Panoramic views

If you click on the painting above you will find a 360° panorama. This was created using software called 'Photosync' ---- which you can look up on your browser and create your own panoramas. This could be a great way for our painters to show a 360° panorama  of your studio highlighting your favorite paintings.

I created two panoramas of my backyards, both in Colombia and Brookeville. It's fun and painless -- -- you take a series of over- lapping photographs and then use a software package from Microsoft named ICE which stitches the photographs together and exports the result to the Photosync website.  All of this is free and fun to play with.

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.

Gwyenth Davis ---- the lifestyle and discipline of a writing career

Gang,

One of our major topic areas is nurturing the creative spirit. I have attached a link to a interview with a well known author, Gwyneth Lewis, who describes her habits and discipline in her creative trade of writing. She writes much poetry, some novels, and also some screenplays. The interview is a bit slow and rambles at times, however I found some real meat from a person who full-time plies her creative writing skills. 

Tap here for the interview 

Among the observations I found interesting are:

-- -- Gwyneth typically has several projects going, when stuck on one she goes to the others.

-- -- she gives poetry a priority because it's elusive, the thoughts could disappear, a novel on the other hand is more of a steady effort and less elusive

-- -- a major point is that she shows up for work. I have heard several other authors and artists say the same thing, typically in response to the question of a missing muse. The point is that even though feeling somewhat uninspired the commitment to a daily writing routine is a necessary component for success.

-- -- even when the schedule has no slack time, Gwyneth says even a 10 minute effort is worth it.

-- -- Gwyneth makes the point that she likes to stay porous, open to every experience and taking everything in. Making herself open and will vulnerable to the world. However, she adds that when dealing with editors and publishers where there is a business exchange she has to change her temperament, otherwise she would be taken advantage of.

-- -- Gwyneth reads extensively of other authors and unabashedly borrows their style and structure. She says the classics have so much to teach and she is first in line to imitate or at least interpret and reuse their form of expression.

-- -- Gwyneth always rights to someone. She envisions their attitude, posture, philosophy, ..... even the shoes they're wearing. She says it's all about composing and delivering the poem or story to the imagined person sitting across the table.

-- -- she says many of her products are not good enough. They are shelved and not delivered -- -- she says one advantage of being an author is that you don't do it in public. She adds however, that occasionally she will dust off a shelved piece modify it and transform it to a different setting -- -- and then it works.

-- -- she describes 'creative writing' as having no preordained or pre-known ending. It goes where it goes. She states that writing with a known end is more like reporting or exposition.

There is also much discussion about the lifestyle of a full-time author. Very interesting is the discussion of the next big hit -- -- the pressure that comes about after a very popular book to produce the next big hit -- -- and how in a very humble way she negotiates the pressure.

It is an hour long interview and, at least for me, very well worth the time. The subject here is writing but I would guess pretty much all the comments are equally true about painting.

Honor thy muse,

Tom

Poetry of a different kind

Keith,

I am so impressed by how you very deliberately and carefully hone and perfect your subject before painting. I have previously noticed that your accompanying poetry is really really good --- so now I can see that your careful and elaborate planning has both your poetry and painting hit the bull's-eye.

I use poetry in the exact opposite way -- -- poetry captures my throwaway and byproduct thoughts. I have been so over trained as a mathematician and businessman that I dismiss and  disregard the nuances and feelings and milieu of my emotional life. Poetry is my attempt to recapture what an overly focused and overly trained intellect has come to ignore.

One of the great lessons in industry is that often the byproduct is the real treasure -- the steam byproduct of the fire in a steam engine provides the energy, the esprit de corps byproduct of a competitive team is often the essence of the team, the popular mandate byproduct of Obama's campaign is turning out to be his strength after his winning election....

Likewise the byproducts of my overly active mathematical imagination is more the essence of me then the mathematical result. And it was all discarded  --- until my fascination with poetry and the expression of these fleeting insights.

So the signature of my poetry is it's spontaneity, surprise, nuance .... for me it's a gift of the erstwhile unseen.

Tom

The tree of life, the poem of life

Susan, what an enrapturing poem. You beautifully use metaphor as a sneak attack -- -- when you convince the reader are you talking about a tree you unveil a wonderful surprise -- -- the direct personal meaning of the poem.

And it's meaning is all of painful, glorious, and beautifully true.

JoAnne's blog

JoAnne,

Thank you for the very interesting pair of winter and spring stanzas. But more so I think your new blog on mathematics and poetry is absolutely wonderful -- -- and I highly recommend it to others all -- -- http://poetrywithmathematics.blogspot.com/. Everybody please take a look at JoAnne's blog, it's extremely well done and has fascinating topics about this synergy of poetry and mathematics.

It stimulated a topic high on all of our writing lists -- -- the blank page.

first annual Artist Connection Spring Citation --- identical twin poems

Gang,

I wanted to post twin poems --- with photographs of the same scene, one winter and one spring, twin verse of winter and spring.

The view is my backyard overlooking the Tridelphia reservoir.

The project still unfinished, instead of just twins I wanted identical twin poems.  The winter poem should be rewritten for spring so that when put side-by-side photographs match up and so do the words.

The spring poem would start out with analogs to: winter's a thief, .....eg spring is summertime Santa Claus ..
 next stanza: spring analog to winter's a bully,...

