Inspiring Women

In today's email was the monthly newsletter from Susan Branch. I love her stuff. She takes quotes and decorates them; sometimes with an embellishment around the words-sometimes the letters themselves becomes a work of art. It started out with a quote from Helen Keller; she's another one of my favorte women, Then the newsletter went on to mention Ivy Bean. Ivy is someone who "Tweets" on Twitter. She has (at last look) about 46,000 followers. Ivy also has a Facebook page. (Here comes the punchline) Ivy just recently celebrated her 104th birthday! I think that is just so cool. I was so enchanted with the whole story and then I realized that Ivy reminded me of yet another inspiring woman. Anna Marie Robertson grew up to be a very famous artist that we all know as Grandma Moses. She didn't even sell her first painting until she was 83! She went on to paint until she was 106.
It has been a good day for being inspired...all because of email.

With the Beatles

Today has been declared 'Beatles Day' as part of a marketing blitz to promote a video game of some sort. It does not matter what the 'official' reason is. Even tho I got caught up in it and joined the largest group on Facebook, that doesn't really define my passion for the Beatles. Even being able to say I saw them in person does not get to the crux of the biscuit. Pictured here is what appears to be something from I scanned from the cover of Sgt Pepper. It isn't. It is a 2 inch piece of wood that I painted the design on. It was done after reading 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain'. It is my first 'painting on the right side of the brain'. If I could find my attempts to do anything like this prior to reading the book, you would know this represents a quantum leap. I still look at it in amazement. Having lived so long without the ability to do anything so realistic, I found it almost impossible to believe that I had accomplished this feat. Beatle music was something I frequently played when feeling creative; now I could even illustrate the lyrics that inspired me!

'...I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in, and stops my mind from wandering where it will go'... I had discovered an artistic license to let my mind wander where it wanted to go. I will be forever in debt to the Fab Four; I got by with a little help from those friends. Those friends will show up in this blog again in the future; they are such an important part of my past. I am still saddened by the loss of John and George; but the collective collaboborative spirit of my favorite Liverpudlians will continue on as precious muses. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thought for the Day

When the artist is alive in any person, whatever his kind of work may be, he becomes an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressive creature. He becomes interesting to other people. He disturbs, upsets, enlightens, and opens ways for better understanding. Where those who are not artists are trying to close the book, he opens it and shows there are still more pages possible. Robert Henri - The Art Spirit