summer jazz and cherries captured with my sx70 polaroid vintage camera, artistic TZ film
this morning…music notes, glints and glimmers,
the soft spoken light, (no rain) tiny violets yawning
and frozen summer peaches
yesterday afternoon one of my photography students said
“i look for needles in a haystack”
explain? i said
“well, unexpected beauty in a day that is easy to ignore”
yes, of course
‘clouds’ polaroid photo shot with my sx70 camera and artistic TZ film stock
unphotographable ~ the responses that moved me to my very innermost being when I asked my grade seven students in the photography class I am teaching (open to exposure) “where do you feel most like yourself?’ which is their assignment to photograph this week ~ I cannot WAIT to see the photo’s they shoot
~ ‘actually the place I feel most like myself is a time of day ~ at night when it is dark and quiet and I can be alone with my thoughts peacefully’
~ ‘it’s more of a mood where i feel most like myself and it sounds a bit strange but I love to be down at the beach when it is raining and warm out and i am just wearing a tee~shirt and I look up into the sky while the rain splashes on my face ~ it feels so free somehow’
~i feel most like myself in the evening walking in my neighborhood when it is dark, but you have a soft glow from the streetlamps and I have my headphones on listening to music
~I feel most like myself at camp, it may sound funny but there is something about the moon at camp that is just so beautiful
~Oh, I feel most like myself on stage in drama class ~ you may think I am acting but actually that is the real me but no one knows that, and I feel like that is where I am most myself
~I feel most like myself in the art studio because the teacher let’s us choose freely what we want to paint and I just love being there
~ My Dad and I go canoing and it is so beautiful and peaceful but there is a specific moment I love and somehow think about often which is when I put my hand into the
water and we drift along ~ i feel most like me in that moment
~ In the mornings my Mom and I sit on the front deck and we can see the ocean. We always have tea together and it is just her and me and we watch the sun come up and one day it was really this perfect line of pink and that is when I most felt like myself
This week ~ was perfect in every way and I am so grateful for the honor of teaching these tremendous and artistic little souls ~ and somehow I can just tell already that is really me who is the student, and once again I am reminded that love is indeed all around.
Where do you feel most like yourself?
Have a gorgeous Sunday ~ and a heavenly helping of clouds
13 comments » | everyday magic, my favorite posts, open to exposure, small wonders, wonderfulness, yes!
Why do you paint?
For exactly the same reason I breathe.
That’s not an answer.
There isn’t any answer.
How long hasn’t there been any answer?
As long as I can remember.
And how long have you written?
As long as I can remember.
I mean poetry.
So do I.
(e. e. Cummings)
Oh, today…I had so much to share with you ~ I was thinking those philosophically deep thoughts that can take hold of you even under a sky blue expanse of floating clouds and keep you in it’s pondering grip while you sort things out (although I don’t know why I just said that, for you never quite sort things out being as there really is no such thing as a permanent truth)
And anyway it doesn’t matter, although I seem to remember it had something to do with writing this book on the art of living cheerfully and how, really, it’s important to realize that this does not mean you FEEL cheerful every day but rather you CHOOSE to find the cheery things,loveliness and magic in the everyday because…there is an abundance of loveliness all around. Just thinking beautiful thoughts takes you by the hand and before you know you are feeling them as well.
It’s a perfectly gorgeous, hopeful week and I can feel spring blossoming early in my soul and it feels so wondersome…just like this actually.…I am reading this book filled with thickets of huckleberry bushes (because Debi said so ) and whenever she mentions a book, I realize that the book she is chatting about is the book I have been looking for all along) which will be followed by a round of tree climbing in the Redwood forest and some unabashed singing of tree songs just because.
