Beautiful Painting

Aaah...God created a beautiful painting today in our area.....it's snowing!!!

Discovering a Sense of Boundaries (part 2 of 2)

Inflow

As artists, we need quiet to be able to hear what our hearts are saying. The more noise you let in, the less you are able to create. We need to train our friends and family to let us have that quiet time in our lives. No calls or interruptions after a certain time. Let them know when you will be available for them. Our society wants instant gratification. What it needs is a little patience. Patience creates endurance. Endurance creates quality of life.

Don’t confuse quiet and solitude with solemnity and isolation. Sometimes I yearn for isolation but we need people. People need us. We sometimes get our ideas from others and nature around us.

Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries. ~ Corita Kent


Day Jobs

I didn’t particularly like reading this segment. It comes at a time when I’m quitting my “day job”. But I’m not quitting my job to become a full-time artist. So here goes.

Julia Cameron states, “If we do not limit our inflow, we become swamped by the life demands of others. If we practice too much solitude, we risk being flooded by stagnation and a moody narcissism as our life and our art become emptied of all but the big question “How am I doing?” What we are after is a balance, enough containment and autonomy to make our art, enough involvement and immersion in community to have someone and something to make art for.”

“Art thrives on life. Life feeds it, enriches it, enlarges it.”

“Day jobs help not only to pay the rent but also to build stamina and structure. Artists need both stamina and structure. Often, a day job provides both. We as artists need other points of reference to stay on course.”

“Chekhov advised young actors: ‘If you want to work on your art, work on yourself.’ He did not mean ‘Contemplate yourself.’ He meant we ought to do those things that develop in us creative sinew. A day job can do that. So can some committed community service. So can taking the time to practice the art of listening to something other than our own concerns. A day job requires that skill.”

“Our life is supposed to be our life and our art is supposed to be something we do in it and with it. Our life must be larger than our art. It must be the container that holds it.”

“Rather than yearning to be ‘full-time artists’, we might aspire to being full-time humans. When we do, art is the overflow of a heart filled with life.” I like what she had to say here. Aspire to be a full-time human. That takes skill that I need to work on.

Tagged

I've been tagged by my Fine Art Friend, Rose.

FIVE RANDOM OR WEIRD THINGS ABOUT ME

1. I am a Christian, saved by the grace of God.


2. I am coffee-crazed. I like to frequent coffee shops and drink a lot of dark roast coffee. The beans have to be fresh-roasted for me to enjoy them to their fullest.


3. I'm quiet and reserved until I get to know a person well. Then be careful!


4. I like to do things on a whim.


5. I sing on our church's worship team.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

The other day I was craving chocolate really bad. Since I'm on a diet and can't have any, I decided to make this wonderful cake for the kids. The chocolate smell was heavenly and I did take a couple of finger licks. That's all, honest!

You can watch the video to make this cake here. Hot Fudge Pudding Cake video

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
From America’s Test Kitchen

Coffee Mixture
1 cup coffee
½ cup water

Mix together. Set aside.


Chocolate Sauce
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup cocoa
2 oz bittersweet chocolate

Slowly melt together in a bowl over 1 cup of boiling water. Set aside to cool.


Sugar Topping
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup cocoa

Mix sugary topping together. Set aside.


Flour Mixture
¾ cup flour
2 tablespoons baking powder

Mix together. Set aside.


Batter
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk

Mix together. Add cooled chocolate sauce. Add flour and baking powder. Pour into greased 8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle sugary topping over batter. Gently pour coffee mixture over top of sprinkles.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool for 20-25 minutes before serving.

Happenings

I am excited. The Flylady and Friends is coming to my area the second weekend of February! I have two other committments on one of the days, so I'm hoping I can take off work on Friday to check them out. If you aren't familiar with Flylady, she's awesome! She takes boring household chores and makes them fun. Or as much fun as they can be. LOL

In the midst of my cold, I am trying a 10-day cleanse from Jordin Rubin's book, Perfect Weight America. I desperately need to lose some poundage, so I thought this would be a good start to a healthier body. What's great is that the food is a wonderful tasting homeade chicken soup. Best thing for a cold, in my opinion. This is day 2 of the cleanse. I lost two pounds yesterday. YAY!



I posted twice today, so make sure you read "Discovering a Sense of Boundaries." This is part one of a two or three part series.

Have a wonderful day!

Discovering a Sense of Boundaries (part 1 of 2)

My brain is fuzzy....I have a cold. So if something doesn't make sense here, ask away.



Week 6 - Discovering a Sense of Boundaries


Containment

As artists we must learn to keep our projects to ourselves. Sharing them with others can be hurtful. Julia Cameron says, “Talk uses creative power. Talk dilutes our feelings and passions. Not always, but usually. It is only talk with the right person and at the right time that is useful.”

An example: The commerce world of art asks us to “’write a quick proposal.’ The energy that belonged in the making of the project is wasted and diffused by the ‘selling’ of an idea that wasn’t yet in solid form.” They don’t realize that a project takes time to develop creatively. Have you ever had those moments where you don’t want to draw or paint because the “mood” isn’t there?

If someone offers to “help” you with a project, make sure that is at the right time and that it will be helpful to you. “One way to put it is: ‘Do they really know more about what I am doing than I do?’”

If you have a project that needs rescued, answer these helpful questions that Julia Cameron has people ask to themselves.

1. Have you ever spoiled a creative project by indiscriminate input too early?
2. What was the project?
3. What was the input?
4. What about that input especially confused or threw you?
5. How long did it take you to realize what had happened to you and your project?
6. Have you looked at the project again?
7. Can you commit to looking at the project again?
8. Choose a friend to whom you can commit that you will reexamine your project.
9. Reexamine your project. (Do this process as gently as you can.)
10.Call your friend and debrief your findings.

Where Am I?

I'm here, really I am. My parents came for a few day visit, so I've been busy with them. I also started painting a mural for the children's area at our church. When I am done, I will post pictures. Most of the drawing plans came from a kit and others were freehand. I'm having fun with it. So, if you don't hear from me in a while, not to worry.