Artistic Musings

So perhaps I cheated a little, perhaps I did read and stay on top of my most "important" emails. Perhaps I did read my current novel a tad here and there. *looks around room and leans closer* but I did learn a few things this week about myself. As I type this, a flower looks up at me - not your typical flower - and I can't wait to finish her to place on my web page. She appeared to me at the beginning of the week while I was journaling. At that point she had a companion. In this image though she is alone and the viewer will have to decide what she's doing. She has no eyes or nose or typical anthropomorphic characteristics - however she's chalk full of personality. She came about in a coffee shop, while I avoided the books like a kid in a candy store that can't have sweets. I sat down with my mini pad of drawing paper and started doodling - and poof there she was. So I brought her along for the demo yesterday at the gallery. The response was awesome!...

Today the sun is bright, and the sound and feel of spring is in the air. Today my son cries for his lost friend, and celebrates that she's not in pain anymore. It is a bitter sweet day - a dark chocolate day in the history of our family. A monumental phase of life that is so normal it's written into screen plays, books, and stories. Yet it doesn't feel common at all. To watch his tears, to get a billion hugs from grieving - somehow it seems so huge - so close. I'm just thankful I have the knowledge to help him through this, the experience to be certain when I tell him this is normal. I do not enjoy the pain of my past - but I am thankful that I can pass along the ability to understand on such a powerful level that this really is part of life. The reality that every morning will bring a bit more relief and the one that has passed is alright and with them in heart and memory. I also enjoy my ability to create because as I type this my son has a pencil in hand and ...

My son has a rat - a pet rat. She is white with a head that looks as though she dipped her head to her shoulders in creamed coffee. She has been a wonderful companion to he and myself. Today though she isn't doing so well. She has a tumor - common among little critters like her. Her personality hasn't changed, but the full left side of her head is numb and blind. We knew it was coming, we knew her life was going to be short. That knowledge has lead to many conversations and explorations in regards to the cycle of life and what it really means to loose someone you love. In my own world the small child that dealt with her fathers death at 4 1/2 is watching, listening, and learning from our discussions. The discussions my own mother was grieving to heavily to explain with compassion and understanding like I can do now. I feel as though I'm explaining to myself the process I know so well, and making sense of it throughout the stages in my life where I've lost some...

Ok - so the reading deprivation is bugging me more than I thought. I've found myself writing poetry for the first time in years. I thought I would share it. Here's the poem I just wrote. Reading Deprivation - Day 1 The written word ripped from my grasp Computer hard drives remain still and cold The TV a silent box staring at me Daring me to push that switch Testing my resolve I feel compelled to create And yet angry and sullen like a denied child As if my favorite toy is being washed for the day Or forgotten at home while I head to vacation I'm not going anywhere I sit at home and look at my rooms I notice smells I didn't know were there that I don't like So I clean up a bit I notice piles that had grown over time So I sort them Laundry piles get smaller While children run under foot My art room doesn't make me happy It still feels like a borrowed store room Cluttered with junk and a To Do List a mile long It only shows portions of me - A drum here, a dragon t...

Chapter 4 of the Artist Way - A path to Higher Creativity has a task your supposed to do called Reading Deprivation. It basically tells you to stop reading for a week. This includes emails, books, newspapers, websites, and anything you can think of that involves the written word. I'm adding TV, computer games, and other electronic devices to this list as well. Sounds like I'm torturing myself doesn't it - for most people who read this they are most likely already starting to list reasons why they couldn't or woudn't ever do this. There might be a quickening in your breathing and pulse. Interesting isn't it. Why would a person reading this react in such a powerful way?? If you've gotten past the first paragraph your doing well. What this task actually does is it shows you where your spending your time. If a person reads email and surfs the internet every day from say 8-10:30 in the morning - and now they are supposed to avoid that - what do you do wi...

It would take me a month to post all the things I have found myself doing all of a sudden. A general overview - alot of things artistic involving alot of artistic events - alot of them with me on the committee. My email fingers are on high speed, my children are making valentines for their respective parties, and my coloring books are starting to take shape for publishing. My ferrets are also starting to play in my imagination in the way ferrets tend to do. I feel like a really crazy orchestra trying to play all the notes to the direction of an unseen director who has full confidence in me. I seriously need to find that confidence for myself LOL. I'm getting there. The Artist Way meetings have been fantastic - and the group of people that are attending are wise beyond my years and have some amazing insight into the world around. I have been inspired to create after every session, and have followed that inspiration. My difficulty comes in carving out that bit of time where ...

Spring always makes me think of fae, flowers and baby animals. It also is the time I start my seeds going for my garden. At this point in the year I find myself designing a fun coloring book that involves fantasy heavily. The images were flowing freely there for a bit - but somehow the full moon always throws my creative energies all over the place like scattered stars. All of a sudden I have too many projects needing my attention - or asking for my attention - or simply looking to cool not to try. I never realized it before but the full moon is very hard for me to come back to earth and stay grounded in reality - it's when I want to fly with all the flying creatures of the world and play hopscotch in the clouds. It's also when I'm at my deepest need for affirmation that it's ok to play like this by finding others of like energies to play with. We are few - but that innoscent connection to our young inner children is a beautiful one. The full moon is coming - so...