This started out as a simple dream of making homemade wine. It turned into an exploration I never expected. My first taste of dandelion wine was disappointing. One of my cousins used to make it every year and it always tasted like pure rot-gut. It wasn't until I met a 70-year-old Italian in Montreal's Little... Continue Reading →
"What did you do during the pandemic?" As an artist, the expected answer was that I had plenty of time to create new art. Or work on my film. I did neither. Instead, I made wine. Most will agree that 2020 was the year from hell for everyone except Jeff Bezos. Mine actually started... Continue Reading →
Even though we are still self-isolating, there is a certain adjustment to this COVID lifestyle thrust upon us by this coronavirus pandemic. It involves Beauty.
In ancient tribal cultures, “art” was created primarily for ceremonial purposes. A sculpture or vessel might be carved out of wood, and after years of participation in prayers over a smoking fire, and coming in contact with organic materials such as plant resin and animal fat, a deep ebony patina is achieved – not out... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 26 of the 365 Days Project is by Allen and Patty Eckman.] To an Artist, nothing is impossible. #26 – The Artist Mind always sees what's possible. The Artist in me knows that nothing is impossible. If an idea has even the slightest shred of possibility, I’ll work at it... Continue Reading →
[Today's featured artwork for Day 25 of the 365 Days Project is by Jan Hopkins.] Artists often work in a variety of mediums, choosing the materials that best suit the artwork being created. But sometimes, the materials you work with choose YOU. #25 – When the materials resonate with the Artist, they can also inform... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 24 of the 365 Days Project is by Brad Stroman.] Is art necessary? What is an artist’s purpose in today's society? #24 – Art reveals its value to those who take the time to appreciate it. The question of the purpose and value of an artist in today’s society comes... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 23 of the 365 Days Project is by David Kreider.] The highest form of compliment is to be the subject of a work of art. #23 – An Artist honors a subject by creating a work of art about it. Whether it's a person or place, an idea or an... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 22 of the 365 Days Project is by Elyce Abrams.] Give someone the facts, and they’ll remember it for a day. Tell them a story and they'll remember it forever. #22 – The Artist is a storyteller. The Artist Mind prefers metaphor to description. Symbolism has an innate “truth” that... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 21 of the 365 Days Project is by Lillian Loponen.] Creating is like travel. You have to step outside your comfort zone to experience the extraordinary. #21 – Artists are Grand Explorers. But instead of discovering new worlds, artists discover new ways of seeing the world. The Artist Mind is... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 20 of the 365 Days Project is by Carpin.] The greatest works of art have integrity: they are created from deep experience and knowledge, inspired by curiosity and ignited by passion. #20 – One of the secrets to producing great artwork – create from what you know. I sometimes wonder... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 19 of the 365 Days Project is by Pierre Karam.] We live in a world of three dimensions. Life, however, can become “one-dimensional.” #19 – Sculpture makes us appreciate all dimensions, reminding us there is more than one angle to explore. The Artist Mind rarely takes anything at face value.... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 18 of the 365 Days Project is by Léa Rivière.] Creating art often has little to do with the final product. Process is everything to an artist. #18 – For most artists, the act of creating is more rewarding than “having created.” I create to satisfy the hunger in my... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 17 of the 365 Days Project is by DiAnne Cooper.] It has been said that courage is not the absence of fear – it is the willingness to walk through fear into action. #17 - Artists are courageous, even though we might not be entirely fearless. It takes courage to... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 16 of the 365 Days Project is by Adriano Manocchia.] Paint a sunset. And when you’re done, paint ten more. #16 – Don’t settle for a single sculpture or painting or photograph. Any subject can have a million ways of seeing it and working intensely with a singular subject or... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 15 of the 365 Days Project is by Shane Wilson.] In a world hell-bent on moving faster with increasingly sensational visual and emotional stimulation commanding our attention, can people slow down long enough to truly appreciate art...and life? #15 – Art teaches patience, appreciation and deep understanding. My sculptures take... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 14 of the 365 Days Project is by Frances Gaffney.] Seeing with the eyes of an artist can open perceptions into other realms. #14 – Altered perceptions, by the Artist as well as the viewer, can be experienced through deep creative work. Artists are very sensitive to the energetic vibrations... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 13 of the 365 Days Project is by Leslie Peck.] Being an artist is not like choosing a day job. It's a way of life as much as it is a disciplined practice. #13 – Even outside the studio, an Artist is an artist is an artist. Early in my... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 12 of the 365 Days Project is by Ginger Ertz.] Navigating the crossroads between work and play in art. #12 – Art is Serious Work. And Play. Regardless of how much it looks like play, when I’m in my studio, I’m seriously working. No one ever believes that because it’s... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 11 of the 365 Days Project is by Laura Von Rosk.] How do you know when an artwork is finished? How far do you take it before you go too far? Or not far enough? #11 – A work of art is never finished. My mind is always working on... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 10 of the 365 Days Project is by Jeffrey Anderson.] Anyone can draw a tree. An artist will capture its essence. #10 – Art is not just technique. It’s about seeing the world like an artist. A wise art mentor once told me, “I’m not going to teach you how... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 9 of the 365 Days Project is by Irene Cole.] It is tempting to share a wild and juicy idea before it has a chance to take root. Placing a brand-new vision in a box and presenting it too soon can take the life out of it. #9 - Ideas... Continue Reading →
