Coffee And Paint Drips Blog - Page 79 of 79

The Artist’s Way or No Way

I’m well into the 12 week course of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Some artists I’ve discussed this book with swear by it and others don’t, suggesting other avenues to rehabilitate the “inner artist”. All I can say is that I think it’s working for me.

Cameron instructs the artist to journal each and every morning for three pages in long hand. Remember using a pen and paper, anyone? Now that every thing is on computer, going back to writing long hand in a book is like a new discovery. She insists these “Morning Pages”, as she calls them, be written without fail and is crucial to the artist’s recovery. I’ve been journaling for a few months before I found this course, so to continue for three pages, well I can do that!

Cameron asks to pay attention to a slight shift in attitude by one and a half pages and I think she’s right. By then I’ve rehashed all the stuff of my day floating around in my brain and really get to the heart of creative thought. As another favorite book, The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace Wattles suggests, thought becomes the thing thought of. The tasks for each week eventually lead the artist to their art.

At least it’s working for me. Today is going to be a day of art, after the errands, farmer’s market, laundry, bed making, vacuuming….

Monday in the Morning

I enjoy Monday mornings. In fact, I look forward to it, and start thinking about it from Sunday evening. Mind you, I’m thinking about what I’m going to have for breakfast from dinnertime on Sunday night. I imagine myself waking up early, around 6:30AM, getting dressed, and going into the kitchen to make coffee.

The best coffee comes from my 1950-60ish Corningware percolator. I think so anyway. I love that coffee pot. When I was little I had a play kitchen set complete with Corningware pots and pans, all white pieces, each with a little blue flower design. My favorite piece was the coffee pot because it had fake coffee in it. When I tipped the pot, making believe I was pouring the coffee, the liquid disappeared somewhere inside the pot. Loved it!

Quite a few years ago I found a real coffee pot at a flea market. Well, I had to grab it. After that, when ever I would find one I’d buy it. Now I own a few! The large pot makes 9 cups, the smaller one makes 6 cups. Weekdays I use the small pot and the aroma that comes from the perking coffee is heavenly. I never had the same smells from electric coffee pots or the drip types.

The best part of my morning is when I make the coffee. My kitchen has the original, 1953 Chambers gas cook-top. I set up the 1950’s Corningware coffee pot and it happily perks away.

Happy Monday!

Photo Friday

Afternoon ©2009 Dora Sislian Themelis
Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn, NY

Last Chance at a Beach Day

Before the winter begins to chill my bones, I took the opportunity to visit the beach one last time. A couple of weeks ago we had some beautiful, warm weather. The sun was out and putting out some nice, hot rays. The air temperature was perfect and there was really no wind, which was definately a plus. Wind can be bad!

Living on Long Island, New York, offers a quick trip to the beach any time you feel like going. I can be at the beach in fifteen minutes, barring any traffic. After the summer is over, a beach jaunt is so much more relaxing. Everyone else is back at school and work. Most people have had it with the summer activities by now. Not me.

I packed up a quick lunch, ice coffee and off I went! My travel bag of watercolor paints was already in the car. I decided that I was going to paint whatever I found when I got there.

The parking lot was practically empty and so was the beach. Maybe thirty people were scattered along the shoreline. Another plus: no kids. Yes! Heaven is an empty beach on a nice day. I set up my chair and put the paints near me. Along the shore I collected some objects for my painting. I found some nice shells of different sizes and colors, and an interesting branch of driftwood.

With my camera I photographed the scenery. Who knows? Maybe I’ll paint from the photographs during the winter. I usually like to paint from life, but sometimes it’s not possible. The photos will help motivate my creativity at a time when I can’t get outside.

Shells and Seaweed ©2009 Dora Sislian Themelis
14×16 Watercolor on Lanaquarelle paper

Settling down with my still life items, I got myself to work. I sketched a small collection of interesting shells. The inside of the shells were so colorful I decided to paint them upside down. Bits of seaweed clung to the undersides along with some hardened sand. Would my watercolor sketch do them justice? I don’t know, but the point of the day was to get my inner artist to have the chance to play with colors on a nice day.

I think it worked.

Time

Time is fleeting. We keep wasting it, trying to make it up, see stretches of it, and watch it just fly by. We spend most of it just doing nothing. But if we’re the person at home, the one responsible for house and family, the CEO of the household, we’ve got to figure out how to spend that time very wisely to get things done.

I stink at it. I get so sidetracked by the every day stuff, that I miss opportunities of time to be my creative self. What’s up with that?

Somehow I have to schedule in the “me” time. Time to make my art. Time to be just me. I like “just me” too. I’m very comfortable being alone with my own self.

Lately, I’ve been reading The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron. Her book is a 12 week course on finding the artist within that’s been lost along the way while having a life. More than a course, it’s a recovery for artists who need to find their way in the creative world, again. It’s very interesting for me. I’m up to week 3. Cameron suggests making time for an “Artist Date”, spending time with the inner artist to do something fun, no third parties invited. Ok, sounds good, but when do I have this date with myself?

Let it be said right now, I should be at week 5, but as usual, I can’t find the time to do the tasks and move on.

Ok, so I’m trying, right?

Working on it

After a long weekend out of town, I’m finally able to pay some attention to this blogging thing. It’s alot more work than I thought. Planning the design of the page, a profile, gadgets, widgets, sharing, posting, and on and on. Nope, not easy.

Ok, people. Just keep walking. Nothing to look at here, move along now.

Want to do it up right

This being my first blog, or better yet the scratch beginnings of a blog, I think I should do it up right. However, I haven’t set a profile yet, no photos, no thoughts of the day, nor have I decided what direction to take this.

I’m going to need a day or two to sort myself out. Keep busy amongst yourselves, thank you very much.

Stepping out, coffee in left hand, paint brush in right

Welcome. This is something very new for me. Something to try, to see what or who is out “there”. Is anybody out in the world even remotely interested? I guess we will have to see how it goes. For now it’s a test. A proverbial toe in the water.

I think, at least, I’m interested where this venture will take me. How it looks, how long it lasts, who will be watching, criticizing, commenting, complaining. It’s a step out in faith. A trial by fire? I don’t know. Let’s see if I surprise myself. I hope I do.

Okay, right now the kitchen is calling and it’s hungry.