..warmth & wisdom....

....on Thurs. April 23, my older son Ryan arrived home...so good to see him.....(pictures later)... Friday, Ryan, my first born turned 26...where have the years gone... he was off to Ottawa to pick up his girlfriend, Lindsay (yes, the same name as my younger son)...they are apartment hunting ...yea!!!!!moving closer for the next year......Lindsay is doing an internship at a new museum in Ottawa...Ryan, graduating with with Masters in Anthropology....?????sometime this spring?????...whenever his thesis is completed.....anyway, Sat. was perfect....warm....27C...the daffodils are in full bloom...other things in the garden bursting forth...almost before our eyes.

......we worked outside in the gardens all day....limped around and took pain medication at night.....as we were soooooo tired and sore from the unaccustomed hard physical labour...but got lots done...
...the Yellow Shafted Flickers were flying in their characteristic undulating patterns from tree top to TV antenna, to barn roofs etc. (any tall structure) drumming....calling "wick...wick...wick...wick...wick...drumming....calling -all day!!!! It is their way of looking suitable mates!!! Pretty birds...welcome harbinger of spring...but ALL DAY ...give it a break!!!

....I was beneath this one way up in the sugar maple...note the buds swelling!!!!....

....the day ended...still warm...but the weather forecaster says rain is on the way...good for the new grass seed I just sowed I guess....rest for the weary muscles too......

....an e-mail from a fellow artist....I think this advice applies to any "creative" endeavor....

The private lives of keeners
April 24, 2009

Dear Eileen,

Yesterday, Sara McManigle of Luverne, ND, asked: "How does an artist maintain the energy levels, motivation, and passion to realize her dreams? As hard as I try, I still get bogged down by others' condescension, the financial aspects, and time management. How do you keep the fire burning when you're so fizzled out?"Thanks, Sara. Artists need to be self-sustaining, private, "follow-your-bliss" islands unto themselves. Self-directed and independent, they make their own fizz. But artists need to realize that there are more than a few ways to become enthusiastic and motivated. One size does not fit all. Not surprisingly, artists with obsessive-compulsive tendencies and an addiction to work appear to be the keeners.One way to understand motivation is to look at the symbols represented by the things we do. A passion for kayaking, for example, might represent a desire for freedom or escape. That of dancing, for romance and love. Among other things, painting can represent a desire to re-order the universe or simply to fill the beauty gap. Nothing wrong with those. These passions, whether intrinsic or learned, are integral parts of our natures and need to be honoured. When we begin to understand our symbols, we can get on with the more mechanistic of the ploys--head down, focus, shutout or postponement of impedimenta, pump priming, multitasking and the wisdom of time-management.Furthermore, amateurs have a wisdom that professionals know not of. One can learn from amateurs. Successful self-motivators at any level are able to regularly return to their beginner-minds and rekindle earlier enthusiasms. Never underestimate your inner kid. Artists also need to be aware of their personal blockers--people, places and things--and be prepared to substitute positive over negative. Without trashing the wonderful mothers of our world, a frequently reported situation is the demanding, impossible-to-please mother who derails daughters and sons. Oh yeah, dads can do it to you too. Critical, failed, or bitter themselves, they are the kernel of a rolling, generational snowball that is difficult to stop. Stealthily and unwittingly a keen edge becomes dull and jaded. Artists so afflicted need to give thought to re-sharpening with alternate role models.

Best regards,Robert

PS: "If you can give your child only one gift, let it be enthusiasm." (Bruce Barton)

Esoterica: From my perspective, every situation, every human being, is unique. While the loving input of true friends is certainly valuable, more than anything, each artist needs to work out private ploys that beat back the unique bugaboos. I appreciate this is not always easy, as circumstances can run powerful interference. But if I didn't know it can be done, is being done, and will be done, I wouldn't be tapping on this laptop. The word is "character." Character is built, not granted.

Well....this came today......after a wonderful Sunday spent with my brother, his partner, Ryan & Lindsay and JJ. My brother is a wonderfully talented artist......who, # 1 is an infrequent visitor, and # 2, is that talented individual whom Robert describes... whose mother and father unwittingly (????) discouraged the "artistic" talent that my siblings and I possessed as not being "important enough, worthy enough....???? whatever......most of us have found our ways....but I feel my brother is still looking for that confirmation,.......yes.... it is good enough, yes.... he is talented...yes.... continue to follow that passion.......is he still haunted by that critisim/disinterest from our parents????

We went to a local art show this afternoon ....developing artists showing their work...maybe there was nothing there I'd buy to hang on my walls, but I like to go such local events ...to talk to the artists...to tell them what I like about their work...to ask questions of their techniques....to freely give out compliments....perhaps that is the teacher in me.....I'm not sure the others in my family felt the same.....???? not professional enough for them??????

Anyway, great day...great conversation....great shared information about computer programs....great stories...great food and wine shared.....what a lovely way to spend a Sunday.....

The Colour Purple

I'm not sure that I have a favourite colour, but purple -lavender, lilac, violet, aubergine -whatever you want to call i,t is very high on the list! So when JJ came home last week with a pot of somewhat misshapen, somewhat scrawny hyacinths and I kind of gave the pot that look ....."...but they were the only ones that were purple!!," he exclaimed -"..oh well.....in that case -they are beautiful honey!!!!", is what I replied. They have opened nicely, their perfume wafts through the house and all the freezing weather, cars that didn't start, then stalled, more snow that had to be shoveled, more freezing temperature to deal with -it's all forgotten and in the past -I have flowers again. Hyacinths I love, but purple hyacinths I adore -I carry the pot around just to be near that intoxicating aroma. I don't use any scented products in my house, at all, no perfume, or even scented candles, but scented flowers I can tolerate and can't get enough of them -so I do miss them in the winter.
I finished another felted purse on Fri. night so it was off to the wool shop to buy more wool on Sat. -fell in love with these colours and thought they would be perfect together for another felted project -hubby commented on my selection -oh, nice, more purple I see -I hadn't noticed.......did get me to thinking however........I don't keep much of the stained glass I do, but almost all the pieces I have kept over the years have....guess what -blues and purples....

....my flower gardens are filled with....blues and purples.......

......I've planted purple cauliflower, purple potatoes, purple beans, even eggplant (I don't like eggplant, but I love seeing it in the garden and my excuse is it attracts potato beetles away from the potato plants. I grow lavender by the back door and surrounding the patio, and keep a bundle tied to my bedpost in case I need to put some inside my pillow to calm my mind before sleep. I even have been known to wear purple -in every season.

Put some purple in your life when you want:
-to use your imagination to its fullest -to re-balance your life
-to remove obstacles
-to calm over activity or to energize from depression

Warning

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells And run my stick along the public railings And make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall go out in my slippers in the rain And pick flowers in other people's gardens And learn to spit. You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat And eat three pounds of sausages at a go Or only bread and pickle for a week And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes. But now we must have clothes that keep us dry And pay our rent and not swear in the street And set a good example for the children. We must have friends to dinner and read the papers. But maybe I ought to practice a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Jenny Joseph

....love this, I'm not a poet but my friend and I have written our own versions which are hilarious and suit each other....another post.....another time.......I think the official colour of February is purple...perhaps then......