Define value

Define value

The other day someone saw me drawing these figures as I watched people walk around the San Rafael Civic Center lake, and she asked me if I make art. I said yes and she asked, “As a hobby?” And with sinking heart—because I knew I was betraying myself—I said yes.

People don’t understand art or artists very much. I think it’s because

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Oh My Heart 52 Cards Project #10

Oh My Heart 52 Cards Project #10

Ten weeks into my 52 Cards Project! This week my card expresses all my sadness for Ukraine and all the innocents in the world who get caught up in pain and violence, war and death. So senseless. My heart bleeds.

Whenever I think of war, I think of what Eckhart Tolle says about humans in A New Earth:

“The collective manifestations of the insanity that lies at the heart of the human condition constitute the greater part of human history. It is to a large extent a history of madness. If the history of humanity were the clinical case history of a single human being, the diagnosis would have to be:

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The Monthly Cairn - Art Practice Update

The Monthly Cairn - Art Practice Update

Stopping at the trail marker of my art journey to look back for a moment at the month behind. Then looking into the distance for the next month. Rehydrate—and then keep going.

Contents of This Post:

What I made

What I learned and what surprised me

Intentions for March

Here I am again. Another month. To be fair, I’m posting these monthly updates mostly for my own benefit. I’m finding it really helps to stop each month and reflect on my art practice to think about what I made, why and what kind of progress I’m making creatively. I also love to know how other artists work, so maybe this is helpful to you too.

What I Made

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Whack-a-Mole 52 Cards Project #8

Whack-a-Mole 52 Cards Project #8

It was just a Whack-a-Mole kind of week! We returned from a long weekend trip to Bellingham and there were just a lot of minor but “pesty” problems to solve. One thing after another cropped up, which meant rescheduling something else—whack—and then something else would come up—and something else. Whack! Whack! Whack!

I don’t even need to go into detail—nothing significant to report—so I think I’m actually making mountains out of molehills—but you know, the metaphor works.

As it turns out

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Spiritual BeING 52 Cards Project #7

Spiritual BeING 52 Cards Project #7

This week my theme for my 52 Cards project chose me, I think.

I was hiking in Bellingham with Dennis and Valerie, and we came to a small lake where we saw a white swan floating while an eagle swooped in low circles above her.

The eagle was hunting, though by the looks of the serene swan he wasn’t going after her. The eagle looped around and then hovered in the air, swooped around again, hovered, and the funny thing was that every time it came around, something in the water started splashing.

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Self Reflection 52 Cards Project #6

Self Reflection 52 Cards Project #6

The theme for this week’s card came to me one early morning as I stumbled to the kitchen for my coffee. I loaded my Keurig (filling coffee into my reusable one-cup metal filter, hit start), and then I leaned against the counter and looked around. And there was Oliver, our very loved and stubborn cat, standing at the door as he usually does at 6am.

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