Saturday was gorgeous here in Northwest Georgia near Chattanooga, Tennessee. The autumn leaves have arrived, and the temperatures were perfect — in the mid-sixties with a slight breeze. Dave and I went to the “Sculptures in the Sky” kite day at the Montague Sculpture Gardens in Chattanooga. On the way home, it was perfect for […]
Whenever a school district hurts for money, one of the first places they consider cutting expenditures is art and music. Our society has a hard time justifying creativity. Creativity is perceived as a luxury. It’s the practical things like math, English, science and technology that are perceived as necessary. This societal philosophy bleeds into our […]
As an analytical person with perfectionist tendencies and an inclination toward drawing literal scenes, today I decided releasing perfection was the way to go. I wanted to draw some nature items from my front yard without worrying about literal-ism, placement, proportions or perfectionism. Today was about having fun and relaxing, not about a finished product, […]
I have decided that the way many people feel about organized religion (based on the 10 Commandments) is similar to the way I’ve viewed playing music most of my life. I was taught how to read music and play the classics by a teacher who was very strict about getting every note right and the […]
My husband and I have been going to jazz concerts recently, and I decided I’d like to learn to play jazz piano. My journey with playing piano has been a metaphor for how I’ve lived my life. I started off very much “in the box”, doing everything by the book. As I grew older, I […]
Probably each of us has experienced the longing to belong and yet also to be unique. We want to fit in, yet we want to stand out. In nearly every religious philosophy there is a concept of “oneness.” Jesus taught if you aren’t one, you’re not His. Whether we like it or not, we belong […]
My latest extemporaneous piano piece is a haunting melody for autumn and Halloween called Autumn Phantom. I’ve been practicing minor chords and getting comfortable enough with them to play them naturally. Most of my meditative melodies are created in major chords. It’s easier not to hit a sour note if you just stay on the […]
I loved drawing people as a teenager… faces in particular. After I drew the okra blossom at the Social Security office on Friday (10/12/2018), I pulled up a photo of my husband on my phone and worked on a portrait sketch of him. Honestly, I had no expectations. I was 17 or 18 the last […]
At the end of the meditation that set me on this creative challenge, the idea flashed into my mind to create a photo collage for my husband’s birthday. I wasn’t sure exactly what I’d need to make a nice photo collage, but I figured I could research and find out. When I walked into the […]
For my creativity challenge project today I combined art, music, and poetry. I went to the meadow on our property for inspiration, and took my sketchpad, and drawing supplies along with the new easel I picked up at Hobby Lobby for only $17.50. The easel was the display model and the last one they had. […]