Sharika Roland

I have so many people in my life that are not painting or drawing but seem to have an affinity for that. they are the ones who say Oh I am not an artist.
If you like to draw but don’t, if you like to organize rooms and decorate them in a way that is beautiful, If you sew beautiful curtains and have this eye for detail but don’t paint or draw because that is not what you do, then I think you are missing out on half your life.
Drawing is just way to get somewhere that you need to go in your mind.
Anyone can use it. Painting is the same thing. If you only think of it as fun and not whether you are doing it right or not it will ;will will expand your ability to SEE.
Once you SEE better all possibilities exist!!
I would like to have a SEEING class. Everyone would be locked in a room for 12 hours and there would be paper and paint and canvas and light. Each person would have their own room. The only thing to do all day would be cover all the walls with something.
That would be the class. That would be the best class because nothing would get in the way of you being you. No teacher saying this is wrong or right. no other students to be aware of and compare yourself to.
That would be the whole thing.
Wouldn’t you love to see what would happen.
That is what artist in residence programs are.  S p a c e  to be.
anyone could do it to great Great benefit. Anyone
And wouldn’t you love to see the work after they were done.
That would be my art un-school.
My parents let me paint on the walls when I was a teenager. Maybe that is why I am an artist today.

Some people you like right away. Is it because they are familiar? Is it because they have qualities that you admire. Well maybe so.
But some people have right off the bat (without even knowing anything about them) a presence.
This might sound strange but I think you can every once in awhile feel like you can see inside of them. They are open in their spirit.
And it makes you feel alive and real when you are with them.
I do not know if you can do this at will or it is just something that happens on occasion.
I did have that feeling with Mijis mom. She was the sweetest presence in the room. Even if she could not speak English, the way she looked at you was so wonderful.
I can see why her daughter would cry when she left. I cannot wait to see her again and I don’t know if I ever will.

How wonderful to have a moment with another human being. A moment of clarity and love.
Maybe she is an angel that is visiting earth. It was that strange!

When someone stays at your house and is so wonderful that you are going to be very upset when they have to go home- that is a great house guest.
I never had anyone stay with us and shop and cook a feast two nights in a row and then have enough leftovers for three more nights. No,
I was thinking how much of an ambassador from South Korea that Kim is.
I know that I do not always try and be a great guest when I am in another country. Usually I am pretty self involved but I have learned my lesson.
Kim is unable to even speak a lick of English( for which she was
so appologetic) but even so she was able to speak through her daughter and we had a great time.
Every Korean person I see from now on will get the benefit of the grace of Kim.
It can go the other way so easy and you are representing your country. I wonder how often we think of that.
Americans are so fortunate to have so much bounty and it might make a difference if we spread that bounty through good works when we travel.
I think we should overtip everyone and tell them how wonderful we think their country is
And we should leave where we stay better than we found it.
That is a good guest.
Because of this experience with Kim, I am going to make it a major point to give wherever I can. I wish you could spend five minutes with this a most gracious woman and a shining example of Korean manners.

I love working out . Ilove the loud music and the pounding energy of all the other people trying their best to get strong. It is like we are all pulling together .
I have a friend that runs marathons and she said that she can go much faster and further in the middle of the race because everyone else is driving you to the end.
You are not alone.
There must be some kind of physical thing to molecules all going in the same direction.
It is like a rushing river of energy.
Talk about exhilaration. I can totally see how people can get addicted to running and working out. Is that a bad thing?? I don’t think so.
When I was in New York, walking down the teeming streets full speed ahead, it is pretty exciting. You cannot just dawdle along looking in the store windows. Everybody is going somewhere…fast.
They are swept away in a sea of people.
Some people hate that but you could get used to it. We are adaptable.
I am saying all this to prove a point.
Your mind follows your body. If you want a lot of stimulation for any work that is creative, it is good to get moving.
move think grow. they are all tied together.

You always have to go to the next level when you are an artist. You can never be content with something that just sells and so that is it.
Market driven art will make the artist stagnant. You get it down and then do it over and over… not so much great for growth.
In aerobics , as soon as you are good with a routine then you should dump it because it is not a challenge anymore,
so you pretty much have to be in a constant state of being not so good at what you are doing.
You gotta go polish something else all the time.
Plants do this. They are always doing something different.
You always have to challenge yourself.
So I better personalize this thing now. All talk and no walk makes you look pretty shallow.
So even though people don’t all like my new work I have to do it. I have to let the slashes go where they will. Something new must come out or I am a redundant bore.
That is how everything is. Even raising children. You get one kid down at the baby stage then they have a whole new set of needs when they get older and older and then the siblings come into play and you get older and older so your body does a number on you that you must constantly fight or you fail miserable.
Change , struggle, grow change struggle grow. those steps follow us our whole lives.
It alternative is so unbearably boring that I would not wish it on anyone.
Isn’t it wonderful – this life. Isn’t it so not boring!