"Believe"

(This assemblage piece includes a doll by Serena Mann, whose works are available at The Ole Moon on Greenville Avenue in Dallas.)

Play

I was sitting at my computer feeling so "in touch" because I have visited web sites this morning and communicated, instead of just holing up at the house...and I was thinking about how my kitten, Lyle, had been sitting on the monitor grabbing at letters and how cute it was. Then it occurred to me that he was doing that because he wants attention and to play.

So it was fun to realize I could do something to summon him from another room without even actually moving very much...I wadded it up a piece of paper, threw it on the floor, knowing he would hear the "shhh" sound of it hitting the tile, and that he would find that sound provocative and come running...which he did...and then he grabbed the paper triumphantly and scampered off and has been shredding it...and then with extra energy came spizzing around in the room for a minute. He has since decided that jumping up on the wall to grab at a broom I have nailed up next to a painting would also be fun.

The Intifada Begins

I was riding in the back of the truck
we were just five minutes from Gibor
David and I
we had made love in an orchard of lemon trees
and I was thinking just how lovely life could be in spite of everything
and I was looking at the hair on the back of David’s neck
how it curls upward like a stream running backward
in One Hundred Years of Solitude

we are like salmon too I guess
everyone of us
things like that were coming to mind and I was feeling safe
forgetting about the fighting
for a second
maybe that is why it happened
I forgot
to be watchful
that I carried
who “sitteth on the right hand of God the father almighty”*
the pistol

and I breathed in and noticed the sun in my eyes
and across the windshield
and then blood
on both of us
and the windshield too**

*from the The Apostle’s Creed
**This is an entirely fictional account of one of the events of the “Night of the Gliders” attack on an Israeli army camp two miles east of Kiryat Shmona, in November of 1987. After writing the poem, I found an article that mentioned that the driver was the woman soldier’s boyfriend, and she is referred to as Corporal Tami in the news article, although when I wrote the poem I just imagined such a relationship. A Syrian-based guerrilla group took responsibility for the attack.

Missing Michael

A tribute to our friend in Germany. :-)

More on Locks and Keys

I was at a thrift store yesterday and decided on a visit to the Ladies Room and when I opened the door, discovered a rather lengthy hall, much to my surprise, and a nice lock on the door I had just opened. I assumed the stall was around the corner and locked the door. When I turned the corner I saw three stalls, and realized I had locked the door unnecessarily, but went about my business anyway. Soon someone began pounding on the outer door and I felt frightened . The person kept pounding, which sent me into a realization that the person meant to control and intimidate me into opening the door. I decided to take my time and just wash my hands at the normal rate since this person meant to intimidate me. When I opened the door, a large woman who seemed to be in withdrawl from some drug looked at me menacingly and asked, "Why did you lock the door?" It was more of an outburst. I replied to her face, though it wasn't the exact truth, "Because I could," which really jerked the already jerked chain, to which she replied, "*ITCH!"

So my friend and I ended all our comments to one anther yesterday with "*ITCH!" and that was fun. I am not sure why I wasn't going to let that woman control my behavior just because she was scary; I guess I figured she had probably gotten away with a lot of that already that day. And maybe I should have let her.

Kerri!

Goodbye Elemore

One of my all time favorite teachers just passed away. You can read my goodbye letter to him here.

Wicked Invader 1102

I know a woman with a set of keys
but I have mostly locks
there are keys tucked away
that don’t fit anything
a little Alice in the palace
remember that insomniac Goldilocks
I guess the other question is
where are the other locks

In the Christmas tin full of nails
its a combination lock
with a happy solution
visible as a fortune cookie riddle

Q: Why does a woman lose track of locks and keys

A: Because she knows intruders

wicked intruders wicked invaders wicked invader

*Not to be confused with the Harlequin romance Wicked Invader by the author Sara Wood who bears no relation to the poet.

"It Flings"

I thought I would share my painting from the church auction. I really enjoyed the process of painting and using other media, as well. You can see the square corner in one of the polka dots that I left as a form of practice in accepting imperfection. Right now "It Flings" is hanging over my computer.

