Great way to jump start a 'dreaded' Monday...

1) Drive, ride or walk to favorite neighborhood bookstore or library
2) Check-out or buy any book by SARK
3) Place self strategically under skylight or by window in bookstore or library
4) Indulge self in reading about Life, Getting 'Unstuck', Creativity, Naps, the Art of Non-Doing, Living Juicy and more

(I'm currently re-reading SARK's "Inspiration Sandwich--I highly recommend it!)

What would we do without creative minds in the world?!

You've probably seen this, it IS  amazing...

All content is copyright "the creators" of this video.

O.K...rockin' and rollin' now (I think).

I dragged myself 'kicking and screaming' to the studio to work on something, ANYTHING!! I started catching up on journaling assignments from LK Ludwig's "Point and Shoot Journaling 2", an online journaling class which started last November. This particular assignment was about identifying and mining our own personal symbology, based on the umpteen thousands of photos we have in our own archives. Some of mine are:

trees/branches, rocks/rock formations, Madonna/Virgin Mary, sunsets, hands at work, rotting fruit/flowers, rust, aged surfaces, crosses, saints, shrines, windows/doors, female fertility figures, cherished old photos of my mother and father...

Then, we are to write what these symbols mean to us personally. Then, on to doing some art journal pages with handwriting and photos and dry media... I also chose the very excellent CD "Masters of Chant" by those wonderful Gregorian monks. I think my MUSE peeked out around the corner today (I saw her out of the corner of my eye)! 

What do YOU do to find/coax your MUSE out of the shadows?

Come out, come out, wherever you are (where the HECK is my Muse)?!

O.K., the Holidays have been over for more than a week now, I've done all the promotion for my workshops I need to do, I have some relatively 'free' time. New ideas race through my head...only to be gobbled up by "LIFE"... Today, I accomplished the following: spilled a whole jar of BLACK gesso all over myself, the work table and the floor. Used what was all over my hands to paint some journal page backgrounds. Exhausted from clean-up and trauma. Took nap...ahhhh.

Can anyone tell me where my MUSE might be? If you see her, please let me know, and tell her to call me to let me know she's alright. Honestly.

How to kiss up to your muse

A creative friend emailed this article to me, written by Danielle LaPorte. After I read this fabulous article, I went on to read a few more, all very compelling...

The Muse of love, art, cash, strategy, worship, desire, wellness, beauty, business plans.

Don't you adore her? Do you...adore her? Actively? Adore.

Muses simply must be adored. They're as grandiose as they are generous. They like to be respected. If you meet them half way, they'll give you the moon, the breakthrough concept, the stroke of...genius. Dis' your muse and she's likely to stop dropping by. She's righteous. Genius is like that.

As Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) puts it in her freshly legendary TED Talk, we've made "a huge error in believing that creative genius comes from the Self," rather than a greater source outside of us. Can you hear the Muses saying, "Yeah baby. Got that right. You say it sister."

There are a zillion starry ideas floating in the milky way and they need you as much as you need them. Genius is looking for a vehicle. You gotta pimp your ride.

HOW TO DO RIGHT BY THE MUSE

1. Drop everything when she shows up.
In an interview with Neil Young, Charlie Rose asks Neil about following his muse. (You won't hear this in the clip below.)

Charlie: "So if you get an idea at say, a dinner party, if you hear a tune or a lyric, do you excuse yourself form the party?"
Neil: "Of course. You never know when she'll (The Muse) come again. I'm responsible to her."

When you feel an idea comin' on, excuse yourself. Pull over to the side of the road. Get lost in the creative flow. Be late. Barge in. (Eccentricity makes Muses especially horny.)

2. Have your tools ready.
Master-writer Anne Lamott, keeps 3×4 white note cards and pens in every purse and drawer and vehicle to capture thoughts that float out as quickly as they float in. If I leave home without my kraft Moleskine and blue medium point PaperMate pens, I feel discombobulated, like I might miss my train. Keep a notepad by your night stand. Leave yourself a voice mail. Don't assume that the best ideas will come back to you.

3. Go looking for her.
You know where she likes to party: the art gallery, by the lake, on your morning run, when the stereo is cranked and the lights are low, in the stillness of a church or forest, when you first wake up. Set the stage and chances are she'll take to it.

