No Rest for the Artist

The other day, my daughter came to spend some time with us after a particularly grueling semester of college. “Mom,” she said to me. “I’m just letting you know, for the first few days I’m home, all I’m going to do is sleep, read, and watch Netflix.” And that is exactly what she did. She...

Artist, Heal Thyself

Remember that old proverb, Physician, Heal Thyself?  I know its literal meaning is to make sure before you try to correct others, you are not guilty of the same faults. But I think most of us interpret it another way . . . we take it to mean that sometimes those of us who should...

Find Yourself in Your Art

I recently watched the movie The Lady in The Van. It’s based on the true story of a writer, Alan Bennett, who allows a homeless woman to park her van in his driveway. In helping her, he learns a few lessons about himself. There is a line in the movie that stuck with me. Alan...

When Traveling, What Art Do You Seek Out?

I just returned from a two-week trip to Portugal and Spain. I know, lucky me! One of my favorite things about traveling is getting to appreciate all the history, architecture, art, crafts, culture, and food of a country or region.    It’s funny, isn’t it, that when we travel–unless we’re swimming in the ocean or...

Do You Have the Right Mindset to Succeed?

I recently finished reading Mindset: the New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. In it, she describes the differences between the “fixed mindset” and the “growth mindset.”  The fixed mindset means that some people believe character, intelligence, creative ability, and talent are all fixed at birth. In the fixed mindset, you must avoid...

Getting Back to What You Love

When I was in junior high and high school, my teachers told me, “Teresa, you’re a very good writer. You should be an author someday.” And I took their advice happily. It’s all I ever really wanted to be. After my first novel came out, I started speaking about my book, and event coordinators told...

Hold On Arts Lovers, Here We Go Again

Are we seriously going down this road again? Are we seriously discussing again getting rid of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and The National Endowment for the Humanities? And do we seriously have to argue again for the value of supporting creativity and culture? Do we really need to...