On fighting the inner critic

and winning. From one of my heroes - Danny Gregory

The Ineffability of Blackness

“I only wish I had any colour to make them blacker,”* he says
to critics citing his sails for overblackness
sometimes there is something
that feels blacker than black
a further plummeting
greater mystery
sometimes the range feels further
than black to white
and we go quiet
without a referent

*William Turner’s response when criticized for the blackness of the the sails in “Peace—Burial at Sea”

new product idea?

Tiny delicate tulips

Look what's popping up in our flower garden! If I knew they'd be so little and delicate I would have grouped them together. Maybe 1.5" tall - come by and see them, if you'd like! Not at all like Willie's big bold bright red tulips! No flower in the garden takes away the need for another - or something like that, Julia said.

And nibble on some parsley, while you're here.

Chinese Tea Eggs

I made Chinese Tea Eggs in honor of the season. Celebrating chickens! 

Remember the other day when it was so foggy?

I went for a walk with my camera. :-)

Flowery goodness

Moderator Guide

Guide for the WITW Moderator

Each week the Moderator will help facilitate the meeting with:

• Unlocking the door before 6:30
• Getting the group started at or close to 6:30
• Keeping us aware of the time
• Help keep the discussion flowing
• Helping us close the meeting at 8:00
• Passing the key to next weeks Moderator
• Making sure that we leave the facility clean
• Making sure the lights are out and the door is locked

Please sign up to Moderate! It is part of how we give back to the group.

Here is the suggested format for the meeting. This is a creative group and we are always open to new approaches!

1) Start the meeting with creative check-ins taking about half an hour total. It helps asking the group to keep it simple or brief (we have fun talking!) Ask each person to focus on creative activities, blocks, accomplishments, joys & sorrows etc. “Creative” is in the very broadest sense of the word!

2) Bring the group back around to the book and the chapter for the week. It helps to provide a starting place for discussion. Perhaps something that really caught your attention and why. You may need to gently help those of us who like to ramble finalize our thoughts so others may join in the conversation.

3) Close the meeting. Remind people to check in over email sometime during the week with:
Journaling
Walks
Artist’s dates
Doing nothing
Anything of importance or not.

Finally here are some entirely optional things that have been done in the past that you may or may not choose to do:

• Bring coffee and/or tea to make.
• Bring snacks
• Say a meditation, of your choosing, at the beginning to bring us into the group, or the end to send us out into the world.
• Have a short group activity to share.

Finally here is a favorite meditation, originally given by Michael Bailey who started our walking in this world, together.

The Sacred Circle:
Art is an act of the soul, not the intellect. When we are dealing with people’s dreams – their visions, really – we are in the realm of the sacred. We are involved with forces and energies larger than our own. We are engaged in a sacred transaction for which we know only a little, the shadow, not the shape.
For this reason, it is mandatory that any gathering of artists be in the spirit of a sacred trust. We invoke the Great Creator when we invoke our own creativity, and that creative force has the power to alter lives, fulfill destinies, answer our dreams.
As artists we belong to an ancient and holy tribe. We are the carriers of the truth that spirit moves through us all.
We are meant to midwife dreams for one another. We cannot labor in place of one another, but we can support the labor that each must undertake to birth his or her art and foster it to maturity.
It is for all these reasons that the Sacred Circle must exist in any place of creation. It is this protective ring, this soul boundary that enlivens us at our highest level.
Success occurs in clusters. Drawing a sacred circle creates a sphere of safety and a center of attraction for our good. By filling this form faithfully, we draw to us the best. We draw the people we need. We attract the gifts we could best employ.
The Sacred Circle is built on respect and trust. The image is of the garden. Each plant has its name and its place. There is no one flower that cancels the need for another. Each bloom has its unique and irreplaceable beauty.
Art is an act of the soul; ours is a spiritual community.

Julia Cameron in “The Artist Way”

Sacred Circle Meditation

The Sacred Circle:

Art is an act of the soul, not the intellect. When we are dealing with people’s dreams – their visions, really – we are in the realm of the sacred. We are involved with forces and energies larger than our own. We are engaged in a sacred transaction for which we know only a little, the shadow, not the shape.

For this reason, it is mandatory that any gathering of artists be in the spirit of a sacred trust. We invoke the Great Creator when we invoke our own creativity, and that creative force has the power to alter lives, fulfill destinies, answer our dreams.

As artists we belong to an ancient and holy tribe. We are the carriers of the truth that spirit moves through us all.

