London!
Posted on | February 25, 2010 | No Comments
Yes, that’s Big Ben and I’ll be saying hello to him very, very soon. I’m heading off to London on Sunday to promote the book and am very excited. The trip was really just confirmed last weekend so this week I’m scrambling to get ready.
My publisher, Thierry Bogliolo, of Findhorn Press has hired a super PR woman—Sue Blake. I’ve got energy but Sue’s a good few yards ahead, for sure. Just great. She doesn’t hesitate or second-guess— she just goes for it and things start happening. I’m very, very grateful to Thierry and Sue.
Sue had the brilliant and very creative idea of my doing my drawing class for the press in London. It will be really fun for people to have the experience of drawing together and see how it quickens the creative pulse. The beauty of it is—it doesn’t take long to leap up into another orbit of possibility. I’m so looking forward to this and very excited that the event will be at the arty Hoxton Hotel!
But, meanwhile, back at the ranch, there are papers scattered all over the place with scrawly phone numbers and lists of things that must be done before Sunday. Maybe I should put them all in one place for starters!
I’m not complaining—no, not at all! I’m just pinching myself! Dreams do come true—and not just mine. So keep the faith. It really comes down to that. What we can envision, what we can believe, what we want matters. We’re each here for our own unique purpose and whatever inspiration comes to us is meant for us. It’s a universal law—but it can be hard for us to believe. It was hard for me to believe at various times in my life. But we can probably all take note of when we did believe and how it changed things. I think this is where yoga comes in. We need to watch our minds and watch the thoughts that creep in to rob us of acting on inspiration. These thoughts are very, very sneaky and often masquerade as “logic.” I love what Louise Hay said in her book, You Can Heal Your Life”—”We can no longer afford the luxury of a negative thought.” Better things happen with positive ones, for sure.
And, so, on this rainy day here’s to bright thoughts for us all! And now—to work here!
Launched!
Posted on | February 23, 2010 | 2 Comments
Last night my husband, Allan Hunter, and I had a dual book launch at The Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA—and it was fantastic fun! We each spoke for 20 minutes as part of the Text and ConText series—Allan on his book, Write Your Memoir, and I on my career as an illustrator/artist and then to introduce my book, The Confident Creative.
Allan spoke off the cuff and in such a moving way about how writing about our lives in an honest, reflective way can bring us to a place of wholeness in which we grow our souls. He told the story of how he helped his father, Jim, write his memoir. Jim was a WW2 RAF pilot who was shot down over the Atlantic to survive and become a “guest” of Nazi Germany for 4 years. It was a devastating experience, one in which many of his friends died though in all of Allan’s life it had been rarely mentioned and only in terse passing comments. When Jim was finally able to tell the whole story, and even share the watercolor paintings he’d made in the prisoner-of-war camps, it was a very healing experience and we could see even how Jim relaxed and felt more secure in himself. Telling his story was helpful for his life but it also helped his family and friends understand him better. Allan believes it can be good for all of us to write about our lives and I really agree that it is a fine, fine way to reflect on our life journeys.
I was quite nervous the whole day of the event. For one thing, I’m not at all used to public speaking and then to follow Allan who speaks so eloquently and with such ease—well, you can understand. Still, it was my aim to do well and I prepared a few days in advance and rehearsed two or three times. But then I forgot to bring my notes to the event! So I had to wing it it—but perhaps it’s good to just speak from the heart as you go.
And I really could speak from the heart because so many great people were there—the members of the art class, my artist and other friends, my children came and lots of people we didn’t know as well. I think there were almost 100 people. I tried to say, however clumsily, that we are all creative, all creating our own lives. I also tried to say that art has value in all its forms. It’s not just art in museums that matters. Just as much it matters that we each discover our own creative selves and come to live fully from the core of who we are. I wonder if that isn’t really the purpose of art—that it connects us with spirit.
I’m sure it was because of what I was saying and how much it means to me to have witnessed the unfolding of other people’s creative lives that I felt so comfortable talking, even without my notes! It was something new for me and not something I was at all comfortable with if I thought about it. But when we all come together to really explore something that truly matters in an honest way—there’s magic in the air.
Afterwards we got to chat with so many people. What a fantastic community we have around us. I thank everyone who came for their presence and for all the love in the room. It was an amazing night and a good send-off for two books as they begin their journeys into the world.
Drawing Club
Posted on | February 11, 2010 | 2 Comments
Just spent a week here in Boston with Thierry Bogliolo, of Findhorn Press, the publisher of my book, The Confident Creative. Thierry lives in the south of France and I think we might have had warmer weather if we’d met there! (Wouldn’t that be nice?!) As it turned out, there were massive snowstorms in the midwest so he didn’t make it out to Minneapolis as planned and we got to spend more time together. He came up with a great idea for The Confident Creative website—to offer a free pdf download to help people who are working with the book form their own drawing clubs. It’ll be fun to do!
