Creative Musings

I’ve been thinking a lot about goals, as we barrel through the holidays toward New Year’s. I’ve already participated in one planning session for 2026, and I have another one on the 28th. Something feels different for me this year. Here’s something I heard recently: A goal is only a tool to motivate you to action. A set of goals is like a roadmap for a place you’ve never explored before: you imagine a path given what you can see of the landscape. But most of the journey lies just over the...

Last night at a party, after introductions and banter about professions, someone said to me, “I do art, but I’m not an artist.” I cocked my head, curious. “But if you do art, doesn’t that make you an artist?” She shrugged and said “maybe,” then we got interrupted, and I never got to find out what she meant. But I woke up thinking about it. What makes someone an artist? Or, more accurately, what makes someone believe they are an artist? An old ink drawing from my teenage years It’s easy for...

Every time I go back to the Upper Peninsula (Michigan) to visit my mom, the decorations have changed. But one thing is certain: every wall, every corner, will be filled with things. The overall effect is like stepping into a storybook. Little dramas are unfolding everywhere you turn. Take her dining room. This one wall holds so much life: figurines, plates, artworks, books and CDs, sculptures, plants, pussywillows, dolls, rocks, bones, feathers, instruments, candles, jars, lamps, prayer...

Underneath every masterpiece is a shit ton of agony. The struggle of trying to create something and it not going right, then trying something else, then giving up, then trying again. You keep creating with no end in sight, and after a pile of paintings has accumulated in the corner, you still feel like you have nothing to show for all that effort. So, you sign up for a class or workshop, or you visit a museum searching for inspiration, or you take a vacation and try not to think about art....

Part of why it's hard to start a new series is because I'm running out of room for more paintings! Recently I re-organized my painting rack to see if I could free up more space. Even after I cut many pieces off the frames and rolled up the canvases for long term storage, the shelves are still full. Which is why I decided it's time to finally let go of some things I've been holding onto for too long. Like memories of Disney. I enjoyed painting characters and park scenes for the Disney...

My Uncle Johnny died last week. He was quiet. He lived an ordinary life. We didn’t see each other very often or even talk on the phone much. But he was an anchor in my world—and he inspired me in a deep way. Despite growing up in challenging circumstances, he built a life of love and service with a strong marriage of 47 years (and another loving relationship after she passed away), a successful career, many awards for his volunteer work, and solid relationships with everyone in his life. But...

ARTISTS DON'T JUST LEARN HOW TO DRAW--THEY LEARN HOW TO SEE. And what we see is all about light. How it behaves, what it illuminates, how it governs representational art. This Tuesday, I'll be teaching an online class about how light hitting a form allows us to see its dimensionality. If you're an artist, you'll learn to render anything using simple principles of light, without having to take a long workshop or slog through hours of YouTube videos. You'll come away with a simple and effective...

Some days, I'm so furious with certain people and situations in government that I don't know what to say. So instead I'll focus on those who are doing beautiful art despite the challenges. Starting with 3 of the artists in the show I co-curated: Xicano Community Narratives. Alexis "Dedicated," "Tell Me Your Story," ball point pen on paper I first met Alexis "Dedicated" at a previous show I curated, and I fell in love with his ink work and tattooing. I traded oil painting lessons for a...

This week’s newsletter is late because I spent yesterday rebuilding my energy after an event that sapped every ounce. But in a good way. It was fun, exhausting, surprising...and it taught me some profound lessons about creativity. Saturday night was the painted wine barrel auction. The one that I (and many others) have been working on for months. The auction itself benefitted our arts center; it was part of a larger wine tasting event featuring local vineyards, a cheese maker, chocolatier,...