Change of Season-Change of Creativity?

If you are lucky enough to live in an area that has the four changes of season, does this affect how you view your creativity?
When spring rolls around after a long hard winter of black and white, does your pallet correspond with fresh new colors of spring greens, pinks, yellows and reds? Do you find yourself wanting to try something new? Or is there a constant with your art that stays in place even when the outside world changes around you?
I find with the changes of seasons, my creativity ebbs and flows with the change, sometimes leaving me unsettled for a period of time during the change. After the new season is settled in and I have become accustom to the new "view" outside my window, my creativity also settles in and gets back to business.
Is this perhaps a way of letting our creative side rest for awhile so it doesn't burn out? I have the feeling that there are as many different types of artists in the world as there are different mediums to express that art and isn't that what makes it all so fantastic? If everyone created the same thing and we were locked in a box as to what we could call art, I do believe that creativity would soon fade away.
Thinking of all the wonderful avenues one can take to find a home for their creativity, I also think of all the wonderful galleries that display the end result of that creativity. One particular gallery comes to mind and I am sure that is because I am a contributing artist there.  That studio is Seranya Studios Art Boutique (www.seranyastudios.com) in Plymouth, Wisconsin. What a wonderful studio for local artists to display, share, sell and teach about their particular works of art. It definitely is a must see in my book.
Where is your favorite studio? Wouldn't it be a fun road trip to take in all the fabulous studios around the area? If you have a favorite, please share with us what and where it is. The world of art and artists is a wonderful place to be.


Stay tuned.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day comes early this year.  Let's hope the weather will cooperate and give us some sunshine. In celebrating Memorial Day, my mind goes back to the day my son said, "Mom, I joined the Army National Guard". That was almost the last thing I thought I would hear coming out of his mouth.
At that moment, I realized that he had indeed, in essence, signed a blank check to the United States of America for up to, and including his life. When that reality hit me I asked him if he was aware of what that all meant, and he indicated that he understood that.
After boot camp, AIT training and drills, he got the CALL.  The call meant that he was going to Afghanistan. Unless one experiences this as a family, one does not realize the depth of that call.
After spending a year in Afghanistan, he is now back on American soil, and our first conversation about it plays over, and over in my head. I realize how many families go through these same feelings.  Feelings of fear, love and pride-all rolled into one. With this knowledge and experience, I will never look at Memorial Day again in the same way.
We are honoring all that have served in whatever capacity. Not only soldiers, but everyone in the military along with their families.  There are few families that have not been touched by this experience. Some families have given more than others as their soldier paid the ultimate price for his/her country. Some came back, but are suffering with pain, some physically, some mentally, never
to live the same lives again. Let us honor and respect all.
With the changing of the seasons, especially in Wisconsin, this is a time for renewal, replanting, and rejoicing in the warmer weather.
When we put those plants in the garden and watch them grow, may we also remember all those who have served to keep us a free country.
It is with deep thanks and respect I will honor all those who have served.
Happy Memorial Day.

Stay tuned.

The Light Going Out

"In everyone's life at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flames by an encounter with another human being. We should be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit"
--Albert Schweitzer


I find this can include the inner fire for one's art and artistic abilities also. There seem to be stretches of time where my mind is a complete blank, and I have to ask myself, 'do you call yourself an artist?'
After struggling so many years with whether I could really qualify as an artist, and then finally thinking I had arrived at the conclusion that perhaps I was, I find this time of complete blankness to be frustrating. What makes this lack of creative juice s happen? Perhaps you can tell me.
Maybe it is a combination of things happening all around us, or, is it just our inner voice saying 'take a break? Don't be so hard on yourself when this happens.' Although that is easier said than done, there is probably a very good reason to rest, assess, and rejuvenate.
I find that when I go too long outside of the circle of my artistic tribe of friends this feeling of inadequacy happens often. I believe
that by being around and absorbing the vibes of excitement of other artists, one's spirit is inspired. Do you find the same thing?
Please share your thoughts, and tell us how you pushed passed the times of indecision. Perhaps just by visiting an art gallery such as Seranya Studios Art Boutique would be the cure? Maybe taking a class in something you never tried before would jump-start the process. Or is it just a time for reflection and regrouping? What, or who, is your inner spirit cheerleader?
Stay tuned.

On this Mother's Day weekend I want to share with you three of my greatest creations ever.
Ok, I couldn't have created them all by myself but I am very proud to have had a part in their existence.  
They are the reason I have grey hair, the reason I lost sleep over worry, the reason that I probably enjoy my glass of wine; but, they are also the reason that I know love in its deepest sense, why I am so proud of their accomplishments and why I am honored to be called Mom.
I couldn't imagine life without my three munchkins. Thank you to each of you for the joy you bring to me.
Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there, whether you are Mom to two legged or four legged children it is indeed a blessing to be Mom.

Stay tuned.

Respect for the artist

Recently I took a basket weaving class from one of the fantastic artists at Seranya Studios Art Boutique. I have always admired hand woven baskets, but I would look at it and say to myself," well, after all, it is just a basket." Oh, how that thought has changed, with love, for it being a basket.
The class taught me about the actual work that went into the finished piece of art. Not only the how, but the why, and why not, of basket weaving. I learned respect for all the knowledge that the artist/teacher gathered over the years of her basket weaving career. I learned that not only did it take a great deal of dexterity in my fingers, but great concentration of my mind. I could see and feel all the thoughts that go into the decision of what the basket will look like at its finished stage.
The real lesson? This taught me to honor all the hours of labor, even though it is a labor of love, that goes into that particular basket or any piece of art. Perhaps if we all took the time to explore the how and why of another artist's work we would have a greater understanding, and a renewed sense of awe for each individual . In the process of learning to weave, I also learned more about the artist/teacher as she became more than a teacher, she became a friend. Art is about so many different things, and one of them is the gathering of ones "tribe" and being a part of the whole art experience.
Every piece of art does not appeal to everyone, and that certainly is a good thing. If we all just loved baskets and nothing else, where would that leave all the artists that work in all the varied mediums? We all see things differently and some pieces "speak" to us while others don't, and that is ok.
What matters is that even if it doesn't "speak" to us, it does to others, making it a very valuable work to those that love it.
We as individuals can love and respect the artist, even if not his/her art. It is this mutual honor of other artists, and art, that bind us together in the creative world.
And after all, it isn't just a basket, it is a basket that is an awesome piece of art or perhaps I should say .....heart.
Stay tuned.
P.S. the basket in the picture is my first attempt at this great world of baskets.  I think it will be one of many.