This past week, I’ve done a couple of phone interviews about the book with journalists in London. They’re asking me in various ways what drawing can do for people. It’s really quite simple. First, drawing is fun. It makes you feel like a kid again, especially if you can let yourself scribble and not feel you need to be “good.” In fact, it can teach us that it’s great to just be! These are stressful times and a lot of us can get locked into a sense of hyper-responsibility as adults. We all need to loosen up sometimes and it’s great to think we only need a pencil and paper to take us out of our over-thinky minds and into a space of imagination and presence.
Secondly, by drawing in all sorts of ways—upside-down, with our eyes closed, with our left hand and so on—we start to believe we can experiment with all sorts of things in our lives. There’s no one right way to do anything and often breakthroughs come when we step out of our habitual ways of thinking and into some experimental action.
Of course, if we do draw from life, we get the added benefit of taking the time to observe the world around us with a little more care. We get to appreciate it a little more and that’s a good thing too. I could go on and on. One of the reasons I wrote the book is that I became aware, over time, of just what a friend drawing has been for me in my life. Every time I sit down to draw I come into a place of peace and happiness—it’s like a meditation. It gives me a little “time-out” and also helps me get perspective on my life.
But I also have to say that teaching my drawing class on Saturday mornings has really shown me the huge benefits of working alongside other artists. We get to encourage each other, of course, and also to learn from each other. Sometimes other people can see the real quality of our work more easily than we can see it ourselves. We all have a tendency to look at our own work with a critical eye so there can be huge benefits to working alongside others. We can get a lot of great ideas from each other too. It’s fun. When I come up with the outline for forming a drawing club, I’ll post it here too. And, if you start one, please let me know!
The drawing above is a monoprint drawing. I inked a plexiglass plate then placed a piece of paper on it and drew on the back of the paper. When you turn the paper over—presto! I love how it has so much texture and visual interest.
I’ll be back here next week. Meanwhile, hope the sun is shining in your part of the world!
Just Kids
Posted on | January 30, 2010 | 2 Comments
I just finished reading Patti Smith’s memoir. It’s the story of the very early days of her adult life when she was exploring her devotion to writing and art with a fervor that had a lot of flair to it.
The story takes off when Patti leaves a factory job in Camden, N.J. and heads into New York City at the age of 19 after giving birth to a baby out of wedlock that she gives up for adoption. It was tough back then for girls who got pregnant but I believe the universe supports a bold step in the direction of salvation. Patti soon met a young man named Robert Mapplethorpe who shared her intense devotion to being an artist and writer. It reminds me of the friendships of Picasso and Matisse, of Gauguin and Van Gogh. They weren’t always smooth and the latter didn’t last but the friendships were so key.
The raw, revelatory truth of an un-cushioned life shines through Patti’s art and music, and through the book. She shows us devotion is the foundation of art, even the purpose of the artist’s life. She didn’t waver through all the tests that come to every artist—the rejections, the financial hardships, the uncertainties. She just kept at it. We’ll all do it differently but it’s been a real treat for me to read how she did it—the tales of the Chelsea Hotel and people like Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Janis Joplin and the other writers and artists she came to know well. Robert Mapplethorpe comes across as rather unattractive. There’s no indication that he reflects very deeply on anything and I was a bit disappointed at how he let Patti work while he stayed home to make art. But here’s to Patti for looking on the bright side. She felt she was stronger and, curiously, she hit her stride before he hit his. It was an amazing time, a brief shining moment when art seemed to reign, and she evokes it with real clarity and wit. We can see the beginning of the end of it here also. Just a great, riveting, and surprisingly fun read.
Back in the Studio
Posted on | January 24, 2010 | No Comments
Back in the studio after a few weeks designing websites—my new art site—www.catbennettart.com and a new site for my book (The Confident Creative / Drawing to Free the Hand and Mind)—www.theconfidentcreative.com. It has made my head spin a bit, have to say. But now they’re up, still works in progress, of course, but you can see the first 33 pages of the book at both.
Sorry to be out of touch. It’s winter here in Boston and there’s snow on the ground, as you can see. I’ve been working a little too much—not really a good thing and the weather hasn’t been right for walking outside. Tomorrow though it’s supposed to be 50F so will venture out to clear the foggy head and get some good, crisp energy flowing. There’s still a lot to do to promote the book but ideas for my other work are also welling up and there’s enough time now to do some print-making and writing. And that’s all we need—just an inkling, a little time, the impulse. And my wonderful studio is waiting so patiently for me.
Note to self: Remember to water the plants tomorrow morning first thing! Studio plants have to be so resilient—just like artists.