We are meant to midwife dreams for one another. We cannot labor in place of one another, but we can support the labor that each must undertake to birth his or her art and foster it to maturity.

It is for all these reasons that the Sacred Circle must exist in any place of creation. It is this protective ring, this soul boundary that enlivens us at our highest level.

Success occurs in clusters. Drawing a sacred circle creates a sphere of safety and a center of attraction for our good. By filling this form faithfully, we draw to us the best. We draw the people we need. We attract the gifts we could best employ.

The Sacred Circle is built on respect and trust. The image is of the garden. Each plant has its name and its place. There is no one flower that cancels the need for another. Each bloom has its unique and irreplaceable beauty.

Art is an act of the soul; ours is a spiritual community.

Julia Cameron in “The Artist Way”

The Creative Habit

Do you want to pay more respect to your creative abilities? Join us on Wednesdays from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. in the Parish House at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas for discussion on fostering self-expression. Receive support on your creative journey!

We are currently reading The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp.

Previous books include The Artist's Way, Walking in this World, How to Think like Leonardo Da Vinci, The War of Art, and Living the Creative Life, by Rice Freeman-Zachery.

Surprises

In the last few days, since my novel class has ended, I have allowed myself to play with painting. I bought some wood at Home Depot and began one of two paintings that I intended to be Valentines--even though Valentine's Day is over. I got the basic Valentine in place but when I painted in the arrow, it looked wrong. So to correct, I decided to cut out two more hearts out of the silk shirt I wore to a party Friday night (which I discovered had a hole in the sleeve ). So I added the two additional hearts and placed them over the arrow that looked wrong somehow. Then I needed to fix the arrangement of silk hearts because it wasn't so good, visually. And in the fixing I began adding things that looked a little narrative when I was done. One heart is dripping blue electric blood, one heart is aggressively crashing into another, and the third heart has absorbed the injuries of the second heart, and sustained its own, and is a complete chameleon, taking on the attributes of its surroundings instead of having a boundary around it. I totally enjoyed the process and I guess the piece is effective. It certainly communicates the reality of love gone awry. The three hearts could be various versions of 'love.' The next Valentine will be different, but the thing I took away from the process was how much I enjoyed it, even though the result was a depiction of negativity--I liked the flipping of the traditional image of a Valentine. Emotionally, my world has felt strangely disturbing, like the Valentine. Just things not being what they seem all the way around and feeling like I am in a funhouse perceptually. When I feel like this the best I can do is take a walk, or realize that what will really help is to get a handle on my diet. Something sort of zen and simple, like doing dishes.

Six Word Memoirs

A new book available at Amazon, or subscribe to the RSS feed here

Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure

Look what art can build

Bill Strickland: Rebuilding America, one slide show at a time

The Woman's Comfort Journal (Revised and Updated)

This book by Jennifer Louden offers a wonderful panoply of comforting things to do for yourself in the name of self-care. Here is the link to some used editions:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/104-4436107-8022330?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=The+Woman%27s+Comfort+Book&x=9&y=13

It could read The Person's Comfort Book, just as easily. It is filled with ideas for creating comfort in your life. Here are some chapter titles: About Relaxing, Checking Your Basic Needs, Comfort Journal, A Self-Care Schedule, Ease into Comforting Yourself, Your Nurturing Voice, Creative Selfishness, Comfort Rituals, A Personal Sanctuary, Creating a Comfort Network, etc.

Here is a paragraph heading in the chapter on the Comfort Journal (which might be an activity we could do: create one). Sarah

Investigate What Being Good to Yourself Means

Place your comfort journal and a pen nearby. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing for a moment. Reflect on the phrase "being good to myself." When you are ready, take up your pen and list everything that comes to mind. Don't worry if it doesn't make sense or if it's just a fragment of a thought. Pour your impressions of what being good to yourself means into your journal.

Put this list away for a few days to allow yourself time to gain some objectivity. When you are ready, read over your list. What insights can you glean?

Take ten minutes to write about what you discover. Try to avoid being judgmental. Now, based on your observations, devise five new comfort activities, and do them in the next week.

Another suggestion - from choreographer Twyla Tharp

This looks really good, too - you can "search inside" to see the contents.

