Creativity Exercise: Can do

A beaver did this with his teeth

Task 1. 
Part 1:   Sit down and write a list of 10 things you'd like to do to further some of your creative goals.   They don't all have to be about the same goal.   They don't have to be related at all.  Or write down 10 creative things you'd like to do.  Or 10 things you want to do to be more creative.  Or 10 things that would help you be more creative.  Just get 10 things down. 

Do it.  I'm sure you have a pen or pencil and a piece of paper close by. 

Go ahead.   I'll wait.

Part 2:  Now, go through your list and schedule a time to accomplish each thing.   I'll wait.

How did this go for you?    In most creativity classes that I've taught there is a range of responses.

Group A:  Some people get stalled right up front.   They don't understand the instructions.  They can't find the right pen.  It's too hot.  They make excuses.  They get distracted.   They don't want to make the list at all. 

To them I suggest that they are more in love with the idea of creativity than they are with actually being creative and I assign a new task:    Write down ONE creative thing you'd like to do and schedule it.

If you can't do that, then you need to understand that you are your own biggest creativity obstacle.  No one can help you be creative if you are unwilling to do the work.

Group B:  Some people write down the list and have no problem scheduling.   They just needed a nudge to get them on their way.   Kudos to them!

Group C:  The majority of folks get their list on paper,  then have trouble scheduling.    I hear a lot of  'I can't. So I ask, 'Why can't you?'   And I get a lot of reasons.

I can't because it costs too much. 
I can't because I don't have time.    
I can't because I don't have the space, or the materials, or the skills, or the tools, or transportation, or a babysitter, or a computer,  or...

Task 2.   Write down all of your reasons for not being able to schedule your creativity goals. 

Look carefully at your list.   Look critically at your list.   Be honest.

Find all of your 'I can't...' and 'I don't have...' and  'It's too...'.   How many did you have?

Change all of those 'I can't...' and 'I don't have...' and  'It's too...'.  to a form of  'I choose not to...'

You'll end up with something like these:

I can't go to the museum because I don't have a babysitter.  
OR:   I choose not to go to the museum, because I choose not to get a babysitter. 


I can't finish my novel because I don't have a computer.
OR:  I choose not to finish my novel because it would be too hard without a computer.
OR:  I choose not to finish my novel because I choose not to buy a computer.

I can't paint because I don't have the money for good paint and brushes.
OR:  I choose not to paint because I choose not to spend the money on paint and brushes. 


I can't take that class because it's too far away.
OR:  I choose not to take that class because I choose not to make the arrangements to get there.

[Did you do this?    I hope so.   Leave a comment and let me know. If you did, then you are a very brave soul.  Congratulations for doing this work and for moving along in the direction of your goals.   I hope you're pleased with yourself!]

Choices
The vast majority of what we want to do, we have the ability to do.  When we're really motivated, nothing gets in our way.

When we're not motivated, it's easy to say we can't because it's easier to believe that than it is to take responsibility for doing things that are inconvenient or hard or new.  The reality is that We Can, we just choose not to because we don't want to do things that are inconvenient or hard or new.  That's normal, but normal might be getting in the way of your creativity.

Every time you hear yourself saying, 'I can't', change it to 'I choose not to'.    Soon you will see that it is your own choices that move you toward your goals, or keep you stalled.  

You may have really good reasons for choosing not to do your creative something right now.   Prioritizing is a good thing.  The point is to remember that you are not a victim of your life.   Your choices shape your life. 

Think about one of your creative heroes.  Your hero is just a regular person like you.   The only difference between you and your hero is that your hero made the choices to move in a creative direction.   Your hero did the work.   Your hero scheduled her/his creative goals.   You can, too.     Revisit your list above and schedule your goals.   Make the choice to move in a creative direction. 

Creativity Exercise: Finding Beauty

Creativity is born of desperation.

It's true.  If we weren't desperate, we would have no need at all to do anything new.  

Remember that saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention'?   Necessity and desperation are the same thing.  

We need to fix something.   We need to save someone who is hurt.   We need to feed our families.   We need to find work.   We need to put this big pile of stuff into that not-big-enough space.   We need to get a long list of stuff for school with a short list of resources.    We need to entertain our kids or ourselves.   We need to do something harder than we have done before.   We need to finish what we've started.   We need to see if we can build/make/write/compose something from nothing.    We need to know if we can take an idea and make it real.    We need to satisfy our curiosity. 