New Project—Floppity Flop
Posted on | January 6, 2010 | No Comments
At the end of last year I discovered gelatin printmaking through the good graces of wondrous print-maker, Julia Talcott, who gave a relief printmaking class just down the hall from my studio at the art center. I absolutely love the medium. It’s quick and expressive and easy. Well, that’s what I thought. Last night I made a gelatin plate at home then carefully schlepped it to the studio this morning. It’s my intention to make a series of gelatin prints each week this year. I want to see what happens when I just show up and immerse myself in the process of art-making. I have no particular goal other than to see what emerges organically from showing up. That’s very different from how I often am with art. Often I have ideas first and I want to execute those ideas and even bring the work into the world. Often I think I’m supposed to be totally in charge! That’s how it’s been for a lot of my art career but I now see things in more organic ways. I hope!
With these gelatin prints I want to cede control. I want to just show up, be in the moment and play. See what happens.
Today I showed up and soon discovered that I’d not made the gelatin plate quite thick enough or strong enough. It was too watery and too thin. It fell apart almost immediately. Not only that, the colors I used lacked subtlety and punch—both at the same time. They were neither here nor there. I noticed, of course, what was happening as it was right in front of my eyes! Dismal, flippity-flop results. Into the recycling bin they went. It’s harder than I thought. The first time I did these I got interesting results like the piece here. I got lucky. I was in a better space with a better plate. But this time—nada. All so interesting.
Still, the experience of being there, fully immersed in experiment was a fine thing. So, next week—try, try, try again! That’s how it goes with art. Who knows where it leads.
New Year Launched!
Posted on | January 4, 2010 | No Comments
It’s a brand new year and we got to celebrate with wonderful friends! 2009 was very hard for so many people around the world. We are mindful of that, especially having just seen the brilliant film, Up in the Air, in which George Clooney fires people for a living. There’s something wrong with our current economic model, for sure. But we were fortunate and are counting our blessings. No one lost a job and we were able to carry on as before.
It was a year of very hard work for me. I finished writing my book, The Confident Creative, and sent it off to Thierry Bogliolo at Findhorn Press early April. A couple of weeks later he wrote to accept the book, which made me very happy, I have to say. Thierry is a wonderful publisher—kind, intelligent, hard-working and knowledgeable. He also gave me a deadline for its completion—September 1, a mere 4 1/2 months away. At that point, all I had was the text. I’d hardly had a chance to think, even, how it might be illustrated. I’d imagined I might do many of the visuals myself but, that first week, I saw how the book would be so much richer if other artists contributed. But who? I had no idea!
I began by asking my 2 studio mates, Deborah Putnoi and Kaetlyn Wilcox. They both do work that is full of experimentation and imagination—the kind of work I wanted in the book. My aim is to encourage true creative exploration through the practice of drawing. But these were just 2 artists and there were many pages to fill.
That next month is almost a blur. I set my intention on finding new artists as I sat down to actually design the book. I’ve done a certain amount of design work over the years but have primarily worked as an illustrator and now artist. I made the decision to hire Matt Jatkola, a young graphic designer with a great eye and deep patience! Then I asked the Universe for artists to rain down on me! And down they came in quick succession—some through visits to open studio events in Boston, some through word of mouth and one through scouring the internet. Into the mix came a few old friends and the members of my spring drawing class.
Putting the book together was a totally organic process. One thing simply led to another. I basically worked 7 days a week for 4 months but it never really felt like work, I have to say. In the midst of it all, I designed the cover. In July, Thierry came to visit and gave me the thumbs up on everything. Early September, I sent him the files and in November the first book arrived in my mailbox— a day of great sweet happiness! I still carry it around with me everywhere! A bit silly, I know! It’s available for pre-order on Amazon now but will be officially released in the U.S. on April Fool’s Day! Fun!
After the book was finished, I got a chance to make some more art. I’m really excited to have learned how to make gelatin prints from one of the great artists in the book, Julia Talcott. It’s a brilliant medium—all about spontaneity and focus and I love the results—pure energy. In the last few weeks, I’ve put together a new site dedicated to my art of the last 5 years. It’s an active site and will be updated as I do a new art project this year, which I’ll soon say more about here. And I’m launching the site at the beginning of this new year, which I hope will be a year of new awareness and peace for all of us on this planet.
Good wishes to you all for a truly fulfilling and wondrous new year! I’ll be posting more regularly now and I hope you’ll visit again and say hello.
Two Steps Forward…
Posted on | December 14, 2009 | No Comments
I‘ve spent the last week working on new art website which has caused eyes to cross and redden in a fairly unattractive way. Yesterday I made 5 calls to Technical Support and was very grateful for the patience of a young man named Matt. But, at the end of the day, all I had was a headache. I think I was complicating matters. It’s a human thing—we do that, especially when we’re in over our heads!
