Draw a Bird Day 2011

April 8 is Draw a Bird Day! This time last year a dear friend of mine was fighting for her life. She won. Last year's entry was dedicated to her. This year's entry, another swallow, is a reminder to me of every step we take on our journey and to practice gratitude every day.

Come see the Art!

In a flurry of creative activity I managed to wade through the dust and chaos of my studio (currently a construction zone) and produce some new pieces. I now have four new pieces -- just in time for the Coastside Mixed Media Artists Show and Sale going on the month of June. Here's a sampler. You can go to my Flickr page to see them closer - or, hey, come to the show!

The What I Love Series #3: Road Trips

Road Trips!


If there's one thing I really need after this week it's to lift my spirits up a bit. I can't think of a better way to do that than to put more love out there. Y'know, the whole, what-you-put-out-there-comes-back-to-you thing... Soooo... here's another thing I love.

(This photo was taken somewhere in the Arizona desert the summer of 1982.)

It's All About the Love: The What I Love Series #1

Yeowzas - it's been a while since I posted. Winter was tough - but Spring is here and I'm starting a new series of posts about Love. Specifically, what I love. And for the first post of this series I'm featuring a piece I did last summer, in tribute to the passing of my cat, Rocky, entitled, It's All About the Love. Nuff said.

This is a small piece, approximately 4" across and hangs from a black cord. Here's a close up.

Why 200 Words for Snow?

There's a common, if incorrect, expression about the Eskimos having hundreds of different words for snow. What it means here, in this context, is that there are not enough words in our language to describe two very important things to me.

One is love. I'm talking universal, heart-centered love. The love that connects us to everything. There just aren't the right words in our language to adequately describe it without sounding like you're quoting a Beatles song.

The other is art. Or at least my art. And that's mostly what this blog is about. If I do my job right it is my hope my art will touch a place in people where it can't easily be articulated. After all, that's where it comes from in me. Maybe it's the same place that love I talk about comes from -- who knows. The point is, I think when art truly moves someone, often there just aren't the right words to describe what it touches or why. And -- I think that's good. I'm OK with that.

I'm also OK with my art affecting the viewer differently than where it comes from in me. In other words -- there are no wrong answers. Most of my pieces have pretty specific meanings to me and come from a very personal place. But you are not required to figure that out. It's not a test.

By the way, the whole, words for snow thing is an urban myth. You can learn more about this by checking out the link on Wikipedia. It's pretty interesting -- but it's really intended as symbolism here, that's all.

So welcome to 200 Words for Snow. The purpose here is mostly to share my art and my artistic journey. To that note, the last thing I want to do is spend all my spare time sitting in front of a computer -- I'd rather be in my studio taking that next scary step on this path -- so I will post when there's something new to share or see. Be patient. Be nice. If you can't say something nice, find another word for snow.

Kisses!