Creativity is born out of all that need.  

It's easy to let creativity take a back seat to other stuff:  Other stuff takes our money, our energy, our space our time, our focus.    We give priority to our families, our jobs, our pets, our house, our lawn, our friends.    That's normal.    That's appropriate.

This exercise is for those of us whose creativity needs to be unshackled for a little while and let out for a walk.  This is for those of you who are desperate to feel creatively alive again.

Task:     Find 10 beautiful things inside your house.  Take a picture of them or draw them or write them or compose them. 

That's it.   Think outside the box.   Look at the cobweb in the corner with new eyes.   Spray it with water and take a picture of it.    Look at how the books on your bookshelf have beautiful lines when you tip your head over and look at them sideways.  Look at the texture of that old drawer pull.  Listen to the music of the dryer.

There are 100 beautiful things in the same room you're in right now.   Find 10 of them and tell me about them. 

Good luck.  Keep in touch.

My Best Life Now - Retreat 2018

My Best Life Now

Weekend Retreat

October 12-14, 2018

Bloomfield, Indiana

_____________________________________________________

You are going to LOVE what 
WE have planned for YOU!

Do you crave more creativity in your life?  More balance?  More 'Yes!'?  A lot of us do! Now, imagine yourself spending a weekend in a luxurious space with a group of supportive women who are all looking to move forward on their journey to living their Best Life Now. 

You will be immersed in an experience carefully designed to support big shifts in how you think about what is possible in your life.  By the end of the retreat, you will have a clear idea of what your Best Life looks like, strategies for making it a reality, and a support system to help you live your Best Life Now.

This retreat is for all women who want to move forward on the journey to living their best lives now.   

Facilitators:

Robin Edmundson is an award winning artist and blogger who has been teaching creativity since 2003. Her professional and artistic path has been full of twists and turns so she has a lot of experience blazing new trails. She's excited to help you get started on your journey to a happier and more creative self.

Amy Kimmel is a Women's Empowerment Mentor, Certified Intuitive Reiki Master, and Yoga Teacher-in-Training focusing on discovering the magic we all have inside that allows us to live our soul purpose. Her loving, no-nonsense approach will help you fully tap into your power so that you can learn to shine your brightest inner light and live your best life.

Embrace your present life
Unleash your Inner Power
Dream big
Visualize your Best Life
Organize your ideas
Identify your struggles
Make it Achievable
Gather your Support
Celebrate the journey
 

Highlights of the retreat include: 

• Mini-workshops: spirit dolls, affirmations, dream boards, creative journalling
• Optional creative activities: watercolor for relaxation, exploring essential oils, dancing, personal ceremonies and rituals for creativity, spirit names/totems.
• Great food and sisterhood. [All meals included]
• Meditation, yoga, reiki.
• Luxury accommodations: fireplaces, heated outdoor pool, lake with kayaks, tennis courts, walking paths, etc.
• Retreat tickets and accommodations priced and listed separately.

Venue:

We will be staying at an estate just north of Bloomfield, Indiana.  We get this whole place [33 acres] to ourselves for the weekend!  Staying at the house gives you unlimited access to the lake, kayaks, pool, tennis courts, walking paths, fireplaces and companionship of other retreat participants. Overnight guests may stay up as late as they want to take advantage of all that this luxurious venue has to offer.  Even better - our experience is that some of the best Aha! moments come after hours when people are relaxed, getting to know each other and really talking. 

Prices for accommodations vary.  There are two private rooms [queen bed] with private bath.  There are two rooms with several beds and a shared bath.   

For more details, see my website HERE

Creativity Exercise: Affirmations

An unfortunate time honored tradition of artists is that mythical belief that in order to be a ‘real’ artist, you have to suffer.    ‘Real’ artists are tortured, miserable, addicted, sad, etc.  Somehow, they periodically emerge from their fog of dysfunctionality to create masterpieces, the genius of which the public attributes to the misery of the artist’s hard living.    This is nonsense. You are much more likely to be creative and inspired when you have a clear head and feel good. 