I am so moved reading this beautiful conversation with Shona Cole and just bursting at the seams with my lineup of artists that I will be sharing with you in this series. Oh! and today I found such truly gorgeous new japanese papers for my poem boxes as I am starting a new round of them for spring so I am hoping to pop by this week and let you have a peek. This week I begin teaching my photography course to grade seven’s and am all ready to go ~ the course culminates in an art walk featuring a gallery of the children’s work which I am hoping to make a little film of to celebrate the evening.
Since I have great plans to be out and about this weekend I am wishing everyone a beautiful Sunday early, and if you love smoothies I made a delicious one this week with lots of fresh ginger, carrot juice and apples. Yum!
update: just blogging about my smoothie sent me down to the kitchen to mix one up ~ this combination is even more delicious…blackberries, plain yogurt, large chunk of fresh ginger, soy milk and a banana
oh andrew….and extremely close
~ photo ‘altar for spring’ art direction by madelyn mulvaney, photo by tess herzog ~
11 comments » | Sunday's are for lovers, conversations ~ interviews and illuminations with impassioned artists, the art of living cheerfully!
Who is Shona?
Mama to 5, seeker of balance between my identity as Shona and Mom, life long artsy gal who gets little sleep and desires even more hours in the day to get done all I have planned
As an artist, what are your favorite ways to express yourself?
A combination of photography and poetry and collage art.
What is your creative process ?
At the end of the day when the kids and hubby are in bed and I am alone I take time winding down into creativity mode. I start by looking at inspiring art blogs, eat something sweet, put on some music or even a indie movie. Then I make lists ~ I list my desires, my to do’s, my responsibilities, the types of projects I could work on. When something ‘catches’ hold I get a rush of energy and I make an action plan for that project. I find what ever I need, I write, I paint a background, I pull up iPhoto to view my photos. I work intensely for a few hours, losing all track of time and staying up way too late. Then I get tired so I do a load of laundry. On my way to bed I hover over my notebook again and tick off what was done on my list, I make a new list, I doodle some more, I envision another project I could work on. I go to bed.
Next day I try to remember my plans and let the energy of that carry me through the day with the kids, knowing I have something to look forward to in the evening.
What are you moved to express in your writing, art, photography the most?
I want to capture the beauty of being a mom. I was not really into kids before I had them myself. I was not around babies, I hated babysitting. I didn’t really envision having kids. But when I became a mom to Matthew all that changed. Without even thinking about it I was completely committed to my baby, it was a God given love and devotion. Since then I have been driven to capture the loveliness and joy, the hardship and trials, the details and moments I have found in this unplanned wonderland called ‘motherhood’.
and so we women share this memory
this pouring out of self
this loosing shape
this rising and falling
this love new again and again
this telling of ordinary days
of lunches and books
calling in for dinner, bubble baths
driving carefully on familiar streets
all buckled in
diaper bags, wallets and soothers
wooden toys, clean outfits
just in case
we slip by in this collective longing to shine,
to greet each day with a smile
failing and succeeding,
at times belonging
to each other, our children, husbands
but don’t say we have lost ourselves
(although it feels like that sometimes)
this love has made us strong
this part we play runs long and deep,
the act to come is merely
another version of what was
so we keep close these thoughts:
it has been,
it will be Okay Momma
How do handle an interruption in the flow of imagination or writer’s block?
I have to be engaged in something creative or I will actually get depressed. I have to do it. So knowing this I plow on through blocks by writing my lists and doing some form of mental gymnastics where I convince myself it is better to get up and do something than do nothing. Once I get going I usually find the block dissipates.
I usually look at art blogs. I like the Wishstudio, I will go there and check on the links to the contributors or look at the commenters and click on their blogs, that way I find folks who are more likely to have blogs with affirming life and art posts, posts with words and images that can inspire me back to my own creative ideas.
Also watching a good indie movie or reading the poetry of Claudia Emersen or BH Fairchild or listening to Damien Rice, the Cowboy Junkies or some other music on my ipod can always make me feel connected to arty things again and then the desire in me to create usually creeps back in with a new idea in tow.
What brings you joy, contentment, happiness?
