Category: Artspiration

If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.~ Vincent Van Gogh A common theme in the replies as you’ve shared your biggest art-making challenges has been some version of “fear of making something less than it could be”  – whether that […]

A certain amount of boredom is good, it leads to creativity.~ Lisa Cunningham Last week I asked about your biggest art-making challenges. One of the common responses was “making time to make.” I’ve heard it said that you don’t find time – you didn’t lose it in the couch cushions. You make time. Sometimes you just […]

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.~ Charles W. Eliot I have been spending quite a bit of time listening to artist interviews. It’s fascinating to learn the different ways that professional artists make their living (10 artists […]

Geniuses have very limited toolsets — they have a hammer, and their genius is in looking for nails.~ Adam Robinson I recently listened to a podcast that discussed the “Toolbox Fallacy” which basically says someone won’t start a project because they don’t have exactly the right tool for the job. As an example, they won’t […]

Great partnerships make any job easier.~ Warren Buffett It always amazes me how much planning, preparation, and work goes into wedding ceremonies (or any other kind). My little sister got married over the weekend – it was a beautiful ceremony and lots of fun. It was also a lot of work behind the scenes. She […]

In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.~ Buddha I was to write a book, it would be titled Life on Purpose. Not that I really plan on writing a book, but I think that living […]

…maintenance and care are necessary—without rest we cannot regenerate. These days I’ve come to believe that it’s natural for many of us to go through periods when we put words to the page and times when we can’t. These aren’t separate, distinct states; rather than agonizing over ‘writer’s block,’ maybe we can accept that we […]

Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.~ Eddie Cantor Over this past week I was in a conversation and the quote “farmers think long thoughts” came up – meaning that farmers (and many […]

Your hand concentrates for you. I don’t know why it should be so.~ Rebecca West I was recently reading about our Reticular Activating System (RAS). Apparently this network of neurons and neural fibers in our brain stem does a lot of rather important things – regulating our sleep/waking, breathing, heart beats, eating, walking… It also […]

A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe There’s something to be said for having the right […]