Other suggestions

Kim's suggestion looks great. Here are a couple more that I like a lot. Another Maisel book, which I know will excite some of you. :-) And the War of Art is an easy read with provocative short chapters. If you click on the images, it will take you to them on Amazon.

suggestion for next book - Living the Creative Life

What do you think about this one? I haven't seen it in person, just on Amazon, but it might be a good option to consider. 

Any thoughts?

Night

Darkness falls
So do my spirits
I look for distractions from old fears
Imprinted on me as a child
Living still
In the dark corners of my psyche
Waiting
For night
To wake up
And keep me up
And tear me down
From the inside
I fight back
But I’m tired
Of resisting for so long
I’m no match
For this period of time
When the Earth faces the wrong way
I wait I hope I pray I hope

And the sun is my savior

London & Madrid!

We had a great time in London and Madrid! Would you like to see some photos ?

The Ambition of Dogs

You know how people sometimes say "dumb animals." But animals aren't dumb. They have drives like people. Today I was noticing the ambitiousness of my dogs. First Dobie was in the car with me, and when I came out of the grocery store he was calmly seated in the driver's seat, behind the wheel, as if he intended to drive home if I happened to be waylaid. Then, later, I was seated on the bed preparing for class, went to the loo (do they spell it that way?), and upon return, found Blackie seated in my spot next to the bedside table, instead of in his former spot on the side of the bed. Seeing that I actually was returning, instead of remaining in the other room, he reluctantly gave me back my spot. Then, tonight, as I am getting ready to put the dogs in their kennels and let the cats out of the cat room, I notice Aubrey (the female and littlest dog) has gone into the bigger kennel, for the bigger Alpha dog, as she does every night, until it becomes clear that he will take that spot, and she must return to her own kennel, only slightly smaller, but smaller, nevertheless. So they are always ready to move into the bigger shoes. And it is a slight reminder of that aspect of myself, which sometimes I am glad of, and sometimes grieve over, desiring to seek only to be present in my world and Be, and then finding myself striving for something.

"Every Picture Tells a Story Don't It" (Rod Stewart)

A pic from a play date in a London Fish and Chips shop

Part 7: CONNECT

GO OUT:
The first reading is on connecting with the world and "going out" to be in the world as you create. It speaks to engaging the world as part of the creative process and Maisel charges us to go out and create as we sit in a coffee shop, on a park bench or bus, etc.

VISIT WITH CHILDREN:
Maisel instructs us that being with children is a revitalizer for our own creative spirit, that the naturally creative and curious and playful energies of children can infect us with this creative spark of energy.

BUDDY UP:
Maisel discusses the value of creative collaboration - having an artist buddy to engage, connect, encourage and critique.

SING TOGETHER:
Maisel discusses the disconnects in the creative community. He indicates that most "meetings of creatives" are full of ego and jealousy, etc. such that the creatives never get to fully engage at a spiritual level each other - the way that they do in their work. It seems a commercial for a circle like ours.

EXTEND A TRADITION:
The discussion centers around finding your medium role models - who are the artists/ creatives that you admire in your respective medium. What is it about their work that touches you? Maisel believes this is another creative rejuvenizer - a method to get your juices flowing again.

GET LOST IN THE LANDSCAPE:
This discussion seems two-fold a focus on nature and a focus on sketching/ drawing, each drawing similar conclusions - that there is a key role for awareness and observation in creating. He uses these two areas as practice for this observation and awareness and infers that this practice grows these strengths.

PICTURE YOUR AUDIENCE:
Maisel's discussion here focuses on knowing who your audience is and what they "want." He does not go so far as to say this is the end all/ be all, but he does suggest that paying attention to who we ultimately create for may provide some insights and structure in our creative work.

CONNECT WITH PEOPLE:
The discussion here is about building your community of art supporters - not necessairly financial patrons, but your friends and family that might be as engaged in your work as you are, who might be excited to walk along this part of your life. And that in sharing this deeply passionate and creative side, you will build greater, more intimate connections.

THE END!

ASSIGNMENT FOR THE WEEK:
1. Check in using Email (Walks, Morning Pages, Do Nothing, Play Dates & Creative update)
2. "GO OUT" - Have a creative play date outside your home/studio (Ex. 49a, page 161)

Part 6: Use YourSELF

Welcome back to our creative journey, and here are my notes on the lessons for Part 6...

