Thought for The Day - Trigger

A Response - Oil painting 24 x 36

As in "make happen." English teachers and critics alike, that may not be the correct "sentence syntax..." please cut me a break, I'm flowin.'

Read an interesting article on a website, skinnyartist.com, its about amateur vs. professional artists. Here's a link to help yourself. http://skinnyartist.com/9-warning-signs-of-an-amateur-artist/. Now please, don't use it to "pull the trigger," or "slash your wrists" if you find yourself woefully wanting - ah alliteration! Sorry, I'm in a light hearted mood today.

Whether you are a visual, word, song or dance artist, there are days where inspiration, your muse, sleeps in. Honestly, so many years ago, when I tucked away paints, brushes, pencils and inks, I thought I had to give up the gift, if only for an undetermined length of time. I always wanted to paint and draw; I loved the flow of pencil across paper and the way paints were more than a liquid medium. The material was an extension of my soul! But practicality and 'responsibility' (writing that word feels like dropping a 100 pound rock to the ground and proceeding to drag it about!) dictated that there were far more weighty matters at hand. So I parked it, put it on the shelf, laid it aside.

Three children, house and several jobs later, while I KNOW I'm not a professional artist, I have found it's far more valuable to express myself in one way or another. My favorite medium is images, but oh the sheer joy of words! Funny, I'm a minister, preacher specifically, and yet its by far, a better use of expression to write!

Words and images and living and struggling and resting and praying and... All triggers, inspiration to express my soul. I want to be a professional, I really do, so whether its convenient, whether I sleep late or I'm running off to work, I carve out moments, little by little to allow the light inside to shine through me. All I need is the right trigger; and the right trigger is nearly any trigger.

Express yourself, though no one listens, watches or seems to understand. And whether your audience is one or millions, allow the Light to Shine!!!

Thought for The Day - Origin

Ever notice that as much music and art and dance as there is in the world, there's always someone doing something different? Just watching the evolution of expression, while there are trends, lulls and swells of creativity, nothing stays the same; the expression always changes. I hear people - young and old alike - say things like "there is no more good music." Or people complain that the art rendered and placed in museums and galleries "could be done by a child." But yet, all around us, there are poets, singers, dancers, writers, etc., pouring out their souls to audiences small and large.

Where does it come from? Where is all that new and different, weak and powerful expression, originating from? I've seen trends in music and fashion come and go; what's "hot today" is tomorrow's moment of embarrassment. But that's only because we've "moved on." There are those who hold on to those moments and cherish them like a loved one.

When an artist sits to render or a writer considers a story line, there seems to be an endless supply of ideas from which to choose. I know for me, there are times I want to repeat an expression, to create a series of work. Then there are times when, after studying either my work or others, I want to 'mimic' the concepts in my next piece. But by the time pastel or paint touches the surface, I'm "taken" in a new direction. Often, in the moment of rendering, multiple pathways are provided to take me in completely different directions. I find it so much easier to allow the "spirit" to guide me in these expressions.

The origin? The source? A place vast and endless. It exists across the universe and in the great expanse of our mind. It is intelligent, compassionate and passionate. We call Him God and he expresses himself through us.

Thought for The Day - A Small Intimate Setting

Simple.

Quiet.

Dimly lit.

A few of us, or just us two...

A small group, music playing softly in the background, blending with conversation that is both funny and profound.

Light food, not the main course of the evening, but part of the evening fair.

A setting easy and casual and yet so enigmatic, lives are changed forever.

All too often, we mark the large events of our lives, we call 'history' the grand events the occur and we mark our calendars to remember when the crowd gathered. But it's in the smallness, the close knit, the unseen, that groundwork is laid for big burst of energy and accomplishment. In truth, the large cannot occur without the small...

Consider

Thought for The Day - It's Leaking!

We have this treasure in earthen vessels (jars of clay)...

Living this life, in this body...it's amazing we don't simply fall apart at the seams! As children, we jumped and played until we were exhausted and some of us, even when drained, we didn't sit down! As young adults, we want to squeeze as much living in a short time span, as if we're certain there is no tomorrow and 'heaven' is a place where we sit and 'be still.' And older adults? We still eat and drink what is slowly tearing our body apart! But somehow we are still 'kicking!'

Yeah, there's a great deal of life in us and some days, it doesn't seem possible to contain it. Maybe we shouldn't. Maybe the "cracks" in our personality, our flawed, imperfect bodies are designed to uniquely express the life within.

It's my reasoning that there is far more to us than our six senses - including the ability to reason, feel and discern - can comprehend. Oh, we get glimpses every now and then, at times 'miracles' occur, but believe it or not, these flawed beings, called humans are divinely designed to express! The leaks and flaws have divine purpose!

Years ago, I gave guitar pickin' a try! Still have a Fender Squire and Yamaha acoustic guitar tucked away, "just in case." I knew consistent practice and mistakes could eventually lead to playing well, but... We have an old out of tune piano that 'followed' us from my wife's childhood in our home. One of our children took lessons for a while and a strange thing happened one day. Sitting in the basement, I heard the piano being played, a tune my son wanted to learn as part of his recital. He learned and played it proficiently. So when I heard the piano being played, I was certain it was him playing. But it was my youngest son, I discovered, who had never took a lesson or expressed a desire to do so.

Within these earthen vessels, a blinding brilliance exists. It isn't settled or stagnant and it longs to be released. And we express it in opinions, ideas, creativity, decisions and acts of hate and love. Though there are times when we try to contain it, 'it' finds its way out, one way or another. Maybe we should regularly exercise expression so that one day..."just in case..."

Thought for The Day - The Dreamer Awakes

The creative process...there is no comparison of work done, no equal to bringing what's in between one's ears into the world as we know it. To sing, interpreting sounds, combining words in a pleasing way, that's part of the creative process! A model sits in a chair, filled with eager art students, trying to capture details and subtle details of face, eyes, arms and legs - that's the creative process.

To wake from our world of automatons, where our fingers barely rise above the keyboard or our navigation across hundreds of miles, happens with a click of the finger, that's my awakening! Many days - not nearly enough - I pull away from this world of computers, testing software and documenting the results and I allow my soul to express! For me the creative process is found in the written word as well as visual expression. To sit in front of a painting, a rendering done in pastel and allow my mind to imagine a thousand different variations, that's my creative process! With that, I leave you with this: awake dreamer and share your vision!