Fur In The Paint

It’s the end of the day. A good day mind you as I took most of it off and I played some PS2 and did a little light reading.

As I was making dinner (or is it Supper? I can never keep them straight) Mike was reading my blog, which you may well be surprised to know he almost never does. (I know, I know you’d think he wouldn’t be able to get enough of me despite spending nearly 24 hours of every day together.)

The reason he’s reading my blog is because earlier he was at the computer and I had left a tablet next to it with the poorly (one might even say . . . franticly) scribbled sentence. “The voices in my head tell me to kill you.”

Now thinking he may have noticed this note I felt obligated to tell him why I wrote it. You know in case he was wondering if I left it out as some sort of premeditative insanity defense for when I killed him later in his sleep.

I’m like “Uh, that was a search term someone used and and for some reason google thought it best to send them to my blog for help. And well, I kinda wanted to know what I wrote that would qualify..” (Turns out it was my Breyerfest post - who knew?)

So after Mike uncovered the mystery of Google’s belief that my blog is exactly what potential killers need) he started reading my blog. Which happens so rarely I got the “Ah crap!” moment that I was just telling you about. You know where I feel like I’m being judged and it’s too late because I’ve already exposed my fluffy vulnerable underbelly through my writing.

Mike reading recent post “You’re a 40 something channeling a teenager?”

Me looking sideways at him to see if he’s mocking me “Well I did just spend the day playing video games and reading a teenager vampire novel.” (borrowed from an actual teenager mind you)

Mike: Looks at me speculatively, then nods slowly in an understanding way and returns to looking at the monitor.

(Sigh) Perhaps it would have been better to let him believe I was plotting a murder. At least that makes me seem like more of an adult.

As To The Vampire Book I Was Reading Actually I’ve been reading a couple of different series. Both are remarkably the same story though with of course different names and basic plots. But both books are set at some sort of vampire school and both have good vampires (who are considered alive and take blood from willing folks) and bad vampires (which are considered dead and take blood forcibly.) Of the two series I enjoyed the Vampire Academy (as opposed to the House Of Night) more. Rose is a kick butt kinda character (like Lara Croft of Tomb Raider) though she still makes really rather child-like decisions at times. All in all both are a fun easy read that entertains and fills the void for all those who read the Twilight Series

Spirit Bound by Richelle Meade is the fifth book in the Vampire Academy series and I believe from what I’ve heard (from the aforementioned teen who is also reading the series) the next will be th the last and then the author will start a new character line using the same school backdrop.

Burned is a house of night book by Kristen Cast. What allowed me to actually read this series was that I started reading it after 6 books were written and I just read them back to back. Had I to wait 6 months to a year between books I would never had gotten past the first one. Frankly the first 5 books could have been condensed into two and the story would have progressed much better. The first few books cover like a couple weeks at a time. I really like to move a little faster than that in general. None-the-less I still enjoyed the series for what it was and by the time I got to the most recent book Burned the story had gotten more intricate and I was actually curious as to what happens next.

So there you go. If your looking for some fluff reading for summer and you’re one of the millions loving the whole vampire thing try a couple of these on for size. (Okay you can stop judging me now.)

Many of my Suidoo lens were created from gleanings off my blog. So I thought It high time for my blog to do a little gleaning of it’s own. And thus this post was born.

Robert Vavra is one of my art heroes and I have an extensive collection of his books. The biggest issue I have with them is NOT using his images as reference materials. Trust me, it is oh so tempting. His photos of horses buried in jewels and gold, or draped with chains or hundreds of ribbons are stunning. He also marvelously captures horses just being horses. LOVE the art of Vavra.

So okay enough waxing poetic. Here’s an excerpt from my Squidoo lense The Art Books Of Robert Vavra

When I was young girl (and that was a looong time ago) I begged my mom for this book. I had to beg because it was $40 and this was the early 80’s so it was a hefty price to pay for a picture book for a child. So the answer was no.

But I wasn’t about to accept that, so I set about getting the money myself. Eventually I earned enough through various odd jobs and working the fields in the summer to not only buy all my school clothes and such but also the book.

When it arrived in the mail it was truly the picture book to end all picture books. I spent endless hours flipping through the pages and reading all the passages. And still do on occasion.

I think in many ways Robert Vavra’s vision shaped my horse art from a very early age. His books aren’t just pretty pictures of pretty horses, they are indeed art. They are spectacular horses, in spectacular settings with choreographed movement.

