Blog

Creativity isn’t something to control. We love to feel like we’re in control and endeavoring to be in control in really appropriate in many situations, like when we’re operating a band saw. But creating requires that we loosen up, engage in process, and see what...

If you’re trying to solve a creative problem—or any problem—there’s no better method than to sleep on it. Whether it’s a nap or a night’s sleep, your brain thinks while it sleeps when it isn’t dreaming and this sleep thinking often produces some of our best...

Our many, many years of schooling dulls our imagination. During our school years, we’re obliged to regurgitate facts. When was the last time you really let your imagination run wild? When was the last time you said to yourself, “What would happen if I put a salmon and...

If you’re working on a creative project and you skip it for a few days, you may end up losing not only days but weeks, months and even years. It’s easy not to return to a creative project when we put it aside and lose contact with it. The solution? Pick a number of...

Say that you fail to make a sale that you thought was going to happen or get rejected by a gallery where you really wanted to show. There’s a particular tactic you can employ to put this unfortunate (but not uncommon) incident behind you. That’s to “get a grip on your...

What has helped me a lot over the years is moving from the idea of discipline to the idea of devotion. Pavarotti once said, “People say that I’m disciplined but it’s not discipline, it’s devotion, and there’s a big difference.” There is! I discovered that I couldn’t...

Summer is upon us! Here are ten inspirational quotes for this sultry season: 1. "I have gone into roses and have over a thousand planted. There is nothing like making pictures with real things."-- Mary Cassatt 2. "Wherever I go I need a period of incubation so that I...

Here are the thoughts of one artist raised in Europe and living in Asia about her experience of culture. Ingrid explained: "I have been living in cultures other than my own for the last ten years, in Canada, in Europe and now in Asia. Living in Singapore and creating...

Last week I chatted about the very mixed experiences that artists often have when they attend juried shows, trade shows, or art conventions and see excellent work that can cause them to doubt their own efforts and abilities. What ought an artist to do in such...

If you’re an artist, you may sometimes find yourself in one of the following situations. Maybe you enter a juried competition, one of your paintings is accepted for the competition, and, although you discover that you haven’t won a coveted ribbon, you nevertheless...