Category: conversations ~ interviews with fabulous, creative and igniting artists


a very very very very V E R Y special sunday post

March 7th, 2010 — 9:09am

‘pablo’s peaches’ ~ photo by madelyn mulvaney taken with a vintage sx70 polaroid camera

It is Sunday

I made cinnamon coffee in my moka pot and there is real Irish oatmeal with fresh organic cream, raspberries, hemp seeds and brown sugar (and a little drizzle of maple syrup)

the birds are singing and experimenting with interpretive dance steps outside my window

There is a record spinning on the turntable.

I read Lily’s (I call her Lily but she is actually Judy) interview curled up on the couch with said coffee listening to said record

and decided right then and there that Judy’s interview is a Sunday conversation

perhaps the only sunday conversation i will ever post because i am very territorial about sunday’s and would prefer to sing my own praises

but Judy’s interview helped herself to a cup of coffee and announced

‘I can’t help but think I am especially excellent Sunday material. Send me out there to wow your small but devoted audience.’

so i admit i am quite inclined to say yes…therefore…without further ado ~ I present the wondersome Judy Ford.

Comment » | conversations ~ interviews with fabulous, creative and igniting artists, curious and wondersome, everyday magic, i love sunday's, ignoring clocks which is very important, morning coffee

for the love of judy ~ conversation on a sunday ~

March 7th, 2010 — 9:08am

Who is Judy?

That question deserves a brilliant answer, but I can’t come up with one that sticks. As soon as I decide this is who I am, something shifts and I run into a new something about myself. There is always something else—something sad, something happy, something heartbreaking, something joyful—to experience. Maybe that’s why people tell me: “Judy, you’re something else.” Under my high school year book picture the phrase, “Never a Dull Moment” was used to describe me. I like that motto and that is how I intend to greet tomorrow and the rest of my life.

As an artist, what are your favorite ways to express yourself?

I adore painting, cutting and pasting and papier-mâché but I didn’t discover that artistic twist until I was in my sixties. I’ve lived a creative life, authored 12 books, counseled thousands of people, even been a guest on Oprah! Articles on my work have appeared in over 1,000 publications. It’s been wonderful. Now I’m stepping out again, having so much fun sharing my mixed-media collages and papier-mâché bracelets and bowls with others.


What is your creative process?

Writing is the most challenging for me because writing requires writing—whether I’m in the writing mood or not. I am more free-form than a disciplinarian so a schedule goes against my inklings. To keep the words flowing, however I know that not only do I need to write, I must rewrite and sometimes even delete my favorite sentences. I write first thing in the morning or last thing at night. There are days when thoughts do not cooperate. Forming ideas into words and sentences is difficult labor, like giving birth to a barbed wire fence. On those sweet occasions when the muse visits, when the words trickle down easily, when magically I’m transported to a creative zone, that’s a high to keep me writing year after year.

Cutting and pasting is a whole different expression, a meditation, a going inward, a resting in silence.
I lose myself cutting shapes and watching them merge into surprising designs. With cutting and pasting there is no intention and that’s’ precisely what makes it so refreshing for me. I have just completed my thirteenth manuscript and now I will reward myself by cutting up catalogues and magazines and shaping them into hanging or folding picture books.

What are you moved to express in your writing, art, photography the most?

Life is experienced moment by moment—from the whimsical to the heart-touching, from the lighthearted to the heart-moving, from the romantic to the silly, from sadness to joy and back again. I hope my art and writing conveys that quality of being alive with the juices flowing.

If there were absolutely no obstacles whatsoever what would you do tomorrow?

I like to think I would putter more. I love the idea of the puttering life—but that is not what life has presented so far. Life has it’s own agenda and my agenda has not always been in sync. Fortunately I’ve learned to be open to what life brings and that makes everything so much easier. Life has brought wonderful blessings, better than I could have designed myself. Of course sometimes I go kicking and screaming because I would prefer to be in charge. At the very least I can be in charge of my attitude and so I am committed to remaining a romantic optimist, full of joy and grief, a contradiction.

How do handle an interruption in the flow of imagination or writer’s block?

It’s the craziest thing—life interrupts my plans but never my imagination. That’s precisely why imagination and creativity are fundamental for not only surviving but for thriving. No matter what challenges we might face, we can get through by pouring disappointment and setbacks, sorrow and pain into creative expressions. Imagination and creativity transforms grief, that’s the silver lining.

I don’t succumb to writer’s block, in fact I wouldn’t use the phrase. As a creative person I know I need to allow myself down time. Wide-open space is as important to creativity as production. Imagination and creativity requires percolating time and wide-open space, that’s when my best fresh ideas come.

