Clutter and Creativity

I am excited to share that I have a Creativity Coach! I am feeling that there is something that I am meant to create and she is going to help me “give birth” to it! She asked me what fears and obstacles I have that may be standing in my way. Hmmm…My fear is that I won’t experience everything I can possibly experience. So, I have to get busy! I can’t put my finger on what is standing in my way. I do know that clutter can stand in the way of many things, creativity being one of them. So, I tackle the “stuff” I own once again, wondering if it is keeping me from living a fully creative life. Having recently moved into a 3 room casita, I am having to dig deep to keep the place tidy and I have already gotten rid of massive numbers of “things”. When we got back from Colorado today, I had 5 newly purchased books which means 5 others have to leave this house. I rationalize that it doesn’t have to be 5 books, it can be 5 things that take up the same amount of space as the new books. Hey, these are my rules, I am making this up as I go! So, two pairs of capris that I never wear are stuffed into the Charity Box. Capris should be against the law anyway. I have never seen anyone look good in them. Bad design. Pedal pushers went out of style for a reason! Two more pairs of dress paints that would require heels that didn’t make the last clutter cut. A white shirt and a white tank top. I don’t look good in white since I stopped coloring my hair. ONE book, a dress that had a huge print that made me look like a giant flower garden (WTH was I thinking?)-GONE. Okay, that’s 7, so I get to keep the books!

The next set of clutter that works against this ADD girl will be remedied by my Artist’s Way Morning Pages. One of the books I came home with is actually a pretty new journal. I’m such a sucker. Like a 99 cent spiral wouldn’t suffice? So, three pages of dumping my brain on paper every morning rids it of all that chatter so I can be productive in some other way. That mind decluttering process begins AGAIN tomorrow!

Maybe I should change the 3x3s and incorporate the daily decluttering of my brain and my belongings! We will know if this process works, if I ever actually have any art to post on this blog! For now, an occasional photo will have to suffice. Those Aspens in Colorado were strutting their stuff! That's how I see it!

When Pigs Fly

According to Wikipedia:
"When pigs fly" is an adynaton, a way of saying that something will never happen. The phrase is often used for humorous effect, to scoff at over-ambition. There are numerous variations on the theme; when an individual with a reputation for failure finally succeeds, onlookers may sarcastically claim to see a flying pig. ("Hey look! A flying pig!")

We have hung this grinning, flying pig in our home for many years. He is now hanging in our Santa Fe Casita courtyard, making me smile and validating what some see as impossibilities. Make pigs fly!

Daily Creations

Since I declared so publicly my plan to create something new (hopefully daily) I thought I had better document when I actually do get my hands dirty. Our Casita requires creativity just to find a place to put things. I got some cheapo shelves at Goodwill and am playing around with turning them into something interesting. Here is the beginning of that process. After a few layers, I'll post the end result. I've started on some other white (shabby chic looking furniture) that I brought from Texas. We will see if I can turn it into something more Casita like. If not, it is going to Goodwill! I am getting very good at saying "Adios" to things that just don't suit me anymore.

Blog Reborn in Santa Fe

My poor neglected blog. There were a couple of years that I was passionate about daily sketching, posting the inane drawings, photos and goings-on of my daily life. I learned so much from the process and from the many artists that I was dedicated to following. I made friends with many with whom I still stay in touch. Thank you for reaching out, wondering if I had fallen off the planet when my postings ceased. Most know that my creative side was diverted in a very big way to my now dearly departed Mecca on Main. The website is now down, too, but some of the photos that document that very impactful part of my life are on Face Book. I am Lisa Adams Reed over there, if you have not already “friended me”. Mecca was an artist’s collective with art studios, gallery, an event place, a café. We also offered art and yoga classes. It was an all encompassing and life altering experience for me and for many others. I could digress into that rich chapter and probably will refer to Mecca along the way on this blog. For now, my point of this post is to say, I am going to breathe some life back into “How I See It”. I’ve been loving Face book, but find I need a place that is bigger and can expand into other things.

My new posts will be flavored differently. For one thing, I have pretty much given up the sketching that I was enjoying so very much. It began when I was all consumed with Mecca. THAT was my creative outlet and took up every waking moment (and my dream life, too!) Then, a few months after we opened Mecca, I woke up with no sight in my right eye. They said it was permanent blindness caused by a stroke. Docs don’t know it all, so I thanked them for their opinions and went about the business of healing. I did regain some peripheral sight and THAT matters since it helps me with balance and other important things like that. I rarely fall down—and that’s a good thing! Nevertheless, I have allowed the incident to limit me and my ability to put pen and paint on paper. I know I can get more vision back and with practice can create something with the one good eye I have. So, you will see some of my attempts to express myself creatively on this blog. One thing I already know is that the blogging world is one of kindness and encouragement. If you know me, you know I am sensitive and critical of my own stuff, so I thank you in advance for not being too hard on me as I get rolling again!

This chapter will pick up in Santa Fe New Mexico where Charles and I moved on August 28, 2010. My journaling will include much more than any art I might create. It will be about my authentic journey through this world and some of the things that I am passionate about. Those things will always morph from one idea to the next. If I have a fear, it is that I will miss an opportunity to experience something new. It is a pretty bad case of ADD which I happen to enjoy quite a lot! Some think I should not start something unless I have finished the last thing. Don’t look for some magnificent completed project from me. My daddy said it’s the journey that is fun and that is where we learn. The finished product isn’t the point. Worrying about uncompleted projects immobilizes people. I just want to try lots and lots of things. I may not end up loving them all or committing to any of them. But, I sure don’t want to miss a chance to give something a whirl.

