Have you ever felt like there was a mean mad genie inside your computer who just does not want you to get a single thing to work? I swear, there are days it would be better to go back to … Continue reading
Tag Archives: inspiration
Exactly 20 years ago today (April 1, 2021), I returned to the US from my year and a half stint as the first Artist-in-Residence for Gore, New Zealand. I left NZ at 7 am on April 1st, and after a … Continue reading
Sometimes, before the sun is up all the way, the wind skittles across the glassy-smooth surface of the ocean, and it looks like a pinky-blue streaked mirror. The swells come rolling in, incessant, constant, hypnotic. Every so often, the current … Continue reading
I grew up on a small harbor right off Long Island Sound. We used to go down to the little beach near our house and watch the 12-meter racing boats cruise into the harbor on their practice days. So exciting … Continue reading
I think I have mentioned that, for 35 years, I carried in the back of my mind, continual, persistent, destructive thoughts of offing myself. Wondering, how can I do it – pills? A gun? A knife? Drive over a cliff? … Continue reading
I’m taking a 4-week class on how to paint waves. My first painting was a complete dud – as were #s 2, 3, and 4. And 5. Ugh. Today’s was, too. Well, it was a wee bit better, but did … Continue reading
I like looking at old documents. Did you know that at one time, writing materials – especially parchment – were so precious that people wrote in tiny, tight script in one direction, and then turned the page 90 degrees, and … Continue reading
I had this idea that I was going to do a pastel of a stunning cactus plant I saw. I had it all drawn out and ready to go, and started applying the pastels…. And discovered that I had bitten … Continue reading
For the last few days I have been a social cactus. I’ve been so irritable I felt like I could bite someone’s head off. Not sure why – seems like a lot of the tension from the last few years … Continue reading
Recently, I figured out a way to take thoughts of resistance and resentment and cook them up into new dishes of peace and calm. It’s not that hard. You kind of have to be a bit detached in order to … Continue reading
I was cruising on Facebook, when I saw that my friend, Bruce, who lives in South Africa, had posted 3 or 4 posts saying stuff like, “…Bruce Maxwell Cross …This is my journey thru an incredible life as I lay … Continue reading
This is dedicated to any frustrated artist… I attended an intense marketing workshop today. It made me cry. It put me right smack dab up against the years of deep conditioning I have fought my entire life. I absolutely loved … Continue reading
When my kids were little, they were friends with a pair of brothers whose mother was insanely over-protective. She used to drive me nuts. I can still hear her shrill shriek, “Don’t climb that wall, you’ll fall off! If you … Continue reading
In an argument with my son a few days before I left Hawaii to live in California at the end of 2018, he asked me if I had ever had myself checked for mental illness. I was so shaken by … Continue reading
How many times have we heard, “Laughter is the best medicine”? Lots! Right? Well, a neighbor who is constantly bugging me about this little thing or other started in on me today. I had been standing on my little door … Continue reading
Today I saw a shorty little video on FB by a gal who has a bunch of farm animals that bonded to her and follow her along like dogs – including turkeys, goats and sheep, and even a deer! Halfway … Continue reading
A few weeks ago, I was approached by a not-so-very-well-known company that prints books, art prints and other arty products. They wanted me to submit a book of images for them to print. The deal was they’d give me $150 … Continue reading
Art always makes me feel better. Like somehow, I’m Doing My Life Right. Maybe it’s because I go into a trancey kind of out-there in-there smooth, calm, non-thinking zone state while I’m creating art. Maybe it’s because when I see … Continue reading
WHAT DO YOU PUT UP WITH? Last weekend, I got a call from a man I hadn’t heard from in 20+ years. At first I was glad to hear from him. But then – He didn’t ask if it was … Continue reading
Sometimes I get caught by the Shoulds. As you probably know, besides being an avid sculptor and painter, I’ve also been a Peak Performance coach for many years. When covid hit, I put everything on the back burner and hibernated … Continue reading
Who doesn’t like honey! When Honey Bear went to the river today, he found part of a honey comb that had fallen from the Honey Tree! What a score! As the bees buzzed around him trying to get it back, … Continue reading
I keep getting these kind of allegorical images in my dreams. They look like they ought to be part of some huge mural somewhere. I like that they have these lines of energy running through them – I’ve never painted … Continue reading
I did a few sketches while I was on the phone with a friend a few days ago. They were all of silly gators having fun one way or another. I liked the idea of this one – “Mirror, Mirror, … Continue reading
I lived on the Hawaiian island of Kauai for several years, on the other side of the island from this lovely beach. We used to go there once in a while to picnic. It took us an hour to drive … Continue reading
For the first two covid months of lockdown, I felt like I was drowning – in too much grogginess, too much where’s the money, too much confusion, anger and fear. I decided things had to change in a big way. … Continue reading
I have really enjoyed playing with my new sets of pastels! Here are 3 more images of the beach at San Blas. My favorite is #4. … Continue reading
I’m not an adherent of any recognizable religion – my folks never went to church, so I never got the classic religious conditioning many kids did in the 50s when I grew up. But I did have a few pretty … Continue reading
The Balance is the 2-ton piece I carved at the Oamaru International Limestone Sculpture Symposium I was invited to participate in when I was Artist-in-Residence in Gore, New Zealand. I felt so fortunate to be a part of that symposium! … Continue reading
A friend of mine posted on FB today, asking how old we were when we got our first traffic ticket. This little story popped into my mind right off: I would have been 22. I was late learning how to … Continue reading
When I was in Gore, New Zealand in 2000-2 as Artist-in-Residence, I painted around 50 paintings. Because I had thought of myself as primarily a stone sculptor, I was surprised to see so many of them just flowing right out … Continue reading