Posted on December 15th, 2009
The best packing of 2009 is the persimmon. I love it’s cheery, round shape, delicate leaves and luscious color. Slice one open and you’re met with a juicy, sensual center that’s just as vibrantly colored as it’s smooth wrapping. And, might I add a best of 2009 category? I nominate persimmon as the best color of 2009 (can’t help embellishing the existing list…it’s my artistic DNA acting up).
A persimmon is the edible fruit (it’s really a berry) of the genus Diospyros in the ebony wood family (Ebenaceae). Diospyros means fruit of the gods in ancient Greek. The green persimmon is acrid and bitter but the fruit becomes very sweet once it’s been exposed to frost and ripens. Buddhists view the persimmon as a symbol of transformation: man’s ignorance is transformed into wisdom just as the persimmon’s bitterness is transformed into a sweet delicious fruit.
Once again, nature has combined precision with wild imagination and a dash of symbolism…what a package!
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Posted on December 14th, 2009
Oddly enough, the best rush of 2009 wasn’t base jumping, fire walking or shark diving. It was bringing my life to a screeching halt. Usually, these things take time and are more like turning a massive ocean liner around. Not this time, things converged, stars aligned, shit happened and I found my former, very busy and committed life was suddenly simple. It was by accident on purpose. My Life has a funny way of forcing the solution when my head says “no, I’m going this-a-way.”
The rush sensation didn’t happen in the process. That was more like a cataclysmic meteor shower. And, it was something I asked for. I didn’t ask for the grief and pain but I did ask for the change. Last December I said boldly, “I want 2009 to be the year of effortless effort.” Little did I know that meant a hewge amount of peeling and paring to get there. ouch.
The rush came when I recently realized that my life is simpler and I am experiencing effortless effort and that it took a meteor shower to make it happen and that I survived. It was like taking a deep, healing breath of fresh mountain air…where you can feel the oxygen fill every space of your body and you didn’t know you needed it until you felt it take space. Now, there is energy to devote to places that need growth. There is room to nurture the withered bits. There is time to just be still. Yeah…that’s it. Stillness was my rush. And funny thing is, stillness is the quality that I’ve chosen for 2010.
Posted on December 9th, 2009
In the history of challenges, 2009 was a stinker! You name it, I was pushed to the edge, stretched to capacity…and sometimes it really stunk! But, the good thing about massive challenge is that it tempers you and you either suffer or change.
My best challenge of 2009 was to move from this: a multi-tasking, over-committed, super busy, all-over-the-place, knot of “doing.” I thought I was being productive. What I was doing was tripping down the highway of blazing burnout.
To this: focused, diligent, purposeful and still. It feels right and good now but I have to say that getting there was my own private bull-ring. It was hard to really say no, give up all the sparkly bits and make a commitment to what I want in my art, my life, my relationships. Now that my kinetic scribble is becoming a spiral, a taproot if you will, I’m experiencing the delicious sensation of simply being.
Posted on December 7th, 2009
time…time…time by Lorraine Glessner
The best blog find of 2009 is Lorraine Glessner’s oh, what a world, what a world… Lorraine is a mixed media artist, workshop instructor and adjunct professor at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, PA. I love her website which showcases her beautiful fiber and encaustic paintings.
Her blog is a visual treat chock full of contemporary paintings, drawings, craft and design. She includes informative art resources, studio tips and her own images and drawings. Check out her Sunday church drawings. This sketch series is fascinating and makes me wince at all the times my head bobbed asleep in church as a child. I could have been drawing!
Posted on December 6th, 2009
The best workshop of 2009 was a collaborative art event put on by Portland City Art with over 100 artists and 3,000 visitors. Artists, ages 15 to 80, transformed a retired, creepy, dirty, smelly nursing home into a three story wonder of art for three weeks in August.
My installation, titled SEE, was in room 350 and dubbed “the bee room.” I had seven incredibly dedicated interns who showed up for free, every day, for three weeks, six hours a day, prior to the opening. We waxed walls, invented glasses (so you could see how a bee sees) cut and dipped flowers, built honeycomb, programmed a video and painted encaustic paintings and sculptures…all during a blistering heat wave which was pretty frustrating since the wax wouldn’t set in those temps.
What made this a blow out workshop was the community. All these artists showed up and transformed the decrepit building with their own unique vision and style. It wasn’t hard to miss how the energy, art, laughter and live bodies put the ghosts to rest and added some much needed juice to the space. The three week event was full of music, community and art for everyone. You can learn more about the bee room on Facebook and YouTube and be sure to check out Kerosene Rose’s 1000+ photographs of the event on Flickr. She was one of my talented interns and is a gifted photographer.
Posted on December 5th, 2009
The best night out of 2009 was during my best trip of 2009. My husband and I were finally alone. No computers, cell phones, tweets or children saying “mommy” for the thousandth time (that is not an exaggeration). We strolled around town, without saying a word, just holding hands in our own little quiet bubble of solitude. After a spectacular meal, we landed at the Coast Cabins fire pit where we toasted smores with the owners, Gary and Paul, wrapped in woolly, grey blankets. With our toes as close to the fire as possible without melting our shoes, we talked all things art from collecting to fund raising to simply enjoying the myriad of art forms out there. Then, my hubby and I strolled back to our cabin for a quiet sauna and a movie. Gawd…I SO need that right now!
I did have another night out that was at the other end of the enjoyment spectrum last spring when Jen Sincero flew in to speak to my entrepreneurial group about writing a non-fiction book proposal. We joined a few other gals at The Gilt Club, including Dana Corey, aka Spicy Princess. Turns out Jen and Dana are from the same region in NY and know a lot about sex. Jen wrote The Straight Girl’s Guide to Sleeping with Chicks among others and Dana is a top distributor for For Your Pleasure. The conversation quickly turned to sex ed, sex toys, sex books, sex, sex, sex. Now, it could have been the Idillic’s we were drinking (house infused serrano pepper & tangerine vodka, muddled fresh dill, fresh lemon, orange & a spritz of soda-yum!) or it could have been the pretty fun company – who knows…who cares – but it definitely was a “laugh till you pee in your pants” worthy outing.
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by Matthew May because I agree that simple, elegant answers are sometimes the best and most sustainable solutions. I really liked his examination of Jackson Pollock’s painting…brilliant! 
by Daniel Pink because I was born with a HEWGE right brain and like to think that right brainers will rule the world. I was also excited by some of his exercises for beefing up a withered right brain. I’ve used many myself to enhance my art practice and with my clients who are seeking more creativity in their lives and businesses. It was a cool confirmation. 
. It was a fast read with lots of drama and history (with a few heartbreaking stories). It also put all that Art History I studied in college into a real life framework. It was fascinating to tick off his life and art development and how it fit into American contemporary art. 
by Daniel Coyle is my favorite book this year. It’s about how talent is actually grown (instead of buying into the belief that you only “got it” if you’re born with it) and that with the right coaching and ignition combined with deep practice, we become natural wunderkinds. I’ve been fortunate to have several great mentors in my life who flipped a switch – especially with my art. I know what it’s like to experience deep practice…which is really hard to do but also one of the most rewarding endeavors. And, I love that our brains have little squid-like dudes that squirt myelin down so that what we are trying to learn becomes natural. And the more myelin we develop, the faster we are able to respond. Eventually, you don’t even think about how hard it was once to do and you’re on the autobahn baby! I recommend reading it at the same time as reading 
