When we set out to sketch, we typically draw the positive shapes we see before us...leaves, stems, vase or planter. This is normal and natural and we do well to follow the contours of these things. But we can also look for, and draw, the negative shapes, the space in between all the positive shapes. In … Continue reading Seeing the Negative as Positive
Category: Philosophizing
Thankful
I wonder sometimes if this word may become worn out. Like taffy pulled too thin, or chocolate pie eaten too much, we hear this word bantered around in various ways and forms. It's always an exhortation, an encouragement, a command to be more thankful for what we have, where we are in life, even to consider … Continue reading Thankful
The Measure of a Life
The true measure of an artist's life is NOT *in how many drawings one makes *nor in how "good" they are *nor how much money they fetch... ...but rather in a stouthearted search for beauty in everything: *in the little as well as the big *in the mundane and the magical *in calm as well … Continue reading The Measure of a Life
Fear Not
Tomorrow is Halloween. And I'm thinking about spectres. Spooks of a different kind that do not just come out to haunt at Halloween, but which tend to hover and linger all year round. We are a Harry Potter loving family. Would that there was something like chocolate I could eat or do to banish the dementors. … Continue reading Fear Not
Pure Joy
I'm not sure I know what it means. Nor do I feel I am doing it well. But I've been giving a lot of thought to the words, "Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds." James 1:2 I am certain it does NOT mean a plastic smile. Nor does it MERELY mean to … Continue reading Pure Joy
Through Yarn and Pen
I am blessed beyond measure. I feel it greatly today. Something about that rich green ball of yarn...turned a switch in me. That I am loved. That I have so many TO love. That I've been given much. And I have an overwhelming desire to give much. Gratitude stirred in a heart because of a … Continue reading Through Yarn and Pen
I Will Create!
This is an oldy I wrote years ago, but I've been running the words in my head of late. We can so easily be consumed by the sadness in this world: mass killings of humanity, hunger abroad and in our own towns, financial woe, health issues, family matters, work difficulties, etc. I choose to stand … Continue reading I Will Create!
Dancing through Pain
Pain is an odd thing. It has lingered far longer than I had thought it would post-surgery. It takes a stronger hold in the evenings, keeping me from feeling like I want to go out anywhere. It can drain the life right of you. I've been trying to fight it by not only taking pain medication … Continue reading Dancing through Pain
A New View
I am a creature of habit. I wake up around the same time each morning. I love my morning routine of walking, journaling, reading, writing. I eat meals at approximately the same times each day. I have favorite sketchbooks I stick with. I shop for groceries at the same places. I drive the same routes … Continue reading A New View
Thrive
A dear, longtime friend of mine came to visit with me this week. We are both going through a rough patch it seems, though our situations are very different from one another. She told me a story of how she's been going on walks in her neighborhood where there's a swath of overgrown weeds along … Continue reading Thrive