Studio, Gallery and Life: 68, Giving yourself Opportunities to be Creative ⋆ C2C

Life:

Each morning, I read several things: a meditation; a newsletter about happenings in our country; the top 10 things that happened in the world yesterday; and the NY Times. Then, I take a half hour to write my thoughts and studio plans for the day. Oh, and I always eat breakfast. I eat almost the same thing every morning: homemade yogurt, granola and blueberries. (I freeze 60 pounds of West Michigan blueberries every summer.) Do you have a morning routine?

This morning, I woke to a newsletter from Jean Houston. I decided to share her moment with Albert Einstein.

“Today I want to tell you about my brush with Albert Einstein…

Back when I was eight years old, I was attending a school in Manhattan where they felt it was a good idea for students to meet some of the great elders of the time.

One of those elders was Albert Einstein, and one day we trotted across the river over to Princeton University to his house there. He had a lot of hair and was very sweet.

One of my smart-alecky classmates said to him: “Uh, Mr. Einstein, how can we get to be as smart as you?”

He said: “Read fairy tales,” which made no sense to us at all.

So another smart-alecky kid said: “Mr. Einstein, how can we get to be smarter than you?”

He said: “Read more fairy tales!”

We of course didn’t fully understand him at the time, but what he was actually encouraging us to do was to nurture and grow our imaginations.

He understood something that almost all highly creative and successful people do, that the imaginal realm is where the most potent ideas—the ones that can change your life or change the world—are held.”

Jean said, “we can discover the wisdom, the fortitude and the willingness to develop strategies and actions to preserve and enhance our world rather than destroy it.” I agree and believe have a lot of work to do, collectively. Each morning, I write, “what can I do today for someone else and/or my community?” Then, I get to work.

I wanted to take a bike ride this weekend. BUT, my bike tires were flat. I couldn’t get the tires to inflate with my pump. What in the world was I doing wrong? Finally, I thought, I will take pictures of the valve stem and the pump. I took the pictures to the local Trek dealer store. He showed me whatI didn’t know. You have to unscrew the small little nut half way. Easy-peasy. I have full tires and rode a little over 11 miles. It was fun!

Recipes:

How about a couple new recipes to try? I haven’t made these. They all sound delicious.

https://www.skinnytaste.com/tuna-poke-salad/

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/garlic-butter-smashed-potatoes/

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/crumbled-feta-and-tomato-basil-vinaigrette-dip/

Studio:

I have been in the studio a lot. Time and just having my hands in my clay has led to “ah ha” moments. I am very excited about the current body of work. It all has to do with sand movement, water movement, slowing down, the seasons, and the seasons of our lives. Portugal was a gift to me. I didn’t make work that was “mine” but it gave me 30 days of only thinking about clay and my life. I have re-read my notes and journal entries while at that residency. I think by doing these things, I am on a new path that I am feeling engaged and excited about the possibilities. We will see! I have 15 pieces that will be in a month long show at Gallery Uptown in downtown Grand Haven, Michigan. Yes, they are for sale. Please do buy one of these one of a kind pieces. (thank you) It opens on June 3rd.