I just finished putting a book together where pages 24 and 25 face each other with the poems 'winter' and 'spring' with the photographs side-by-side facing each other.  More on the book publishing later --- much to talk about and much to learn.

In any case may we all have a glorious and joyful spring -- -- if anyone wants to take up the challenge of the identical twin 'spring' poem they'll be awarded the first annual Artist Connection Spring Citation.

Cheers all,
Tom

Married to the Muse

Here is a challenge we all share that we should post on ----dealing with the lows and highs of the creative spirit.  That is accepting the loneliness of our thoughts and observations and then marshaling the courage to express them.  And then dealing with life's incompleteness when the creative muse strays -- -- as well as creating the space for its expression before it fades away, rather before it escapes into the night.

A Two-Word Name and Thoughts on Lightning

Keith, I like your title for Najwa's painting but then I was trying to get it down to two words since that was the original request. So I stole your word "Oasis" and now suggest "Inner Oasis." I keep returning to the blog to look at the painting, Najwa. Thank you for sharing your color with us. I wonder if that is what we all do as artists is share our "inner oasis" with others, and I wonder, too, if that "inner" aspect of our creative lives gives way to occasional profound feelings of loneliness.

And I believe in the power of poets in love. It's the kind of weather that storms across the water at you and catches you before you realize you've been waiting all your life for it.

Tom's Thunder Poem

I love the poem. I have never thought of male/female thunder. We had thunder and lightning the other night during the blizzard. One bolt took out four trees and put them on the road. I wish I could have inspected that bolt. You mentioned that Poets know thunderstorms get their energy and full fury at those rare moments when male and female are in harmony. I am not so sure about that. I think Poets with an ex-wife might take exception to that harmony. Maybe the difference is Poets in love.

Speaking of the topic of male/female in one thing...
Did you know that 80% of the male smallmouth bass in the Potomac River are now born with parts male and parts female. The males are producing eggs. Scientists can not account for what is causing that. They should ask me.

I have a perfect name for that painting.

I saw it and immediately starting singing...

Send your camel to bed.
Shadows paintin our faces
traces of romance in our heads...

My title for that would be..

MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS

Najwa gets a gold star on her collar!

That painting does capture the mood of a star, and it is a nice to look at. So I would say, well done 100%. Najwa gets a gold star on her collar!

YO, PAINTERS!

Love what's been going up on the blog, everyone!

We bounce ideas off each other really well.

Just look at what the topic "Life Without Stars" has generated:

new ideas for poems and paintings.

Painters, can we visit one of your studios sometime soon?

It doesn't have to be a formal group meeting, just

whoever can go, can go, and we can bring along others

who might be interested.

We want to not only keep the blog going but also keep the group

connected in small ways in between our larger meetings.

Let us know what days/times work for you and we'll

grab a few people and come. Meanwhile, thanks

for the communication. Good reading

on these snowbound days.

Look what I found

I am working on my accompanying painting for the star poem. I was researching how Van Gogh did stars, because I love his paintings. I will wind up with a different style, but I at least wanted a reference of how a master painted them. The only thing I know for sure is that I want to include at least an inference to the Big Dipper. If anybody is like me, they look for the Big Dipper first thing in the sky. When I checked Van Gogh Starry Night over the Rhone...I was shocked. There it is! I have seen that painting many times and never noticed the Big Dipper staring at me. Vincent would have called it Steelpannetje (saucepan), but there it is.

I have to check Vincent's notes to see if he specifically noted the Big Dipper in his painting, or if he wanted it to be subliminal.

Next Poem

Next poem challenge..

I am writing a poem about visiting places in our beautiful America that most will likely never see. I suppose we all are much more mobile than most Americans. However, there are some sights even we will never see. As an artist that is sad to me. However, in your mind you can make them so much more because that is also God's creation. Therefore, just as the early American artists glamourized the American west, because it was out of reach. I am going to do the same thing, because gas prices are cramping that dream in the 21st century. Therefore, I want to again romanticize an America that some will never see. A 35MB photograph will not do. Maybe in the 22nd century we will have high speed rail and we can go back to photographs.

My accompanying painting will be called Cezanne Falls. It is really Angel falls in Yellowstone Park. I call it Cezanne Falls, because I would have really like to meet him, but even low gas prices can't make that happen.

Therefore, the poem is about creating beauty in your mind, for others to share, so that we don't have to be sad about never actually experiencing.

And God said Let there be "Light" !

Here is a little light reading:

http://www.lulu.com/SchoolofLife

painting life without stars

I had to attend a workshop on Sat.( a non creative one). I find myself drawing sketches on the paper i was handed to follow the speaker , the drawings were 1X1 inches of my view of life without stars......today i started a painting based on the 1X1 inch drawings...I don't know were it is heading....I will be writing about the progress of this painting....

What happens when we meet?

Magic happens, creative people share their visions and inspirations. It's about the very early feeling of a rumbling of a new idea, of how a seed is set and how it grows and takes form. It's about creating space to let the new seed grow.
It's a brotherhood of creativity -- -- blood brothers bonded by the pursuit of a dream. It's the scaffolding and support system for ephemeral dreams. It's creating self accountability to have dreams come true. It's about listening to the calling and letting its meaning be felt. It's honoring the lifecycle of the creative process -- -- a support group for self-expression. It's the excitement of witnessing a new idea becoming manifest -- -- something from nothing, creation.