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TAOS TO COLORADO
Posted on | October 16, 2011 | 9 Comments
I left Taos, New Mexico a few days ago and returned to Colorado Springs for the winter. The drive was spectacular with autumn in her fullest beauty. LaVeta Pass was breathtaking.
Autumn is my favorite time of year with its cool temperatures filled with sunshine. It is also a time to revel in the glory of summer while preparing for the quiet of winter.
I had five fabulous workshops this summer and fall. I will tell you about the last three in the next blogs but for now I want to bask in the exciting peace of crisp evenings, trees filled with cadmium yellow medium and cadmium yellow deep, purple asters, burnt sienna vines and soft breezes that touch the heart.
We as artists have a glorious life.
We see colors that others are too busy to witness.
We see design while others see ordinary.
We treat texture as if it were gold.
We sometimes embarrass family and friends when we pick up a piece of trash on the sidewalk to use in our next painting.
We, as artists, see the world as an exciting adventure we can’t wait to decipher and put on paper or canvas……or perhaps a quilt, produce a book, write a song or create a dance.
We are able to touch others with our quirky creativity.
We offer strangers a glimpse into a world they want to see.
We are viewed as “different”…..and we realize this is our gift.
Now tell me…..is there a better life than this?
Tags: art > artists > Creativity > painting > Taos > workshops
5 SECRETS TO ARTISTIC GOALS
Posted on | August 29, 2011 | 4 Comments
What are your goals for your artistic future? My goals, you ask….well, I want to be successful, be famous and make lots of money. Great idea but let’s get serious….how are you going to make this happen?
We all want to be a successful artist and unfortunately most of us hope this will happen by being “found”. The chances of this happening are slim to none. We must be proactive. If we don’t have our goals firm in our mind how are we going to get to where we are not sure we want to be?
Here are five things that have helped me in setting my artistic goals.
1. Set aside some quality time to think about what you really want. I realize this can be difficult but it extremely important. Uninterrupted time is essential for clarity.
2. Once you have determined what you really want write it down…….in great detail. Remember the Universe can’t give something to you without a detailed request. Don’t write I want a to make lots of money and have a house on the beach. Which beach, what does the house look like…is it white, is it two story, does it have a porch and what is your time frame? As to making a lot of money……how much money then break it down as to how much do you need to make each month to fill your request.
3. Set up your time frame for reaching your goals. Without this time frame you are a boat without a sail. Without a time frame there is no urgency in reaching your goal. Without urgency there isn’t focus and without focus there isn’t completion.
4. Decide and write down what you need to do to achieve your goal. I do this in a mind mapping format. Do you need to contact more galleries? Do workshops? Write articles or start a blog?
5. Now the serious one.…….take out your calendar and set aside time each day….yes, each day…to do something that gets you closer to your goal. Without this your goal is just another wish in the wind of time. I personally set aside one or two hours each day for marketing. It is the first thing I do in the morning because if I wait it won’t get done. I don’t open my email until I have finished my marketing. If you do this your career will grow in leaps and bounds.
Let me know if this helps……feedback is always good.
Tags: art > Art of Marketing > determination > purpose > responsibility
DEVELOP OTHER FORMS OF EXPRESSIONS
Posted on | August 16, 2011 | 6 Comments
Have you ever thought you would like to do something different than your normal form of expression? Creativity is something we can’t seem to keep in a box. When expressed, creativity grows and fills our life with many images.
My main form of creativity is painting and teaching….of which I love! For years, about fifteen, I have been collecting beads. Don’t ask me why as I don’t have an answer other than I love the history of the beads, their feel plus their color and shape. With several boxes overflowing with beads from many countries I finally decided to play. Play is a wonderful form of creativity.
I quickly discovered that creating a necklace filled with spirit required some major thought and, just like painting, required I be in touch with the real me. Anyone can put beads together but giving the beads life is another matter.
Why do something different? Diversity in creativity is like anything else….it requires growth. Our perspective about our creative ability is put on the line…..this is true no matter what new form of adventure we select.
I can’t think of anything more important than growth in our understanding of who we are and our ability to take this innate power to a higher level.
I know you have dreamed of perhaps writing poetry, learning to dance, developing a book. So, I ask you…..what is stopping you?
