“The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done.” Tim Kreider
Be sure to read the rest of Kreider’s recent article: “The Busy Trap”
MIle Marker 274, 16" x 22"
What one thing can you scratch off the list today to avoid the busy trap?
This morning, we decided that we needed to thin the bumper crop of apples growing on our apple tree. For anyone that knows anything about growing apples you can plainly see that this was a decision that should have been made some time ago. Of course we know that by decreasing the amount of apples we will make them larger, healthier, and tastier, and the overall tree health will improve. But sometimes, despite facts, pruning/editing is a difficult thing to do. This is evident in our own lives; sometimes we need to remove some of our own load to improve the health of others and ourselves. And increasingly our role as editor of our own lives is becoming overwhelming, as more and more information is coming at us and more decisions are required. Continue reading
Our van and bags are packed and we are driving to the Des Moines Arts Festival today. I love the show. I love the citywide support. I love the director and his team of staff and volunteers. And I will be happy to be there and to see everyone, including some of my best friends.
But that doesn’t mean that I am not always a bit sad to leave my studio. When the work tables are cleared and the artwork from the walls is packed for travel, I usually find myself lingering. There is something about the bareness that allows my mind to wander and dream up all of the things I wish to make on my return. The freedom provided when the last thing is checked off the pre-travel to-do list fills me with energy and inspiration like no other time. A conundrum I suppose…
Good-bye studio, until we meet again.
Can you relate?
Six weeks ago, my friend Christina and I started following a fitness program. After not running since my soccer days (and only then either chasing or being chased), we started training for the 5k ColorRun. We’re following the very sensible Couch to 5K running program and dutifully following the verbal instructions given us by Get Running – an application on our phones. As we work our way through the training intervals, a very pleasant British female voice tells us when to start and stop running, and periodically gives us words of encouragement. Her accent adds a sense of sophistication as we sweat our way around the park.
We often talk back to our British foe friend, and I would be less than truthful if I said that everything said to her was nice. In fact, for weeks we have made fun of her when she has offered one particular suggestion, sarcastically thanking her for her “sage” advice. When we embark on our longest running interval she offers in her most pleasant and helpful way, “Remember to moderate your pace, and if you find yourself flagging, slow back a little to a pace you can maintain.” This is followed a bit later by, “Don’t forget you can slow your pace a little, should you need to.” For weeks Christina and I have laughed about this, imagining a person running full speed about to fall out, but not knowing how to solve their problem. We picture the person with their hair blown back, cheeks flapping as if in a wind tunnel, painfully sprinting past without the common sense to slow down.
But, last night as I was making my way around the park, it occurred to me that what seems such obvious common sense in running is not applied to other areas of our life.
Indeed, what if in those times when our lives are running at a blistering tempo, a voice could remind us occasionally:
or
I hope my artwork can be that pleasant reminder – minus the british accent.
Mile Marker 261, 16x22
“this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees & for the blue dreams of sky & for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” ~ E.E. Cummings
Mile Marker 275, 22"x34"
From the painter that creates in their dining room on Sunday afternoons to the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City supports the arts and it is becoming not only local but national news. But for artists that participate in art festivals this comes as no surprise. Kansas City is host to two of the highest ranked juried art festivals in the country (based on sales and attendance), the Brookside Art Annual and the Plaza Art Fair. And I am thrilled to be participating in both of these spectacular shows. Thank goodness I’m not superstitious – it will be my 13th year in each!
So while the art community continues to grow, and get press in the New York Times, and the New York Post, Frommer’s names Kansas City one of top destinations for 2012 (the only US city to make the list). Even our “rival cities” along I-70, Saint Louis and Denver declare, “Score one for Kansas City,” and “Kansas City is a cultured place.“.
The individual artists that have long been bringing great art to the streets of Kansas City and come visit us at the Brookside Art Annual.
Art Fair Hours:
Friday, May 4, 5pm-9pm
Saturday, May 5, 10am-9pm
Sunday, May 6, 11am-5pm
While in Brookside visiting the art festival be sure to visit the other small locally owned shops that make up the wonderful neighborhood. Brookside in the KC Star
Not in Kansas City? Visit my schedule to see when I will be in a town near you. Or come visit us in Kansas City for the Plaza Art Fair and see all the great things that the “Paris of the Plains” has to offer.
“Is the spring coming?” he said. “What is it like?”… “It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine…” ― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
MIle Marker 266, 11" x 14"
To add this or another piece to your collection please contact me.
My languages are so jumbled up right now all I have no words to offer, but please enjoy the piece of the week.
Mile Marker 220
Contact me to check availability.
Of course there are many more things that could be included in my lists of bests; celebrating the union of our friends Gregory and Clark, after 20 years of togetherness my sister-in-law and her boyfriend throwing caution to the wind to get married in the San Juan Islands, and many pieces of great art made, viewed, and experienced. But with my mind running a million miles a minute, I know the most productive thing for me to do is set some limits for myself. I find that a narrowed focus helps me distill my thoughts, and get to the heart of the matter. (i.e. four words about my work)
There is always room for growth
So after a week of many, many words describing the best events or experiences of 2011, I have realized that there is a commonality, a core idea that I will stay mindful of and that will guide me into 2012:
Can you distill your best experiences of the year into one sentence or phrase?