But I’ve taken a couple of tiny steps forward. I streamlined this site a little today. The new art site is basically done and the art will move from here to there in a couple of days. Stayed tuned.
Meanwhile, I’ve had word that my book, The Creative Confident, is now en route from China, where it was printed, to Amazon’s warehouse here. I picture it on a ship somewhere mid-Atlantic and hope it’s in good company. Maybe it’s next to a crate of bananas or a carton of plastic gizmos or cheap jeans. Or maybe a box packed with a really fine book by some author we don’t yet know. Who knows! I’m really hoping it gets here for Christmas but know that’s a bit of a long shot what with choppy, wintry seas and all. I’m very excited about it, have to say, and it will be great to be able to give a copy to the contributing artists and some dear friends.
Now we’re in the run-up to Christmas which has taken me by surprise after our very mild fall and way too much activity. But we’ve had some really fun pre-holiday lunches and dinners with friends and more to come next weekend. Hope you too are having a merry time! More soon. New year’s resolution—blogging about something other than book and work! There’s a whole world out there!
Doing the New
Posted on | December 3, 2009 | 3 Comments
Ah, the artist’s life—so many challenges and uncertainties! I had a wonderful chat this morning with two artist friends about just that. We work away and art always presents us with the brilliant challenge of going where no one else has gone. That’s thrilling but we never know what will happen later. Will we sell our work or not? Will it mean anything to anyone but us? Were we right in our perceptions or so far out in left field that no-one can make any sense of what we’ve done? We have to ask these hard questions.
One woman this morning told the story of how her mother had written a brilliant book and several publishers had rejected it. Not right, they said, and each had a different reason why. Her mother gave up. So sad. Artists aren’t here to defer to authority—we are the authority, at least for the authenticity of our own work. We need to know that and carry on even in the face of discouragement. All artists encounter obstacles—everyone does. But what do we do in the face of discouragement? Our decision determines whether we will live fully or recline on the couch for the rest of our days.
I remember being discouraged at various points in my career. I had thoughts like “This doesn’t matter to anyone” or “I’ll never get to where I want to go” or “I do all this work and it just goes nowhere.” None of these thoughts was accurate. The first one because the work did matter, to me, at least—I loved doing it and it gave me energy and insight. The second is a little ill-conceived because we might well not conceive the perfect scenario for our lives and might better trust in and yield to the synergy of life to determine where we might go. What if where we are is perfect? I think it might be! And, finally, like Winston Churchill, I do believe that if we persevere with whatever we are called to do it will take us where we are meant to be.
Later this morning, I had another conversation. Someone said to me that we can’t succeed because we haven’t done this already and therefore we really ought to play it safe. In other words—let’s not take any chances! The artist’s job is to go where we haven’t gone before—that’s what it is to be creative. So, onwards, dear artists. And take heart!
Art Meditations
Posted on | November 16, 2009 | 2 Comments
I’ve been very delinquent about posting. Sorry. I’ve been immersed in exploration. There’s always that fallow time, I find, between big projects when I need to restore myself and clear my mind. It’s often when I just want to play around with art. For me it can be like meditation—a place to go to where all the regular thoughts disappear and I’m just there with the art. It’s a great way to charge the energy up again and also have fun.
Anyway, I’d been thinking about doing these abstract pieces for months. I painted some paper with gouache way back in the spring and cut out shapes. Every once in a while I fiddled around with them to see if I could make something that felt pleasing and alive and provocative. But I couldn’t quite get there. Everything seemed to fall short as sometimes happens. And we can’t force these things but I like to try again.
Last week I spent an afternoon painting large sheets of paper with gouache again in all the colors I love until I ran out of paper. I tried to include some colors I don’t care for also because too much of a good thing goes nowhere, as life has shown some of us at least. Live and learn! But, as I said, I did run out of paper so didn’t get to the muddier colors. Next time!
Then came the fun part—days and days of cutting and pasting. Here is one of them. I find it very beautiful and evocative. The series is called “Over Our Heads” because I was thinking about the larger dimensions of life which are incomprehensible, of course, and because abstract art is “over our heads.” There’s no way to fully interpret. We can only feel, and possibly guess at meaning or possibility. It takes us out of control and into the place of acceptance of the unknown which is rather exciting really, at least to me. It was a very meditative experience to make this art and the art itself seems to provoke ideas for me and also perks up my energy. I hope it does this for other people too. I shipped about 15 of these out to a gallery just outside Washington on Friday and this week will do more to sell at the shop at The Arsenal Center for the Arts.
Meanwhile, I’m chipping away at my new website. It will actually be here at catbennett.net and the blog will move back to the old artwalaroad.com. This site will be dedicated to my art and I’m designing it on iWeb. The new version of iWeb is much improved and, with luck, I’ll have the new site up and running within the month.
I hope all is well in your world!
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