FOMO

 ... Or just short attention span? The other day I was attempting to zip through pictures on my fourth Instagram feed, both for the sake of interacting and connecting, but also because I wanted to consume as many beautiful, inspiring images of cottages and gardens as five minutes would allow. 

The Lost Art

Is cursive writing dead?? I recently learned (wow, I'm late to this news) that my 13 and 14 year old niece and nephew were not taught cursive writing in school. Like, they never learned something that was a required part of my elementary curriculum.

An Ode

I've long felt that part of an artist's (of any discipline) job was to move people to see the world around them from a fresh perspective. And since color, texture, and pattern have always stirred the muse for me, I'm sharing this.

Inherited Creativity

I am a multimedia artist. I've spent many years charting my own creative course. And it's definitely a unique one. But I come from a family of creative people (on both sides) who left me a creative birthright and some tools to help me along the way. 

To NOW

As I recently rode through my neighborhood looking at the homes and the people buzzing around, each in their own space puttering, playing, doing various things, I realized that I was witnessing many individual universes in action.

The "C" Word

In this modern time, bursting with so many politically sensitive subjects, there are certain topics and even words that may ruffle a few feathers.

There is one word in particular that bugs me, and, if may be so presumptuous, others like me. It's a word that's sometimes casually thrown around in conversation. Even I personally use it, but only in certain contexts. I guess there's an invisible line one can cross if they're not careful or just plain unaware. But in one particular situation, this word could be utterly cringeworthy (or just "cringe" as my nephew says).

To-Do: on Tasks

Are you a list maker? Some might call me a hardcore list-maker, lol. But I need to ensure I don't forget to do certain things. And that might have stemmed from my years-long habit of jotting notes and making sketches when I had project ideas but didn't have time in the moment to execute them. My

first and foremost!

pet peeve is thinking of something important to me and forgetting to do it, or even forgetting what it was I wanted to do.

Growing Inspiration

Faster than I could count my seeds, it's spring. As I mentioned in a previous post, one of my hobbies is gardening. 

Growing things and being surrounded by beauty inspires me. So for the past few years I've done my best to cultivate my green thumb (with my share of trial and error).

Creative Sustainability

"Environmental sustainability is defined as responsible interaction with the environment to avoid depletion or degradation of natural resources and allow for long-term environmental quality. The practice of environmental sustainability helps to ensure that the needs of today's population are met without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs." - study.com

Art Herstory

*This is an entry that was originally written on 11/16/2017 but was forgotten in drafts! Happily, with a few minor tweaks and updates, it still applies.

I've been told from time to time, throughout my life, how fortunate I am to have been aware of my passion from an early age. People seemed to feel that I had my destiny all sewn up neatly from the start. While I don't take my lifelong passion for granted, it's not that black and white.

The gray area has been the time and energy [well] spent experimenting my entire life with all the many different iterations of being an artist, fine-tuning my direction. When I was a kid, there was a wide, exciting world of drawing, painting, sculpting, building, and more that stretched out in front of me, waiting for me to choose. I was largely self-taught, so I went through various self-guided phases. One year, all I seemed to do was draw clowns and princesses in poofy dresses. 

Fostering Creativity

I've been an artist my entire life. But obviously, I wasn't always a professional artist. My creative work began as a seed planted during idle exploration as a small child. I.E. a pastime that I quickly developed an affinity for... and never put down. The pastime grew into a hobby, the hobby grew into an obsession, and the obsession rounded out my life's mission. But not all pastimes become professions, nor do they need to do so. 

"In polite society, we call our obsessions hobbies." -Stephen King

To be clear, when I say "hobbies", I mean things we enjoy doing in our free time, or time we are not committed to things like working, schooling, or other responsibilities. Hobbies come in all shapes and sizes and are not strictly art or craft related. They can be everything from hunting to collecting stamps. 

Dusk Rides

February is nearing a close, and here in Georgia, visible signs tell us that spring is hot on its heels. The days are suddenly hotter (without guarantee they'll stay that way), and the evenings are soft with warm, humid breezes. 

As this Sunday wound down, the evening approaching, I was lured away from dropping seeds into warm soil to hop on my bicycle for a ride through the last remnants of light. This was the perfect day, the perfect time to take a ride. Everyone was inside, busy with early dinners and preparations for Monday. So I had the streets to myself. With virtually no cars to avoid and a sweet stillness, I could cruise through the evening air unbothered.