Reflections on Creativity and Life

In March my brother in law gave me some seed potatoes, I had never planted potatoes before, In March it was cold and blustery and I shoved them in the ground. Then little sprouts and green plants started growing in about a week, My granddaughter monitered the growth of these potatoes and I told her they would be purple. She did not believe me. Well last week we harvested the little purple jewels in the black dirt. Such a big plant that you have to pull out to get the potatoes. Clinging to the roots were the spuds. They were just so purple and red and white too, Digging in the ground we found several big loose ones too which was a surprise. We washed them off and cooked them and then put a lot of butter on and ate them. That very act of eating something that was once a seed and you watered and now you are eating was like becoming connected to the beauty of the earth.
When you see food in stores, it is unrelated to your hands and growth and love and earth. It is passive.
I would say that those potatoes were the best I ever had. earth to mouth in about 10 minutes. quite a short time. I could feel the vitamins in them. they tasted like the earth that they grew in.
It was such an organic experience to share with my granddaughter.
It was like being Christoper Columbus and discovering a new thing.

I just thought of this and it happened a long time ago. I was painting and then I remembered Phong.
He is a Vietnamese young man who used to work at a beauty school near my house. One time I went there for a haircut just to see how it would be and Phong happened to be working when I walked in. He was very quiet and just kind of nodded to me. He did not ask what kind of cut I wanted. I just looked at me for what seemed a long time. Then he began to cut my hair. It was not like any other haircut I have ever had. It was like he was race cutting. Hair was flying all over and he just kept going. His hands flew over my head pulling and pushing my hair all over. He did not section it off like usual. He did not even use a comb. Just his fingers.
Phong could not have been more than 18. So young to go so fast.
When he finished he said ok and I paid him and left. My hair was so wonderful and it layed against my head like it was sculptured. It was fantastic. I think Phong charged me 10 dollars.
Naturally went back in a month thinking I would ask for him for sure but he was gone. He opened his own shop somewhere and I never saw him again.
That is what it is like when painting or anything else goes well. You may never have that exact experience again. when effortless and perfection meet there is a glimpse of heaven.

We have to take out a tree that has been in our yard for 60 years , It was ailing for several years as a result of having a dog claw up the trunk. It was languishing so we have decided to take it out and put a pond in instead. Some people do not love ponds as little kids can fall in but we think that if we are clear on what you can and cannot do it should be fine.
This is all easy for me to say as my husband has to do all the work,
But I am sure a few more people will help us get it done.
Finding time to do a major reconstuction project is the main thing.
There is this thing we have to do most days that takes up a lot of time. That thing is work. So this whole project will become known to us as our other job. But a couple of hours here and there is easy to be found.
First we have to take the tree down and that is kind of emotional.
When you take out bushes or even hedges it feels like cleaning but when you take a tree down that has lived longer than you, well then if feels like a sort of funeral.
good bye old friend. We did love you for a long time.

A landscape designer came over to our house yesterday to draw up plans for a new garden design. Right now we have nothing much put a blank canvas with some hodge podge things poking up here and there. We do have an art studio with is pretty nice and a storage shed and a hot tub. But it is not jiving with what this blank canvas could be.
Lesley Pollack came over and we measured and talked and she fed back to me my dream so I could see it clearer.
This blog is about seeing things and sometimes you cannot see as well as someone else who spends all her time seeing landcapes so you have to hire her.
My mom always kids me about why do I have to have help in so many areas that are creative.  Why am I not able to just do it myself.
Well it just is like that. I need help seeing my own vision sometimes and this is one of those times.
My husband has to do all the work so it will take a while to accomplish the task of a brand new garden but he is up for it.
So we are doing a beach italian crunchy gravel wandering statues and fountains and ponds and trees that bloom and big bushes and gobs of floppy roses and grapes dripping over the pergola and chandelier garden.
As we plan to have concerts in my yard this summer we need a large space for seating and some kind of stage with a cover. This stage with a cover will double as a place for kiddos to play and a place to work out and a place to have tea with my friends.
Multi use is the operative word here.
From all the tiny house living research I know everything must do at least three things. or forget it.
I better stop writing or your eyes will fall out from tiredness. more tomorrow.

