The need for artistic inspiration is best fulfilled by a quick trip to the cultural mecca of NYC. One highlight was seeing this Schiaparelli/Prada exhibit at the Met that is going on until August 19th. Not only are there gorgeous and ahead-of-their-time designs from long ago, but there are ongoing film discussions between Schiaparelli and Prada about the design lifestyle. Then Prada takes cues from Schiaperelli's creations and does her own take on them. Very cool!
After the exhibit has you flying, then a cool place to visit is the Met roof where the views are exquisite! The sculptural roof structure on the Met roof makes for an even more thrilling exploratory adventure.
In NYC, artistic opportunity and inspiration are everywhere you turn! From this shop entryway that lures in customers anatomically....
... to artists performing in their medium during a simple walk in the park!
Jenny Divine's energy in her Donna Summer memorial was an entertaining treat. And our own hotel room brought such breathtaking views I spent more time enjoying fhe view than wanting to sleep.
The full moon made things surreal!
Even the trip home...which unfortunately took all day because of a missed connecting flight, had art in it! I was very happy to have a bubblegum pink suitcase in the sea of mostly black ones. Even tho it was a day of flying from city to city until I could get a flight home. No such thing as waiting if you sketch, so there was lots of sketching opportunity all day long.
Though I love gorgeous views....I accepted this as the view from my flight, so I could finally get home!
I loved the artsy trip, but was happy to be on the noisy prop plane home because I know that any experience we have is enjoyed in the present, but enjoyed with even more depth through memories.
Highly recommended if you're looking for a sparky cultural museum visit...the MAD museum of art.
Every human needs a change of scenery for sanity sake and for creative inspiration and I hope this little visual blog entry trip has brought a spark to you as much as it did to me.
I know of no better candidate to write a book about time
than Marney Makridakis! Being a long time fan of artellaland.com and having
studied in her ArtBundance Coaching Program http://www.artellaland.com/ACT.html I've always been amazed by how
prolific and creative she is! In one week she accomplishes more than I can in
years! Knowing what a magical manifester Marney is,I couldn’t wait to delve into her new book to
learn how she perceives time.
Some of the things that jumped out most to me
from reading her new book, "Creating Time---Using Creativity to Reinvent the Clock and Reclaim Your Life" were…
·I enjoyed the way it was written using both left
brain and right brain perspectives of time. This balanced way of presenting her
work speaks to and includes everyone.
·To observe how each contributor in the book
created their own unique, artistic interpretation of her concepts and exercises
was like going to an art gallery every time I opened the book. Put art in your
book..and you've got me glued to you better than e6000!!! Allow diverse creative participants to interpret
a theme in their own way and I’m in Art Heaven!
·I got to experience Marney on a whole other
level through her stories, examples and art she shared in her book.
·The original Haikus at the beginning of each
chapter set the tone of the chapter’s journey and were also a meditation that
put out a welcome mat for the feel of each chapter.
·I love how Marneyreframes how we experience time, making even
some of our most uncomfortable experiences of time more enjoyable. I took away some
new ways to perceive my rented time on this planet.
Her powerful questions in her journal prompts and her creative exercises really get your ideas about time flowing!
Any book and person who honors intuition,
synchronicity, Divine Timing and creativity belongs in my library of
inspirational books and beings….as these are concepts that can be overlooked in
our fast-paced, instant-grat world.
I am fortunate enough to have a genie in a bottle who is granting me 3 interview questions to magical Marney Makridakis...and she did not disappoint!
TiCo: You are one of the most prolific people on the planet. To observe all the
projects you create and complete is awe- inspiring! To write a book on time
seems in order because you are a master of it. While studying with you I was so
inspired observing how you make your weekends sacred family time that I
incorporated that into my life and made weekends my sacred art focus time. It
has been both powerful and healthy. Have you always known the importance of
sacred time for yourself, intuition, Divine Timing, flexibility and
expansiveness perspective that you honor in your courses and book? Or were
there certain events and experiences that made you a believer in these
concepts?
Marney: I can pinpoint two main experiences that have led
me to understand the role of flexibility and trust as we expand our
understanding of time and strengthen our relationship with it. First, I have
had chronic health issues for my entire life, and, over time, I think that this
has enforced a sense of trusting time that may have been a bit more
elusive without these experiences. Very often my plans have had to change
because of health issues, and I’ve come to see that the timing of how things
actually played out always ended up being “right”, for one reason or another.
And I’ve had so many experiences where I’ve had to create time – time
that didn’t seem to exist, at first glance – to attend to a pressing health
issue, and guess what – the world didn’t stop turning! These repeated
experiences have left no doubt in my mind that we can create time for
what is important, and furthermore, we don’t have to wait for a crisis to do
it. It is a great release from ego to realize these two lessons: that we are
not as important as we think we are, and that divine timing trumps plans. I
think these are crucial pieces in seeing time as a supportive entity,
rather than something we have to “master” or “manage”.
