If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.Marcus Aurelius I've noticed life is more about letting go than becoming. Probably because I have pushed so hard all my life to become. In high school, that meant practicing … Read More »
Unearthing
The artist is not the book. Or the movie. Or the startup. The artist learns that she is not to be held accountable to her first "you," but to her second.Steven Pressfield Interior design work is ramping up around here, so this week I found it funny and hard to try and get back into the creative mindset required to make art. I've been doing a lot … Read More »
On Losing
Losing sets you up for winning. Losing makes you think in ways victory can't. You begin asking questions instead of feeling like you have the answers. Questions open up the doors to so many possibilities.Maria Sharapova, from Tribe of Mentors Meditation, 9x12 watercolor and ink This week I dove into (or rather, was thrown into) dealing with … Read More »
The Invisible Road
There is an invisible stretch of road that lies between the idea of our dreams and the finishing mark of achieving them. This pathway is entrenched with barriers and potholes that seem to increase in depth as we women get closer and closer to claiming the prize. These barriers are universal, and we feel them deeply, but they are not identical … Read More »
Daily Painting
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. As good as last week was, this week was its opposite. In other words, it was a bit of a bust. I was able to get into the studio without much resistance, but I produced a lot of junk. Only two pieces of art will make it to my online shop- Wild Mountain Columbine Sinking What … Read More »
Daily Painting
Are you and I truly agents who act and seek to learn, or are we waiting to be acted upon and relying exclusively on other people to teach us?David A. Bednar It's week 8 of incorporating daily painting into my life. Resistance was relatively quiet. There was the occasional "this is crap" or "I don't have enough time" thoughts that seem to be … Read More »
Daily Painting
I'm writing this post on a Monday instead of a Friday, which means week 6 of daily painting goes under the category Life Happens Thursday night Dave decided to list our old home on Zillow (I was sleeping). He's a night owl. I'm a morning person that can't function after ten. The plan was always to sell, but in my mind we weren't … Read More »
Daily Painting
Week 5 What matters to an active man is to do the right thing; whether the right thing comes to pass should not bother him. Goethe Letting go isn't easy for me. I love scheduled programs and persistence. I've always had the belief that everything can be better. While that may be true to a certain extent, daily painting is trying to show me … Read More »
Daily Painting
Week 3 I once read a heartbreaking letter that Herman Melville wrote to his good friend Nathaniel Hawthorne, complaining that he simply could not find time to work on his book because "I am so pulled hither and thither by circumstances." Melville said that he longed for a big, wide-open stretch of time in which to create (he called it "the calm, … Read More »
Daily Painting: Week 1
"Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate, falsify; deduce, bully, cajole. Resistance is protean. It will assume any form, if that's what it takes to deceive you. It will reason with you like a lawyer or jam a nine-millimeter in your face like a stickup man. Resistance has no conscience. It will … Read More »