Some of the things I want to get onto paper (blog) with words, photos, or with paint or pencil are below and not in order of priority:

My favorite things
Things I want to do/try/see
Immersion into New Mexico
Good times with from family and Friends
Hiking/camping
Small Space Living
3x3s (stay tuned if you don't know what this is)
Playing with mixed media and collage
Furniture painting
Sketching-keep your fingers crossed :0
BIG Abstracts
Photography
Yoga
Artist's Way
Books I like
Marketing ideas for small businesses
Cooking and Eating for Energy/Vitality/Longevity
Adventures of Yao and Mo-the Wonder Dogs
Spirituality/Reiki/Meditation/Prayer
The most intriguing people I come across

p.s. Thanks, Anna! If you had not asked me to create something for your dorm room, I would still be making excuses! Give me a chance to get my creative legs under me and I will send you something created especially for you, from my heart. Aunt Lisa

Santa Fe O'Keefe

Santa Fe OKeefe, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

The museum was closed for renovations when we visited---yeah really, it was---didn't they know we were coming?! But we were able to visit an exhibit about Ms. Okeefe and watch a video. Here is a sketch of the enthralled viewers. I had to post this one, because my friend, Diana--with the spikey hair on the right looks so cute!

Santa Fe-Canyon Road

This tree was so perfectly trimmed, the trunk looked like a plaster sculpture. After all, it was the grand art street--Canyon Road!

St. Michael's Santa Fe

This sketch had to sit with me awhile! I hated it before Martha gave me a few ideas about how to improve upon it. Isn't it nice when someone cares enough to give critiscim? The end result is that the painting was saved from the recycling bin!

There is something to sketch on every corner in Santa Fe! This is around the corner from Canyon Road.

More from Ghost Ranch

I decided to honor this beautiful place again http://www.ghostranch.org/ , by painting from a photo I took there. Georgia O'Keefe spent many years painting there, being inspired by it's beauty. Who wouldn't be?! I have a goal to attend one of the many workshops offered at this awesome place.

The colors and light in New Mexico are so often indescribable. Capturing it can make a painting look almost fake. Nothing could be that filled with ethereal color! The color of the landscape when I took this was cast with purples of all kinds. The sky, the tree, the mountain--all had a fog of lavenders and plums cast upon them. Still takes my breath away to think of it.

Ghost Ranch, New Mexico

I got to spend one night at Ghost Ranch on my recent vacation. I expected to sketch non-stop since I was alone and staying in a stripped down dorm room with no laptop, tv or radio. But, it was the night IKE came through the Houston area and I kept going back and forth to my car to listen to the radio and driving up the road to get cell coverage. I was a little distracted by checking on my kids and other loved ones there, so my creative juices took a back seat.

I usually stick to my little sketch books doing quick ink and washes. But, I did give a full size watercolor a shot that one afternoon. This is the one of the views I saw at Ghost Ranch. Next time, I will be there taking a week long watercolor class. At least, that's the way I see it!

What happens in Santa Fe stays...:-)

So, a few of us members of the Berkeley Bad Girls Book Club took a trip to Santa Fe. If you haven't followed along--the Bad Girls Book Club is bad only because we either haven't read the book or we don't show up! I don't even live in the same state with them anymore so my excuses are always valid (now!)

We had a night on the town in New Mexico and after a margarita or three, I did some real fast sketches of the band---yeah...that's right-- on cocktail napkins. The last one, of the Sax player on his break, is clearly at the end of the evening when I sketched his demeaner more rock starish than the more-than-middle-aged dude he was. And, I mean nothing by that---I even have some best friends his age (!)

You will have to wait for Martha's real deal sketches of that night. Guaranteed- hers are far more art worthy than mine! Yet, I wiped up on Scrabble later that night. See what I mean about us not being all that BAD??

Here's to the BADS that were there and those who had FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) YOU DID and we talked about you, too! See you next time??

That's the way I see it!


Lisa

An "artist" painting an artist painting an artist

Sitting on a bench in the Santa Fe Plaza provided all the subjects I needed. There was a colorful character posing for a REAL artist. I did a quick sketch of the guy. When I returned to the house we were renting, the owner stopped by and saw what I was painting. He saw this sketch and said, " Oh, that's Don!" He told me that Don is an old prospector from Idaho, who has been in the area for years. Well, Don lit up the Plaza that day and I just had to record the moment.

I also wanted to give a shout out to the very talented Mike Mahon www.mmahon.com . It was pure joy spending some time watching you and your delightful model.

La Fonda Santa Fe

Then, I went crazy and juicy on this familiar place!

St Francis Santa Fe

I sat on a bench and sketched a morsel of this wonderful building....

Sante Fe--vacation

The last phase of my vacation was meeting my Berkeley Bad Girls in Santa Fe for more fun and games! Here is where we stayed or How I see See It! http://www.colorfulsantafe.com/

Stairway to Heaven

Simply a stairway to the meditation loft in the Sunset Room at Crystal Mesa Farm. Try it, you will like it!

Crystal Mesa Farm Vacation

I cannot stop thinking about the wonders of Crystal Mesa Farm. It is magical and spiritual and if you open your hearts to all that it is, you will be transformed. Truly, the vacation of vacations.

My husband told the owner, Marie, that she should be worried about me--"the body snatcher"--since I wanted her life. And, that was before I knew she was married to a hunky soap star!

I was mesmorized by the shrine/chapel that houses and honors Marie's mother's life and ashes. I sketched it from every angle and photographed it in every light and felt the reverance of the consecrated land.

Words do not go far enough to describe the experience I had at Crystal Mesa Farm http://www.crystalmesafarm.com/