Dancing Out

"Dancing Out," acrylic on canvas
12" x16" by Judith

O.K., the art, writing, or musical score is done. You even have a venue, yet "things" take up your time & you don't get it out the door. What do you do? That's what I'm figuring out this week. How do I get over the terror of stage fright? I even asked my friend Bonnie Ann how she did it when she used to whistle, dance, and sing on stage during the time of the Big Bands. She started very young, at about 12 or 13, so it was second nature. By the way some of the bird song in Walt Disney's "Snow White" are Bonnie Ann's whistles! We all have our reasons for our stage fright, and I know what mine are. Do you know yours? Knowing is half the battle. I'm glad it's Halloween and Day of the Dead as I feel like the skeleton ~ more than naked, dancing out the door. Yet, this time of year also reminds us that we can put on the "costume" or mask of professional artist, writer, musician, dancer & do it, never mind the jello guts inside. And, to do it one task at a time. For instance I just printed out the labels for some of my mini paintings while typing and watching snow falling out the window. Tomorrow I'll package them and take them to the post office. That gives me breathing space to calm my nerves. I'll let you know how it goes in a future blog.
Have a fun Halloween/Day of the Dead celebration!

My Invented Life!

New YA book by Lauren Bjorkman!

Saturday before last Lauren Bjorkman had the signing for her debut novel at Moby Dickens Book Shop! A huge crowd showed and it was more like a party than a sedate book signing! I love it that Lauren has published her first book and that her launch party was such a success. Lauren was one of the first people I met when I moved to Taos & we have watched each other struggle to get our books done. Yes, writing is a long, hard slog, but for those of us who have it in our blood, it's a passion worth pursuing.
I just finished reading My Invented Life. In it Lauren displays a wicked sense of humor and describes so accurately the Northern California I know so well. Best of all, like all well-written books it is provocative. While it wasn't at all like the teen life I knew all those many years ago, it struck a deep chord, that is resonating with me still. The big question I came away with is how do we invent our lives in ways that either hurts and hinders us or leads us forward into the person we want to become? That reminds me of a mask class I took where we had to make a mask and perform with it. I danced my angst & passion. It was a horrible scary thing to do. And, I'm still dancing that dance as I attempt to widen my audience for my art and writing. I'm so proud of all of us, like Lauren, who dare to "dance" their passion and share it with the world!

Almost as Good as Being There

"Composition VIII,"Wassily Kandinsky

1923, Oil on Canvas

My daughter went to the wondrous 5 floor exhibit of Kandinsky at the Guggenheim yesterday. Oh, man, how I 'd have loved to be there as Kandinsky is high on my list of favorite-of-all-time-artists! I devoured his book On the Spiritual in Modern Art and still refer to it. Well, since I can't be in NYC anytime soon I went to the website and viewed the virtual tour of the show. The link is www.guggenheim.org/new-york/exhibitions/on-view-now/kandinsky
It is important for me to immerse myself in others art, writing, music, for inspiration and ideas for technique! Tonight the next episode of the 5th season of Art:21 is on PBS. Oh, what a week of immersion! How will you dive into the waters of your favorite creative this week?

How to get to the studio?

"Forest Dawn", 36x24, acrylic
by Judith in Taos Open, the
bright yellow one at top
middle.

I'm wondering how I can get to my studio. I have a mega-list of writing jobs and etc. to do today, and, though I know the easy answer is "set a time," it's more the mental list and other deadlines swirling in my brain. And, some days it's darned hard to prioritize that list. Now, I changed my blog to Tuesdays, so I could have Sundays freer, it's a press on Tuesday! Ah, life happens, and I must work my art around it. I must because I want to see what my new painting(s) will look like. It's always a surprise, and one I look forward to. Taos is now colder & the autumn leaves are going from yellow to brown. May your creative week be a slow, steady brush stroke of wonder!