Affirmations are positive statements about yourself as a person and as an artist that make you feel good.   Julia Cameron, in her book The Artist’s Way, has a whole section on affirmations. [If you don’t already have the book, get it.   It will be one of the best investments in your art that you ever make.]   Most of what I’m saying here, she said first in that book.  Affirmations are the shield you use to protect yourself from others’ artistic or anti-artistic drama.   Affirmations are personalized to protect your specific vulnerabilities.

The first step to creating your affirmations is to identify your vulnerabilities.   Julia Cameron recommends that you have a little chat with your internal Censor by sitting down with paper and pen and writing down all of the awful things that are bouncing around in your head about you and your art.  This might be hard, but it’s worth the time.   Do it.  Right now.  Spend 10 minutes and begin with this:   I     your name here    am a brilliant, prolific artist.  Write that 10 times in a row, then let your Censor loose and see what it says.  Write down all of the nasty stuff that comes out.   All of it.  Do not stop before the 10 minutes is up.

Once you have your list of nasties [Julia calls them ‘blurts’], you know where your vulnerabilities are.   Now it’s time to build shields to protect these parts of you.    Take each nasty and turn it into a positive statement – an affirmation.   ‘You’re a terrible writer’ turns into ‘I’m a great writer’.   ‘You can’t do anything original’ turns into ‘My art is inspired and original’.   ‘You’ll never make any money doing this’ becomes ‘I support myself with my art’.    Do this for every single nasty.  Email me if you’re having trouble with one of these.  I’ll help you turn it into an affirmation. 

The next big objection that frequently comes up at this point is this:  Why should I do these affirmations, when they are clearly not true?  These affirmations are lies.  Every time I say this affirmation out loud, I feel like I’m lying.    

You have a good point; the affirmations aren’t true. Yet.  But remember this:  Your nasties aren’t true, either, and you were willing to believe them.  You have a choice.   You can choose to keep believing the nasties, which aren’t true, and which make you feel bad, thereby decreasing your creativity and productivity.  Or, you can start believing your affirmations, which aren’t true [yet] and which make you feel good, thereby increasing your creativity and productivity [and the likelihood that they will come true.]  Your choice.  You’ve been willing to feel bad before.  Are you willing to feel good now?

                     

Blackberry Barbeque Sauce

Remember what I said the other day about desperation?

Desperation makes me creative.

I had a lot of blackberries I needed to use.    I was desperate to use them.   Desperate I tell you.

But not in jelly.   And not in syrup.  And not in bags of mixed berries in the freezer for pies later.

Even though I love blackberry jelly and syrup and bags of mixed berries in the freezer for pies later, I have enough.  

Enough is enough. 

So I really, really needed to find something else to do with more blackberries. I was desperate.  Before they took over the house.  And desperation resulted in creativity.

And creativity resulted in Blackberry Barbeque Sauce.     It's delicious.   As a bonus, it used up some cans of diced tomatoes I had in the pantry.   Here's the recipe:

Blackberry Barbeque Sauce

• 2 cans diced tomatoes 
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 1 small-medium onion, diced
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 4 cups blackberry juice
• 1 cup  white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp molasses
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 TB salt

Heat the tomatoes, onion and garlic until soft.   Puree in blender.   Put back into wide bottom pot.  Combine the rest of the ingredients in the pot and simmer until reduced by half.    Adjust spices to taste.  Makes 6 1/2 cups. 

Notes:

• Blackberry juice:   Cook the blackberries with a bit of water [so they don't stick to the pot].   Mash.  Strain seeds and skins out.    I line my chinois [colander, sieve, strainer] with cheesecloth, put the mash in, and squeeze the juice out. 
• Consistency:  We like it on the thin side.  If you want it thicker, cook it longer. 
• You can halve the recipe if you need to.

Creativity Exercise: Breaking it down

Weeks ago I started writing a creativity exercise about making altered books.   I had the idea, I sat down and wrote a bit, and got stuck.   For weeks.   I'm sure you know how that feels.

It took a while for me to realize that the problem was that I'd bitten off more than I could chew.   I couldn't figure out what to do next.

I do that a lot.

A lot, I tell you. 

It's kind of a problem sometimes.  

I get overwhelmed, then anxious, then cranky.  I worry, I whine.   Then eventually I figure out where to go next and I get going.

And that's the trick!   Figuring out what to do next or what to do first.

Welcome

Towels on the loom.

