What emotion are you selling? the webinar host asks us. That’s the question you have to answer. Good question. Another question might be, Why do you want to sell emotion? I’m watching the second in a series of free webinars about marketing your art. The host is selling us the emotion of happiness, the artist’s … read more Emotions for sale
[Oct. 25] We had just about an hour to spend in downtown Charlotte. We spent it walking in The Green, a public space smack in the middle of highrises, just an acre and a half but filled with grass and art. A central fountain meant for kids to play in was dry, probably to conserve water during the drought. … read more Water and words
Art students are always told to study the masters, and to copy them. Coming from a journalism background, I was at first taken aback by this approach – it seemed at worst a kind of plagiarism, and at best an exercise that would stifle originality. But once I tried it a few times, I realized that it … read more Copying a master
I got a free therapy session, courtesy of a fellow caregiver. He wrote, My counselor asked me last night, “what makes you unhappy?” I was struck by that. I struggled to find something that made me unhappy. I started to blame (my ill spouse) for not taking care of herself, to justify my unhappiness. But … read more Whatever makes you happy
When I had a photography business, I named it Baraka Photos. The name came to me in 2006, while we were living overseas, and before I’d even heard of Barack Obama. “Baraka” means gift or blessing in Arabic and Hebrew. It seemed like the perfect name for the way that I felt about the things … read more What do I call this?
My neighbors were getting the coolest nighttime photos – bobcats, bears, foxes, and even a mountain lion! OK, the alleged mountain lion was ultimately determined to be a house cat, but still. It was pretty exciting for awhile there. So I bought a Stealth Cam, and set it up on the front porch with great anticipation. … read more The stealthy view
Mostly in fused glass I’m doing abstracts, but the shape of a random piece of clear glass suggested to me this caterpillar climbing over an obstacle. Does it even look like a caterpillar? Does it suggest an obstacle? Does it matter? Sometimes from the pile of glass pieces, a figure jumps out at me. Like this one: … read more In the real world
We waited all week for it. Everyone’s watching the weather report, changing their plans, buying extra groceries. Me, I went to Atlanta and stayed here. We didn’t escape the snow. Atlanta caught the tail of Jonas, and the white crystals snuck in this evening. The view from the condo is not as nice as at home, … read more Wherever you are
As I drove down the main road away from home, I braced myself for a lot of driving. Today was a long day full of errands and medical appointments. The car in front of me was going slower than I wanted it to, and I was annoyed. There was a sudden, brown blur. A hawk landed … read more Bluebirds and icicles
The state of my brain has begun to come out in my construction paper workouts. One that partially expresses the feeling of having been attacked: Trying to regain my sense of equilibrium: From yesterday, one that gets at the resistance from my brain to my own commands: Here’s me, with my ever-shifting levels of energy: And … read more Workouts on paper