What brings you joy, contentment, happiness?

My daughter, the eagles nest outside my window, birds, sunrises, coffee shops, bus rides to town, paint brushes, a really good dinner, connected conversation, independent movies, documentaries, pop up books, sleeping outside on my outdoor bed, chimpanzees, elephants, chocolate, fresh air, willow trees, pussy willows, trees, sun flowers, tulips, hydrangeas, lilacs, wisteria, characters (as in people), studying what makes us tick, candles, my electric bicycle, hammocks, huge rings, huge bracelets, love in all it’s forms.

What holds you back?

Silly fears such as the delusion, “Something’s wrong with Judy.”

Who are your creative role models? What books, art, music inspire and ignite you?

The documentaries: Cats of Mirkitani
In the Realms of the Unreal
Young at Heart

The books: The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm
The Holy Man by Susan Trott
Everyday Matters by Danny Gregory

The movie: Happy Go Lucky
Matilda

among hundreds of others.

Where has love taken you?

Everywhere. Love has turned me inside out. By that I mean that love rules me, has a hold on me, breaks my heart, inspires me and lifts me up. By the time I was thirty-four I’d had every marital status there was: single, married, widowed, single, married, divorced, single again. Then at age forty-nine I walked hand in hand with death again when my partner died following a year long illness. His last gift to me was a book on papier-mâché with his inscription, “To my beautiful papier-mâché artist” and that began my thirteen process of creating a papier-mâché bowl that I was happy with. Love introduces me to places inside myself that hadn’t known before. At the end life the only thing that matters is how well we have loved and I think it might be possible to love the whole world. My prayer is: Dear Heavenly One. Please help me accept Love as it is given even though it may not come in the package I requested.

Famous last words?

—after making a fool of herself on more than one occasion, she committed to never ever writing an email or answering the phone until she rode her bike and cried her eyes out—–

Judy Ford, a trained professional with heart, soul, and life experience, is also a best selling author, relationship coach, mother, role model. She has worked for nearly three decades with families in various settings–from gang turf in the inner city to crisis intervention in hospitals. Judy has dedicated her life to the study of love and relationships, family healing and wholeness. She is currently in private practice in Kirkland, WA. With compassion and candor, her work speaks to the heart, inspiring us to love life, to persevere through its challenges, and to share our gifts with others.

She has written 12 books including the best selling Wonderful Ways series:

❤ Wonderful Ways to Love A Child

❤ Wonderful Ways to Love a Teen: Even When It Seems Impossible

and the bestselling:

❤ Single: The Art of Being Satisfied, Fulfilled and Independent

Her newest book:

❤ Everyday Love: The Delicate Art of Caring for Each Other will be published September, 2010

❤ For more information visit web site here

❤ To see her creative inspirations visit her here…

❤Judy Ford LSCW
Individual, Couple & Family Counseling
judy@judyford.com
www.judyford.com

11 comments » | conversations ~ interviews with fabulous, creative and igniting artists, i love sunday's, the art of living cheerfully!

the light of love

February 3rd, 2010 — 8:23pm



I do not love you as if you were a salt rose, a topaz
or an arrow of carnations that spread fire:
I love you like certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you like the plant that does not bloom
and carries in itself, hidden, the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love,
the tight aroma that arose from the earth lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, nor when, nor from where,
I love you directly without problems or pride:
I love you this way because I know no other way to love,

only in this way in which I am not and you are not,
so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,
so close that it is your eyes which close when I fall to sleep.

~ pablo neruda ~

This morning there was the gift of capturing so beautifully (yes, I think my photo is so so so beautiful) the intimate and moving love between Darlene and Duke which shares pleasure merely by being in their encompassing and generous company. Followed by a drive to Main street for a curried breakfast of samosas, chickpeas, mint chutney and chai at Nakodhar Sweets, shopping for an exquisite silk turquoise kurta for Duke and fabulous salwar kameez and dupatta for Darlene and I. (which we are certainly wearing at a little gathering I have planned for tomorrow evening in my home)

There is no answer as usual to explain the mystery of a comfortable friendship, but this week has been pebbled with warm fires, fully belly’s and rainy evening strolls on the beach. (not to mentions exuberant outings to thrift shops with audible cries of ‘SCORE!!” ringing out when we discovered our various treasures)

My cup runneth over yet again this week as I almost burst into tears with pure joy with my luminous grade seven’s as they filled me to overflowing with their gracious admiration of one another’s brilliant and pure way of expression in photography. They have re~ignited my love of photography and their boundless enthusiasm for one another reminds me to be generous to soulful glimpses we encounter when invited to witness creative gust of our peers.