Being at home with everyone happy and busy and hours ahead of me to work on my to do list. Having friends over for dinner. Going to bookshops with my husband. Watching movies on the big screen. Cuddling on the couch with my youngest kids, talking with my older kids about life, playing board games on a bright sunny, but cool day. Going to Ireland every year to see my Mum and climbing hills and going to coffee shops while we are there.
What does the words ‘yes’ and ‘possibility’ mean to you personally?
Yes is a word that I have had to practice using. I like to control things in my world a little too much. Being in control of children, a house etc I find that I want to keep things quiet and calm and so I have found that I have said ‘no’ too much. Saying yes is inviting mess and laughter, spills and chatter. But that is living. Yes is living. ‘No’ is me hiding behind a desire for order and quietness. So I am becoming the flexible ‘yes’ momma.
How has saying ‘yes’ in your life changed the trajectory of your life?
oh my! I said yes to marrying an American and moving continents to be with him; I said yes to having lots of children; I said yes to schooling them at home; I said yes to pursuing the idea of doing art everyday and writing a book – So ‘yes’ has brought me a full, exciting, loud, thrilling life. At any juncture I could have said no, I am glad I didn’t.
What holds you back?
3 things – tiredness, self-criticism, desire for the ‘new’
Getting tired – I wish I could stay up all night and still function in the day, but alas I can’t.
Self criticism sometimes when I view other artists art work I start to think it has all been done, and done better so why bother? To avoid this rut I have to remember that it is better for my mental health to use my gifts and talents than to let them go to waste, even if they are not a great as others. Also I remind myself that if I work at my art over time I will improve. If I don’t practice my art then I will definitely not improve!
My strong desire for newness. If I don’t have a new idea then often I feel discouraged and want to not bother. But again I remind myself of the importance of just doing it, that it is better to make something that is not new in essence, but new in substance, than doing nothing at all. And while I am making something there is more of a chance of me creating something new than if I sit quietly and unengaged.
Who are your creative role models? What books, art, music inspire and ignite you?
I am not a book person, I have little time to read. But I do like Mark Helprin and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I have to admit to being enamored with Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight sage (Team Edward 
I am a big music lover, so many to choose from – The Swell Season, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Evanescence, Jack L, Elvis Costello, Cowboy Junkies, The Clogs, Jacques Brel, Lisa Hannigan.
Art – I love the work of mixed media artists Misty Mawn, Sabrina Ward Harrison, Shelley Kommers and Susan Tuttle; my best friend Shannon Mucha’s photography & graphic art is brilliant, she and I collaborate on many projects and work well together, I am inspired by her work ethic and attention to detail. I like also the photography of Jennifer Altman, Susannah Conway and Elle Moss. I like artwork that is personal and accessible and a reflection of the beauty of real life with a touch of fantasy thrown in.
What do you give yourself unconditionally in life to?
being a mom, I feel absolutely secure in the way we are raising our kids, we keep them with us, do everything together, know everything about them, are creating a beautiful world for them to explore fully who they are. Nothing could tear me away from that vision. My art is a vehicle to express what I feel about them and our life, that is why photography is so important to me cause I am recording what I see in my family. I want to write poetic words that describes who we are and what we do. I want to create collages of paint, images and words that reflect this time in my world, not so much for others but for my own pleasure. I love looking back at the photos of and words about my children. When I read a poem that captured a moment I can almost feel like I am back in that time. I want to devour every day with my family and create a body of art work that mirrors and uplifts our life (though I am not afraid to portray the difficulties of life too, but if I write about the trials I like to search for a silver lining, a lesson learned or something unique in the moment).