We moved from town to the country in 1994.  I called our transition from a tiny town lot to 40 acres of aggressive wilderness 'rurification'.  We got to know the land, the birds, the trees [and the local health department really well since we had to put in a hugely expanded septic system right away.]  We raised sheep for a while.  We started our businesses.  We had two children.  I became a dyer and weaver.  In 1996, I started writing stories about our adventures and they've been saved on various generations of floppy discs and hard drives ever since, waiting to be read.   It's time to share them.  This blog is my adventure in sharing what goes on in my tiny corner of the rural south central highlands of Indiana.   Note: 'highlands' is a subjective term.  We Hoosiers take what little altitude we can find [800 ft above sea level max] and celebrate it by giving it lofty names.

My days are spent gardening, homeschooling, running a business, making fiber art of all kinds, and teaching.  I teach many things, at fiber festivals, the LYS, at my studio:  dyeing, weaving, spinning, crochet, color theory, and creativity    I write about everything. 

Make yourself at home, and feel free to comment and ask questions.

Cherry Pie Filling Experiments with Perma Flo

My blackberry pie filling [see yesterday's post] was so easy and so successful that I immediately started making plans to use up some of the fruit in the freezer in shelf stable canned pie filling.   Seriously, the freezer was so full the kids were starting to threaten me any time I talked about getting more fresh fruit.

Mom.  MOM!  There's no room in the freezer.

NO ROOM.   None.   It's full to bursting.   Really.

So I told them to pull out 4 bags of cherries and I'd make cherry pie filling with a gallon of cherries I just got from Freedom Country Store the same way I'd made pie filling with a gallon of blackberries.

I did exactly the same thing only used twice as much sugar since they were sour cherries.  It didn't go as well as I thought.

Cherry Pie Filling Syrup with Perma Flo
www.rurification.com

1 gallon frozen cherries
3 quarts water
1 cup rounded Perma Flo
6 cups sugar  

Step 1.  Bring the liquid to a boil.   I put 3 quarts of water in a pot and 1 quart of the cherries and brought that to a boil.   I mashed the cherries while I was at it to release the juices.

Step 2.  Whisk in the Perma Flo.   I used 1/4 cup per quart of fruit.   1 gallon of cherries needed 1 cup of Perma Flo. I rounded the cup. 

Step 3.  Stir until it starts to thicken.  It took a few minutes.

Step 4.  Add fruit [the rest of the gallon of cherries], sugar [6 cups] and return to boil.

Step 5.  Put in clean jars, wipe rims, top with clean lids and rings.

Step 6.  Process jars for 30 minutes.  The NCHFP recommends water bath canning.


I ended up with 7 quarts of thin pie filling.

In jars that were only 1/2 full of cherries.

Soooo, this batch of pie filling is not exactly my idea of a paragon of success.   [I used paragon to describe pie filling again.  How. Cool. Is. That?]

Apparently there is a lot more juice in frozen cherries than there is in fresh blackberries. I figured I'd have to open the jars and monkey with it to get it thicker, but I didn't want to because those cherries had clearly had enough.  Plus, it was hot.   Plus, I just didn't want to monkey with it any more.

Once the jars cooled, they thickened up just enough to be a nice syrup and I realized that sour cherry syrup is a great thing to have.

We served it over chocolate cake and ice cream.   To. Die. For.

Then the next day, I cut up 4 nice big fresh peaches into a greased casserole dish and poured a quart of the cherry syrup-pie-filling-goo over them and topped it with some fruit crisp topping and baked it all until brown and bubbling.

We had that for breakfast.  Because I'm the best mom in the world.  They told me so. 

So, proceeding with a positive attitude and a little creativity, I was able to snatch culinary victory out of the jaws of certain food preservation defeat.    Hah!

My point is, don't despair when your experiments turn out weird.  If they taste good [and this will!] and give you an opportunity to discover something new that you and your family will love.

In the meantime, if you want to actually make regular thick cherry pie filling with Perma Flo this is what I'd do:

Cherry Pie Filling with Perma Flo - the hypothetical version
www.rurification.com

1 gallon frozen cherries
1 quart water
1 rounded cup Perma Flo
6 cups sugar  

Step 1.  Bring the liquid to a boil. If you defrost the cherries completely before you start, then just use that juice and skip the water.

Step 2.  Whisk in the Perma Flo. 

Step 3.  Stir until it starts to thicken.  It takes a few minutes.