I am happy. I feel hopeful, and beautifully alive. Love actually is …all around.

Oh! and this interview in conversations….is a beauty. I promise. Go see…

I will be back …Darlene and I are making films, having a seaside exhibit and generally up to grande enthusiasms.

13 comments » | conversations ~ interviews with fabulous, creative and igniting artists, everyday magic, open to exposure

conversations ~ with Meredith Winn ~

February 1st, 2010 — 12:29pm

Who is Meredith?

Woman, mother, writer, photographer. I am many things that I haven’t
even realized yet.

As an artist, what are your favorite ways to express yourself?

I say that I am mostly a writer having a love affair with photography.
And it’s true. I write to get the words out. I write because I can’t
not write. I write because somewhere along the way I signed a contract
with the universe to let my insides spill out through words. And so I
oblige with pen and paper.

I lose myself in photography because it’s a freedom of expression
compatible to writing. Writing is strangely painful for me (and
practically involuntary.) Photography is the essence of joy and
spontaneity. Images move me to words, as does music. Looking through
the viewfinder helps me focus on light and beauty, capturing it in my
everyday life. That is a gift the universe gives me. My job is simply
to document it as I see it. And so I carry a camera.

What is your creative process?

Life happens.
Every single day there is at least one moment you can document. I feel
it through joy or sadness based on the situation, the moon, our
season, and my blood sugar levels. I sit with those feelings as long
as I need. Minutes or hours.

It is either day or night.

If it is day and I find myself in the car, thoughts match the feelings
and pour out onto the open road. I beg for red lights so I can write a
few things down on scraps of paper so as not to lose the words
forever. If it is night, I lie in bed tossing and turning until I
reach for my pen at the bedside. Typically I cannot fall asleep until
I write the words out of my head.

Always with words, I jot down what comes in that moment. Then I sit on
those scraps of paper (the unedited sentences) until something stirs
inside and I need more release.

I always begin the process on paper. It’s mandatory to have fast pens!
Typically a song or a photograph triggers more thoughts that get
dumped onto my laptop. It mostly seems like an involuntary process.
Like breathing, it’s not something I can succeed at withholding for a
long amount of time. I read and sometimes edit my own words again and
again. Usually late at night, in the dark, I hold my breath and hit
publish.

Then the process begins again.

What are you moved to express in your writing, art, photography the most?

How do handle an interruption in the flow of imagination or writer’s block?

I have an interesting relationship with writing. My muse tests my
determination by showing up at the most inopportune times. She winks
and whispers, getting me out of bed in the dark to write notes to
myself. Forcing me to pull over to the side of the road when the words
won’t stop flowing like notes across sheet music. What I experience is
not your typical writer’s block. When words stop it is usually because
I am consciously (or subconsciously) tuning them out. I’ve just come
to realize that I do this in times of self-denial. I’ve learned to
embrace these quiet times, when I need to ignore the words. This is
typically when I pick up my camera. When my mind feels this silence, I
find myself seeing more with my camera lens. Often sitting with the
quiet leads me in directions of finding a spark. And so the cycle
begins again. The give and take, push and pull of writing and
releasing.

What brings you joy, contentment, happiness?

Laughter, tears, feeling human, getting small behind my camera lens,
and walking slowly to enjoy the world with my son.

What do the words ‘yes’ and ‘possibility’ mean to you personally?

Empowerment and belief in oneself. Saying ‘yes’ can often conjure up
self-doubt, in that nervous way of putting your toes to the edge of
possibility. It’s the feeling of truly knowing (and accepting) your
worth and feeling strong enough to shout it to the world. It’s a very
exciting thing. It’s something I practice accomplishing every day.

How has saying ‘yes’ in your life changed the trajectory of your life?

In too many ways to describe. Saying ‘yes’ is thinking from the heart
and making choices intuitively. I believe it is what has brought me to
where I am now, on the cusp of something beautiful.

What holds you back?

The inner voices that shout in the dark: the self doubts that creep in
my mind, hitching a ride off the tongues of past critics. Accepting
other people’s negativity is a big something that holds me back.
Turning towards the light is the only release, surrounding yourself
with positivity will never hold you back.

Who are your creative role models? What books, art, music inspire and ignite you?

At any given time my role models change, depending on my focus. I
spend a good majority of my time at the library, so I am always knee
deep in a good book. Books vary based on what I need out of life at
that time. Right now, writing motivation and feeling connected to the
human experience comes through a variety of books like Bird By Bird by
Anne Lamott, Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, The Last Boy by Robert
Leiberman, Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center, The Middle Place
by Kelly Corrigan, and my most recent favorite novel The Art of Racing
in the Rain by Garth Stein.

