Book Making

Posted on | June 27, 2009 |

I spent the whole of today with my head stuck in  the computer as I march to the finish line designing my book.  It’s great fun but last week was even more fun as I went around Boston collecting art from various artists, some of whom I met by chance, others of whom were recommended.  That’s Julia Talcott’s amazing prints on the wall of my studio.  The box on the table is by Susy Pilgrim Waters and beside it is a tiny painting by my studio neighbor, Deb Putnoi.  I also visited Yuko Adachi and Michael Crockett to collect some of their fantastic work. There are more artists and many spaces to be filled.  The art I’ve collected so far is brilliant—I couldn’t be happier.  The book is about drawing ostensibly, but it’s really about the creative mind and how to access it.  The publisher asked me to come up with a new title so the book is now called: The Confident Creative / Inspirations from The Saturday Morning Drawing Club, based, as it is, on the drawing class I teach on Saturday mornings.

Mixed in with art by professional artists is work by my amazing students.  It makes me ask what it is I look for in art.  Sometimes we think skill must be the backbone of art but I’m revising my opinion on that.  For me, whenever spirit shines through, unfettered, the work speaks volumes.  Skill can help, of course, which is why we draw the same thing over and over.  But, really, what you choose to communicate is what touches others, I think.  My students all have such wonderful warm, loving spirits—it’s a real pleasure to see their work and I think people who read the book will love it.

It’s rained and rained here in Boston.  This is virtually the first “nice” day in weeks.  Even so, around one o’clock, when I set out for a walk, it started to drizzle.  I decided to press on or I’d atrophy from sitting too much.  Out in back of the art center where I have my studio is a beautiful park.  There’s never anyone in it and today as I rounded the bend I came upon four baby hedgehogs.  Their fur was blonde and shiny and they were just about 7 or 8 inches long!  Three scurried away but the fourth was so engrossed in digging for grubs that he didn’t notice me until I was two feet away. He then looked at me with a moment’s total bafflement before dashing off to join his siblings.  But for a brief shining moment it was just he and me.

Life in the city.  More soon.  Meanwhile, hope you’re all doing well and that the sun is shining in your corner of the planet.

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