Author: Cheryl

On-fireII550

Square Foot Show – Westland Gallery

Cheryl
I’m looking forward to the Square Foot Show Opening – this Friday July 17 at 7:30 pm. I will have 3 paintings in the show, including the one featured here. I’m also happy that so many of my students and previous students are participating in this show. Hope that you can drop in to see the art and say hi. If you can’t make the opening, the show continues until August 15 at Westland Gallery in Wortley Village. 
Girl2T

Talking To Yourself – It’s Good!

Cheryl
I don’t do it all the time, but I have actually come to understand that talking through something out loud – yes – to myself, can help to clarify things. Here’s an interesting article. It mentions this, and other times that talking to yourself can be useful. It can even indicate an intelligent person who is more independent! Sounds good to me – literally. Here’s the article: “People Who Talk to Themselves Aren’t Crazy, They Are Actually Geniuses” from Elite Daily. 
Popp3T

David & Goliath

Cheryl
This is a first for me on the blog – and I know it is way outside the box – but I want to recommend a book to you. It’s called “David and Goliath – Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants” by Malcolm Gladwell. I have read one of his earlier works, “Blink”. It was okay, but it did not have anywhere near the impact that this new book has. The insights that Gladwell gives about people, movements, and revolutions will definitely make you think. Touching on many renegades, from the Impressionists (yes, there is an art connection), to Martin Luther King, to what happened in Northern Ireland, I have rarely read a book that was so captivating. Warning: some of the stories are completely gut wrenching, and I did cry at more than one of the accounts, but think that I came away with a better understanding of this crazy world we live in. 
GlacWat250

The Creative Life

Cheryl
Developing a creative spirit can impact your art – and much more. Taking a creative look at any aspect of your life can present previously unseen solutions and opportunities. To benefit the most from this, it is best to go into a ‘no judgement’ mode – a way of thinking that permits all ideas and says, ‘there is no idea that is too crazy or too stupid at this moment’. The ‘what if…?’ question is a great starter. This is the same mode that famous scientists and inventors go into while seeking that new idea that is just genious. They also know that a lot of ideas will be useless, but understand the necessity of complete openess in order to get the most out of potential new thoughts. In the same way an artist who wants to open new possibilities for their art needs to throw out previous conceptions and explore the freedom of ‘what if…’ with their chosen media. It’s a little scary – but can be oh so worthwhile!