From this very first book I was hooked on Vavra.

Squidoo Goal
So my goal for this year was to make a total of 20 lenses. I already had 7 so this was in effect doubling my numbers. It seemed like a rather big challenge but at this point I have 18 functioning lenses and two work in progress lenses. So yeah, shouldn’t be a problem to mark this goal off. Though one of the work in progress lenses is about my totem series so that may be awhile in coming. The other is a lensography which is kinda the mother of all MEMEs rolled together with compilation (or rather a directory) of all my lenses.

If any of you visit my lens I would really appreciate it if you took a moment to leave a comment. I think you have to be a member of squidoo to rank the lens but anyone can comment.

I am a voracious reader. In my downtime months I can work a 40 hour week and still easily plow through up to 3 books. That being said I rarely pick up a book that wasn’t recommended by someone, where I know nothing about the story or the author.

I went to the Rolfe Library to get the Dewey book (see below) and the book, How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still on This Earth) by Henry Alford was sitting out on the counter. The only reason it caught my eye was because it had a wrinkly Shar Pei dog on the cover. However the title made me smile. I flipped it over and read the back which was all glowing praises. Apparently this was a book written from many different interviews of people over the age of 80. Some famous, some not so much. And so intrigued, I checked it out, without so much as cracking open the book to read the inside cover.

I must say I was rather disappointed in this book. It just didn’t deliver. There were more words about his personal life (a gay man in his 40’s) than about the actual interviews. I mean seriously, he interviewed Phyllis Diller. Surely she warranted more than a few paragraphs. I guess I might have liked the book, had I not expected it to be something different that what it turned out to be. It was kinda like going out, expecting fine dining, only to be taken to a burger place.

Maybe I’ll read the inside cover next time.

What Budda’s Reading Now

We also just finished Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron. Not withstanding my great love of critters I don’t often read stories about animals. Not sure why. Probably they lean a little on the smaltzy side.

So why did I pick up this book you ask. Well mostly because I have been asked repeatedly if I’d read it yet. But also because I met Dewey and the small town in question is about an hour away from where I live.

In general I enjoyed the book. It gave quite a bit of Spencer’s history which I would think would be interesting to anyone from the area. (Perhaps not so much if you live anywhere else though.) Also, it talked allot about how Dewey brought comfort to many library patrons, including the elderly and disabled. Also she talked openly about her fight with cancer and how Dewey made life bearable through such a difficult time. (I’m a sucker for a book about critters helping people on an emotional or spiritual level.)

Budda liked that it was about a cat (for once.) He gives it a resounding 3 Paws up.

This past winter Budda and I have started a new daily tradition of reading for an hour or so on the couch in the front room. It’s warm and cushy and we snuggle down in a sunny spot. This gave me an idea. I occasionally do the book review thing with art/business related books. Budda could do one for the lighter reading sort of thing.

Today we just finished off Hannah’s Dream written by Diane Hammond. It’s a novel about a zoo elephant named Hannah, and the people who love her. I won’t spoil the story but I was surprised at how well written it was. You got a real feel for the characters and the hurts and difficulties each faced privately. The book is scattered with damaged characters who do great and wonderful things.

“They’d learned that not everything broken could be fixed, and that not everything ruined could be thrown away. Sometimes the damaged things were all you had to work with.” - Hannah’s Dream

Also there’s a great villain who strides around in a pith helmet while sporting a riding crop. This book is very positively written and is a feel good kind of read. (Mine and Budda’s favorite kind.)

Budda gives it 3 1/2 paws enthusiastically up. (Of course it’s a four paw system) It might have ranked 4 but there were far to few words devoted to cats. He really liked that the animals were portrayed as the emotional and intelligent animals that they are, without going over into the anthropromorphizing side of things.

As Budda often says “Critters don’t want to be human. We are perfect enough as we are.”

Now I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not anthropromorphizing here. He really does say that.

It is time to reveal secret #2 about me (for #1 you’ll need to read back through the blog, here’s a hint. . . it involves swearing.) I am kind of a new age-y sort of gal. (is that anything like being kinda pregnant?) Okay, so it wasn’t very juicy and probably not much of a secret to most of my local friends. But I haven’t really mentioned it on the blog yet. Now I don’t study the stars or collect crystals . . . but I also do not mock those who do. I am open to new ways of thinking and enjoy reading about spiritual matters. So I thought this book would be right up my alley.