HIRE YOURSELF AS A CONSULTANT:
A discussion about the belief that we are each our own best resource when it comes to creating and the psychological barriers we have to believing this and acting on it: not smart enough, not experienced enough, not worthy, etc. "A moment arrives...when they surrender to the idea that is appropriate to use themselves as their primary resource. From then on they become creative."

OPEN A VEIN:
A discussion of the importance of including our emotional life in our creative work, and in all areas of our life. NPR had an interesting piece on this today about Albert Einstein believing he needed to bring all of himself to his work to be successful - feelings, spirit and intellect.

GET RAVENOUS:
A comparative discussion about the excuses we make for not creating using Kafka's story, "The Hunger Artist." I really liked this analogy and reading - what are all the ways we distract ourselves - which do not stop the boredom, they merely anesthetize us.. "...aren't millions of us 'not eating' in our own ways, not creating, not living with gusto...[we] are deeply bored and apathetic; [our] instinct to enjoy life is not powerful enough to overcome the feelings of meaninglessness." Turn off the TV, stop surfing the web, stop shopping or eating and create!

UNDEPRESS:
Bravo, a new discussion. Maisel takes straight aim at the need for creative types to be neurotic or depressed in order to create and that our best creations come from this. I agree. Yes our best creations come from being fully connected emotionally and intellectually, but this does NOT mean we must be depressed individuals. "Our inner pain does not benefit us...psychological problems like severe depression, ...addictions are curses not blessings."

KILL MAYBE:
A discussion on our use of 'maybe' which keeps us in the staus quo. Moving forward comes with its own risks of failure and non-prefection, but hell we knew this already. One thing he says which I agree, "The maybes are the equivalent of lies." That is to say we say maybe, when we are really just procrastinating or afraid.

LOOK WHERE YOU SLIPPED:
Examine areas of struggle and failure for life lessons and use your creative medium to explore and/ or purge. Enough said.

BE YOURSELF ENTIRELY:
Jung had the idea that we are born whole and then lose pieces of ourselves in the cruicable of childhood...the main task of midlif is to weather the crisis that arises from the loss and become integrated and whole again...there is no better place to do this integrative work than where you create.

Please check in VIA EMAIL:

• Morning Pages
• Walks
• Nothing
• Creative Success & Challenges
• Play Dates

Is it?

Meeting on January 2nd

I understand we are not meeting on January 2nd (Wed. of this week) and will be resuming on January 9th. I just wanted to put the word out since I think possible new members will be joining us at that time. I hope to see everybody or whoever can make it on the 9th.

Sarah

First Sky

This painting is the first I have done involving any kind of sunset. I wanted to capture the grayness of the sky and the mauveness of the clouds at sundown on White Rock Lake. (And I felt pretty good about it in terms of what I was trying to achieve. )

Winter Trees

This is a painting I recently completed for my mom. It's of trees at the Arboretum in the Winter. Although different than in the Spring, I think they are just as beautiful. Happy New Year!

My very busy brain

Little Dudes On Willie's Broken Ladder

Speaking of bewilderment...

I don't advocate taking pictures while you're driving, but on the way to Louisiana last week I couldn't help myself. How crazy is this? ;-)

Creative Circle Week 5: GO DEEP

Following is a synopsis/ interpretation of part 5 (GO DEEP) readings. Overall this is territory we have visited before and though I did not find any exercises very inspiring, perhaps there are some that will touch you in a specific area you are currently struggling with. Good general information and a chance to revisit some familiar ideas;

DIVE
Maisel uses many analogies here to speak to the need for us to leap into our work, going deep to find some inner source of creative passion/ inspiration and the fears that hold us back. "Going deep as a creator means taking risks. You risk asking the sort of questions that demand intense concentration and iron discipline to answer...You risk confronting your own demons and short comings...But if we try to stay near the surface...we will never see the glories that exist below. We'll have to rely on others to tell us about them. Those people will create -- and we will envy them."

BUY BEWILDERMENT
Assuming you have bought into the need to "go deep," you inevitably will encounter bewilderment - that time when you hit the wall and do not know what to do next. Perhaps you will hit this wall even as you begin - not knowing how to start. Rumi says, "Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderness." Maisel proposes sitting with your bewilderment instead of seeking easy answers or distractions.

