago I thought I wanted to become an Art Therapist. I love psychology and art so it seemed natural. After looking into the requirements, the timing was off. (so were the funds!)

But I kept the idea in the back of my mind.

One reason for the interest was because art has been very much "therapy" in my own life. I went back to my art during a very difficult period in my own life. It was something that was all my own, something that I did just for me. I experienced release, joy, success, (often enough to continue anyway!) and challenge. I found like minded people and others who challenged my own ideas about life and art. There is a great deal of avant guard thinking amongst artist! And I was learning something new, which always opens us up to a bigger world experience.

I now wonder if part of my difficulties at that time were due to a frustrated creative self trying to get out?! I know that was not the whole of my unhappiness, but I think it was certainly a component. That may be pooh-pooh to some, but I think there must be some part of your life that nurtures your inner self. You need to care for that part of you just as you care for those around you. I don't mean you should be selfish with it. There must be balance in life as well. But I find that those who have this piece/peace in their lives seem the most fulfilled.

One reason I chose to blog Art as Therapy is because my daughter just went to a conference for certification in "therapeutic art" for domestic violence. Not "art therapy", which she explained uses the therapist to interpret the art made by clients and to diagnose and direct further exploration. This she explained was "therapeutic art" where the client uses the art to express and explain their own experience through their art. She wants to implement a program to help the troubled women she works with. And art will be a tool they use to explore and hopefully heal from a violent past.

I am excited for her, and for these women, since I know first hand creativity can heal and bring clarity and peace. (I was not a victim of domestic violence and we realize this is not a replacement for psychotherapy!)

But I know that finding your inner creative self and voice is a powerful place to stand. From that place, the possibilities are endless. From that vantage point-a place of endless ideas, resources, and energy-anything is possible. From that place the future looks hopeful. Think about that for a while. Let it sink in. Creativity has no limits and knows no fears!

Open yourself to that. To the creativity in you. Live a creative life! Don't be afraid if someone doesn't understand or value what you do. I remember what a freeing feeling it is to not need their approval or understanding! It is only important that you do it. And what are their motives anyway? Do you need people in your life who disapprove of your inner self? That might tell you something right there!

So live a creative life this week in some way. I do this blog as a creative outlet. And I will be doing it in a larger way this week, which I'm sure will be the next blog, so stay tuned! But sometimes small is all we can handle or need. Share the journey with me!

Have a creative week!

Michelle

I'm glad my battery died!

2009-08-03T11:21:00.010-04:00

I teach a class called "Watercolor on the Run" every spring or summer. The purpose is to equip students to use their art to record their life, wherever it happens. Not a new concept-taking your art supplies with you to record vacation experiences with sketchbook paintings. But my spin is to always be ready. I have a purse kit, car kit, and a very extensive plein air set up. The latter I use most often these days since I've begun painting plein air with friends.

On our trip to visit my son in Chicago, I was snapping away with my camera thinking "wow that would make a great painting"! There is so much to see an do in Chicago and although we've seen and done most of it over the years already, we packed in the car and went to Lincoln Park Zoo for the day. While at the zoo, I was snapping photos of everything. And then the battery died...bummer.

So while everyone was in the reptile house-which holds little interest for me-I sat down and practiced a little of what I preach! I painted the Flamingo's. Now this was a challenge. First, Flamingo's stink! Second, have you ever tried to sketch a bunch of moving Flamingo's? This is why I use a camera. But it is also why you should be lucky enough to have the battery die! The camera lacks the feel of the place. Sometimes the camera changes the colors, or they just don't have the same impact they did in real time. (I'm talking your average reference photo taken with an SLR, not a good photo by someone who knows their stuff!) I doubt I would have taken the time to sit that long, what with the smell, and observe their movements which were very graceful. Emily and I discussed their color, a pale peachy pink to a very bright peachy pink, which she says comes from the shrimp they eat. And their noise. All of which I remember vividly, though I don't remember many other details from the outing. That is why painting on the spot is good practice! You become intimate with your surroundings and your subjects in a way the camera never can.

Then came the six hour drive home that turned to eight! Traffic out of the city was bad, not a surprise, but by the time I let Em drive I was spent. I am always made peaceful by the countryside vistas while driving. Again, no camera! And really, how many snapshots of barns and fields can you have? Out came the sketchbook. You have to get creative to paint moving flamingo's and a vanishing landscape! Again, I picked and chose things I saw as we went and invented a country landscape! I felt less tense when I was done.

Translation? Find a way to do what you love. Really experience the moment in "real time". Think of a way to record it. Write, paint, or scrapbook your experience. It only takes a few minutes, but your memories will be permanent. And if your like me, you could use the help in that department!

Let me know what you are doing to nourish your creative self. Am I just rambling or are you feeling the same? I hope you have a great week!