This is the first farm painting I did. It is inspired by old French farm illustrations from a childrens book. So I did my take on them.I plan on doing 6 more large animal paintings in this slightly abstract way.
It is scary to do something different a bit as it might not be accepted as much as your old work.
Modigliani did one landscape and it is so wonderful that I am sadder than sad that he did not do more of them. In his characteristic style on enlongated necks he did the tree trunks long and lean. and Lovely.
So little piggy and lamb and chicken what will you turn into.

It is so random what inspires you to do a different kind of supject in a painting. Something has to speak to you and you have to answer. For some reason I have been fascinated at farm animals of late. Maybe it is the fact that we have been looking at getting some ducks or chickens or rabbits and so have been seeing them as if for the first time.
Until you start to seriously look for something you will probably not see it.
Like the car that you never saw and now see it all the time because you got one.
So for m e to think about doing farm animals means looking for them everywhere and what I found is that they are so beautiful if you look close. I am not sure how this will work in reality but in theory giant paintings of a simgle animal I think would look great. They would be modern clean and simple paintings because that is the best way to see the beauty.
A reduction to only beautiful lines.
and blig blocks of black and white. simple.
I am telling you this because I am going to start doing them and when I finish who knows what it will look like as I have to let it be what it wants.
But this is the starting point and who whos what I will find on the way.
So thus began the new journey to find simple.

With a title like that I am sure I will get spam that is not about people looking for creativity ideas.

I used to be an art broker. I found a lot of artists that needed people to look at and maybe buy there work. I had clients that were looking for some artwork and did not know where to start to find them,
I was just thinking how extremely similar to a dating service this is.
Where do we find each other.
Artists are in their studio alone mostly working away on whatever they need to spend all their time doing.
Art buyers are busy with their lives and the chances that they will meet someone who has that perfect piece for them is pretty slim.  A work of art  might turn a house into your home.
Artwork is so personal. Art buying is not like going to Costco.
It is not just merchandise. It is a mirror reflecting your insides so you have to find something that you can viscerally respond to. A work of art that speaks to your heart.
Galleries are one way and all the business that goes along with them,
I know many artists that are not in galleries right now and does that mean they are less important than someone that is hooked up with a gallery?
What a shame that those artists do not have people to see all their work too if you are looking to get something.
It is like half the choices are in the closet.
So that is where a broker comes in handy.
Then you can explore all the options. The brokers main job is know where all the art is. They should be a go to person for a list as long as your arm.
And the art buyer. They are as unique as the artist. They each have their personal taste and longing to consider.
So it is a dating service . and the broker is the matchmaker.
That is the best job in the world besides being an artist.
It is the social end of it, Ideally , the artist makes the art and the client meets the artist and then the work goes to its new home.
a marriage made in heaven.

There are two kinds of people. Proactive and Reactive. Most people are reactive. It is a habit.
If you can train yourself to be proactive you will start thinking of what good can come out of whatever situation you find yourself in. A reactive person will look at the challenge and say oh forget it.
I have a friend that used to hire people in a big company. She said she would always prefer the person with gumption over one with a great resume. Gumption can overcome everything.
Gumption is just another word for being proactive.
My mother recently hurt herself falling down and was in a great deal of pain for a few months. Even though she would grimace she would get up at 4 thirty and get my Dad up. Even though she could have stayed in bed she thought it would be good for her to get up and get going.

I am sorry to say that if I was hurt I would enjoy the vacation and stay in bed and not worry about everything for awhile.Good excuse.
But my Mom is not like that. She gets up and starts doing whatever she can do.
It was good to be with them for a couple of months to see what both of them are made of.
I think you should surround yourself with people that are like that. then guilt might come into play and then proactive living cannot be far behind.

I have to say that I love this painting best because it is different to do a gal in glasses. My dear friend suggessed trying something surprising and quirky and this is it.
But the finished result was modern and beautiful and the glasses are the best part. Lots of people wear them . They are more like jewelry these days and you sort of have to lean into them to make a statement. That statement is I am confident .
And I am interesting and you will want to know me.
I imagine her looking down at a book or a menu or maybe a cup of tea and just luxuriating in her own thoughts.
I have seem people in public places looking down and then you have a chance to really look at their face in a relaxed state and see their beauty.
The painting is intimate that way. A little time observing someone who is not even aware you are looking at them.