Category: Aisling’s Blog

This is one of my favorite quotations about the importance of your art… expressing YOUR self in a way that is unique to you. Whether it’s through music, visual arts (including photography & coloring books), a garden that delights you, or a perfectly-tuned car engine… your expression is important.

Following the lead by K. M. Weiland (http://www.kmweiland.com/all-the-super-important-stuff-on-this-writers-desk/) and encouraged by my friend Nanette Day  –  I’m sharing a completely un-staged photo of what’s on my computer desk this morning.

(My current “art desk” is my bed. I have stacks of paper for drawing, plus a silverware drawer insert – $2 from IKEA, but you can find similar ones at Target, Walmart, etc. – filled with pens, pencils, paintbrushes, etc.)

Anyway, here’s what’s on my writing/computer desk and (at least partially) shown in the photo:

1. Computer (bearing a Honeydukes sticker from the Harry Potter shop at Universal Studios theme park), printer/scanner, and monitor.
2. One mic, plus one headset with its own mic.
3. Two pens, four thumb drives, a calculator, a portable hard drive, and a spare USB hub.
4. Two bottles of vits and a glass of water.
5. Lots of papers: My daily to-do notebook, and yellow, lined pad for notes. Notes from said yellow pad.
6. A printed page from my upcoming coloring book, still in progress.
7. Last but not least: A white mouse from IKEA.

(If you’re just desperate to see everything in detail, click on the photo for the 800 x 600 pixels version.)

Since I’m incredibly busy right now, it’s a minor miracle that my desk is this tidy.

I decided to post this since it’s kind of in line with “Real Professional Qualities,” my somewhat sarcastic article from Professional Quilter magazine, March 1986 issue.

In a 35-minute video, John Cleese – who, as part of Monty Python, has been one of the 20th century’s most innovative, creative people – spoke about minutes about creativity.

Unfortunately, the video vanished, online. Looking for it again in late 2020, all I could find were “removed for copyright infringement” notices.

Meh. (I’m tempted to rant about copyright hoarding at the expense of creatives, but I’ll skip that… for now.)

This may be a clip from it:

I’m glad I’d taken notes. Cleese made some very good points.  Sure, he’s been a little silly, excessively political, and downright pompous at times.   However, I like it when he says things like:

Creativity is not a talent. It is not a talent. It is a way of operating.

…It’s not an ability that you either have or you do not have… it’s an ability to play.”

Thanks to Robert Genn‘s Painters Keys for suggesting this. In his related post, Genn said…

“To be creative we need five conditions,” Cleese says. “Space, Time, Time, Confidence and Humour.” Yep, “Time” comes twice.

In other words, Cleese stressed the importance of time… not just productive time, but time that’s necessary to get that open space in your mind.

To someone else, it might look like you’re doing nothing, or nothing of importance.

However, it’s one of the most essential parts of being creative, and allows you to cast off the limiting and distracting thoughts that stand between you and that necessary, open space.

If you find that 35-minute video online, let me know. It was a gem.

I’m about to swing wildly off-topic here.  Blame it on my addiction to old newspapers and magazines.  I cruise through them for cool images for collage, and — the next thing I know — I’m suddenly learning about handmade lace, pea soup recipes, or raising chickens.

When I was a kid, I was convinced I’d grow up, buy a farm, have six wonderful children, and live a very domestic life.

That’s not quite the way things worked out.

However, I find myself saving newspaper clippings.  Lately, they’ve been about gardening and self-sufficient living.  We’re going to need a house for this, of course.  The hens wouldn’t be happy in my apartment, and the balcony is a little small for birds too large for a birdcage.

Still, I read the article at right, and it makes sense to me.  We’re throwing food down the disposal (or into the trash or the compost heap) that could feed hens that would produce eggs… nice healthy eggs that could be a major part of our daily diet.

In my opinion, there’s a lot of logic missing in daily life.  What began as convenience in the early 1950s (or earlier) has wandered down a weird path.  Food my grandmother grew in her backyard, and tasted fresh and delicious, is now shipped to us over thousands of miles.  It costs a ridiculous amount to buy, it’s not as fresh or delicious, and it comes packaged in plastic that contributes to the landfill, big time.

Worse, the cost of shipping food cross-country is climbing due to soaring gas prices, and those plastic containers – which originate as petroleum products – are going to be more expensive, too.

*blink*

Yes, eat your veggies, but – more importantly – grow your own veggies. 

And, as I re-read this 1917 newspaper clipping, maybe hens are worth considering.

The weather has become… odd. Warmer than usual, much of the year. Colder at unexpected times.

Generally… kind of odd.

So, when I was browsing old magazines and newspapers, this article caught my attention.  It’s about a “snow devil” alternative to a snowman.  It sounds magnificent, and ideal for an outdoor art projects.

The article is from the San Francisco Call, published on 4 February 1912.

Here’s another tip:  When I was little, my mother used to give me the tops of beets – some of the beet, with the green plant to use as a handle – and I’d “paint” the snow and ice with the beet.  The color was a wonderful magenta.

I’m sure you could create interesting effects with this “snow devil” with natural coloring, like from beets (or the water you cook them in).

You could also use food coloring, or diluted Dr. Ph Martin’s dyes or radiant colors, or even some watercolors.

(The problem with the latter might be an environmental issue. I’m not sure that the small amount of paint would make a huge difference, but… well, you can look into it if you decide to add color to your “snow devil,” and acrylics are what you have on hand.)

I think this “snow devil” would require several coats of water so it’ll last for awhile.  When I was little and we made igloos in our backyard, we’d coat the snow with buckets and buckets of water.  Between each “layer” of water, we’d let everything freeze solid, and then add more water, and so on.