I WILL write my post tonight. I will. I will. But there are SO MANY bright shiny objects distracting me in a good way…ahhhh…
So lemme tell you about my day. Holy crap, it was AWESOME!!! Bright and shiny awesome.
If you haven’t read Friday’s post yet, go ahead and do it. Because that’s what kicked my day into high gear. Okay, I’m standing here, arms folded, tapping my left foot. I’m waaaaaaiting for you to read all about my SHINY SPANKIN’ NEW RANDOM ACTS OF ART FACEBOOK GROUP. Ta-da…
Join it. Join it NOW because it’s so much fun! Just follow the arrow that’s not there. But if it WAS there, it would be pointing to the laughing Buddha to the right.
He’s laughing because he found one of my arty tokens. He’s laughing because he’s feelin’ the luvvvvv.
You don’t have to be an artist to join. You just need a spirit of adventure and generosity. And the desire to make a stranger’s day.
I started the group Friday and today the FaceBook faries sent all sorts of magical people knocking at the door. I spent most of the day on the computer…aawk…will have to get a handle on that, yes indeed. But I was meeting new people and, in my mind, each and every one of them was a bright and shiny distraction.
I finally tore myself away and went down to Studio Grande. I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do. I picked up a new canvas because preliminary layers are a no brainer. But I was feeling so good I figured, what the hell…I had the power, y’know…I could take on…THE CAT.
Crappy photo alert, both of ’em.
I hated the cat so much I don’t even have a photo of its nearly finished self. Just this, which is nowhere near where I left it. It was all w.r.o.n.g. Contrived. Uninspired. NOT ME.
Something I did because I thought it could sell. And it probably would have. But it didn’t feel right.
Guess I’ve been reading too much of that authenticity crap stuff.
So I was brave. Bold. Turned it upside down so it wouldn’t look so much like a cat. Then I loaded a two inch brush with black acrylic and had at it. Then I took a rag and wiped some of that away. Then I grabbed some colored paper and started cutting. And collaging.
All this time rockin’ out to Springsteen. Da Boss.
Which is probably why the first image that evolved was Catholic Girls Wear Plaid. I’m sure he must have a song about that somewhere.
What the—??? This is SO unlike what I’ve been doing. But…but…it feels RIGHT! Right for me now.
And then another cat entered the picture and …and…well, it’s still not done but I am SO EXCITED about this. I have an idea where I’m taking it. Which doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where it’s going to go. But I have an idea.
So come back Wednesday. It will be done by then. IT WILL. It will it will it will. Well, come back and see if it is.
And if it isn’t, hold me accountable!
In fact, you can begin that right now in the comments below.
And by the way, tell all your friends about the FaceBook group. The more the merrier.
Tonight…and maybe it’s because it’s late and I’m a little fuzzy in the head…tonight I created a NEW FaceBook group. Random Acts of Art. Because I could.
And you’re ALL invited to join.
Back in February, Valentine’s Day to be exact, I discovered how much fun it was to hide little arty tokens out and about in the community. In the spirit of the holiday I painted hearts on little rocks. I photographed the ‘hides’ and posted the photos here. It was such an adrenalin rush I decided to do it every week. I called it RANDOM ACTS OF ART. I posted my weekly ‘hides’ every Wednesday. I got a blog hop of sorts going but every week there were glitches with the link. And people forgot. And I began getting tired of the every Wednesday routine.
So tonight I did some thinking, THINKING…imagine that, and I thought hmmm…SIMPLIFY.
So I did. No blog to write. No schedule to keep. Just hide a little something when you feel like it and post a picture and description on the FaceBook group. If you do blog about it, share the link. Easy-peasy, right?
And it doesn’t have to be art. It can be words of encouragement tucked into a book at the library. Or rolled into a scroll, tied with a ribbon and left in a cafe. It can be whatever you want it to be…as long as makes someone smile.
And I guarantee doing this will make you smile too. Because it feels good.
So come on over and join the group. And tell your friends. This is a movement, remember…we’re spreading the luvvv, changing the world one arty token at a time.
Is it Wednesday already? Is it really??? OMG, I’m hyperventilating. Spinning in circles. Because…it’s time once again for RANDOM ACTS OF ART!!!
Random acts of feeling good. Spirit lifting. Day making. Love littering. Random Random RANDOM ACTS OF ART!
YAY!!!
So here’s RAA(W for Wednesday) in a nutshell. First, make something. Anything. We’ve had people leave mini-paintings, painted rocks, posters with feel good rip-off tags. Book marks. Notes of encouragement rolled up in little bitty scrolls. Doesn’t matter what you make, just so long as you put some love into it.
Then hide it some place where it is sure to be found. And walk away. Just let. it. go. But before you do….take a photo. If you’re a blogger, write a post and join the Wednesday blog hop. The directions are down below where it says you are next. If you don’t have a blog, send me the photo and the details so I can add it to next week’s post.
People have hidden things all over the world. There are rocks hidden in the Brisbane airport. On trails in the Australian bush. In a movie theater in Norway. All sorts of hiding spots in the US. New Zeeland. The UK.
In fact, we are going to take over the world with LOVE. With art. With the joy that comes from leaving little treasures to brighten some stranger’s day.
Because it feels sooooo good.
Ah, but enough talking. Enough of that now. Bring on the goods. Show me the RAAW.
Hmmm… first, a confession. From moi. Seems I was a bit of a slacker this week. Only pulled off two hides.
