Some Halloween pics need no explanation...

Some Halloween pictures need no explanation. Grandma bought Michael the frog costume, and he looks so thrilled...October 31, 2003

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Sickness Affects Your Outlook (and your Productivity)

Yes, I'm back after a few days of being sick. I'm still tired as all get out, but at least I've got coffee.

A flare-up of my rheumatoid arthritis made my hands so swollen I couldn't type, draw or paint. The medicine I take for RA saps my strength and makes me just want to curl up and sleep. That doesn't do wonders for the productivity factor. My brain tries to push my body into doing something, anything, but my joints inform me, "I'm not going to cooperate. Go to bed. Thank you."

Frustrations abound, big time. Even now, I get impatient at my body's limitations. "Okay, now that you've had your little R&R, I've got to play catch-up." And the Muse shoots back with, "There really isn't any good time to have a breakdown. I don't care if you're Human or a car. Live with it."

Live with it. Writing, at least, is flexible enough that I can do it anywhere, even when I'm stuck in bed. Even if I scratch out a few words, it's better than not having written at all. A little writing goes a long way, and my mind says, "At least I'm getting something done and it doesn't matter if it looks like chicken scratch. I'm a linguist, I can handle it." And when I'm better, I can transcribe it to the computer.

But still, I've never been one who did well just being sick. And it's true that if you don't give your body the rest it needs, it'll take that much longer to recover. It's like a chain of dominoes...when one falls, they all fall and you can't do anything to stop the process. When it's all over, you just pick 'em up and set them up again.

Isn't that how life goes anyway?

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

One at a time vs. multiple projects?

I know some writers who write one story at a time, some artists who paint one painting, some potters who fire one pot at a time. They focus their energies on a single project and don't divide their attention. This way, they complete their tasks before starting new ones, and nothing is left unfinished. On the other hand, a complicated project can take weeks (or months) before it's completed. A fellow painter puts it this way, "The quality of my work is more important to me than just the quantity. If I end up cranking out picture after picture, the process loses something. I end up losing my soul."

Other creatives have multiple pots on multiple burners on their stove. I admit that I'm more of this type. If my writing Muse hikes Her way to Key West again on my novel, I can work on my poetry, or my drabble collection. If I can't make any headway on my acrylic painting, I'll grab a few old magazines, cut and paste a collage to my heart's content. Sometimes I'll get an idea on how to approach my original problem (by doing something completely unrelated), so I'll scurry back to it.

Of course, some of my projects sit untended for a while, and eventually may go to the reject or the recycle bin. But that doesn't bother me as much. Things ebb and flow, and change, other ideas come and go.

Everyone has their own style, methodical or chaotic, but as long as it suits your creative life, have fun!

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Admin Post: Art Store on Zazzle.com/Lady Rainbow's Art

Just a note, since we're going into the holiday season soon!

Check out my art store, Artistmum Creations at http://www.zazzle.com/artistmum1*

If you're looking for gifts for Halloween, Veterans Day, or Christmas, drop by and see the designs I've made for shirts, posters, mugs and other items. Some of the artwork are also featured in Lady Rainbow's Art.

Thanks for reading my blogs and supporting creativity! I appreciate it more than you know.

Annie

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Thinking too Much with the Intellect, Not Enough with the Heart

"Lovers and men of intellect cannot mix:

How can you mix the broken with the unbroken?

Cautious men of intellect shrink back from a dead ant:

Lovers, completely carefree, trample down dragons.

The intellect says, "the six directions are limits; there is no way out."

Love says, "There is a way; I have traveled it thousands of times."

The intellect saw a market and started to haggle.

Love saw thousands of markets beyond that market." 

Rumi

*****

I read this quote and this really spoke to me. Thinking too much can hamper our creativity. When confronted by the unexpected (the dead ant), sometimes we panic and freeze in our tracks. If we don't allow the weird and the wonderful to throw us off balance, we can tackle the biggest problem and triumph over it.


Once we hit a barrier, it's so easy to just give up. "There's no way around this problem; there's nothing I can do!" Look for unorthodox solutions, try new ideas, see what works. If it doesn't work, try another way. And another, and another. 


When your livelihood depends on your creativity, it's easy to fall into the 'will this sell and for how much?' trap. The practical side keeps us fed, clothed, and able to make more creative items. Once your main goal becomes achieving a bottom line, the quality of your product suffers. It becomes just a means for an end: to satisfy a certain "market". "Love saw thousands of markets beyond that market". Don't lose sight of what matters the most to you, and don't limit yourself to just one way of doing things.New roads and new directions can inspire more ideas and the circle begins again. 


Think, but also use your heart in your creative efforts.






All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Quotes about Music

Music:

"I want to sing like the birds sing. Not worry who hears or what they think." Rumi


"I began to hear music differently. I began to hear something in bare sound I had never heard befrore to experience in the very act of hearing an upward intention, as if some current were drawing us toward it." W.A. Mathieu


"In the beginning was noise. And nose begat rhythm. And rhythm begat everything else." Mickey Hart


"The drum is sacred. Its round form represent the whole universe, and its steady beat is the pulse, the heart, throbbing at the center of the universe." Nick Black Elk.


"There is nothing better than music as a means for upliftment of the soul." Hazrat Inayat Khan


"In writing songs, I've learned as much from Cézanne as I have from Woody Guthrie." Bob Dylan


"FREQUENCY + INTENTION = HEALING" Jonathan Goldman


"Music has the capacity to touch the innermost reaches of the soul and music gives flight to the imagination." Plato


"All passionate language does of itself become musical---with no finer music than the mere accent; the speech of man, even in zealous anger, becomes a chant, a song." Thomas Carlyle


"Seek out a man who is skillful in playing the harp, and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it and you will be well." 1 Samuel 16: 14-16

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

More Digging in Old Files...

When I have the time, I'll clear out the old files in my computer. I have manuscripts (and various sundry parts of manuscripts) dating back nearly ten years. I save everything on a separate hard drive; after several computer crashes and outages, laptop malfunctions and kid-caused keyboard spills, I've become a wee bit paranoid about losing stuff.

On the one hand, it makes me a literary packrat. On the other hand, you find all kinds of treasures you completely forgot about. This past week, I stumbled over:

1) several old chapters of a science fiction novel I abandoned a couple of years ago.

2) short stories that I was convinced I lost when my second laptop crashed three years ago

3) Old poetry chapbook layouts

4) lists of story ideas that never quite gelled

I was stunned at the stuff I found. Reading through those words gave me more ideas for new projects. I might combine two ideas into a new story, and three snippets in particular might work. My Muse has plenty of ideas to mull over and when She's busy, I'm happy.

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010