Where has love taken you?
from Ireland to the US. Growing up in Ireland in a small semi detached home in suburbia I never dreamed of moving to the US, never even considered it. Then I met this intense, passionate, independent man who had interests and ambitions that woke me up and compelled me to recreate my world. Even though part of me was frightened to leave my home and my Irish life he drew me like a magnet and I gave up resisting. 15 years later we now live an hour north of Houston on 5 acres of wooded land in a rambling ranch house with a huge front porch and a pond to sit by. Just so I don’t loose a sense of my roots we go to Ireland for the summers, so in a way love takes me home too.
If there were absolutely no obstacles whatsoever what would you do tomorrow?
Stay in bed late, browse art blogs, build fairy houses with my girls, take photos, have friends over, eat out with my husband, go to a movie, stay up until 4am and process photos, write a poem and work on a collage! Bliss
What is on your wish list?
nothing, I truly have everything I want…. well I would like more time, but no point in wishing for the impossible
What is on your inspiration board?
I don’t have one, but sounds like a good idea.
Where is your creative space/corner of the world?
My creative space/corner of the world is at home where I work in a rambling ranch house filled with dark rustic (indestructible) furniture, which sits in the middle of a forest on 5 acres. I create here, outside sitting on the porch watching my kids play, in the den the one end of my husbands office over looking the pond or in my craft room which is in the center of my home (formerly breakfast room). I love that I can be working on a project one minute, then be doing a load of laundry the next. I am not cut off from my family and my duties as home manager. I am queen of this big old ranch and love it.
famous last words?
I was nothing, I was lost and alone and afraid. But I made a plan and stuck to it and carved out a life I believe in. You can to. Make notes, commit, find some like minded friends and create something, even something super small, everyday.
Shona Cole is the author of the book ‘The Artistic Mother – A Practical Guide to Fitting Creativity into Your Busy Day’ to be published by North Light Books, March 8, 2010. Shona is an ‘Artist On Call’ for Stampington & Co, her Mixed Media Collage work has appeared in many of their publications since 2005. She lives in Texas and has five children under the age of 10. You can learn more about her art, poetry, book and life here.
7 comments » | conversations ~ interviews and illuminations with impassioned artists
oh sure, now i am smiling but how long did it take me to figure out something as simple as mac photobooth?
The past few days have been imbued with little scoops of wonderfulness. Nothing went to plan and yet I rose to the challenge with inspired improvisation, luring me down pleasing paths. I saw a most beautiful film, (unexpectedly so, which is always the best kind of beautiful) discovered I quite love singing this song in the shower (exactly the way Zooey sings it I might add because I think she is perfectly marvelous) and decided to launch my new children’s e~course because kids sure do delight me.
I am feeling a happy inner summoning which propels me towards heavenly bursts of creativity which is never a bad thing, and oh! I took some rather lovely photo’s of hands this week which I am hoping to post to flickr tomorrow. I have a serious obsession with hands if you didn’t know already. Speaking of flickr….I am thinking this is a great proclamation to add as a resolution for the new year, yes?
I am also preparing ‘conversations‘ interviews which are flowing in…and would love some inspiration…if you can think of any fabulous questions I might add to my list please feel free to leave them in the comments. I would greatly appreciate any fresh curiosities.
And…because it is SO worth repeating every week…It is Sunday.
Oh Sunday, I love you all over:)
8 comments » | Sunday's are for lovers, persisting stars e~courses, wonderfulness
my pink cardigan hanging on the banister in the livingroom…somehow everything seems to end up here, scarves, sweaters and my coats when I walk in the door ~ even the occasional sock which is quite bewildering to me but by no means unwelcome
Oh, for the love of a most perfect Sunday. A cozy day which began with warm apple oatmeal muffins from the cafe around the corner alongside mint and honey tea. Listening to, oh, I would guess at least 7 marvelous records (singing along quite happily) while I cleaned up the house and put my favorite vintage tablecloth on the kitchen table. My beautiful friend Catherine popped by for tea with her sweetheart Chris, and we enthusiastically planned the photography exhibit of my class at the fine arts school while Chris promised to replace the hideous lighting in my kitchen in exchange for a homemade indian dinner. Easy peasy. Happily poured over interviews for the new conversations segment of my website while shimmering sunbeams danced through the windows. Hard not to fall in love with that:) Tonight I am making a curried tofu with peppers, curling up with a good book and feeling so hopeful in this fresh new year. This week perhaps a visit here ~ shall have to make some new mixtapes for the drive imbued with a bouncy nature. Happy Sunday!