4. Engage her.
She's busy, for sure, but The Muse LOVES it when you actually play with her. When she drops an idea in your bucket you can ask her what the hell she's thinking. You can ask her what chapter should come next, or where to look for funding. She could yammer 'til dawn and before you know it, you've mapped out your magnum opus.

5. Do what she tells you to do.
Ignore your muse at your own peril. She doesn't always have it right, or maybe we don't always hear her clearly, but the more you heed her wisdom, the faster you get to drive on the Creative Awesomeness Highway. You and The Muse in the diamond lane. Godspeed.

All text in this post is Copyright Danielle LaPorte.

It's been a long–but productive–week! And, the power of re-packaging...

"Those Purple Trees", pastel, copyright L. JonesMoore

I've spent the week preparing for the upcoming Edmonds Art studio Tour, which is happening September 19 and 20. It's amazing how much work (and how easily one can move from point A to point B to Point C) when there is no child in the house. And yet, I do miss him. He's off to start the Great Middle School Experience that everyone remembers (NOT!). So far so good. He still seems excited about it all by Friday afternoon. We'll see how he feels about it in a few Fridays.

Anyway, back to preparations. As I'm pulling out older work, and discarding some of their tattered wrappers, and re-packaging them, I've been doing a LOT of thinking about the Beatles. If you read the newspapers, or read the home page of Yahoo, etc., you know that the Beatles have released TWO new re-packed versions of their incredible body of work. In video game and music form. I'm very excited about this. Re-packaging past works is not a new idea. Look at the work of the Impressionists! It's all been re-hashed, re-packaged and re-printed numerous times. But, people just can't get enough of the stuff!!

Which has me reflecting on the value of my past work, and how important it is to keep 'putting it out there', in one form or another (if it is , indeed, quality work). In my 'past life' as a visual artist, I did vibrant pastel landscape and still life paintings, and was a Signature member of the Northwest Pastel Society. I did some very good work.

My conclusion: embrace all past endeavors! Why not? I encourage all of you 'creatives' out there to do the same. Some of my pastel works will be exhibited during my Open Studio, along with my other, more recent experimental works. I do hope you can make it...

RENT: A true feast for the creative soul...

If you don't do another thing this year, GO TO RENT!! It's currently on a revival road tour, and it's starring the two original stars of the show (Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp) AND the movie. I had the privilege of seeing it last night at the gorgeous Paramount Theater, in Seattle...


And here's the one that makes me cry every time (after Tom Collins' lover, Angel, has died:


With beautiful music and talent and creativity in the world, there's still hope for us all.

(Videos and their content are copyrighted by their creators)

An Artist Date and a Mind-blowing Experience....

RUN, don't walk (or even saunter) to this amazing place in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle called Souvenir. The owner (Curtis Steiner) of this little gem of a shop/gallery makes incredible items and shrines out of found objects, has gorgeous hand made cards, jewelry and beautifully odd found objects. Some of these things are housed in a huge antique 'dresser' of sorts, and all of the drawers are just BEGGING to be opened...and amazing discoveries to be made. 

His website is: www.curtissteiner.com

Click on the link for "1,000 Blocks" for an even more mind-blowing experience...come back and tell me what you think. My creative "well" has definitely been filled.

I'm just bursting...

My beautiful and talented daughter was just accepted into Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, B.C. We have all been waiting on 'pins and needles' for months now. She was also accepted into Western Washington University, as well as Portland State University. But, her heart lies in Canada (and art school). She just told me this morning that she's so excited to have loonies and toonies in her purse, and a bit apprehensive about having to constantly convert to metric!! I discovered this wonderful little art school on Granville Island (in Vancouver) a couple of years ago, and instantly thought about my daughter. We went up for a visit a year ago, and she was completely hooked. She has worked very hard to keep her grades up and get all of her college applications and paperwork in on time. She deserves this...I'm so proud of her.

Photo: self portrait, taken by my daughter.

TED Talk on creativity by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of "Eat, Pray, Love")

Elizabeth's words about the creative process and persistence literally brought tears to my eyes. She sums it all up so wonderfully in just a few minutes. Thank you, Elizabeth.