I purchased this book thinking it was going to be horse stories told by a therapeutic riding instructor, (who by the way has over 20 years experience working with horses and children with special needs, as well as a 12 year series of horse camps for children and adults.) She would then apply myth to those anecdotes and sort of dissect it with psychology. (Yes, that really did sound like a good read to me.) Turns out it was not quite like that.

Riding Into Your Mythic Life by Patricia Broersma is about the symbolism of the horse in myth and using that mythology to discover more about ourselves and what she calls “the hero’s journey. It is chocked full of exercises designed to help you gain more awareness and enhance communication between you and your horse. It is part philosophy, part self-help and part horse training guide.

I tend to already communicate with Chicory on a deeper level, none the less, I think I will give a couple of the exercises a go when I have a spare moment. (and for those of you wondering how I got a book read this past month . . . lets just say, I have been spending a lot of time riding to and from artfairs.)

In terms of marketing your art successfully you do need all of the traits listed in the previous post 6 Traits to be Successful in the Art Market. If you add “lack of” to any of the 6 traits you will struggle to acheive success. Lack of Confidence. . . Lack of Drive . . . Lacking the ability to be alone. (Ummm you get the idea.) Of all of these things though, fear is the most dibilitating issue that artists face. It can be immobolizing and cause stagnation. I could have added Fearlessness as triat #7 but it is such a major player, I thought it deserved it’s own post.

Everyone has fear issues.
Fear of acceptance like will I get accepted into that show, or will the buyers be interested in what I do.

Fear of failure is when you are waiting for things to be perfect. Your skill level to increase, the right timing. Fear of failure causes you not to act at all. And the only way you will become successful at art is through action. Whether it be creating it or selling it.

Fear of the unknown, like how will my life change if I decide to go professional. Will I still have time to do the things I love.

But in order to be successful in the art market (as well as in anything else) you must push past it. Many starving artists become starving artists because they are allowing fear to hinder their progress.

In truth I don’t have the answer to handling your fear issues. (I think that is probably in the realm of a shrink) But I do know what worked for me was just doing it.

Sometimes I play the Whats the Worst That Can Happen game. What’s the worst that can happen if I screw up this painting, Hmmm. Well . . I toss it and have lost a few hours of my life. If I posted it on my blog, then the world has seen that I don’t always create wonderful art. Hmmm. Not such a travesty. I mean it’s not like I’ll come down with malaria and die or something. So I move forward. Always keep moving forward. Stagnation will kill a career.

I’ve included the Art & Fear book in this post because I do actually have it in my library. My art group was reading it a few years back and most of them found it very helpful. I found it interesting, but at this stage of the game I have worked through a great many of my fear issues. (I did this by doing by the way) I still have some fears, don’t misunderstand me. But the more I work the art thing the fewer and more infrequent they become.

Okay. this is the last of this kind of post. I promise (I think.) I mean really, what has this to do with art anyway? Here’s the thing. I find behavior fascinating. Whether it be human or animal. So these simple techniques to change the fundamental way a person thinks about himself is very intriguing to me. A person can alter physiology just by changing the thought patterns. Cool!

And confidence and motivational techniques can be applied to other aspects to ones life. Say for instance, getting into the studio to paint, or tackling that really challenging painting that has been calling to you.

Week 4 Super Charge Your Metabolism
This episode dealt with using the visualization techniques to create happy feelings with motivation. Any exercise is good, so park farther away and walk, take the stairs instead of elevator. That sort of thing.

The visualization is the same as last weeks. Picture a happy moment while squeezing your right hand thumb and middle finger together. Picture a time when you felt motivated, you took a leap of faith and followed through successfully. Use many memories. Try to envision it as fully as possible. “See what you saw, feel what you felt, hear what you heard.” Then whenever you need a little motivational pick me up, just squeeze your thumb and middle finger together.

Week 5 Your Perfect Body
Again deals with the visualizations. This time, to improve your self confidence. Simple changes in the way you think can have dramatic changes in the way you fell.

