Wonder - Christmas 2010

It's a magical time of year. I am very fond of mystery. I am fond of things that just don't quite make sense, things you just have to believe in....like Santa Claus. My kids are 4 and 5 and the Santa thing is really really bringing up a lot of questions. I wonder if they see the conflict in what we tell them. Conflict in the chimney thing, or all the presents in one night thing? I just know there are a lot of questions. It is all very confusing. OR is it mysterious? I guess it's how you look at it.
I don't think young children question mystery, they just ask questions and then fit those answers into their version in their imagination. They create it, then they extend the creation. They add to the creation and take away; so it fits just right. It's a lot like making a sculpture or painting a painting...add, take away, flow with it: and whatever you do don't stop and think too much, just accept the mystery. Mystery is magical. Without it life is plaqued with logic and absolutes. Without it, there is nothing to look forward to. Without mystery the world would have no new books, no new works of art, no future music, no spontaneous adventures. Without mystery, we would know everything....what kind of world would that be? When you believe you don't have to figure it all out, you only have to do one thing, believe.
So I challenge you to think like a child, act like a child, feel the wonder tonight...feel the possibility that just might include newness and the beginning of something within you and within this world. Merry Christmas. May mystery and wonder be your guide as you celebrate together.

dancing like a crane

The yoga teacher tonight made me feel more comfortable about my crane pose when she suggested "our crane's might be moving and swaying because they are looking for fish in the water. "When you tap your toes down on the ground to keep your balance it's really just a curious playful crane...looking at what is in the rippling water underneath him." I really don't do yoga that much, but tonight I needed some stretching and relaxation, I didn't know I would be so transformed as to become a fowl. As I hoisted my arms up like crane wings and lifted my crane beak (AKA my right toe) I did feel like a bird. I liked the way she told us to dance with our leg, not give into the loss of balance, but see it as intentional movement. She told us that it's ok to explore what still felt like, what off balance felt like, what catching yourself from being off balance felt like, and what dancing like a crane felt like. It's ok to play. It's ok to act silly. It's ok to wonder.
"The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives" Albert Einstein Albert Einstein suggests that kids do it naturally. He also suggests that we can occupy that sphere of activity if we choose. If we seek the arts this will happen naturally. We can say..."I will honestly seek a creative beautiful medium today" It may be music, cooking, painting, drawing, or setting up a beautiful garden. These things are truthful, they are honest. This is because there is no need to judge something like that. There is no ego, just simply simply wonderful...a moment full of wonder. I think my pursuit toward being an artist has always involved my pursuit of truth and beauty. As I have gotten a little wiser I have stopped judging myself so much. I know that the art I make in this moment this day, is representative of me, right now....honest....and searching out beauty. What can you say was beautiful today? Seek it, and you will see it. It's everywhere.

Serving can be simple.

I put some new lights on the steps to the studio. They were a gift. That makes them all the brighter. I appreciate that someone I care about cares about me. She said "these steps are too dark at night" I have something for you. I let her give them to me and that gift inspired me to also pot some plants and sweep the steps.

I think the light that comes along with receiving is just as important as giving. With the weather events in Nashville in the last week hundreds of people have been forced into a position to receive. No other choice other than... "help me!" In normal circumstances it is sometimes challenging to be in a place of surrender. But during crisis, it is the relying on others that confirms our faith in community. These times make the character of our community visable. The way we serve, we show who we are. Each day that we show up, turn off the water to conserve, make a donation, watch someone's kids, or cook a few meals.

Serving can be simple, take your place in your community....however that looks for you. Don't overthink it, just make one motion in the direction of helping a neighbor.

Play Today

I traveled to New York City this past weekend. My mom and I visited my sister and brother. It was a reconnection that was long overdue. I picked up a book called "Playful Parenting" by Lawrence Cohen. His ideas about using play to reconnect with your kids and . The pages are filled with examples of a child acting out and then the parent choosing in the moment to not see it as misbehavior but as a cry for reconnection. I have been away from my family for a couple few days and I miss them. In the pangs of a little home sickness I can't imagine being anything but patient with my kids. But the truth is, we are all impatient parents at times. We all struggle at times with the feelings of just being bored with the routine we have. We all feel at times like we don't have any IDEAS. Maybe we feel like we are not CAPABLE in this moment to give our children what we need. I have a friend that jokingly says to her kids as she works or talks with my "Go and DO, go and Do {somewhere else}" In Playful Parenting Cohen writes "The fact is, we adults don't have much room in our lives for fun and games. Our days are filled with stress obligations and hard work. We may be stiff, tired, and easily bored when we try to get on the floor and play with children-especially when it means switching gears from a stressful day of work or household chores. We might be willing to do what they want-but then we get annoyed when they don't play the way we expect or when they demand too much from us"

The fact is we all need play. I am better off every time I connect with my kids on the floor, paint with my kids, beat on drums with them, or run around outside. It's a continual cycle of connecting, disconnecting, and reconnecting. This deep need to be child like, let loose, and be playful, makes sense to me. I opened Art Life to meet those needs in people I teach. After visiting NYC (the city where I lived and found my footing on my creative path), I once again realized that filling yourself up and those you love by playing -can go a long long way. Today I will see misbehavior as just a cry for reconnection instead of misbehavior.

Today after school, a family I know is coming in for an art playdate. The whole family making art together, making messes and connecting. I am thrilled to see people connect this way and I want to offer a playful place. A place where people and families are free from rules, obligations, and most of all boredom. PLAY TODAY!

