Tag Archives: artwork

Art Show Gifts

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Recently I entered two paintings in a local art show. Mind you, I hadn’t submitted work to an exhibit in two years. Life just got in the way. Concentrating on choosing the right framed watercolors from my studio (a clean corner of the basement), I felt my excitement mounting at the thought of showing my work again. I used to eat, sleep, and breathe art before I got a real life. Yet, every time I step back in the stream of art my pulse quickens. I’m in my element again.

The art opening was glorious, and I was thrilled when one of my watercolors sold. Validation! Joy! Connection! All those feelings mixed together into a cocktail of delight. I was still on a creative high, when one month after the show ended a second watercolor sold. Sometimes it’s the smallest thing that turns into the greatest gift. The first gift of connection between artist and collector was wonderful then to have a second one follow was the tastiest icing on the cake.

Creativity and wellness message for today: Accept the gifts of recognition in honor of your creative expression, let them fill your heart.

Who Wants to Play?

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Many years ago, my intuitive friend Linda used to decide what to wear by asking her clothes closet, “Who wants to play?” Linda, a grounded and professional social worker, professor and humor specialist, was convinced that her rainbow of blouses, pants and scarfs responded.

Yesterday, I was unexpectedly asked to submit a piece of art to a university at which I had been a faculty member. Their Gallery of Contemporary Art is having a 20th year anniversary. Speaking with the gallery director brought back fond memories of working together and of academia and university teaching.

As a creative individual, I have morphed myself into many satisfying careers since teaching art and design. My walls are still adorned with artworks of my own creation and others are in international collections. My professional life now is as a writer, educator, designer and community liaison, not as a fine artist. As I descended the basement stairs, thinking about which artwork, in storage, I might choose, spanning my long and varied career, I decided to use Linda’s technique, “Who wants to play?” To my delight a small gem-like piece chimed up. I would have walked right past it, on the way to where I store my larger artworks. I imagine that many hours later I would still be looking for the right piece to represent me and my career. I would have tripped over my own ego in the selection process.

The voice of my diminutive, glimmering artwork was so happy, and frankly so immediate and clear, I could not ignore it. As I lifted my painting, the texture of nubby canvas reminded me that life can be easy, playful, intuitive. I smiled all the way up the stairs.

Creativity and wellness message for today: Let your intuitive voice guide you. Ask an inanimate object, “Who wants to play?” and see where your life leads you. Who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Putting One Foot . . .

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You know the rest of the title “. . . in front of the other.” Sometimes that is what’s asked of us–to make a decision, be clear in our intentions then, get busy. Creativity can come into play in our attitude, and in our willingness to be open to new ideas. As a practicing fine artist and educator I am enchanted by what I call “happy accidents.”  In artwork its when the ink spills or the camera shakes and you realize that perfection has happened. One day, my friend P. was painting a stylized picture of a dancing couple, their feet perfectly poised on an ornate rug. In the pristine white borders of her picture a blob of gouache accidentally dropped . P. was aghast. I saw what happened and noticed that the shape looked like a pair of scissors. In that instant of unconscious creativity I blurted out, “You could title the painting, ‘Cutting Up the Rug.'”

Creativity and wellness message for today: Get to work, do what you need to do and delight in the unknown. Sometimes being aware of a happy accident is all that is necessary to lighten the moment and take the next step.