Starting a family is what really made me realize
the importance of focused, uninterrupted time…time that is not managed in tiny
little segments but it expanded to be as full as it needs to be. When my son
was a baby, I realized that he wasn’t getting all of me…he was getting a
segmented version of me, as a by-product of “time management”, multi-tasking,
and “doing it all” mentality. It didn’t take long to realize that * I *
was getting a segmented version of me, too, and that something had to change.
Some of the changes were drastic; for example, I went from working a 7 day week
to working a 4 day week, and I now focus weekends on my family and Fridays just
for me! Granted, the reality of this past year with getting the book published
has meant I’ve had to often dip into my Fridays to play catch up on email and
such, but they always feel different, since I am officially “off”, so it
feels like I’m actually getting ahead of things a bit, LOL. And some of the
changes have been subtle, like asking, “What does the clock say?” instead of
“What time is it?” to remind me that the clock does not control my true – I do.
T: Your little sweetheart son, Kai, has been through a lot for age 3 and is
profoundly wise beyond his years. In fact, there are people ten times his age
that aren’t as in tune with spirituality. The stories you tell about the wisely
shocking things that come out of his mouth make me both laugh and gasp in awe
at the same time! I’m guessing Kai’s profound sense of awareness is a case of
both nature AND nurture. What do you feel is the healthiest way to raise a
child to understand the concept of time? If you were magically given the role
of school system reframer what would you have the school system incorporate to
teach our children about time, so that stress isn’t destroying our health? Any
other principles you'd add to the school system focus that would be healthy for
children to learn at a young age?
M: I think that the importance of nurturing
creativity and curiosity as a process, and not a product, is definitely
one of the most important concepts in terms of early life lessons for children.
It’s important for children to experience creating and exploring just
for the sake of doing so…without having pressure to “make something’’ or be
“productive”. In terms of time, I think it would be wonderful if “learning to
tell time” meant more than just how to read the numbers on the clock, but also
understanding that time is a supportive force in our lives, like a special
superhero partner. Children easily learn that “time” is to blame when they
don’t get to do what they want to do, and this can foster an unbalanced
relationship with time from an early age. I’d love for more families to talk
about measuring time qualitatively instead of just quantitatively. Look
at the difference between: “We have to leave the park in 5 minutes” (and the
resulting tantrum) and “Ok, 5 more giggles until we get to go home. And how
many memories do you think we’ll create on the way home?” I’d love to see
households and classrooms have a clock that is calibrated to true time,
which literally, revolves, around the things that are most important. It can be
a very simple project: cutout a circle from poster board or find an old clock
at a thrift store. Ask each family member or classroom student to replace one
of the clock’s numbers with new images or words that reflect the things more
important to him or her. After the project is complete, place this clock in
plain view, to remind everyone that time is more than just a chronological
construct. I’d love children to learn that we not only choose how we use time,
but also how we feel about and experience time. Time is not just hours…time is ours!
T: This question may be out in left field, but one of the things I adore about
studying with you is how open you are to wild, creative questions and
expressions, so I will ask this….
When you were a child what were your favorite
things to play, play with, and do…and how have these things shown up as an
indicator of your career and how you live your life today?
M: I love this question! I think that our favorite
activities as a child are often very telling, and if someone is feeling a
little unsure about their life’s direction, going back to those childhood
favorite past-times holds many rich clues. I recently heard that a friend from
college is now a geography professor. In college he was studying to be an
actor, but I recall that his childhood obsession was making exquisitely
detailed maps. It seems that very often, though we may take some detours, we
often do end up following our childhood passions.
As a very young child, I ‘wrote’ stories before I
could actually write, prolifically dictating to my mother, who would write them
down for me. I’m told that when I was a young child, I used to cry when I’d try
to write stories on paper, because I couldn’t mechanically get my pencil to
move fast enough to get the words out. My father, a university professor,
thought to bring home a typewriter from his office, and voila, suddenly I could
do it. I typed stories nonstop on that typewriter, and my dear mother has kept
almost all of them in boxes. Those stories are hardly even readable, with my
make-do spelling and complete disregard for the spacebar. I think that old
typewriter was my first love. :-)
When I was a little older, I immersed myself in
very extensive imaginary endeavors. For example, I took “playing school” to a
new level. For two full years, in 4th and
5th grade, I "ran" a boarding school I
named the Alphon Moyar Boarding School. LOL.. I handled it all --
administration, planning, execution – with boxes and boxes of meticulously-kept
file folders. There were applications, entrance exams, and I knew what each kid
looked like, who their siblings were, what their home lives were like, what
their medical histories were like. I made lesson plans for all classes, planned
field trips, made advertising flyers to “increase enrollment”. I would go
through magazines and cut out pictures and to make books of decorating plans
for the school’s dorm rooms. I set up pretend airline reservations (set up from
actual airline information) for their trips home at holidays and summer. Every
single detail was carried out to the fullest.
