loose ends
some of this & that
loose ends
a cornucopia of this & that
This is where I’ve dropped an eclectic mix of information and inspiration – you’re apt to stumble on just about anything here!
May it be worthy of your time.
videos & tutorials
Inspirational videos and tutorials can be found on just about any art form and topic you can think of. Curiosity might lead you down a rabbit hole of inspiring videos, and you can spend hours exploring and trying new techniques or ideas – it’s happened to me countless times.
I hope you enjoy the ones I’ve included here!
The Soul’s Kitchen
This is such an inspirational video about Paulus Berensohn’s amazing journal process. Paulus taught at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina – the “monastery of the hand” as he called it, where his model of education was to “invite wonder, together.”
He called his journals his “Soul’s Kitchen – “a place where whatever is drawing your attention could mingle with everything else on those pages and help you see where the soul is leading you.”
Paulus encouraged us to: “Make a space for everything you are, without judgment, inside the journal pages, and the next question will present itself.” YES!!
Following are a few other videos to check out about the power and medicines of art:
Can Art Be Medicine?
4:33
Art as a Spiritual Practice
14:00
Dancing Mindfulness
3:00
Land Art – Flour on the Ground
3:39
Intersection Between the Arts
5:15
Shawn McNiff, IACEAT 2021
Inspirational Sites
The Painter’s Keys is a “worldwide community of artists from over 115 countries who visit this website for information, inspiration, artist advice, friendship and connectivity.” I subscribed to The Painter’s Keys: twice-weekly letters that Canadian artist Robert Genn (1936-2014) wrote to artists non-stop for 15 years. It was a treasure trove of inspiration – the list of art books and quotes alone is the best I’ve every come across. After his passing, daughter Sara continued her father’s tradition for 9 years before moving on. The archives are a wealth of inspiration!
Art is a course in personal development that has no reliable diploma and no known end. The pursuit of art instructs in beauty as well as ugliness, fantasy as well as common sense. Art levels souls and baffles brains. Art softens pain because it is pain. Art gives joy because it is joy.
Art is a form of love.
Art is the ultimate gift.
Art heals life.
I’m not sure how long ago I stumbled upon Heron Dance, but it’s been a valuable source for nurturing and sustaining my art journal practice. There’s a wealth of wisdom here, gleaned from Rod’s own journey as an artist, as well as interviews with countless authors and artists, quotes, and questions to prompt your own inner reflections and writings.
"The purpose of a journal is to explore - explore new concepts, new visions, explore fears and explore one's relationship with oneself. A journal offers a connection to our interior world, to ideas and concepts just beyond our grasp.
A journal isn't a finished work. As artists, we work out vague concepts in our journals. We experiment with loose sketches, quick watercolour washes. Journals are meant to include mistakes. Dig deep into the essence of your life and your art in your journal. Go down blind alleys. Search for what it all means. Don't be critical. Have the courage to fail. Above all else, the rule is to not give up. Keep pushing the envelope. Keep pushing your comfort zone.
Have faith in your uniqueness. Faith is hard. It's the price though of a life fully lived. Life is precious, time is precious. Have the grit and persistence to see your uniqueness through. Grit and persistence come from faith. If it's the right path, your unique path, your path that offers to the world the best you have in you, doors will open. You will know you are on it when you feel really alive.
On your path, you make your unique contribution. We need that from you.
Search for the thing that is searching for you."