Michelle

I've looked at clouds from both sides now

2009-07-27T10:37:00.000-04:00

I swear I will not post daily! Come fall I hope to post weekly! But I had some thoughts I wanted to add.

In my classroom I have a quote on the wall - "To think creatively we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted." George Kneller. I find this so true. When you learn something new, you see the world differently. That's why we should never stop learning!

I love it when I teach a class on painting clouds, and a student says "I've never really seen clouds before!" or, "I can't quit staring at clouds now!"

I've looked at clouds from both sides now,
From up and down, and still somehow,
It's cloud illusions I recall,
I really don't know clouds, at all.-Joni Mitchel

My friend Rich Clem has a signature for his emails that has a quote I like. "Look at life with the eye's of a child" Henri Matisse. That's what we must do to free our creative self! Look at life as though we've never seen it before! Really look at it.

So, this week, slow down. Really look at what's important, what enriches your life. (a lovely dinner Al fresco with a good glass of wine? A walk in the evening when the light is long?) See if you can find time to really look at your muse. This week, schedule time to indulge in your passion and feed your creative self. Take time to savor the moments we have here. Make the most of the time you have to devote to your creativity!

Next week, I'd like to explore what thinking creatively really means. What does it mean to you?

yours creatively,
Michelle

in the beginning

2009-07-26T20:35:00.000-04:00

In the beginning God CREATED!! And aren't we made in his image? Therefore, we are created, creative beings. I figure if it's good enough for Him (or the "Big Guy" as my friend refers to God) it's a worthy endeavor. OK, no more of my spiritual philosophy! Well, for now anyway!

For many years I felt my art was an extravagance, a luxury, something that was not as important as just about anything else. There was much reinforcement for this way of thinking. Back in the day, art school was something few could afford. And I don't mean people couldn't afford to pay for an art education, I mean because you just couldn't make a living at it easily, so why would you spend the money on the education in the first place? With computers came graphic art, and of course there was illustration and other money making art avenues. But fine art was and continues to be a struggle for the large majority of fine artists. You've heard the term "starving artist"? Many of us then find a way to make money and pursue our passions on the side.

What have you put on hold because you needed to eat? There is nothing wrong with that, we need to eat! But I found there was a need in me to create that could not be silenced. I was not whole or happy without it. It took a long time for me to get that. And really, like I've said other places, what would the world be without the arts? I ask you, do you own art for your walls? Of course you do. Do you listen to music? I'm sure you own Cd's of artists who's music speaks to you. Do you read, or see movies or the theater? Life would be very bland without those artists who followed their passions regardless.

So, I titled this "the creative life" because I think we cant have one without the other, really. I'm interested in how we can enrich our lives by embracing our creativity. I'm interested in what you create and your thoughts on creativity. Lets share the creative life.

living a creative life

Having a Plan

Finding Your Artistic Voice

What's Wrong With This Picture? The Value of a Good Critique-Pt.2

What's Wrong with this Picture? The Value of a Good Critique.

Grizzly Bears and Art

Bucket List-The Final Piece!

Bucket List Part Two

Bucket List

Bittersweet

Art and Reality

Turning Negatives into Possitives

Wasting Creative Energy

A Hint Taken from the Season's

Sketchbook Journaling

Change Your Scene

Slugs and Cheerleaders

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

driftwood

Art Speaks-But Did You Really Catch What It Said?

Speak to Me!

Changing Your Scenery

How To Be Inspired!

What Really is Failure?

Primrose and Inspiration

What I learned at the Art at the Arnold

Footprints

Use It or Lose It

After Image Sketching

Oh, My, the Details

Baby, it's COLD Outside! Stay Inside and Sketch!

Practice Makes Perfect

Blogs, Bloggers and Blogged Down!

Skills

Floods

Failed Paintings

Creativity and a Flooded Basement

Yesterday

The Gift That Keeps Giving- Giving!

day 8, almost 9

day 7

day 5

day 4

Day 3

day 2

Creating the Holidays!

The Art of Healing

Do You Paint Every Day?

Still life with fruit

Carpe Diem

loosen up!

Plein Air and World Peace!

The Yin Yang of Creativity

Doing

Caught in the Rain

I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends!

A Mothers Gift

The Path

Do the Math Baby!

A Good Day

Creative Olympics

The Artist's Way

Passion

I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore!

Finish What You Start

On the Road Again! part 2

On the Road Again! Part 1

Creativity as Therapy

I'm glad my battery died!

I've looked at clouds from both sides now

I've looked at clouds from both sides now,From up and down, and still somehow,It's cloud illusions I recall,I really don't know clouds, at all.-Joni Mitchel

in the beginning

I've looked at clouds from both sides now,
From up and down, and still somehow,
It's cloud illusions I recall,
I really don't know clouds, at all.-Joni Mitchel