a few colorful lines from pablo (neruda)
In Chile now, cherries are dancing,
the dark, secretive girls are singing,
and in guitars, water is shining….
oh oh OH! and some ‘four’ magic
8 comments » | Sunday's are for lovers, conversations ~ interviews and illuminations with impassioned artists
Susan Tuttle photographed in New York City by Susanna Gordon
Who is Susan?
Pieces of Me
Who am I? I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, an artist, a teacher, a musician, a friend, a student, and things that have not yet revealed themselves to me.
I am more than my body, my thoughts, my experiences, my passions and my fears.
I am a work in progress.
I am a divine soul; part of a greater tapestry of other divine souls — Beings of Light.
I am here to evolve into my best self — to come to trust in the Universe, learn from adverse experiences, and revel in as much joy as I possibly can in this lifetime by being true to my soul.
As an artist, what are your favorite ways to express yourself?
photography, digital art, mixed-media and abstract paintings, writing, playing my flute
You can visit my website here to view my work and also my blog here
Can you share with us your creative process?
My creative process is always a hearty (misspelling intended) adventure, taking me to places unexpected and often to destinations that look very different than what I initially envisioned. I own a little black moleskine book that sits on my bedside table. I often awake in the night with creative ideas and scribble them down — if I didn’t, I would not be able to fall back to sleep. Sometimes that hazy period in the morning between sleeping and waking yields creative seeds — remnants of the dream world in fragmented forms of chimera and strings of words that can be woven into poetry. I carry the moleskin in my purse on outings — I am never without it, as I can never be sure when inspiration will strike.
My creative spirit is most wild and alive at night — the inhibitions are lowered when I am a bit tired and I feel more connected to otherworldly spiritual life around me that I believe is a huge part of my process. You see, I don’t think that my creative ideas necessarily come from me, but more through me, from somewhere else that is greater than who I am. I say to the proverbial muse, “take me by the hand, show me what you want me to see, what you want me to learn, what you want me to make and help me send it out into the Universe to the place it was meant to be all along.”
Imagery that grabs or has personal meaning to me is a paramount part of my process, especially when I create digital montage and mixed-media collage. When I feel emotionally connected to the imagery, the process is that much more powerful and the energy that is created colors the entire piece — I think you can actually sense that energy in the finished piece. Some of my work explores darker subject matter, but at the same time there is always an attempt to bring the finished product to the light — it’s about healing, forgiveness and hope.
My process unfolds in a variety of ways. Sometimes it hits me hard and fast and I create many pieces at once that I am satisfied with. Other times the well is dry and I take that as a signal that it is time to rest and refresh. I used to be afraid that the muse might not come back when that happened, but experience has taught me that she always does when the timing is right. There are times when I work on just one piece for months — constantly returning to it, altering it, setting it down for a while, picking it up again when it calls to me. These long-winded pieces can sometimes be frustrating — I’ve often been tempted to throw them away. But, I have learned that these are often the gems that turn into some of my best work — so I stick with them.
I am passionately in love with the creative process — it makes me feel so alive, electric, connected — it gives a natural high that I can’t live without and it fulfills something in me that words cannot name — I would be lost and empty without art-making in my life.
What are you moved to express in your writing, art, photography the most?
truth and love i think.
When I share my writing and photography on my blog, for instance, there is an unveiling of truth that takes place — the photos from the day and the thoughts I have which I translate into writing somehow weave together into a cohesive whole revealing something more powerful than I could have ever imagined. When I blog, I feel like I am being taught as well as sharing with others. I would say that creating a blog post is very similar to the creative process that takes place in my studio.