A couple of different techniques to try.
*Think of a physically perfect person. Someone who is the icon of beauty. Now picture yourself stepping into them. Being them. Feeling what it is like to be them.
*Picture someone who loves you. Feel the love they have for you. Step into them and see yourself through their eyes.
*Extend one arm and picture holding a ball. Now think of all the negative things you think about yourself. Whatever parts of you you dislike. Let them flow down your arm and into the ball. Then just brush the ball away like it was dust.
*When you hear that inner monologue saying nasty things in your head. Try picturing the voice speaking in a silly voice. It is hard to take whatever it says too seriously when it sounds like Daffy Duck.
*Look into the mirror and say “I accept myself”

See my previous post on Paul McKenna’s I Can Make You Thin

Well, Okay. I can’t make you thin, but Paul McKenna claims he can. It is all about reprogramming the way you think about food, through simple techniques. I must admit, I find the whole concept fascinating. And while I have been experimenting with week one’s plan, which is to eat consciously, I have not followed all the rules for it.

Week 2 Emotional Eating
The premise is that most overweight people eat to satisfy some emotional need, whether it be boredom, loneliness, or sadness. (I tend to over eat when really happy. Go figure.)

So the next time you have a craving for food, that is not hunger based, you can try this technique. It involves tapping pressure points on the body, while doing left brain and right brain activity. It rewires the brain, so to speak, to alleviate the desire to eat.

Tap under the eye several times, followed by the collar bone, then under the eye again. Tap inside, side of wrist, then back of wrist.

While tapping back of wrist, close your eyes, then open them. Look down and to the right, followed by down and to the left. Roll eyes 360 degrees to the right, and then to the left. Keep tapping. Hum a tune. Count to 5 then hum a tune again. Tap under the eye and back to the collar bone.

Assess you desire for food. The number of taps isn’t crucial, nor is the order of things correct. It is the activity itself which works.

Week 3 Busting Your Cravings
If you have a weakness for some favorite unhealthy food, this visualization technique might help. The premise for this is, the body doesn’t differentiate between a vivid fabricated image and a real experience.

So picture in your head your most disliked food. The thing that starts a gag reflex at the thought of it. (for me its peas, When I was a child I actually vomited during lunch when my mom forced me to eat peas. It was the last time she did it, though.)

Close your eyes and visualize eating them. Do the action of sticking your fork into the plate lifting it to your mouth, then chew. At the same time squeeze your left thumb and index finger together. Continue squeezing your fingers together until the exercise ends. Now add to this, whatever manner of revolting stuff you wish. He suggested hair clippings from a barbershop, spittoon juice or worms. Continue to put your fork in and eat. Then add your desired food, say chocolate for instance. When you are completely grossed out, you may stop. Asses your craving. The next time you have a craving for this food, simply press together your left hand thumb and index finger. Your visualized experience will remind the body of the disgusted feelings you experienced during the exercise.

The good thing about this, is you can do the same thing for energy or happiness. Visualize a wonderful experience you had, remember and feel the feelings. Draw upon many memories if you wish. While doing this, squeeze your right hand thumb and index finger together. Next time you need a boost or an emotional pick me up just squeeze those same fingers together. Cool!
For more information on Paul Mckenna or his program visit http://tlc.com/thin

See my post on weeks 4 and 5 of I Can Make You Thin

And speaking of magazines . . .

Notice anything familiar about the latest issue of Apples ‘n Oats spring 2008 issue?

Here’s a tiny hint . . . the horse painting

Yup! you guessed it. Carol Eilers the editor/publisher, has once again generously put one of my paintings on the cover of A&O. Thank you Carol. It looks great. I am especially lovin’ the red.

The Definition of Irony
So I went and got the mail, as I do every day. And to my surprise, (and delight) a hefty envelope had been sent to me by an artist friend. Inside was a large magazine called Artful Blogging, Visually inspiring online journals by Somerset Studio. I had been talking with my art group about blogging, as it is still a relatively new experience for me, and one of them had sent it to me. (I got the best friends, especially since the cover price was $14.95.)

It doesn’t really strike me as a how-to kinda mag (though it does have a couple articles in the back about blogging etiquette and how to get started.) It is more like a glimpse into hundreds of creative blogs, that I might never had discovered on my own. It is a quarterly mag that is chocked full of gorgeous imagery (Ooh. . .eye candy) that is accompanied by nice little tid-bits of writing. Rather inspiring to see so much creativity out there.

Kinda strange though. I mean really, how weird is it to have a magazine about blogs? But then, I guess I am blogging about a magazine, so the circle of life is complete.