I am way too malleable. Among the many definitions of this are: Capable of being altered or controlled by outside forces; Easily influenced; Able to be hammered or pressed permanently out of shape without breaking or cracking. That would be me. Do any of you run into this? Just when I think I’m being true […]
Bless Me, Ultima
I read the book, Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, while living in Seattle, long before even thinking about coming to the southwest, years before making New Mexico my home. Now I understand it is a part of the curriculum of the New Mexico state school system. It is another book I recommend if you […]
Are You Ready to Make Art?
Another important aspect of art is new people coming to it. Think about this: There would be no art, eventually, unless people who have not made it before step up and learn how to make their own personal expressions and then do it. In this way artwork continues to be born and refreshed generation after […]
A Celebration of Skye’s First Year
Let me start by saying, right up front, it’s very hard to get decent photos of Skye. She’s uncomfortable with attention focused on her and that includes a camera. I even tried to get shots of her running around in the kitty enclosure, through a closed door, but she saw me and stopped. I still […]
Is Art Product or Process?
In The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron takes up the issue of art as process rather than product. I’d really like you to think about this with me for a minute because I feel it’s one of the biggest reasons people don’t get around to doing their art. She points out that,“We inherit the obsession with […]
What a Savage and Beautiful Country!
Like so many of these quotes, this one has been traveling through life with me for so long I no longer remember its author or its source. But it’s just too meaningful not to share. If you know its heritage, please let me know. “Where there is no risk, the emotional terrain is flat and […]
Can You Make Art Every Day?
What is art? We’ve been batting this question around on the blog for a while now. Here is another aspect: It is getting to the easel (or the wheel, the piano, the computer, the camera). Without this simple thing, presenting ourselves to our art, there would be no art. Simple as that. So art is, […]