How do handle an interruption in the flow of imagination or writer’s block?
I think this is one of the reason’s I create in the wee hours when the kids and dh are fast asleep:) In terms of creative block, I give into it. I’ve learned the best thing is to embrace the block, relax, do something fun — sometimes watching an off-the-beaten-path independent film is all it takes to whip up the creative repartee with the muse once again.
One of those movies I love is Very Annie Mary ~
What brings you joy, contentment, happiness?
My family, living in Maine, the simple and ordinary, art, photography, film, music, cooking, having enough, friends, conversation, coffee, books, gardening, a healthy and agile body.
What does the words ‘yes’ and ‘possibility’ mean to you personally?
Saying “yes” to life invites magic, miracles, possibility, surprise and even eternal youth methinks!
How has saying ‘yes’ in your life changed the trajectory of your life?
I wear my heart on my sleeve and follow my intuition and share it with reckless abandon with the right people. It has brought much love and adventure into my life. Leaping with a “yes” has brought me on a backpacking trip through the UK by myself, enabled me to write two books, gifted me with a beautiful family, and moved me to Maine where I feel truly at home. But, it doesn’t always have to be so grand. When I’m having a crappy day all it takes is uttering a ‘yes’ for an immediate attitude adjustment and change of outlook. With a ‘yes’ you can do anything you set your little heart on. Anything.
What hold you back?
I am having trouble answering this one. I don’t think at this point in my life there is anything innately holding me back from the things I am passionate about. It wasn’t always this way for me, but after a serious car accident in my twenties I understood the true meaning of “Life is too short” and decided there was no good reason not to embrace what i love. But there is one thing I wish I had more of to carry out my passions, and that is time.
Who are your creative role models? What books, art, music inspire and ignite you?
A few that inspire:
Books: The Inhabited Woman by Gioconda Belli, The Limits of Enchantment by Graham Joyce, What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage, and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Artists/Photographers: Check out my lengthy list of links here:
Musicians: Bon Iver, The Bowerbirds, Patrick Watson, Athlete, Jem, Sara Bareilles, Sia
Film: White Oleander, Amelie, Billy the Kid, Atonement, The Visitor, The Station Agent, Babette’s Feast
What do you give yourself unconditionally in life to?
My family and my art.
Where has love taken you?
If there were absolutely no obstacles whatsoever what would you do tomorrow?
Travel, travel, travel.
What is on your wish list?
A 1960′s Savoy camera in mint green, a Muse lens with double glass optic from lensbaby.com, Polaroid 600 Instant Film, Delights and Shadows by Ted Kooser, and a warm pair of shearling boots from LL Bean.
What is on your inspiration board?
Where is your creative space/corner of the world?
Take a photo of a place you go to reground and root yourself when life gets a bit overwhelming and if you like tell us why it is so meaningful to you.
I retreat to the woods just at the edge of my yard. When I enter I immediately feel at ease. I focus on the beauty of my surroundings; the fine details of nature at my feet, in the trees, down the wooded path, the eagle overhead. It is my form of meditation.
Famous last words?
Susan Tuttle is a mixed-media and digital artist who resides in a small-town community in the state of Maine. Her first book, Exhibition 36: Mixed-Media Demonstrations + Explorations, was released by North Light Books in December 2008, and her second book, Digital Expressions: Creating Digital Art with Adobe® Photoshop® Elements, a technique-based publication on digital art, will be published by North Light Books in May 2010 and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon. Susan is a frequent contributor to Stampington & Company publications and other mixed-media books. You can visit her site at www.ilkasattic.com and her blog at www.ilkasattic.blogspot.com through which she is offering online digital art workshops on the subjects of photomanipulation, digital montage, and a variety of Photoshop techniques.
14 comments » | conversations ~ interviews and illuminations with impassioned artists
