“Trees are sanctuaries who ever knows how to speak to them…and listen to them can learn the truth.” Herman Hesse I grew up in the Pacific Northwest with abundant tall trees all around. I spent many hours climbing them, safe from older neighbor kids and my parents’ endless arguments. In childhood bliss, I swung from […]
“Sometimes the creativity is in the rest.” Joshua Kissi Every day I remind myself to rest, an experience I have only recently learned to value. My parents were both ambitious. Wanting to please them, I became a go-getter. When my body became drained, I refused to give in because that would make me lazy.
“The older you get, the better you get, unless you’re a banana.” Betty White Betty White is right. Now in the last quarter of my life, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I’ve become able to respect myself and expect the same from others; talents that eluded me for decades. I no longer kowtow to
As an art student I quickly became frustrated. There seemed to be no way I could capture the infinite details that comprised the glistening vitality I perceived in trees, lakes, forests, rivers, animals and humans. Several frustrating years later, I concluded that I could not adequately capture the natural world’s breathtaking beauty. So, I gave
Drawing Upon Nature Read More »
When I met with the board of The National League of the American Pen Women (whose members are professional artists, writers and composers), I volunteered to lead members on a meditation tour of various Hindu and Buddhist sculptures in the Honolulu Museums of Art. The Board members became enthused, positing ideas of which statues the
“Vulnerability is the best place of innovation, creativity and change.” Brene Brown The problem with Brene Brown’s statement is that it feels terrible to be vulnerable. My hands get clammy. I sweat and think I can never pull another drawing off again. Yet, according to Dr. Brown, I’m in a good place when I begin
Leonardo Da Vinci taught his students to draw what they perceived in the clouds. A bank of white and gray cumulus shapes created what artists called, a random field of three-dimensional forms, ripe for people to fantasize: a scary troll, a laughing peasant woman, a fat Buddha. When I gazed at clouds this morning, I
A Fox in a Cloud with a Tree Read More »
“I intend to live forever. So far, so good.” Steven Wright European Baroque painters (1600 to 1750) encouraged viewers to increase their consciousness of death by painting symbols, such as Dutch artist Pieter Claesz did in 1660. He depicted a toppled empty glass with nothing left in it to drink, a stopped clock, a
I intend to live forever. So far, so good. Read More »
Singing in my choir last summer, I focused on mastering the tricky syncopated rhythms in our new song. Ah-ha, I thought, I got it. At the same moment, the choir director said “No, no, no! You didn’t get it.” She explained, one more time, how it should be done. I concentrated, trying to understand. My
Feeling Right While Being Wrong Read More »
“I like work. It fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.” Jerome K. Jerome I assume Mr. Jerome’s comment is tongue in cheek because I giggle, imagining him staring at a computer screen while he daydreams about his date later that night. As an artist, my job is to see the