Step 4.  Add fruit and sugar and return to boil.

Step 5.  Put in clean jars, wipe rims, top with clean lids and rings.

Step 6.  Process jars for 30 minutes.  The NCHFP recommends water bath canning.

Yield:  5 quarts of cherry pie filling. Ish.

Gallery Walks

Photo:  Claire Jenness

It's been great to see more places offering gallery walks once a month.

What is a Gallery Walk?   Once a month, all of the galleries, arty-type shops, etc. in a town stay open for a few extra hours one evening [often a Friday] so people can stop in and see what's on the walls. They are usually close enough together that you can park and walk around to them all.

What's really nice is if the town has organized the gallery walk with a map, so you can see just where each place is and plan your walk for maximum enjoyment.

Bloomington, Indiana has 11 places listed on the official Gallery Walk Map.

It's a great way to see what kinds of art you like [or don't like], meet the artists, and get to know the galleries. There are often delicious treats and drinks of all kinds to enjoy while you're looking around. Galleries change art pretty frequently, so every month you are sure to see something new or find a hidden gem of an artist.

Photo:  Eric Jenness

At last Friday's Gallery Walk, I had the chance to demonstrate watercolor for a couple of budding artists in the community. It was really fun to spend some time talking to these children about just how we do what we do.
So here's the thing - the purpose of the gallery walk is not to buy art, it's to enjoy it.  So much the better if you find something to take home with you, but if you and a friend or your kids have spent a happy few hours celebrating the creativity of some local artists and getting inspired to try your hand at creating something yourselves, that is time very well spent.

No More Goats

One of my loveliest friends was telling me about her 5 year old daughter, who is learning to deal with her older brother's teasing.  Her brother knows exactly what buttons to push to get a reaction.  My friend explained to her daughter that he was just trying to get her goat.  Even so, teasing continued, goats were got, and the 5 year old's exasperation would result in screaming for him to stop.

One day, the teasing started, and my friend heard her daughter scream at her brother,  'I  HAVE NO MORE GOATS!'...

I'm still laughing.

You guys, this is exactly how I feel sometimes.  I want to scream at the universe: STOP!  I HAVE NO MORE GOATS.

No more goats for the people who complain instead of ask intelligent questions, or who complain instead of try to understand.  No more goats for people who twist my words.  No more goats for the people who tell me not to feel my feelings. No more goats for the people who don't want me to be who I am.  No more goats for the people who don't want me to change.

No more goats for the part of me who is never satisfied with myself.  No more goats for the part of me that is always on high alert. No more goats for the part of me that catastrophizes.  No more goats for the part of me that says, 'yes' out of fear - and the one that is afraid to say, 'no' because it might upset the boat.    In fact, I have no more goats for the boat. 

I am getting out of the boat and I am getting my goats back. 

I've spent a lot of time thinking about Recovery this year.  Recovery is part 'from' [recovery from trauma] and part 'of' [recovery of what I have lost, which is my SELF]. I will recover my goats as I recover my self.  The big question is how does one recover Self? 

For me, there will be more No's and better Yeses.  I will spend more time honoring myself and less time trying to make other people happy.  I will start asking myself what I am doing out of fear, and what I want to do out of curiosity, excitement, learning, creativity, joy. I will listen to my Mind, Heart, Body and Soul. I will give myself all the permissions I need.

When I get my goats back, I will find new ways of keeping them.   It will probably involve a lot of No.   No I won't be able to do that for you.  No I am not interested in participating in that.  No I do not accept your treatment of me.  No I do not accept your view of me and I don't care what you think I should do.  No I will not drop everything to fix this for you.  No I am not afraid of your feelings, and I won't protect you from my feelings.  No.

I can hear my goats coming back already.

Affirmations

© Robin Edmundson, 'Yucca pod in snow'

One of the things I do in all my creativity workshops is have people write for a few minutes about what they want their best lives to look like.   Then I have them write for a few minutes about all the reasons they can't, all the things that are in the way, all their inadequacies, etc.

I'll be honest, it's not all sunshine and roses.  

It's common to see things like this:

• I can't be a professional singer because I'm too fat.  
• I can't go back and get that degree because I don't have the money.
• I'll never stand up to this person because I'm too chicken. 
• I can't have people over because my house is too small.

It's easy to get mired in the negativity, especially since a lot of these are based in a reality we have invested a lot of time and energy in.   It's hard breaking free of limitations.  It is.  