PARACHUTE INTO ENEMY TERRITORY:
Maisels uses an analogy of a hero going behind enemy lines to save the world and though there is great fear, it is a noble journey. "You can have that feeling of supreme aliveness, just by tackling a mighty creative project. You can feel alert, tense and engaged...In an instant you can initiate a life-and-death struggle just by saying to yourself,'My work is vital. i must create.'"

GET UNACADEMIC:
Maisel espouses a warning about listening to others and being educated and that our creative education must come from ourselves. There are several nice examples here including a story of Van Gogh being yelled at by a teacher and quotes by Georgia O'Keefe.

PUT UP A BIG IDEA:
Maisel speaks to a method of maintaining focus on a creative project in an almost subconscious way in posting a descriptive word or phrase of our inspired idea on a wall, etc. so that it continues to be encountered in our life until we find the juice to follow-through.

GET NOSTALGIC:
Maisel suggests that a wonderful well to be mined for creative inspiration and passion is our own past and that if we are stuck that a trip into our memories will jog something loose that will inspire us, " The naturalist who furthers our understanding of evolution [was once] just a boy with a bug jar...Embedded in our best mature work are things from long ago that are just unforgettable, if only we remember them."

INCUBATE:
Maisel again attempts to encourage us to nurture or incubate our creative ideas, recognizing the fears and blocks we have, " fear of making mistakes, negative self-appraisals, unwillingness to brace the anxiety that comes with creating, ..." There is not much here but a suggestion at some creative or critical thinking / brainstorming about taking small steps to further your work.

EXPAND WITH THE UNIVERSE:
Maisel pontificates about the need to overcome "bad breadth" - to think outside the box.

CHECK IN:
* Morning Pages
* Walks
* Artist/Play Dates
* Do Nothing
* Creative progress/ Challenges

Abstracting things

Hello peeps, after reading the piece about abstraction I thought I would share this link from my other blog. It is a series of drawings, one of which became a painting. What you'll notice is how the last 2 really became more abstract. They are all of the same group of items. Anyway, thought I would toss this into the pot. :-)

Click here.

Circle Holiday Party?

Hi all --

Julie and I were talking yesterday, I asked her if anyone had talked about a party this year. I have been wondering if you would like to come to my house and party, and Julie seconded that idea, so here is the invite.

I am thinking -- like last year, everybody bring something yummy, and whatever game you want to play, and -- if you want -- the dreaded white elephant gift exchange. Fingers crossed that no gift could possibly be worse than an old plunger.

Survey: Is this a good idea?

If yes, then what do you think about Wednesday, December 19?

We are quickly running out of December! What a shock.

Please leave your feedback.

Creative Circle Week 4: EXPLORE

Greetings Circle-ettes:

This weeks reading is from Part 4 and is focused on EXPLORE!

EXPLORE:
"Our subject for the [week] is explore. Few of us do enough exploring....[As children we were constant explorers as we had not complete formed "box" of how to act or what to do] we learned a lot that way and were on our way to a lifetime of creating, the heart of which is trial and error exploration." Maisel gives a painting exercise for exploring which is OK, and it leads to an exploration of your current project.

ASK ONE QUESTION:
Maisel then brings up an exploratory exercise about asking and answering a question. His point being that asking ourselves difficult questions and then attempting to answer them, takes us on creative journeys. Reminds me of the Rilke quote, something like, "Your only responsibility is to ask the question, then simply live into the answer." It is an interesting idea I again find i like his exercise more than his verbage. the exercise (p87) is to brainstorm a list of questions, then let them sit for a day or two and then revisit and see if any of the questions really inspire you and thus is born a new creative project.

HAVE FEATHERS HANDY (AKA Make an Altar):
Next we have a discussion on having props around us to inspire our creativity. This has the same feel to me of the Artist's Way altar. The exercise here again has an interesting twist - sort of like create a temporary altar for each project. (p89).

CARVE BASALT (AKA Facing Fear):
Creators in every field stifle their creativity by announcing to themselves,'Doing that would be too hard.' ...[Creators make excuses when] the problem is the secret muffled message she sends herself about the difficulty of creating and the smallness of her ability." His exercise here is to go at this head on and define a mega-project. For example instead of writing a song, write a musical. Not sure how I feel about this one...

