March 9 --- Show and Tell your creative project

Since our group is about the creative process, it would be fun to have a meeting where we focus directly on creativity in a personal, experiential way --- by talking about one of our favorite creative projects. It may be your first or biggest creative product or it could be a creative experience that transformed the way you think -- something concrete yet seminal to your life or in the way you think.

Talk about when it happened, how your saw your creation take form, the excitement of birthing something new and unique. Describe transforming raw materials into an artistic truth, molding working materials into what's seen in the imagination's eye.

Talk about the magic moment when your vision took form -- the gestalt from frustration to bliss. Do you remember that first moment that changed things, when you realized you can do it? Talk about it.

Bring the work that started it all, and hold it in front of the group as you speak. Could be a painting, a poem, a formula, an article, a book...

We get five minutes each, and go around the room to hear of first breakthroughs.

I can't wait to hear from you guys. Your creative gifts are incredible. My breakthrough changed me and set me on a wonderful, different path. I can't wait to hear about your magic moment.

Glorious meeting at Najwa's studio

What a great time at Najwa's studio. The ambiance and discussion couldn't be better, surrounded by Najwa's and Shakir's beautiful paintings and our group of creative spirited artists. It is fascinating to hear from each other about how we nurture and exercise our art forms. It is all of fascinating, hilarious, striking, and magic hearing how the common creative spirit motivates and inspires us in our diversity of painters, poets, novelists, mathematician, scientist.

Najwa  thank you for a great evening, the food, drink, and discussion could not be better. And thank you for introducing us to your very talented and dear friends Ed and Shakir.  Please see Shakir's stunning work at http://alousiart.com/.

Your delicious Iraqi food and warm Iraqi hospitality were gracious beyond bounds --- wa alaikum salaam.

Thank you Tim

What a great meeting at Tim's house. Most of us express our creativity keeping the homestead safe, on an easel or on the web or in a book. Not Tim, he lives inside his creation. We steped inside Tim's gallery, with a room by room tour with each room telling the story of it's destruction, reincarnation, reinvention, re-creation

We each experience a sinking chaos when trying to form our vision with uneven unhinged working material --- can you imagine what it feels like to rip a room apart, in the name of creative expression. And like Phoenix arising from ash we witnessed Tim marvelous bigger than life creation.

There is a certain zaniness that comes from following the creative spirit. As Tim told his story I was struck by how everybody was rejoicing in and celebrating Tim's creative initiative . When we take on a creative project it takes ignoring the demands of the outside world and the experience is uneven with a certain price to pay. We each act on our own  creative instincts and together with Tim's story we celebrate it with each other. Everybody identifies and empathizes with Tim's magnificent zany story and our shared creative crazy gift.

There is no place I would rather be.

Dinner At Tom McCabe's

Hot thoughts were the dinner
Pizza was just a break
Wine, was the water
For dinner at Tom McCabe's

Dinner at Tom's Poem

I love that poem!

I mostly like Poems that make me think. However, this is the first poem I have ever read that is written like I think. I love that.

Twin Haikus for Susan

cold Pizza is life
very low expectations
in the end not bad

valentine hearts
life also this time of year
in the end not good

Dinner At Tom McCabe's

This is a poem for the group. Keith, I don't use end-line rhyme like you do. I tend instead toward internal rhyme, and my poetic expression is more abstract than yours, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. I love reading different styles of poetry. We round out the universe that way.

Dinner At Tom’s

Another hour spent stirring this gravy of sand, cacti, sun.

I’ll add lizards because their tongues refuse straight lines,

scorpions because pain adds flavor. But always my questions:

Is this mixing into just a tired wrist? A pitcher that pours dust?

A mirage I wish I could believe? A whole waste of a bowl?

Then a drop tapped off your finger forms an ocean;

A cold pizza enfolds a life. Let the connection rise to delicacy.

If we cook for hours we’ll need no knife. Quickly shut

the oven door before creation collapses. Let us linger over plates

and invite our guests and hope, for all of us, a taste will remain.

I just had the blog contact all members and invite them to blog -- -- -- you hit the button on the upper right 'new post' and write to your heart's content.

As a ceremonial beginning I am looking for Keith's new exciting poem "Life without stars"

Our virtual meeting place

Fellow artists,

This is our meeting place on the Internet -- -- a blog where we can share ideas, quickly express thoughts, share our struggles, and most importantly keep inspiring each other.

The intent is to create the serendipity and spontaneity of our meetings right here on the Internet -- -- so as you have inspired ideas or a thought you want quick feedback on, this is the place.

I will set up various sections: field trips, our next meeting, our charter, local events of interest, etc. If you have ideas for additional sections please tell me.

Cheerio,

Tom