But we do it anyway.   And this is how:

Take that obstacle and turn it into a positive.

1.  I can't be a professional singer because I'm too fat.  

• I can be a professional singer.
• My curves make me attractive and dynamic on stage.
• Audiences love to hear me sing.
• I am so happy when I sing for an audience that I don't care what my dress size is.
• I have the friends and support I need to make the changes I want to make to achieve my dreams. 

2.  I can't go back and get that degree because I don't have the money.

• I have enough money to get that degree.
• I am a creative thinker and I can find a way to earn enough money to finish that degree.
• Abundance flows into my life with ease and grace so that I can get that degree.
• I have the friends and support I need to make the changes I want to make to achieve my dreams. 

3.  I'll never stand up to this person because I'm too chicken. 

• I stand up to this person because I have a lot of courage.
• I do not shrink, I do not puff up, I stand firm in my sacred ground.
• I am confident and skilled when confronting others.
• I am calm and courageous when I need to maintain my boundaries with others.
• I know what to say when I need to maintain my boundaries.
• I have the friends and support I need to make the changes I want to make to achieve my dreams. 

4.  I can't have people over because my house is too small.

• I can have people over because my house is big enough.
• My house is exactly the right size for me. 
• It is easy for me to find the space at home or elsewhere to socialize with the people I need to be with.
• My friends love me for me and not for my house.
• I have the friends and support I need to make the changes I want to make to achieve my dreams. 

Once you get the hang of it it's easy to write these.  The hard part is believing them. In every class, I see the worried faces of people who are willing to do the work, and who want to believe this is possible, but who just....aren't....there.  They say, 'Those affirmations are nice, but they're just not true, so ... um...why should I believe them?'

And I get it.   I really get it.  

For all of these years, you've lived in a reality that you can't achieve your dream, that dreams only come true for a select [wealthy, skinny, beautiful] few.  You're lazy, stupid, foolish, unattractive, untalented, undeserving, unworthy.

Well all of that 'reality' is crap.  It's not true!  It's black-and-white negative thinking that is no more based in reality than those wonderful affirmations above. 

And if you're willing to believe the negative [which we are because...cultural norms] even though it isn't true, then I respectfully suggest that now is a good time to start believing the affirmations even though they may not be true [yet].  

The thing about believing the affirmations is that it will make you feel better, which will allow you to think more creatively, which will make you more aware of opportunities, relationships and connections, which will help you live your best life.  

Believing the negatives will only keep you stuck.  

Believing your affirmations will help fill you with enough light to see your way to whatever changes you want to make to live your best life. 

Homework:  Spend 5 minutes writing your dream.   Spend 5 minutes writing what's in the way of your dream.  Turn those obstacles into affirmations.   Then tell me how it went.

I'm teaching a class on Affirmations for your Best Life, on May 19, 2018 from 9:00 am - noon.  If you think it would be helpful for you to spend some focused time in a small group with me to help you along, you can register for the class here.   I can't wait to see you!

Classes for 2016

Thanks to everyone who came out to this year's Bloomington Spinners and Weavers Guild show in Bloomington.   We spent many happy hours talking to wonderful and creative people about all sorts of projects.   Thank you for coming and for sharing your creativity.

I heard several requests for classes for next year and since I hadn't made any decisions, I thought I'd open the topic up for discussion on the blog for a few weeks and find out what you were most especially interested in.

Please take a moment and tell us what you're thinking.

The classes I want to offer are full-service type classes.   Everything is provided, all you have to do is get yourself here.  We live in Greene County Indiana -  25 minutes southwest of Bloomington, Indiana.   20 minutes northeast of Bloomfield, Indiana.   1 1/2 hours southeast of Terre Haute, Indiana.   1 1/2 hours south of Indianapolis.  2 hours north of Louisville, Kentucky.

Each class would be limited in size to 4 or 5 people max, so you'd be getting a lot of individualized attention.   Each class would include hands on experience and a goody bag to take home.  Everything is provided - all you have to bring is yourself.   Full day classes would include home made lunch and a walk along the paths through our woods and fields, if you like.

Thanks for taking the time to help us focus our classes for 2016. Please click on as many things as you are interested in.

What kinds of classes would you be willing to come here to take?  

Half or Full day?  

