Creative Energy: January 22, 2021

JOURNAL OR SKETCHBOOK

A new year means a new journal. I have kept a journal for about 15 years. Every year I buy a new plain bound book with blank pages that I put in a leather case.

Some people may have a hang-up with the idea of writing a journal, but I have a highly recommended alternative approach. “Morning Pages” was introduced to me by author Julia Cameron.

“Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, a stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind – and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page...and then do three more pages tomorrow.”

In my Morning Pages I write what I appreciate in life, thoughts I’m pondering, and events of the day. Sometimes it takes me years to figure something out and sometimes I figure it out the moment it hits the page.

The second blank book I use is my sketchbook. I have been drawing since I was a child. In my 30’s I finally stopped worrying about my drawings being works of art and now considered them as visual ideas. I was putting too much pressure on myself. It’s better to just get it down on paper and keep the flow going.

Don’t think of the blank page as scary, its just paper. No one has to look at it or judge it. It’s only for you, so give it a try.

Creative Energy: August 7, 2020

“Coastal Finds” During the first 8 weeks of Covid, I did a series of 12 small paintings. Drawing energy and inspirations from past visits to lakes and oceans and the small details that I observed. “Coastal Finds” is one in the series. Next week I will be on the southeastern shore of Lake Michigan in Union Pier, Michigan. I will be gathering more influences from my walks on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Chicago Art Institute

I have been visiting art museums since I was a little girl. In my blog, I will be sharing some of the current, recent, and past exhibitions that I have attended and how they have impacted my creative life.

September of 1995 a dear friend Anne Hunter and I met up in Chicago for the weekend. The Art Institute of Chicago was having a major retrospective on “Claude Monet 1840-1926”. At that time it was the largest retrospective of his works ever held. The exhibition included 159 paintings and works on paper including some never viewed outside of private collections.

This was the first time I realized just what it takes to create this size of an exhibition. The curator of the exhibition, Charles F. Stuckey, spent years arranging with other museums and private collectors to bring these paintings to Chicago from all over the world. Never have all of those paintings been together in one location. Another first for me was being able to see the evolutions and changes in Monet’s work over his life. The curator chose to group some paintings by subject; wheatstacks and waterlilies. In those rooms, I was able to compare one painting to the other and see how he interpreted light and color differently over the years. I frequently review the 281-page exhibit catalog and take a memory walk through the exhibit. Each time I see things differently each time.

Petoskey Stones

The “Petoskey Stone” is the official stone of Michigan, which is the fossilized coral of the genus hexagonaria. This coral lived approximately 350 million years ago in the sea that used to cover all of Michigan.

The majority of these stones are found in the northwestern portion of Michigan's lower peninsula, although, I have even found them downstate on both Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. They’re the easiest to find when they are underwater because the hexagonal coral shape is more pronounced when wet. My son is the best Petoskey stone hunter and polisher; he can even find them on a dirt road.