When things go haywire, your best opening strategy might be to return--very carefully and consciously--to the habits and practices in play at the last time you felt good about your work. --pg 57, Bayles and Orland *

All artist reach a point in their project (often every project) in which the free-flow of ideas comes to a slow or screeching stop. ( Read more... )

My goodness! So many great things are going on that I almost forgot I needed to post.

Last night I went out with a group of friends. We had spirited beverages and a conversation for adult ears only. It was great fun laughing and chatting in the summer heat with mysters making it all seem a bit surreal.

Tonight I get to spend time with a friend I have ( Read more... )

Naïve passion, which promotes work done in ignorance of obstacles, becomes-with courage-informed passion, which promotes work done in full acceptance of those obstacles. - pg 50, Bayles & Orland*

I am soooo stuck in this . . . place, this land between ignorance and acceptance. Now, I want to be clear, when I completed my first book, I knew a first ( Read more... )

Acceptance means having your work counted as the real thing; approval means having people like it. --pg 45, Bayles & Orland*

Acceptance-feeling understood-is a hot commodity. Approval-being liked-is just as hot. The two words are often interchanged. But they are soooo not the same. It is easy to have one without the other. Think of the pop music one ( Read more... )

You need only look at the work clearly-without judgment, without need or fear, without wishes or hopes. Without emotional expectations. Ask your work what it needs, not what you need. Then set aside your fears and listen, the way a good parent listens to a child. -pg 36, Bayles & Orland*

I’m going to be honest . . . the above quote is hard to keep ( Read more... )

“The seed of your next art work lies embedded in the imperfections of your current piece. Such imperfections (or mistakes, if you’re feeling particularly depressed about them today) are your guides-valuable, reliable, objective, non-judgmental guides-to matters you need to reconsider or develop further.”

--Bayles and Orland pg 31*

In 2000, I moved ( Read more... )

Last year I monitored my reading by reporting what I read each month. I decided to change things up in 2012. Each month, at the end of the month, I will highlight my favorite read of the month. To start the year off, I am reviewing . . . drum roll please . . . The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.


( Read more... )

In honor of Wednesday being all about psychology on my blog, I’m giving away a book. What? No, it’s not a stuffy-ole-psychology text book. It’s contemporary…YA…and soooo not boring or stuffy. You know how much a loathe books that get psychology wrong? Well, the ones that get it right…well, I want to shout my joy from the tree tops. And when ( Read more... )

Last weekend I went into my reading cave because of this book: The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green. Was my hermit behavior rewarded? Oh, yes. A thousand times yes. I laughed...out loud...several times. I cried...several times. I was envious of John Green's gift the entire time. (Healthy envy.) I will do a proper review at the end of the month. I ( Read more... )

Favorite Books of 2011
(No, they are not in order.)

The Duff by K. Keplinger: Oh so funny and delivers a wise message about adolescent dating and sexual behavior.

The Healing War Trilogy (Shifter, Bluefire, & Darkfall) by J. Hardy: Page turner. Great world building. Page turner. Adore the characters. Page turner. Great story. Did I mention that it ( Read more... )