Day of week?

Painting for the Trash Can

I read a great piece by Jean Haines recently about painting for the bin.   At the beginning and end of every studio day, she pulls out a scrap piece of paper and just plays.   She knows it's going in the trash anyway, so she feels free to risk it all and just put the paint and water on the paper.   No pressure.

I feel a lot of pressure.   Pressure not to waste time.  Not to waste supplies.  Not to suck.  Pressure to make Great Art.   To make Frame-able Art.  To make Sell-able Art.  Blah, blah, blah. So I was really glad to read that article on painting for the trash can.

And I went out to the studio and pulled out a good piece of paper and just played. I started in one corner and I tried some  new things.   The first one was Awful. [Owl]  The next one not so bad.  [Rose a la Jean Haines].  The next one really cool [Abstract in wild and crazy colors].  The last one was a quasi landscape - my first love is landscapes - with a lot of wet on wet practice.  

I looked at the last one and pulled out a new piece of paper and a big brush that I almost never use - 1" flat.  It's like painting with a wrench.  I had been thinking about the color around here this time of year.  Lots of black eyed susans, iron weed, blue mist flower, and grass, grass, grass.  Lots of clouds in our skies.  Lots of trees because hello this is Indiana.

I started with foreground and painted a field, wet in wet with all the colors I see.  I didn't worry about it being good, I just played with the color and the water.

Then I did the sky.  I love painting clouds.  We've been really looking at clouds this year, noticing how most of the time they look pretty fake.  If I painted clouds that looked like that, people would tell me I need to practice a lot more.  Often lately, someone in the family will message me a pic - Look at these fake clouds!  It's fun.  And it reminds me just to Go For It.    Keep it WET.  Leave some WHITE.  Define later with 2 or 3 more colors.

And then I realized that the sky did not touch the field.   It needed trees.   My heart knew it so it told my brain and my hand to leave some space for it.

My one goal was to make a really interesting tree line, because I've gotten so good at simplifying the shapes that my tree lines are boooring.    And I wanted to keep using that 1" flat because I knew it would be hard to make 'good' trees, which meant I'd have to be creative.

I mixed up a bunch of greens and took a deep breath and dove on in.   And what came out was a really interesting tree line.

In the end this was a very satisfying session because my brain was engaged, but not constrained.  There was low risk and high creativity.   I have enough stuff in my bag of technique tricks that I didn't get really frustrated or stalled.   It was loose without being too abstract.  I looks like a field and trees and sky.  It was fun.   It feels like my voice, finally.   I don't know that I've 'found my style', but I did sing my own song with this one.  It'll be interesting to see if I can catch that flow again soon.

Creative Wounds

Creativity is a dynamic thing.   It ebbs and flows.

When you're in flow, it's awesome.  You're creating great stuff  - or learning great stuff and you don't care that the finished product is less than stellar.

A creative ebb is not so awesome.  Staring at the blank paper, brush in hand, wondering if every successful thing I've done before was a fluke is not my idea of a good time.

I was talking to an artist friend recently about what causes creative block and we ended up talking about the notion of 'creative wounds'.

Since then I've been thinking about the things that have caused creative wounds for me.   Wounds serious enough that I just don't want to try any more.

The most serious wounds for me come when I come face to face with my mindset problems.  And they almost always center around Expectations. 

• Others' expectations that my work should be better.  More original.  Less colorful.  More urban.  Less rural.  More sky.  Less sky.  More floral.  Less like me.  More like something else. 
• Others' expectations that they are the gatekeepers of beauty and they have the right to judge my creative output. 
• My expectations that my work should be better.  That it should be easier.   That I should be able to do things faster.  That I should have better composition, or color harmonies, or subject matter, or something.  That I should get into more juried shows and that if I don't, it means I'm a bad artist.  That someone else gets to decide what 'good' is and if I can just figure that out and spend 24/7 practicing, then finally I'll be 'Good'.  
• My expectation that all efforts that aren't great [frameable/sellable] are a waste:  of effort, of time, of materials.  And that all waste is evidence of a deep character flaw.
• My expectation that my worth is completely and totally tied to the worth of my final product - and that is determined not by me, but by Others.

Geeze.  It hurts just thinking about it. 