Of course poetry trumps all with the likes of Mary Oliver, Kahlil
Gibran, Pablo Neruda, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Rainer Maria Rilke to
name a few.

Music has very much been a big part of my life and it continues to be
a major source of inspiration. It is typically the melody of a song
that stirs the creative juices for me. Often times a few lines of a
song will stay with me and let me form my own words and thoughts
around them. Specifically? It’s always the words of Bob Dylan (he is
my favorite storyteller.) His manner of stringing words together has a
major influence on my writing style. Lately, musicians like Sufjan
Stevens, Sam Beam, and Andrew Bird always seem to put words in my head
with their symphony of sounds. And favorites like Patty Griffin, Eliza
Gilkyson, Yael Naim, and Priscilla Ahn also lead me to find beauty in
just about anything.

What do you give yourself unconditionally in life to?

Where has love taken you?

If there were absolutely no obstacles whatsoever what would you do tomorrow?

Move to the coast. Build snowmen. Learn to play the piano. Live by the
beach and walk on sand everyday. Swallow up this big beautiful world
and learn how to best express how I feel it. Find the time, sit down,
and write a book.

Where is your creative space/corner of the world?

There is not one photo of my creative space, it follows me wherever I
go. If I were to pin it to a desk or workspace it would cease to
exist. My corner of the world is very much my mind and daily life
experiences. It’s the world around me: taking a walk, driving my car,
watching a hurricane out the window, listening to lyrics, and seeing
my son dance.

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

When I was twenty years old I packed up my belongings and moved myself
across the country. I have been landlocked ever since. When life gets
overwhelming I dream of the coast (I fear I won’t be happy until I
find a home there.) For many years, I lived remotely in the mountains
of Colorado, very close to nature. Today I live in the capital city of
Texas. I am nomadic by nature. When I feel unsure of my place, or
myself … I seek out space. I am endlessly trying to recreate that
sensation of the coast: feeling small in a vast world. I have a strong
need for Mother Earth to put me in my place. There’s nothing quite as
comforting as that. When the beach is not near, I create the next best
thing. An open field, a canopy of trees, a mountaintop, or the blooms
in a garden. I can get lost and find myself anywhere as long as I have
the optical illusion of space.

can you tell us about your first ‘artistic awakening’ ?

I spent the better part of a decade being surrounded by music. As a
symphony clarinetist I learned to tap into this energy like static
electricity that flows around us. Being on stage I learned to
accommodate my shyness with expression. It’s a delicate balance. I
wrote my own books as a child, bound with yarn. I pretended to be a
writer. Later I carried a camera and pretended to be a photographer.
Now I pretend to be a grown up. But one thing I’ve learned is that I
am all that I pretend to be.

famous last words?

Meredith Winn’s writing has been published in HipMama, Mamazine,
Motherverse, Literary Mama, and Midwifery Today Magazine.

Meredith is a contributing photographer to Getty Images and is also a
contributor to Shutter Sisters. Her photography has been published by
JPG Magazine, Emprise Review and has won contests through Mama Focus,
Clean Well Moments, JPG Magazine, and Mindful Mama Magazine.

Meredith can be found online through her photography website:
She blogs at the~spirit~of~the~river
and can also be found at Shutter Sisters

5 comments » | conversations ~ interviews with fabulous, creative and igniting artists

Oh, Spring!

January 16th, 2010 — 7:51pm

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 » | conversations ~ interviews with fabulous, creative and igniting artists, i love sunday's, the art of living cheerfully!

conversations ~ with Shona Cole ~

January 14th, 2010 — 11:42am

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.

6 comments » | conversations ~ interviews with fabulous, creative and igniting artists

a perfect Sunday at home

January 3rd, 2010 — 5:14pm

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 » | conversations ~ interviews with fabulous, creative and igniting artists, i love sunday's

Introducing ‘conversations’ ~ with Susan Tuttle!

January 1st, 2010 — 6:44am

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 with fabulous, creative and igniting artists

new (and magical, clearly) beginnings

December 31st, 2009 — 5:26pm

just a little video of me chattering…did I say ‘magical?’ perhaps once too often? ~ sheesh!

Well, I thought I ought to make a list of resolutions for the shiny brand new year ~ come see!

~ and please, oh please pop by tomorrow as I begin the new year with ‘conversations ~ fabulous interviews with creative women’ introducing the effervescent Susan Tuttle. Wishing everyone a most magical (clearly I adore this word) new year filled to overflowing with love, joy, peace and prosperity.

20 comments » | conversations ~ interviews with fabulous, creative and igniting artists

     

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