On the last day of classes during my senior year of college, I dropped in to say good-bye to my professors. I was graduating in a few days with a degree in history and had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with my education. When the dean asked me about my plans,...
Tag: artist
Is This Real?
Have you ever been watching TV or reading a novel and found yourself talking to the characters? “Stop!” you shout. “You’re making a big mistake.” Your spouse or roommate laughs and says, “Relax. It’s not real.” Is that true, though? Because your heart raced. You felt it. And your mind formed the words to speak,...
The Artist in Me Thanks the Artist in You
Today I’m grateful for the artists. The writers, poets, singers, musicians, dancers, actors, filmmakers, photographers, painters, sculptors, potters, weavers, architects, and craftsmen whose art is the axis on which this world turns. Without artists, we would have no understanding of cultures long gone. It is their pottery, cave paintings, and temples which we study to...
Did Bob Dylan Deserve the Nobel Prize in Literature?
Someone recently asked what I thought about Bob Dylan winning the Nobel Prize in Literature. Opinions among writers on the internet is certainly divided. Some feel there are plenty of accolades and awards for songwriters, and that Dylan has achieved more than his fair share of fame and fortune from the music industry, and that...
Are You Living Your Art?
In late September, my cousin Geoffrey Beard passed away at the age of 54. He’d been battling a disease his whole life and fought it right up to the end. This was a man who passionately wanted to live and to live his art. And he did just that. Geoff was five years older than...
40 Decisions a Day
A recent study found that mothers make 40 decisions a day! That’s 280 per week. Well heck, I could have told you that. But it got me thinking about artists and entrepreneurs. We easily make a like number of decisions in a single day. Some are big and some are small, but all seem so...
The Power of Commitment
There’s a project I’ve been wanting to work on for months now. And though I keep putting it off, I also keep talking about how much I need to get it done. “So what would it take to make you do it?” my husband asked. “A deadline,” I answered. But here’s the funny thing about...
Inspiration From Artist to Artist
If you know me, you know that part of what excites me as a creative is figuring out ways to bring my art to diverse audiences. Why? I’m a writer, after all, so why not just focus on the written word? As individuals, we like to interact with art in different ways on any given...
Are You a Serious Artist?
Recently, I was listening to a young artist describe his approach to his work, and it all sounded so familiar. Emerging artists get caught up in the “romance” of their art. In their determination to be seen as “serious artists,” they embrace dark and heavy topics; they question whether drugs or alcohol will help them...
Operating on “Artist Time”
The other day, I had scheduled a mid-morning coffee with a friend. I did my exercises first and checked e-mail, leaving myself a full hour to get ready. But sometime during that designated time, my creative mind decided to take a walk. I wound up spending twice as long in the shower as I intended...