Supplies

I just finished Julia Camron's book, "Supplies". She describes the book as " A trouble shooting guide for creative difficulites." I found it an interesting and helpful look at the people who creative people deal with in their lives. There are the encouraging people, Fuse Lighters, Booster Rockets, and Angels. Then there are the more numerous, discouraging or destructive people, Wet-Blanket Matdors, Experts, Piggybackrs, Worrywarts, and the Black Gypsy, just to name a few. It is helpful to recognise these people and put a name to them. By naming them it seems to make it easier to deal with them and discount the negative words or tactics that they use.

An example of how this helps. I recently ran into a person who has been encouraging in the past (or at least appeared to be so.) This person started saying some things that at first sounded like encouragement, but had a funny zing to each comment. Since I was reading this book at the time I was able to see just how theis person was using some creavitity destroying manipulations. Their final comment was "Well, I'd wish you luck, (in an upcoming art competition,) but that would give you an unfair advantage." Mixed with the other comments they had given, it was a little obvious this person was bothered by my win of the Quad State show. Well, being able to allow comments like this to role off of your back and not to hold on to them like a precious, stuffed toy, is very freeing. I was able to respond with, "that's OK, I'll wish you luck anyway."

You know, what is also freeing is that I don't have to wory if the person was being spiteful or not. It is most important that I was able to reject all of thier comments as something unuseful and not hold on to them for discouragement or personal mental toture. Know what I mean?

I find that sometimes people can wear different names and be shape shifters. So it is good to recognize when someone who is usualy very helpful, slips on a new mask and temporarily becomes a discourager.

I'll share more about the games that people play on us and that we play on ourselves tomorrow.

A Jewel by any other name is still precious

The world famous photographer Jewel Gwaltney had a showing today at the Inman Gallery. It was such a pleasure to see the world through the eyes of a world class artist is even for a brief moment in time. I am always amazed at how different the everyday world around us looks when viewed through a new perspective. Such simple things as rocks, doors, snow drifts, leaves and trees can be so beautiful, mysterious, or enchanting when captured through the lens of Jewel's camera.

But the real joy for me came from being a part of the creative process. I was able to stand with her and view the same object that she photographed, then I saw it transfomed in to an amazing framed work of art. Or to see a piece that has just come out of her darkroom, freshly printed and unmatted, which later shows up in a frame on display in a gallery full of people oohing and aahing. It is like watching a neighbor kid grow up into a caring adult. You are there to watch the whole process, but all you can say is I knew them when they were in diapers, now look at them.

A Jewel by any other name is still precious.

What not How

At our meeting this month for Art & Soul the word of the day seemed to be WHAT not HOW. I started to read Julia Cameron's book "Supplies". The very first chapter speaks about firing the arrow. Being creative starts with deciding that you are going to do a certain something, the What. Then the how comes along with it. Too often we concentrate on How we will do something and get lost in the process. Get the What, then start. Simple.

I fear too often that we critique each other's work with too much How instead of listening (key word) to each other's What. As in What message we want to send, or why a subject is important enougth to us that we had to paint it. This ties into what I have said before about getting passion in our work. Passion doesn't come from How, it comes form What and WHY.

PS. Get Julia Cameron's book, Supplies, WOW! It rates right up there with Art & Fear.

49th Birthday

Today is my 49th Birthday. No really it is. (and may continue to be for a long time you say?) I wondered if 49 would be as hard as 39 was. 39 was far worse than 40 for some odd reason. 49 is good. It started really good, my granddaughters gave me a hand made birthday card. It had a rainbow and an eagle, sitting on a stool, painting a picture. They told me that they asked grandma what my favorite color was and she said, "well he's an artist and artist like all colors." So, they thought a rainbow would be appropriate for an artist. Now the significance of the Bald Eagle I hope is that they see me as someone to look up to. (At least I hope it is not a reference to my balding head, Ha.)

Then written in big letters it says "You're the best Poppy in the world." Wow! How could you top that. 49 is good. Life is good.

Monday Morning

There is a chill in the air today. It feels like October. I am feeling more encouraged every day. September was a tough month. The word for October is "press-on". It is time to stop accepting "good enough" and press-on to excellenence. I heard a really good speaker yesterday, Paul DeJong, from New Zealand. He spoke about not accepting medocrity. I was suprised to learn how much I have done that lately. You know when you catch yourself saying things like, "Well, it could be better, but it's not bad." He gave examples about business, family and marriage. I realated to all of them. Well, it's not great, but at least it's not as bad as...

So, what are you settling for today? What could you do better? It's not about trying harder. It is about expecting more. My emphasis with Art and Soul has been to "Just do the work." I've wanted Art and Soul to be an encouragement for all of us to get our artwork done. Don't accept what life throws at you. Fight for your artwork. So what if the living room needs vaccuuming. Your art is a reflection of the real you. (Besides you know all that dirt you've been vaccuuming for years? We'll, guess what, it's what they cover your casket with when you die. They come in with giant paper vacuum bags and dump it on you. Ha. See, in the end the dirt wins, unless you put emphasis on what is important to you.)

Do the work.

Waiting for your response

I'm just sitting her twiddling my thumbs, waiting to see if anyone will want to participate in this new Blog project. I think it could be another way that we can encourage each other to get more work done. Hmmm... what will ya'll think. Time will tell, eh? Ok so I'm just filling space up on the page so you can see what a Blog is OK?

Blog day one

Welcome to our new Blog. What is a blog?

Blog = A Blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a Blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a Blog is a "Blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the Blog. Postings on a Blog are almost always arranged in chronological order with the most recent additions featured most prominently.

Bloggers have had recent news with the Rather-Gate scandal. It was the Bloggers who questioned the authenticity of the CBS papers and caused the media to investigate further. What I have seen is mostly just online journaling. You can see and read all about a person. Usually some pretty intimate stuff, that I can't imagine telling to a best friend and yet they have it available to the world.

I was thinking of an art site where we could journal together. Anyone in our group could log-on and give an opinion on art, add creative thoughts, share an epiphany or just wax eloquent (but no bikini waxing.) Kind of like a permanent collection of shared thoughts. Like for instance, wouldn't it have been great if we could have some of Bev's thoughts from her French experience down in writing. Then our reactions and comments to her experience. Doesn't it sound like something that would be an encouragement to all of us. Anytime you felt like sharing something you could or if you needed a little creative boost you could read current or past entries. It would be better than email in that it would be archival (you can see all the threads) and would be an ongoing dialogue. I see it as a continuation of our meetings. It is easier to write than to meet more often, especially when Bev is in AZ or Jacque is traveling.