Hodge Podge and Thank You

Donna Watson, Acrylic and collage

I am leaving for NYC very soon... my son is graduating from Columbia University with his Masters of Fine Art degree.   He has been living in NYC for several years and is in the Davidson Contemporary Gallery in Manhattan.  You can go to the gallery link here to see more of his work.

Matthew Watson, oil on copper, 6"x6"

I have been very fortunate lately to receive a number of wonderful gifts in the mail... and in person... from artists I have met in person or through my blog.  I want to share some of the creative artistic gifts here.  I have met some very generous friends and I want to thank them for their support and generosity.

  First up is Elizabeth Bunsen.  She is into circles and dots like I am and she sent me the most fabulous packet in the mail.. filled with all sorts of fabric and papers stamped with circles and dots.

Elizabeth also included some of her wonderful rocks... she knows I love rocks and collect them.

Her warm colorful dot and circle filled blog can be found here. 

Lynne Perrella sent me the most creative envelope above...  a large envelope inside a plastic sleeve with the stamps placed outside in the most amazing way.   I had a lot of fun opening up such a wonderful envelope.  Her website can be found here. 

Leslie Avon Miller is a good friend of mine.  She recently gifted me with one of her beautiful hand made tags...  and a clay Asian coin made by a friend of hers ... which she knew I coveted.   You can find more of Leslie's tags and collages and art work at her blog here. 

Cathy Hegman sent me a bird's nest some time ago.  Thank you Cathy for such a wonderful gift.

Her blog can be found here.    Mary Ann Burke lives on the east coast.  We met online through my blog and when she came to Seattle for a ceramic/clay event she came to visit me.  She gifted me with these large clay 'eggs' because she knew how much I admired them.  

Seth Apter came to the Seattle area (Bellevue WA) for one of his wonderful book signings for his book THE PULSE OF MIXED MEDIA.  He gave me one of his wonderful art works above.  

  

Seth also gave a short demo of one of his collage works.  You can find out more about his book, his book tour and travels and his art at his blog here.  

What we make, why it is made, how we draw a dog, who it is we are drawn to, why we cannot forget.

Everything is collage, even genetics.

There is hidden pleasure of others in us, even those we have known briefly.

We contain them for the rest of our lives, at every border we cross.

--- Michael Ondaatje

CREATING FROM MINDFULNESS

Donna Watson mixed media painting/collage SHIMMER

More than 40% of the actions we perform each day are the product of habit.   The habits most of us perform each morning may run counter to the conditions brain scientists tell us would promote open minded creative thought.  If your typical routine is to jump out of bed, dive into the shower and rush around in order to get into the studio then stop and think about this.  What if you set your alarm a few minutes earlier, lie in bed, think about your day, stretch and take deep breaths.

Stand in the warm shower a few minutes longer, think deeper thoughts about what you want to do.

Sit at your desk or work table, have a cup of tea or coffee, write down some of your thoughts.  Scientists have found that our morning routines can foster more creative energy and thought.  I asked a few artists below to send me their morning image and words to start their day.  Their blogs are wonderfully poetic and thought provoking and creative.  My morning image is first.

  Tea:  Sweet Grace Vanilla Rooibos.  Breakfast bread:  Chocolate Babka.  Location:  my library desk with my fossils and collections.  Book:  THE ZEN OF CREATIVITY: Cultivating Your Artistic Life by John Daido Loori. Journal writing notes.

Quiet morning, sun shining in 

my favorite things surrounding me

breathe in, breathe out

some thoughts written down 

to get me going for the day-- donna watson

Anca Gray lives in Chicago, Illinois.  She creates art pieces out of discarded vintage books and found objects.  She is interested in everything poetic, emotional, and capturing moments in time and space.  She has a tumblr site, an etsy shop and all can be found at her blog TO LIVE POETRY here.  

 Image by Anca Gray

You must open up to the day with abandon.

drown your expectations, your fearful plans,

slowly, mercilessly, in a pot of black tea.

draw close to the stones

and listen

as the day recklessly blooms with possibility --  Anca Gray

Nancy Neva Gagliano is a poet and visual artist.  As a photographer, she experiments with photographic processes both outside and inside the darkroom.  She is also know for her wrapped (rapt) rocks and for her poetry.  Her blog and her poetic words and images can be found here. 

Image by Nancy Neva Gagliano

What comes to open space is as real as 

what leaves the open spirit.

No intention.

light, shadow, line, sound.

shared natures sensing boundless energy.

When the mind rests, 'work' begins. -- Nancy Neva Gagliano

 

Elizabeth Bunsen lives in the northeastern part of the U.S.  Her artwork and images always seem to have this warm, wonderful glow.  Her interests include wabi sabi, long walks and gathering found treasures.  Her 'glowing' blog is called be...dream...play....  and can be found here.  

 image by Elizabeth Bunsen

morning coffee, 

dreams launching ideas

like red hot husks

the early light

pregnant with quiet....  Elizabeth Bunsen

Fiona Dempster lives in Australia.  She is a calligrapher and book artist.  Her art works explore themes about peace and meditation, about reflection and introspection and about journey and place.  You can find her tumblr and website from her blog PAPER PONDERINGS here.  

