Artist Date – Part 2

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Admittedly, I had to go to this location for an appointment, but moseying around town and taking some pictures, which I love to do, was my Artist Date.

This is the very charming little hamlet of Frenchtown, the river town just south of the one I live in.

There are several such river towns dotting the Eastern side of the Delaware River – we are the two northernmost.

Frenchtown abounds with small, unique shops, and plenty of good places to eat, get coffee, ice cream, pastry, and much more.

I obsessed a little over these two dogs, and took quite a few photos of them. But, hey, it was my Artist Date, and my chance to do what I love.

The Artist Date

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It’s the weekend. I have chores to do and a few other things to catch up on, but what about tomorrow?

Maybe I’ll take myself on an Artist Date, I thought.

What is an Artist Date? It’s one of two basic artists’ practices proposed by Julia Cameron to inspire creativity. The other is The Morning Pages. She introduced these in her 2002 book, The Artist’s Way. (She also has many, many more ways to get your inspiration moving.)

The Morning Pages is a daily writing exercise, three pages of stream of consciousness writing done in the morning to kick off your day with inspiration.

But the Artist Date – that asks a little more of us. Ms. Cameron asks that we take ourselves somewhere each week – by ourselves – for a block of time to “nurture our inner artist.” The cool thing about the Artist Date is that it can be anywhere – take a few photos by the river; people-watch in town; go to a museum, gallery, library, some special shop; take pictures, sketch, read, or just watch. But go by yourself.

As we are creatures who seem to be always facing schedules and tasks, taking that time for ourselves, and BEING by ourselves, may be a bigger ask for some than you think. Or maybe not. You just may love it.

Pictured above was an Artist Date I took in Clinton some time ago. I realized that I have a perfect opportunity to take myself on a date this coming Tuesday, and so I shall. Stay tuned.

Learn more about Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and get ready to be inspired!

Pushed by Change

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We all come upon times in our lives when change becomes unavoidable.

Circumstances become such that we no longer have a choice – something has to give. The upside is that being pushed when we’re too tired to even run can sometimes yield the most unexpected and life-changing results.

In Anna Quindlen’s Still Life with Bread Crumbs, Rebecca Winter, a relatively famous NYC photographer, faces those circumstances. She suddenly finds herself with overwhelming financial responsibilities due to family obligations no one else can carry, and a diminishing income due to a narcissistic husband and abusive agent.

To save money and sort out her life, she rents a somewhat ramshackle cottage in upstate New York. There Rebecca finds the unexpected – a very different kind of life, the life she hadn’t known she needed and the life she was truly made for.  

What an excellent read! I have read both fiction and non-fiction by this Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist. She has never failed to capture my heart, imagination, or intellect, often all three. Highly recommended. 4 stars.

p.s. Inspired by this novel, I’ve decided to return to Quindlen’s Thinking Out Loud and finish reading!

The Frenchie, the Gull, and the Fish

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It’s just a minor seaside disagreement as to the ownership of one small colorful fish. Entitled “My Fish!”, this is my original art available as a giclée print, in my Etsy shop.

For those not familiar, I once illustrated Just Frenchies magazine for 10 years. From this, I grew a small business focused on my French Bulldog art, eventually moving to a shop on Etsy. While this is not the direction where I am headed now, I continue to share some of my French Bulldog art, terrier art, carousel horses, etc, as cards and prints.

Feel free to stop by my shop!

We Are the Light in the World

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In a world where too many leaders could truly care less if we live or die,

In a world where there is far too much suffering and unnecessary death,

In a world where there is too much darkness,

We need to remember – we are the light.

We are the ones who can help heal this broken world, through our love and compassion for all life.

The ways are endless – hold open the door for someone; check on a neighbor; provide food for the hungry; volunteer; make a donation to an organization that helps humans, animals, the planet. Calm yourself, feel the love inside you, and send it out to the world. Just be kind.

Our light is needed. Please keep shining.

Photos: Thank you to: Gantas/Pexels (top Photo) and Jeremy Bishop/unsplash