This one was in a tree at the bank. A perfect little nest, don’t you think? And if we can melt a banker’s heart the world will be a better place.
Keeping with the tree theme, this one is nestled among the roots at the base of a birch in front of the health food store.
So now it’s your turn. Enter the link to your post like I explained above. You can enter it any time before 11:59 PM Saturday, Pacific time. So it’s not too late to put something together and join the party. YOU HAVE UNTIL SATURDAY. Oh wait, I said that already. Just checking to see if you were paying attention.
Let’s make this a movement. Help me spread the word. Tell your friends. Like it on FaceBook. Get your kids involved. Let’s spread the luvvv throughout the world.
Internet elves and high tech sprites are having their way with me tonight. Teasing. Tantalizing. Coming oh so close to a connection and then poof, just like that…or is it pffft?…they disappear.
Taking the internet with them.
Damn damn damn little cyber fairies!
I’m dashing this off while they’re out and about. Drinking a beer somewhere, no doubt. Laughing at my frustration. Letting me think I’m online. Until I go to leave the page and find myself adrift. Untethered to any strands of the web.
They’re flitting around the network, like a flashlight induced Tinkerbell bouncing off the ceiling. The way she did in my house when I was growing up.
And so I’m going to pack it in for the night. Bid you adieu and leave you with a little clip from Miss TBell herself. Although I have to confess I haven’t been able to watch this all the way through. Connection. So if it turns out to be something other than Disney, oh man…I’m sorry.
I was at work the other day, eating lunch in the staff room with a couple of co-workers. One of them, Laura, was telling us about a breakthrough riding lesson she’d had the day before. Laura’s no novice when it comes to horses, she’s an accomplished rider as well as a trainer.
Whoa, wait up. Time out. This is an ART blog. What does a riding lesson have to do with painting?
EVERYTHING. Because as Laura was telling her story, talking about the AHA! moment that took her from one level of horsemanship to the next, I sat there with a great big lightbulb going off in my head. 300 watts of high intensity Arty Life brilliance!
KA-BOIiiiiiiiiiNG!!! (that’s supposed to sound like a cartoon spring)
So here’s what I remember about Laura’s lesson. She’s in an arena with a handful of other riders. At one end of the arena were horses being worked on the ground. Distraction. None of the horses being ridden wore bridles. No reins for the riders. Just a hank of mane to hang on to. Well hey, riding without a bridle is impressive but on a scale of 1-10 it’s not like it’s a 12 or anything. You ride with your body. Seat, legs, weight, balance. Reins are like a telephone line, another means of communicating with your horse. Communicating, not controlling. Because when it comes right down to it, the ponies got you beat hands down when it comes to size and strength.
The thing that took this lesson out the the ordinary was the riders weren’t giving direction to their horses. They were just along for the ride, so to speak, letting the horses move about however they pleased amid all the other distractions in the arena. The object being to ride through whatever craziness that might come up.
Which of course it did. Because horses are curious. And reactive. As in holy crap!!! I only came over here to say hello and now she’s going to kick me and so I spinnnnnn around until my brain flies out my ears and then I must runnnnnnnn for my life! And runnnnnnn some more! And keep runnnnnnning because I’m bat-shit crazy and I CAN!!!
When you’re on a horse that does the bat-shit crazy thing, your first inclination is to tighten up and fight against it. Try to control it with the size and strength you don’t have. The thought of broken bones is right there, front and center. Which just makes you tighter. And the situation more dangerous, deteriorating until it becomes one of those oh shit! situations.
But when Laura’s horse went into crazy-ass mode she remembered the object of the lesson and ahhhhhhhh...relaxed right into the fear. Consciously softened her body and rode it out. Not trying to control or direct anything, Just communicating to her horse with her body, a language he could understand, that there was nothing to be afraid of.
And. It. Worked.
AHA! Lightbulb moment here!!!
See where I’m going with this?
It’s just like riding the Wild Crazy ART PONY!
Wild Crazy ART PONY really, really wants you to relax. Because creativity can be a scary-ass thing. It can take you places you don’t want to go. Like scribbles. Or doodles. Or throwing paint, using those colors. Or making something NOT PERFECT.
Just perfectly INSPIRED. And perfectly AUTHENTIC.
But the natural inclination when faced with unbridled creativity is…to tighten up! To put on the brakes and say whooooa…look at that line, it’s the wrong color/shape/size. I need to paint over it, erase it, tear it up, start again. In other words…WORK IT TO DEATH.
Because we are afraid…it’s not good enough. It won’t sell. People will say unkind things.
And who am I to trust my inspiration?
Ohhhhhhhh…this is where I was going to say (in a kind, motherly fashion) You are an artist. Or writer. Dancer, teacher, whatever… I was going to be loving and gently remind you who you are.
But I’m not going to do that.
You see that wild art pony over there? Well, climb aboard. Go for a ride. And when things get crazy and you feel out of control and you want to tighten up and rein in thatfabulous, spectacular creativity…ahhhhhhh…remember the language of the wild pony. Relax. Lean into it instead. Let it take you where it needs to go.
And then you can tell SHOW me who you REALLY are.
Before you go, I want to share a short video with you that is one of the most inspiring, joyful, AWESOME displays of trust and communication between woman and horse that I’ve ever seen. I’ve had it on my desktop for the longest time, watching it at least once a day because it makes me feel THAT good.
So go ahead and watch it. Think of the Wild ART PONY. And be inspired.