Here are a few examples of what I have created that have been accepted into my galleries. They are necklaces that have beads from different parts of Africa, Thailand, Afghanistan, China, United States, etc. Each bead not only has its own story but has its own energy vibration.
Let me know what you think…… 
POWER
Posted on | August 10, 2011 | No Comments
I have several newsletters I love to read and one of them is Jan Phillips, The Museletter. She is a wonderful writer, poet and photographer. In her last newsletter she included this poem that reminded me how important it is to be aware of our words and opinions. This is true in our personal lives and our artistic lives.
The power we have as individuals to make our world a better place to live is enormous!
“Wherever
we walk
we will make
Wherever
we protest
we will go planting
Make poems
seed grass
feed a child growing
build a house
Whatever we stand against
We will stand feeding and seeding
Wherever
I walk
I will make”
- Muriel Rukeyser (Out of Silence: Selected Poems)
On December 15, 1913, Muriel Rukeyser was born in New York City. She attended Vassar College for two years and then moved back to New York where she took classes at Columbia University. After college, she worked as an editor of the Student Review and witnessed certain events which would make a serious impact on her life and poetry, including the Scottsboro trial in Alabama, the Gauley Bridge tragedy in West Virginia and the civil war in Spain.
The violence and injustice she saw, in the United States and abroad, led her poetry to function as a mode of social protest. She felt a deep responsibility to comment on human issues and was particularly concerned with inequalities of sex, race and class. With her poems, she frequently documented her own emotional experiences within the context of a greater political or social event. She was a powerful visionary and her work reflects her wish for a greater world community united by love.
Rukeyser experimented with language and form and her wide technical range, which includes lyrical forms and the documentary narrative, is illustrated in her Collected Poems (1979). Many women poets have claimed Rukeyser’s influence on their work, Anne Sexton among them. She died in New York City on February 12, 1980.
COLOR, DESIGN and VALUE WORKSHOP
Posted on | August 4, 2011 | No Comments
The July workshops are finished, family has come and gone and now the garden beckons her mysterious dance to come and play. My Color, Design and Value workshop was superb. As you can see by the pictures below we had fun yet the stretching of the brain was intense. Each artist worked hard and produced work that even surprised them. Sometimes we feel we should be able to grasp a new concept immediately but the hand and mind don’t always allow that to happen. By the end of the week things came together for everyone. Smiles filled the room and during the critique session everyone saw what others had produced and were amazed. All related their story of being frustrated, hitting a wall yet each one persevered and produced a painting they were proud of.
On Thursday evening we had the honor of going to Julia’s and Cory’s fabulous home filled with artifacts and antiques from Africa. They both work in Africa and were leaving the next morning to return yet they had all of us, plus their neighbors over for a wonderful dinner. (Actually, none of us could figure out how they did this as we would be busy packing and fretting.) While enjoying our wine on their expansive deck we witnessed a stunning sunset. The cameras came out but even a camera in the hands of an artist couldn’t capture what we were beholding. It was breathtaking!
We made promises to each other in this workshop…….promises that will enhance our lives forever.
WORKSHOP…ABSTRACTS THAT GLOW
Posted on | July 23, 2011 | No Comments
We just finished the workshop ABSTRACTS THAT GLOW in Taos, NM and it was fabulous. The artists were eager, talented and fun. Workshops such as this take a toll on each artist as the frustration level is high. Learning a new technique or way to think while painting can push many buttons within the psyche.
The final product was amazing. Beautiful pieces of art wrestled to the ground by determined creators. The idea of “giving up” was not an option. They gave it their all and it showed.
We also had the pleasure of sharing the workshop with Jake. Jake was the dog of Dianna Chilian. Jake would nap on his bed under Dianna’s table until he saw an opportunity for play. This opportunity came in the form of a restless artist stressing about what to do with their painting. Jack would would seize the moment and gently place his kong at their feet ……… the play would begin. Jake became a gift for all in the workshop.
Sadly, Jake had to be put down due to bone cancer several days after the workshop. Dianna was not aware of his cancer as he hid his pain well. Jake will be terribly missed by all who shared his life.
Here are a few images from the workshop…..not all from the class are shown as the images didn’t turn out….sorry guys.
