Books

Let Your Creativity Be A Light

/ still a dreamer / 8 Comments

If you are a creative person, I’m sure you are periodically met with the awe and wonder of others who are genuinely admiring of your talent. Me, too. What these wonderful and complimentary people are generally unaware of are the challenges that come along with having our gifts.

Earlier today, I watched a new song/video from someone I greatly admire, and was marveling at how easy he makes it look. But I also know that’s not his whole story any more than it is when I share my artwork or my writing.

As an artist, there seems to be a natural desire to please an audience, but I also know that that’s not where it’s at. It’s about telling our truth, about letting our truth, and the reality of our experience, travel out into the world and resonate with the people who need and want to hear it.

In an environment where we are meticulously measured in likes, comments, shares, algorithms, and endless online assessments, we have to be braver than ever. We have to unlock, untie, unfold our truest meanings, love them for however paltry and confused they may sometimes seem, and share them anyway. The world needs us. I believe that.

Be strong. Be a light.

Inspired by Artists

/ still a dreamer / 4 Comments

I have always been inspired by quotes from great thinkers. But when those quotes are also from artists, even more so. I have collected a few to share, hoping that you, too, may be inspired! Happy Spring!

“A scientist can pretend that his work isn’t himself, it’s merely the impersonal truth. An artist can’t hide behind the truth. He can’t hide anywhere.” 
― Ursula K. LeGuin

“If you could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint.” 
― Edward Hopper

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.” 
― Martha Graham

“To be an artist means never to avert one’s eyes.” 
― Akira Kurosawa

“Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn’t matter. I’m not sure a bad person can write a good book. If art doesn’t make us better, then what on earth is it for.” 
― Alice Walker

“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.” 
― C.S. Lewis

“Anybody can look at a pretty girl and see a pretty girl. An artist can look at a pretty girl and see the old woman she will become. A better artist can look at an old woman and see the pretty girl that she used to be. But a great artist–a master–and that is what Auguste Rodin was–can look at an old woman, portray her exactly as she is . . . and force the viewer to see the pretty girl she used to be . . . and more than that, he can make anyone with the sensitivity of an armadillo, or even you, see that this lovely young girl is still alive, not old and ugly at all, but simply prisoned inside her ruined body.” 
― Robert A. Heinlein

The Restless Reader

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Here are the three books that I just picked up from the library.

I am the first one to say that there’s nothing like settling down with a good book. But as of late, I have had a very hard time settling down with just one book that I really want to read. I pick one up, start it, and put it down. Endlessly, it seems. We all go through phases like this, right?

In part, at my end, the restlessness comes from the non-stop changes in my home, and recently, weeks of construction noise in an adjacent room. But I think the larger issue is that as we grow and evolve we want to read different things, and we don’t quite know what “fits” us now.

In this frame of mind, I was able to clear out one half of my collection of books waiting to be read (donated to my library’s little For Sale shelf.) But what to read? When in such a restless mood, I find that something with suspense, intrigue, mystery is a decent bet. And so, the three books above, all good choices. Which did I start? The book at left. The jacket flap … Never pray to the gods that answer after dark. OK, I’m in.

What do you look for when you’re restless and can’t settle on what to read?

Tell me your story …

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

❤️ Love is all embracing. ❤️

Tell me your story and I’ll show you your bravery. Show me your scars and I will tell you of your beauty. Share with me your suffering and I will bow to your depth. Confide in me your fears and I will honour your strength. You have it all, darling. You have it all inside of you. And your genius shows when you least imagine it. Don’t forsake anything about your soul, your body, your mind, your heart. It is both the light and the darkness that make this world beautiful. Same with you, lovely one. Same with you.
– S.C. Lourie

Thanks to Barb for sharing a post with these beautiful words.

Patience and Trust

/ still a dreamer / 6 Comments

It seems that there are periods in our lives when we have plans, goals, dreams, and we are just not going to get to them when we want. Plans? What are those?

To create art, to plan a future, to write, to do any of the things that a freelancer wants and needs to do takes blocks of time, and more importantly, focus. And that’s what I have been sorely missing.

Sorting out my life in the interest of giving up 40% of my second floor has been a two-part journey. The first part is choosing what belongings need to stay and which to go. Thanks to Buy Nothing, mentioned in an earlier post, I was able to find new homes for 45 items. But the second part is the need to go through everything I own – every closet, dresser, storage area – to see what no longer aligns with who I am right now, and THAT has been a life review of large proportions.

It has entailed remembering so much – joy, sorrow, laughter – through photos, art, and other items infused with memories. I keep trying to focus on where I’m going, but between Buy Nothing and a life review, on top of the demands of everyday life, I have none. I’ve lost so much time. And energy. The blue heron is a tiny example – started out with a color sketch, then another version in watercolor, and my plan was/is to do a digital rendering. That was a week ago.

I remind myself to have patience, and to trust, as I do believe, that everything is unfolding in exactly the right way and at exactly the right time, always for me. It’s all almost done. Patience and trust … working on it, working on it.