Creative Expression

I had a couple of conversations this week about the creative process (mine anyway), and then I stumbled across this video of author Elizabeth Gilbert talking about some of the things that came up - and more... Enjoy!

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back to work...

I showed this new painting to my buddy Rob yesterday and asked him what he thought (I didn't know what I thought). He said the yellow lines looked, to him, like city streets. i had been thinking there was water, so never would have thought about city streets. After he said that, though, I realized that the shape they are inside of looks a lot (to me, anyway) like Manhattan. Rob is not familiar with what Manhattan looks like, and I am not sure why those yellow lines looked to him like streets. I would never have noticed the Manhattan shape. I thought this was interesting.

Back at the lake...

Sorry I haven't posted for a bit... This week I had visitors from NY - some of my favorite people in the world. I took them out to the lake because it's much more hospitable than my house.
And I got a few water shots, too...

and then....

when I opened the door to let Pearl in, this guy flew into the cabin and commenced spazzing out. It flopped all over the place, coming dangerously close to several spiders, and even got stuck under a low piece of furniture. It wasn't looking good. But then is rested on my woodstove, conveniently in the light and next to some similarly colored foliage. The markings on the wings are so lovely and rich... Only sorry the photos don't do it justice...
La Luna...

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Well we survived the tail amputation yesterday. Here's a shot of Honeybear when she was still doped up. It was no fun when she was coming around, and she's still not talking to me, but she seems all better. My first lily of the season is opening in the pond now. Also, finally got around to painting some today.

a few days gone by...

...and no pictures here. Sorry. I went down to Atlanta for a few things and, although I returned on Sunday, my feet haven't touched the ground. That said, a couple of nice moments here have been listening to the owls as I was in the bathtub last night, and watching and listening to a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers this morning as I was leaving for a conference. The Pileated Woodpeckers were dancing around the trunks of the white oaks here - bobbing down the trees noisily, as they do, one calling continuously. Surely it had nothing to do with eating and everything to do with dancing and singing to each other - both the owls and the woodpeckers. Which reminds me - while in Atlanta, a friend and I were walking downtown and we were graced by a street guy who gave us a historical tour AND serenaded me with Sam Cooke (I think he was channeling Sam). It was magical.

No snakes yet this week...

Ok - I'll post a photo, cause it seems like a nice thing to do. A week or more ago, my friend Johanna was here at the cabin, and we were chatting about dreams and things, and I noticed the light coming into the window and reflecting off her hands. So I snapped a few photos and ended up capturing the light through her hands...

Pickens Nose

Had a nice hike with a friend today on Pickens Nose. Saw a couple of snakes, a few raptors, some turkey vultures. The air was cool, the sun warm, the view just lovely...

Faces...

...in the woods





Just after talking with a friend about a turtle skull (fashioned by humans) fabled to be in these parts someplace, I took her out in the woods to explore. Imagine my surprise when I found a turtle shell - complete with skull and pelvis completely intact... I find a lot of turtle shells, but have never found a skull before!

Spring...

Well - no images from today. It's continued to be such a busy week, into the weekend. However, while I was driving back from a short hike with my good friend who graduated from nursing school today as an RN, I saw a ring necked snake attempting to eat a big black salamander. The salamander's head was in the ring-neck's mouth and they were twirling round and round. Eventually the snake gave up (the salamander's head was almost as big as the snake's head, and, too, I wonder if the salamander has a bad taste to ward off such advances). The snake slithered on, but the salamander just lay there. I hope it was simply playing dead or resting.

Hmmm.....

It's been a most interesting day...

Martin Creek

A buddy and I were supposed to take a hike yesterday, but we got rained out. Today my afternoon appointment ran short, so I took the hike this afternoon. It was a lovely afternoon and I visited some of my favorite water...

A rose by any other name...

My pal brought me these beautiful flowers yesterday, and today they looked so lovely in the window light...

busy week...

It was a busy week, but I did find some time to paint. As rain drops struggled to make their way from the sky, I sat on the gazebo with music and paint...