ABSTRACT EVERYTHING:
This discussion I really liked and I also like the exercises. It spoke to me of art, like I have heard clues to but never this clear. The idea about going deeper than the literal image or meaning of something and that this in its nature is the creative spark. I really like his exercise here (p29), to do a series of drawings first from a very literal/ real perspective and then each time going a little more abstract. Tres interesting to me!

REINVENT THE WHEEL:
Here is a conversation about how easy it is to go along with the pack or the herd and how as artists, it is important to step outside the herd, the accepted way of seeing things to add something to the mix. Good thoughts, not sure about the delivery or the exercise.

INNOVATE:
"New things occur in three ways. First we seek them out and are fortunate to discover them quickly. Second, we seek them out and they elude us, but when a surendipitous accident occurs we're prepared for it and make our discovery. Third, they just happen out of the blue, by virtue of the fact that we're alert, open and everyday creative." Here is a nice easy exercise to try (p102) change a routine/ add something new (i.e take a new way to work) and then each day stretch a little further. Try it you might like it.

LEAVE FOR THE UNKNOWN:
"[Our] instinct for survival, [our] fear of the unknow or some elemental inertia causes [us] to stay put, even though we are perfectly aware that our current [uncreative] life is unrewarding...Maybe everyday creative people really are heroic and maybe the courage they show is among the most important; the courage to leave for the unknown... The reasons to create are plentiful, but still we have to convince ourselves to take that leap and to venture into the dark territory of the familiar."

And that brings us to the end of Part 4: Explore.

Please check in:

• Morning Pages
• Walks
• Artist Dates
• Creative Progress/ Challenges
• Reading Connections

INjoy!

Michael

Artemis

Once you have a tattoo they tell you at the shop that you will want more and it is true. But overall, I am trying to resist the urge right now so my parents won't die of upset over seeing another one. But I come up with them in my head all the time. For a while it was a whale tattoo, one of the images of whales by the Inuit that you can find all over Canada. Whales symbolize record-keeping. They are giant libraries, sort of like the Earth. The records are stored in rocks, and other material objects, as well as in our cells, our DNA, and in our collective consciousness and unconsciousness. We are all libraries.

Last night I wanted a bow and arrow. You wouldn't expect me to want a bow and arrow because, as you may know, I don't hunt. But I have always loved the story of Artemis and I love Artofher, showing her with lots of dogs, out in the Wild, carrying that *icking bow and arrow. Once I was walking with my then four dogs on a golf course in early morning with the fog rolling in, and I felt rather like Artemis myself. Sort of, except for the golf course. Then, last night I pulled the Artemis card from my Goddess deck. There she was in the sunset, a deer behind her, standing by a fire with her *icking bow and arrow aiming at something, no less. So I read the text thinking, I love everything but that bow and arrow...and here's what it says...(Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards by Doreen Virtue, Ph. D. available through Hay House Publishing)...

The Greek goddess Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo, the sun god. She's a powerful, tomboy-ish goddess who prefers to spend her time in the woods with wild animals. Artemis has carried a bow and arrow ever since they were given to her in childhood, yet she never uses them to hurt anything. Rather, the energy of her bow and arrow is a talisman that helps her focus her thoughts and intentions, and she always reaches the mark of her manifestations.

Artemis helps us concentrate and focus as well. She offers protection to all who call upon her, particularly women and children.

Loved that. I want to focus on that novel with my bow and arrow.

Creative Circle Part 3: Be Mindful

As we enter week 3 or part 3 of our creativity circle, lets do a quick review...

Part 1 (Week 1) was BEgin - all about initiating our creative energy and moving forward -- taking a step, any step. Even if it was just imagining what the step would be.

Part 2 (Week 2) was BE Human - all about being gentle with ourselves, forgiving our idiosyncrasies and our mistakes and about being present with ourselves - sitting in the silence (sounds a bit like do nothing, eh?)

And this brings us to Part 3 (Week 3) BE Mindful, which by the way doesn't technically end until Sunday, so you have time to read it (pages 57 - 80; about an hour of reading) and do an exercise or two.

