Secret Sauce: Composition

Nature Journal Club creating compositions today at the Oakland Museum

Im pretty much walking on air after learning more about composition today with my hero, John Muir Laws. John wrote and painted the stunning Illustrated Guide to the Sierra Nevadas, and is also phenomenally gifted educator: clear, hilarious, quoting poets and the confusion of the creative process. Every time I go to events with his Nature Journal Club I'm inspired- inspired to make better work, inspired to support other adults in drawing, inspired by the work I see. And I touch back to the whole reason I draw in the first place - sitting with an illustrated journal to practice really seeing, smelling and breathing the world around me. Such a gift to me!

Surrealist Sentence Poems

Fellow songwriters at the camp swing dance

Excerpts from our ridiculously genius/surrealist songwriting exercises here at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop. It's been a week brimming with humor, joy and Oo-I-can't-wait-to-learn-that. From our  Alphabetical Sentence speed poems: Zealous Years EXalting Willing Villians Using Tantrums, Stars, Rusty Questions, Pursuing Options Nothing More Like Kissing Jails; If Hogs Get Forgotten Everybody Dies: Cats, Babies, Ants.

Zygotes Yearning Extremely Wildly Very much Under The Strict Religious Quotient, Poverty Ovulating UNder Merriment, Lasting, Knowingly Jolting Intentionally, Hallelujah, Glory to God, Free at last, Every Day Cake Baked Appearances.

Full Circle

Trinadot,  Issue 3

After a somewhat unpredictable spring and start of summer, I've been brainstorming ways to create predictable monthly projects and income, and having some fantastic conversations with friends and mentors. One of my business heroes,  Roy Blumenthal, helped me develop the idea of visual newsletter on Social Corporate Responsibility (one of my passions).  Along the way, he suggested I take a look at graphic novels to think about ways I can lay it out. So what a treat to come even more full circle,  to reread and re-love the work of my cousin Melody Often, and her Trinadot series. Melody's work is a big part of how I got back into drawing as an adult- I remember distinctly laying on the couch, reading in wonder and joy, seeing what's possible if i could set down my critical, worried mind and just keep making.  So it's so fun and full of grace to be side by side as we make our way as working artists.