The only way to get over these types of wounds is with a lot of care.  Creative Therapy, if you will. And that's going to be 90% deciding how to think about things differently and 10% practice reminding myself to think about things differently.  These are my current mindset shifts:

• My opinion of my work [and my life] is more important than anyone else's. [I'm going on a juried show hiatus for a while.  I'm generally just fine when I get rejection letters, but this summer I want a break from that.]
• All great artists do the equivalent of piano scales for.ev.er. before they get great and those resources are not wasted, but merely stepping stones to a more satisfying-to-me place. 
• My worth is completely independent of my creative output.   A stack of 'bad' paintings is evidence of practice, nothing more, nothing less. 
• Learning and experimenting can be fun.   Actually fun.   I'm good at learning, not so good at fun, so I have given myself the task of learning how to have fun.  [Which makes me laugh, so I think I'm on the right track.]  I think that will involve a lot of paper and paint and exploration and experimentation and stacks of things that will never see a frame.  

And I'm Ok with all that.   I can feel my Creative Wounds beginning to heal already.  

Creativity Exercise: Getting to know your inner critic

Everybody has an Inner Critic.  This is the part of you that is your Censor [Julia Cameron's name for it].  It's job is to protect you, to prevent you from hurting or embarrassing yourself, to show you how things ought to be.  When it gets out of control, it tells you every little thing that's wrong with you and how you should have done it differently and better.  It has the benefit of hindsight.  It gets to pass judgement after the fact.   

The Censor gets you where you live.  It gets in your face.   Under your skin.  It's in a permanent Vulcan mind meld with every fiber of your being. 

It's time to put your Censor in its place.    As a useful employee.  One of many.   The perfect doorman - making sure you're all zipped up with no toilet paper hanging off your shoe and no spinach in your teeth before you sally forth into the world.    That's where its job description ends.

We're going to take a long hard look at your Censor and then see what duties it has usurped in your psyche.

1.  What gender is it?   It isn't necessarily the same as yours and the gender of your critic isn't a comment on your sexuality either, so relax.

2.  Give it a name.  I've heard of them called Darkspume, Fangxiety and BadKarma.  Also Maleficent.   Mine is named Loretta.

3.  What does it sound like?   It's always yelling at you, so this one should be easy.   You may discover that it sounds like someone you know or even a combination of several someones you know.    That's OK.   It happens a lot. 

4.  What does it look like?    Draw a picture of it.  Don't feel like you need to be kind.   It never does.

5. Now we need to see what job description it thinks it has, so we're going to let it talk for a while.   Write this down:    I am a brilliant and prolific artist [or writer, or musician, or business person, or mom or ....].   Write it ten times.    If you have a very active Inner Critic, by the time you're done with the tenth line, that critic will be bursting to tell you how it is. 

Let it rip.    Give it full reign - it already thinks it's royalty.   Write it all down. 

6.  Now take a quick glance through all that garbage to see what airs your critic has been putting on.   The roll your eyes and say, 'Oh, puh-leeze'.     [Really.   That helps.]

7.  Talk back to your critic.   My favorite response to Loretta is, 'You don't know that.'   Another one is, 'You're making way too big a deal out of that.  I don't do drama anymore.'    It's amazing how a couple of stock lines take all the wind out of her sails. 

8.  Politely inform your critic that although you appreciate what s/he is trying to do, you've got it all under control and don't need their help except to be the doorman [or whatever]. 

9.  Draw a picture of your critic dressed up like a doorman [or whatever].


Here's mine:  

Meet Loretta.   She's 'religious', which means that she goes to church a lot.   She spends a lot of time telling other people how to do things.  She always has one hand on her hip and her other hand shaking a finger at someone.   She wears great big glasses and she carries a purse which she likes to smack people with.  She wears ugly orthopedic shoes.

Loretta likes to think that she is God.  Or at least the Pope....or maybe a bishop.   She thinks she knows everything.   She thinks that there is one Right Way to do everything and every other way is Wrong.  She is very emotional and dramatic.   She likes to call me stupid and I hate that. 

The only thing I like about her is her hat.  That is a great hat.   I'm going to keep that hat, and give it to some other part of me that isn't so hard to get along with.   Loretta won't need it when she goes back to being a doorman. 

This is Doorman Loretta.  She has stripes on her hat and pants.  She has a lot of buttons on her jacket.  She's very good at making me stop and make sure that my shoes match and that I don't have ink on my face before I leave the house.