Are you sleeping at the wheel?
We begin with a discussion and challenge for you. Are you asleep in your own life - are you living your life consciously or just going through the motions. If asleep how do we wake up? Sometimes it takes "trauma or drama". This morning I saw an interview with a lady that was on the cruise ship that sank near Antarctica and she talked about how waiting for the life boats really put her life in perspective and made her think about what was really important. Do you need to have a Titanic epiphany to wake up? Although I get put off by many of Mr. Maisel's exercises, he asks two good questions in his first one:

• What would it take to wake you up in your life?
• And if you did wake up, what would you do?

So now that we are asking ourselves are we conscious, our next question is...

Are you conscious or self conscious?
There is a nice little reading here about relaxing into the world being a part of something bigger (conscious) or shrinking into a world where it all revolves around you (self-conscious). it was a good read for me, because it helped me frame some things I have been worrying about and truthfully doing a little obsessing. There is also a mind/body exercise here that is simple.

So now your awake and conscious, but...

Are you thinking?
The next challenge Maisel throws out to us is about our [Americans] adeptness at critical thinking and this is the first time I have found myself appreciating his exercise more than his discussion. I did not get much juice from his reading - no helpful insight on being more thoughtful in a critical way, but his exercise of doing what I call a BRAINSTORM ANALYSIS of a simple observation was unique - try it out - definitely creative stirrings here!

Awake, conscious and willing to contemplate [instead of being spoon fed], so now it's time

Have you looked in the mirror lately?
"Sometimes it seems we lie to ourselves so much that we need to train ourselves in order to obtain self information... we don't paint and we refuse to consider why, we don't sing and we blame our reluctance on a broken air conditioner. The better plan and one each of us is capable of putting into action, is to find the courage to look into the mirror and understand ourselves thoroughly."

What is it you don't want to look at?
What is it you hide or deny about you?

Had an Artist [Play] Date lately?
Maisel gives us a specific date analysis and assignment (study a blade of grass), but any will do. You know the drill, intentionally step out of your life for a moment and revile in the play/ artistry of the moment. Do it! You know it will feel good!

Are you really so busy that you can't take an artist [play] date?

Stuck?
Are you creatively stuck? Are you stuck on a single project or maybe stuck deciding on what the project would be? Take some time and think it through - make a list of options or pros or cons; what would you do if you weren't stuck? Maisel prompts us to analyze the situation/ project/ area and see what things we can come up with.

After your analysis, what is one tiny thing you can do to move/ take action?

Do Nothing.
We end part three with a discussion of "losing ourselves to find ourselves." Again you know the drill. Our lives are full of movement and distraction, externally and internally. Take a moment to sit quietly without activity, "losing the noise to gain our own genius."

Do Nothing. Now Dammit!

So you've just come through Part 3; please briefly check in here for the week:

• Morning Pages
• Artist [play] Dates
• Walks
• Comments about reading/ exercises
• Other creative ruminations

"Art is an act of the soul and ours is a spiritual community."

INjoy,

Michael

Happy Memories

Here some of us are. I chuckle to myself every time I think about how I ran and slid into this picture. Such a wonderful day spent with special people. (Except for when we were swearing at Mapquest's directions!)

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

This is my first blog post! I feel kind of weird checking in where any stranger can read this, but why not? Can I change my name? You all chose much better posting names than I did! I love the very long Thanksgiving break, don't you? So the news I want to report is that tonight I made Chicken and Dumplings from scratch for dinner. I started at 4:00 and we ate at 6:30! It looked more like mush in the end because the dumplings didn't stay in nice little round balls like they are supposed to, but it tasted good and was very filling and good eating for a cold November night in Texas. I've always wanted to make Chicken and Dumplings, as I have fond memories of eating them at my grandmother's house, but I wouldn't ever do it before because of the time and effort involved. So now I can say I've done it. Will I repeat the effort? Not so sure, but, as I told the kids at the table, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." I didn't take a picture because, honestly, it didn't look all that appetizing--not a work of art at all. Another bit of news to report is that I actually pulled out my scrapbooking supplies yesterday and began working in earnest on that album I was going to put together last Christmas! Hopefully I now have some momentum going and will have something to show you in a few weeks.

Have yourself a merry inner Christmas

I really enjoyed this little article I found in Ode Magazine. It suggests we spend a few minutes every day in the twelve days starting with Christmas reflecting on various topics. I think you guys will like this, too - I hope so!

Merry Inner Christmas

Janie educates us on seats and being kissed by gay men and boudreaux's butt paste...

The drawing I did of Janie a while back. :-)