[Today's featured artwork for Day 8 of the 365 Days Project is by Brenda McMahon] Getting into The Zone is not a conscious act. #8 - The Zone is a sweet state of flow that arrives when talent and technique are in synch with the artwork being produced and the Artist is wise enough to... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 7 of the 365 Days Project is by Joan Duff-Bohrer] Artists live to create. It’s a way of being in the world, a language for expression, a deep dive into what makes us human. #7 - Creating isn’t a choice for Artists – it’s a necessity. I didn’t choose to... Continue Reading →
[Today’s featured artwork for Day 6 of the 365 Days Project is by Harreson Tanner] I always gravitated towards artists long before I started taking my own artistic talents seriously. We recognize each other even before we realize it. #6 – The best thing about being an Artist is…….other Artists. There is almost always an... Continue Reading →
[Today's photo for Day 5 of the 365 Days Project is Serena Kovalosky working in her outside studio.] After spending 18 years in the corporate world, I traded power suits for paint-spattered jeans and stuffy board rooms for an airy artist's studio. There's a sense of freedom in wearing comfortable clothes and being surrounded by... Continue Reading →
[Today's featured artwork for Day 4 of the 365 Days Project is by Leslie Parke] Curiosity. This hallmark of the Artist Mind can be the most entertaining - and leads to the greatest of discoveries. #4 – The Artist Mind has the curiosity of a small child (or a cat.) If I’m hiking on a... Continue Reading →
[Today's featured artwork for Day 3 of the 365 Days Project is by Kesha Bruce] Ditch the rules. I had plans on exactly how I was going to tackle this 365 Day Project. I had decided that I would write one introspection per day as I arose each morning for the next 365 days. But... Continue Reading →
[Today's featured artwork for Day 2 of the 365 Days Project is by Serena Kovalosky] The sculptural piece pictured above is one of mine. It was a departure from my usual work, which made it a challenge to create and raised all sorts of doubts about my validity as an artist. What started off as... Continue Reading →
[Today's featured artwork for Day 1 of the 365 Days Project is by Rick Hunt] After I wrote yesterday’s post, I started doubting the validity and purpose of the “365 Days project. But when I woke up this morning and wrote down the first of what will be 365 affirmations, I felt profoundly connected to... Continue Reading →
I wasn’t going to make a New Year’s Resolution this year. Over the decades, I’ve already attempted the obvious ones – where I’ll lose weight, make my first million, find the love of my life, quit my day job, become an artist. (I did manage to achieve the last two, and the rest…..well, they’re still... Continue Reading →
Dining in my neck of the woods can be an adventure. Sure, there are extraordinary restaurants and delightful cafés scattered throughout back roads and rural villages of upstate New York and Vermont, but once the leaves fall off the trees and a brisk chill fills the air, an annual tradition draws people from miles around:... Continue Reading →
Man has been creating “art” long before the arrival of museums and galleries. Primitive art had a spiritual purpose rather than an intellectual or a commercial agenda and the best examples of this are the 20,000-year-old cave paintings in Lascaux, France which carry an ancient energy and a symbolism that still resonates in today’s computer-driven... Continue Reading →
I grew up on John Wayne movies and “spaghetti westerns,” where the Hollywood version of the relationship between American cowboys and Native Americans was more than slightly skewed. As a child, the game of “Cowboys and Indians” was a popular one in our neighborhood, with “cowboys” shooting their “guns” at the “Indians” who responded in... Continue Reading →
Léa Rivière is an extraordinary painter. When I had my studio in Montreal’s St-Henri district, Léa occupied the studio directly below mine. We became good friends almost immediately, sharing stories and philosophical views over late-night dinners. We rarely talked about our work specifically, our conversations tended to focus mostly on the business of art. It’s... Continue Reading →
Previous posts: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V 29 hours awake. Another full day of firekeeping ahead. The intermittent waves of sleepiness I had been experiencing have now turned into a constant struggle to keep my eyes open. Rick, on the other hand, isn’t showing any signs of fatigue as we... Continue Reading →
Previous posts: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV Our third night visitor arrives with a two-year-old in her arms. She’s a young mother, staying with her husband and son in one of the tents in the park. She settles by the fire with the child in her lap and I detect a slight... Continue Reading →
To read previous posts, click: Part I, Part II or Part III I recognize her from the Pow Wow. Our first night visitor arrives as Rick, Carolyn and I are sitting outside the fire circle, continuing our discussion on firekeeping and the teachings of The Old Ways. Rick had told me that people often... Continue Reading →
To read previous posts, click: Part I or Part II It is now daylight and the settlement is coming alive in preparation for the first day of the Pow Wow. Rick’s wife, Carolyn, emerges from their tent and we enjoy an early morning chai tea to wake us up and warm our bones. Carolyn is... Continue Reading →
To read the beginning of the story, click: Part I 4:30AM. It is still dark when I arrive at the pow wow site to meet firekeeper Rick Hunt for the dawn ceremony. Tents, tipis and campers are arranged in a large circle around the perimeter of the park and I walk quietly through the settlement... Continue Reading →
At the very edge of the Adirondack Mountains, the rural village of Whitehall, New York provides an extraordinary setting for an annual Intertribal Pow Wow. Native Americans from New England and beyond gather in the park by the canal and set up camp for a weekend of dancing, drumming, seeing old friends and meeting new... Continue Reading →
A Cheese for Truck Drivers It’s not about the cheese. Some time ago, I overheard a conversation in a Vermont country store about a special cheese that is produced – and sold – only in Vermont. A variety of excellent, locally-produced cheeses abound in the Green Mountain State, but this particular one caught my attention... Continue Reading →
As a sculptor, I sometimes travel for the unique purpose of “filling the creative well”. I love these artist trips because there’s no real itinerary – it’s all about letting go and allowing my mind to absorb new images. When my good friend Sarah invited me to go primitive camping on a remote lake high... Continue Reading →