So I guess you could say that as a child, my
favorite activities were writing as well as “running” creative enterprises –
which is exactly what I’m blessed to be doing now!
Thank you, Marney, for your inspiring INTEReVIEW responses and for creating a book that inspires us to mold our gift of time to make our life a masterpiece!
Today we lost one of my most favorite illustrators and writers. His work was the reason I wanted to draw at all. Mom used to read me this book when I was about two or three, which started the Sendak addiction. You can see I practiced in crayon, right on the cover, trying to draw like him.
No Sendak biography ever captured what a cool and fun personality Sendak had as these Steven Colbert interview videos have! I want to remember Sendak this way...fun, funny, brilliant, authentic and honest. His inspirational illustrations live within all the people who grew up experiencing his wonderfully original books.
I always ask my intuition what it wants me to do everyday. Last month it told me I MUST clean out my bedroom closet. I obeyed. I let go of tons of singer and dancer outfits from my past finally admitting that they are my past and I need to create space for the new.
I found this photo taken at the Teesha Moore Play retreat. Though I attended this retreat in 2009...memories from it still return whenever I'm creating art. There are a number of artists in this photo who have come to the forefront since this retreat...such as Ty and Marcia Schultz (huggy couple in row 2 of Play Retreat photo) who are teaching all kinds of cool art courses at retreats. There's Carla Sonheim (seated slightly behind and to the right of Teesha in Play Retreat photo) who the following year put out this book
and is taking the drawing world by storm. Tiphoni (Row 3 on the right in Play Retreat photo....Teesha's talented daughter is also teaching and creating and doing amazing things) http://tiphoni.blogspot.com/
And I can't leave out the mesmerizing drawing genius Theo Ellsworth. (Next to Tiphoni in Play Retreat photo)
Teesha is always doing something cool and I love to keep up on what she's doing in that wildly creative world she's created.... http://teeshascircus.blogspot.com/
I enjoy looking up people I've retreated with and see what they're up to. That retreat was filled with fascinating artists who I still need time to research and catch up with.
Now I get why my intuition told me to do something as mundane as clean my closet. There was a treasure of inspiration within one little photo hiding in my closet waiting for me to research and discover the cool things artists are doing with their gifts. Always trust your intuition no matter how crazy the idea it sends you may feel!
I'm thinking if you read this post you more than likely can relate to both this photo montage and the following link. I hope they both keep you sparked to stay on your creative path.
I did not make this cool photo montage visual commentary. In fact, I'm not sure who did. One of my fellow ARTbundance™ coaches posted it on our group site. I wish I knew who to credit it to!
Here is another very cool link to an interesting exploration of the dichotomy of being a creative person.... http://talentdevelop.com/articles/TCPTPT.html
Know thyself and stay on the path no matter what!
Today I'm doing as many artists do....going on an inspirational gallery trip online while still in my pajamas.... and inviting you along with me.
There are so many artists out there doing inspirational artsplorations. Here are a few more who have used cars as their canvas...(scroll down the page a bit) http://listverse.com/2011/02/07/10-bizarre-things-cars-have-been-covered-with/ I seem to remember a guy who covered his car in buttons a few decades ago, but he didn't make the list. I wonder how many more cars who didn't make the top ten are out there celebrating the OCDness of object as art supply.
Here is the link to the husband-wife team who created the Swarovski Mini-Coup. Get a load of their prolific wealth of artistic works! http://www.burkittandburkitt.com/ Do they ever sleep?
Thank you for spending time with me on this cyber gallery trip. With all the money and time we saved on this inspirational trip...now we can afford that art tool or supply we were holding back from investing in!
I sure miss Andy Rooney and his curmudgeonly entertaining rants. I guess he preferred realistic art to interpretive art! Expressing feelings through shapes, colors and textures didn't digest well with his sense of taste. Steve Jobs believed aesthetics/taste could be taught. Can it?
Here we see Jean Paul Gautier's recent line of fashions honoring the late Amy Winehouse.
It was received with much controversy. Was this line a thoughtful homage to an unique
icon? Or was the timing off and it was too soon for those still experiencing the grieving process? Did it honor Amy's personal style? Or did it focus on her dark times?
Both these video clips bring up artistic self-expression. Does any artist have control over how
their creative expression is interpreted? We just never know. To express anything at all in public
is such a vulnerable act.
Comedians, musicians, performers, marketers, inventors, designers, entrepreneurs, humans, etc. all are familiar with the importance of timing. It can make or break an intention. And as long as there are diverse beings and life experience tastes will vary.
How often do creatives hold back putting their work out there because of fear of judgement?
These two videos show that even when an artist is established and well known the potential
for adverse reaction never goes away.
It seems, in time, artists learn to separate the message from the messenger and that our
sincere intentions are what matter more than how they're interpreted.
