Design

Butterflies and Me – this Sunday – at the Tinicum Arts Festival!

/ still a dreamer / 10 Comments

It’s this Sunday!! Stop by the Author’s Tent at the Annual Tinicum Arts Festival, 963 River Road, Erwinna, PA. Books will be available for sale or bring your own to be signed. Ask me anything about my publishing journey … or butterflies!

This is a great 2-day festival of the finest artists and artisans, plus much more. It is located on the PA side of the Delaware, across from Frenchtown in NJ and just a couple miles south. Please check the website for directions* and many other features of the festival.
*There may be a road closure south of Erwinna.

Please stop by and say hello!!

Self-Discipline Is Self-Care

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

The word ‘deadlines’ has gotten a bad reputation, perhaps because in many circumstances, they are imposed from without. But when we set up our own, deadlines really are a form of self-care.

Without deadlines, we can be at the mercy of our emotions and lose valuable time. Not the kind of deadlines that make us crazy, but reasonable time frames to help us accomplish our goals.

There have been times in my life where I have elevated procrastination to the level of high art. And while I can be very creative in how I avoid facing certain tasks, in the end, it only makes me feel less accomplished and less successful, as they still sit patiently waiting for me.

In my experience, procrastination around my creative work always boils down to fear – fear that it won’t be “good enough”, that I won’t be able to execute what I am envisioning, that I could have done more. There are so many things wrong with those thoughts. The bottom line is that we all still feel better when we do what we need to do.

That’s why looking at deadlines/self-discipline in a different way makes so much more sense. Striving to set and meet goals means loving ourselves more. And not to be trite, but we’re worth it.

I still may struggle at times, but deadlines=loving myself is where I’m headed. How about you?

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

What Patience Yields …

/ still a dreamer / 6 Comments

… a desire to return to the final version of the blue heron I’d wanted to do.

Version #3 is a combo of pen and ink, watercolor, and digital. Just playing around is not always something we (creatives) allow ourselves often enough, but it’s the only way we find new things and grow.