PAINTING SURFACE
Posted on | June 23, 2011 | 6 Comments
I have been working on a new painting surface lately which is quite exciting. We as artists usually work on canvas or paper. Sometimes this limits our thinking. I normally do Abstracts on canvas so I decided to do pears on Metal. Why?….just because I can!
Choosing a different surface on which to paint doesn’t require we change the “way” we paint……it just requires us to be open to new possibilities. I will also do Abstracts on my metal surfaces and I know the feel of the oil on the metal will be totally different than on canvas. Perhaps I will find new way to develop a painterly inner glow in my paintings that is deeper and better. This discovery process is fabulous!
Another thing trying a new surface does for us is it creates excitement and excitement breaths new life in future paintings.
What new surface are you going to try? Let me know…
IS YOUR ART FILLED WITH HEAD, HEART AND HANDS?
Posted on | June 15, 2011 | 2 Comments
Does your art have the three H’s…..Head, Heart and Hands? This is the description of what art should have by Shea Hembrey.
So who is Shea Hembrey you ask? Shea is a contemporary artist who wanted to do his own international art show with work from 100 different artist. Instead of asking other artists to join him he decided to invent all of the artists and artwork himself. His artwork ranged from large-scale outdoor installations to tiny paintings drawn with a single-haired brush. This endeavor took him two years to complete.
I found his ability to invent each artists bio extremely creative. Watch this video and think about how you would create this sort of crazy, wonderful adventure.
Could you do this? I bet you could. When we set our imagination free from preconceived boundaries our vision is limitless.
If you did an art show of twenty artists what styles would you do? Would they all be paintings? Think about it and let me know.
CHARACTER
Posted on | June 13, 2011 | No Comments
I had a dream the other night that caused me to pause. In my dream a question was raised asking “What is the most important element a painting should have?” The answer surprised me as the answer was…..CHARACTER. Character? I could have thought of several other answers that would be more meaningful! I have been thinking about this answer ever since. Why character and exactly what is character when it is applied to a painting?
I looked up the meaning of character :
- distinctive qualities: the set of qualities that make somebody or something distinctive, especially somebody’s qualities of mind and feeling
- positive qualities: qualities that make somebody or something interesting or attractive
- reputation: somebody’s public reputation
After reading these descriptions I was floored by its accuracy to painting a successful painting and being the artist we all strive to be. We all want our paintings to be distinctive, different, interesting, attract a viewer and possible buyer plus we want our paintings to be recognized by “our style”.
But the most important thing stated here about character is how it applies to us as artists. It is our personal qualities of mind and feeling that set us apart from the rest. When our mind and spirit are free from judging, gossiping and being envious of others success…or even worse, being happy because of their failure….. we are free to be who we really are. We have CHARACTER!
Take this week and think about not only how you produce the character of your paintings but the character you project while painting.
Gotta go now and take a nap……love those dreams!
WHO JUDGES YOUR WORK?
Posted on | June 9, 2011 | 1 Comment
As artists our paintings and our ability to paint are always being judged.
We submit paintings to shows for a professional artist, art critic, or professor of art to decide if our work is good enough to be selected.
Our peers judge our work…we know by their “look”.
Our family members rarely remain silent with their artistic based educational viewpoint.
Even strangers seem to be willing to share their knowledge ….or lack of !
Seth Godin wrote a blog on this subject which I want to share.
Who judges your work?
Here’s the mistake we make in high school:
We let anyone, just anyone, judge our work (and by extension, judge us.)
Sue, the airheaded but long-legged girl in Spanish class gets the right to judge our appearance.
Bill, the bitter former-poet English teacher gets the power to tell us if we’re good at writing.
And on and on.
The cheerleaders are deputized as the Supreme Court of social popularity, and the gym teacher forever has dibs on whether or not we’re macho enough to make it in the world. These are patterns we sign up for, and they last forever (or until we tell them to go away).
In high school, some people learn to ship, they learn to do work that matters and most of all, they learn to ignore the critics they can never possibly please. The ability to choose who judges your work–the people who will make it better, use it and reward you–is the key building block in becoming an artist in whatever you do.
Tags: art > artists > belief in self > confidence > determination