 

image by Fiona Dempster

Every morning

Freshly squeezed orange juice,

Choose a word to ponder and guide,

Gaze across the ever changing valley,

Be thankful.  -- Fiona Dempster

Carol Leslie lives in Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada.  Her blog posts and her art (paintings, prints) have to do with Buddha teachings, meditation, and her love for peace, beauty and harmony.  She also has an etsy shop and you can find her blog  ZEN DOT STUDIO here.  

  image by Carole Leslie

draw a breath

draw a line

the slender wedge of this moment 

is always waiting for us

just below the furious scratching

of the mind.  --  Carole Leslie

Leslie Avon Miller lives in the Pacific NW area of the U.S.  Her art works include mixed media collage, paintings, artist hand made books, envelopes and tags.  Her creating process clears space and light for 'experiencing the moments'.  Her blog TEXTURES SHAPES COLOR can be found here.

  image by Leslie Avon Miller

"I wake up greedy; greedy for the day, the light, the time to be and see.  I want to see the birds, the deer,  the leaves unfurling at the end of winter.  I want to note the falling snow flakes, the winds in the tree branches, and the warmth of the fire.  And I want to see images of art.  I want to read a poem, or a thoughtful blog post written by a person in my circle.  I wake up greedy and I eat a nourishing breakfast of images, nature and quiet.  This is oxygen.  And I always put on my own oxygen mask first."  by Leslie Avon Miller.

Grace and a Show

Up Coming Gallery show announcement: Lucia Douglas Gallery, Bellingham, WA. Feb. 3-25th. A three person show with Cass Nevada, 2-D artist, and Brian O'neill, potter.
Opening reception: Thursday, Feb. 2. gallery website here.

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.--Emerson

This is how I try to begin each new year. A new start... with a look forward, not behind. I usually start with making lists for the year.. because I am a list maker. But this year I decided to give in to this word that has been at the edge of the shadows in my brain for awhile now-- GRACE... because I want more of it in my personal and art life. I found this quote some time ago: how you climb up the mountain is just as important as how you get down the mountain. and so it is with life, which for many of us becomes one big gigantic test followed by one big gigantic lesson.
in the end it all comes down to one word, grace. it's how you accept winning and losing, good luck and bad luck, the darkness and light. You can not separate your life from your art.

self portrait, collage

"You can have other words-chance, luck coincidence, serendipity. I"ll take grace. I don't know what it is exactly, but I'll take it." --- Mary Oliver.

"My belief is that it is most important for an artist to develop an approach and philosophy about life---if he has developed this philosophy, he does not put paint on canvas, he puts himself on canvas." -- Jacob Lawrence

I asked several friends to send me their description of the word GRACE. Some of these friends I know in my personal life and art, and some of them have connected with me online in the blog world.

Janna Gougeon, encaustic and collage, blog here.
"Two meanings come to mind: a gift of spirit.. always there..not always recognized; the second: with gentleness, sensitivity, respect, understanding."

Robyn Gordon, detail, wood carving. Blog here.
"Grace is the thread of goodness that meanders through my life...from the wild calls of Loeries at dawn, or the answer to a prayer. I find that we need to slow down to appreciate those moments of grace or we tend to miss many of them.

Ruth Armitage, acrylic, yupo paper. Blog and website here.
"Grace is when one exhibits apparently effortless kindness and acceptance. It is the most beautiful of the personal qualities because it is motivated by love for the world and mankind."

Tangie Belmore, acrylic and collage, website here.
Tangie believes Grace to be this: "an elegant sensibility of focus and passion with authentic composure. Serene, warmth, beauty, refinement, sensitive, calm, wisdom."

Leslie Avon Miller, collage, blog here.
"Tension is who you think you should be, relaxation is who I am. That is grace."

India Flint, eco (natural) print dyes on fabric. blog here.
"It is a word that I associate with my (late) maternal grandmother--who I never saw responding to any situation, no matter how stressful, with anything other than grace (even to me when I was a vile teenager). It is something I aspire to, not only as a person but also in my work, to have it appear as such, seemingly effortlessly formed, despite the turmoil that lies behind.

Nancy Neva Gagliano, her 'rapt' rocks series, blog here.

Grace surrounds me, and you,
Meshing us together.
Its that vibration blanketing our souls,
Protecting and nuturing.
And, Grace comforts me as it eases into awareness
In a moment of contemplation, during a pause,
Or during a time of appreciation,
Washing away worries when a slow breath is exhaled.
Grace is always there.
I am the one that is occasionally absent.
--- Nancy Neva Gagliano, January 21, 2012.