My daughter’s been waiting for this post for a long time. I keep threatening to write about how odd it is to be “raising myself.” Given that tomorrow is Mother’s Day, this seems the perfect time to explore this. It’s not just that my daughter is following in my footsteps and seeking a career in...
Tag: artists
A Little Class, Please
My daughter wants to be an actor. The other night, we were watching an interview with a movie star on one of those late-night TV shows. Out walks this girl, dressed to the nines, who proceeds to tell a story about throwing up. I turned to my daughter and said, “Promise me that if you...
When Artists Dream
When my husband has a nightmare, it goes something like this: he is chased by a bear. When I have a bad dream, it plays out like this: I’m the wife of some Viking-like chieftain, but he is gone, and the neighboring tribe is preparing to invade. My eldest son is not up to the...
I Feel Pretty
When I was a kid, my dad used to sing the song “I Feel Pretty” from the movie West Side Story. Yes, my dad. When I was little, I thought the song was about this hopelessly stuck-up girl who liked to brag about her good looks. Catchy tune or not, I couldn’t understand why he...
Revisiting the Folly of Failure
Today, I’m revisiting one of my most popular posts in this blog, “The Folly of Failure.” I’ve reissued it as a video on my YouTube channel under the playlist “Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life.” Take a look and, if it helps move your creative journey forward, please share it with a friend who...
Pie in the Sky Hopes
When I was a kid, I used to sit on the back porch step and sing at the top of my lungs the lyrics to Frank Sinatra’s song, “High Hopes.” Just what did make that ant think he could move that rubber tree plant? I had no idea what inspired his crazy dream, but I...
You Can’t Take it With You
“You can’t take it with you.” This is a motto I’ve lived by my whole life, especially when I’m debating with my husband about how much I can spend on our vacation. He’d rather stuff that money into savings for a rainy day, and I want to blow it on a sunny day, preferably in...
Art and the Butterfly Effect
The other day I was reading a book set in World War II America. Prominently shown in the “Recommended Reading” section at the back was my own book, Dancing in Combat Boots. What an unexpected thrill. I showed it to my usually low-key husband, and even he was impressed. A few days later, we were...
Can Art Ever Offend?
The other day, I had the pleasure of hearing Kevin Kallaugher, the political cartoonist for The Economist magazine. You don’t meet political cartoonists every day—there are actually very few of them—so I was eager to hear what types of questions people would ask during the Q & A. One gentleman asked “Kal” how he handled...
Do You Think Too Much?
Do you remember how, whenever he needed to figure something out, Winnie-the-Pooh would tap his temple and say, “Think, think. Think, think.” Even as a child, I found it interesting that he had to encourage his mind to think. Mine won’t stop thinking. I wish I could tap my temple and say, “Shut up. Shut...