Overthink"ed" = Under-inspired

I wonder how many times I have heard someone say...I am not artistic, I can't even draw a stick person. I wonder how the person feels about themselves who is saying that in that moment. Just the same, I wonder if the person that is labeled "artistic" likes that too? I think we think too much sometimes about who we label ourselves as, with our gifts, with our talents. They are not magical powers but tendencies. I have always had artistic tendencies. My hearts desire has leaned towards markers and paint and glue and blank white paper. I have not always know what marks I would make on that paper but I have always known that it thrilled me to be around art.

I was talking with Milo the other day and he is just so frustrated with soccer. There are some super duper players on his team and it's his first time playing. He is frustrated because he plays and plays and never seems to get the ball, just a lot of running. We were riding bikes on the greenway yesterday and we watched the golfers. He almost was in tears about wanting to play golf at that moment. I told him about golf lessons. I explained that we have to finish soccer first and then we will get him a lesson. Milo has always talked about golf. I have always thought him too young. But as I put it out there, thinking about it I met a teacher willing to teach young young golfers. Milo's hearts desire is to learn, my hearts desire is to give him those opportunities. So, we will get him lessons.

I think my point is that the expressive part of ourselves is not a thinker, she's a feeler. The part of us that wants to run, paint, scream, sing, or do a cartwheel is not thinking about how she looks. The part that looks in the mirror with doubt is the critical part of ourselves. Stop listening to her, she is really getting in the way of your new ideas. Go out and learn something new today. Take a risk creatively, you know you have it in you-just don't think about it too much.

Painting outside, soaking up the sun

We wrapped up a long week of cloudy days with some outside painting...we never noticed the dreary days inside the studio, but when the sun came out we sure noticed that!
The pottery wheel was probably the most favorite thing learned the kids learned this week. I think we all got messy enough and learned that the wheel is something to keep trying and trying on...We are all beginning....again and again. The kids were great, and spending 5 consecutive days together is something that doesn't happen all the time at Art Life, so doing it was special and everyone seemed to settle in like "home" in the studio. I especially loved eating lunch together, telling stories about past art projects at school and how many times the kids reassured themselves "it's ok to get messy in art class" as I told them...I WANT you to get messy here. Thanks to all the students and parents who trusted their spring break with me here at the studio.

The Earth has Tilted

The earth is tilting just a little bit more in the sunshine. We are experiencing warmer temperatures, better moods, and an outdoor sense of wonder. I talked with my kids the other day about bugs, swimming, and the buttercups that we should be seeing soon. It seems like a million years ago. I posted my summer camp schedule, which makes me feel warm just thinking about it. We will Paint Big, have lunch under the sycamore, and create a community through creating together. It is amazing how the sun shining on your face will make you feel like your whole world has tilted a little bit, to the brighter side. Check out my summer camp page - your kids will love to attend!

It seems to be getting a little old (I mean cold)

It's the doldrums...it's the "I don't want to get out of this warm bed" cold type of cold. It's the I don't know why I don't feel like doing anything type of cold. It's the, let's face it, we are uninspired part of winter. We are challenged when we are not inspired. Inspiration is not always there for ALL of us, artists, mothers, and professionals alike. I think we do each other and ourselves a disservice to believe that some people are inspired and some are not. Some people are artists and some are not. Every one who makes things must find inspiration. Everyone who makes things lacks inspiration at times. Just ask a teacher or a mom who has to write the next lesson plan or cook the next week's worth of meals. It's hard to be inspired all the time. It's not natural.


But when inspiration strikes...It's Murphy's law that I don't have a pen, or a sketch book, or I just can't describe it either way. Then the feeling is gone. BUT, the feeling was there. Even if I didn't get an art piece out of it, I got the confirmation once again, that I am an artist. Those feelings and artistic thoughts-the sheer fact that I had them-makes me an artist. Makes me want to continue on the creative path. Even if the well is dry today...tomorrow is a new day


It's going to be a good one.

Making a mess at a birthday party today

Birthday party today at Art Life, we made clay shoeprint bowls. The kids loved stepping in clay and painting the wet clay to make a bowl. I noticed that they hestitated at first to step on the clay, then once they did they loved it...making footprints, even dancing on it! It's good to get kids to do projects that let them cut loose a little. We painted outside together on a mural - making messes, painting hands, and writing messages to the birthday kid. I couldn't have asked for a nicer group of kids or a nicer day at the studio today.

believe where your wings take you.

There are things that only can be explained as a nudge, a push, a call to move a little closer to what you are to create. I am getting better at noticing them and being grateful for what they are; close encounters with something that believes in ME completely. Even when I don't believe. I know that my action breeds more action and reaction from the world. If I give then I receive. I am sure that even the smallest steps will make a difference in my dream. I recently made a platter which says "believe where your wings take you" and it has a bird in the center. I think that sometimes even we don't know where we are going, but our wings; our most essential parts, do.

This is a new year, a good year to make something happen. No need to feel the wave you might feel as canned or in some way insincere. You are the only one that you have to answer to (that and a higher power if you are so inclined). You make the decisions for yourself as to what you can handle. I am pushed everyday by the voice that tells me to make things....anything. Sometimes that is just clearing my studio table so I can see the bottom to start again. Clearing to create. But make sure you create, you were created. I am positive that this is going to be a creative year for us all. 2010, a great place to start. Check out a new film, art show, or maybe an art class to do something different for your muse today.