UPCOMING EVENTS

March is Reading Month, and I’ve been invited to East Elementary School in Cheboygan on March 4 to speak at three assemblies. As an author I’ll be tying in the reading-writing connection and telling them the process a “real author” (that’s me!) uses to get from an idea to a book in hand. These speaking gigs are always fun—kids ask the best questions and really make me think about why and how I do things. Following the assemblies I will attend a writing session in my grandson’s third grade classroom and see creativity blooming.

EASTER CARDS

	Do you need special cards for Easter? Choose from these three designs from my original watercolor paintings. See HOLIDAYS page on my website. Remember that when you buy my art work, a portion of the profits go toward charitable projects.

SPEED BUMPS

We all have them. Here’s mine for this month. When we began our bathroom remodeling project in January I never dreamed how it would affect my artistic life. Instead of everything in its place in my studio, I find myself painting at the dining room table with my art supplies stored wherever I can find a nook or cranny in five different rooms. My studio is covered in drywall dust, paint cans, tools, lumber, and even an air compressor. All the careful organization I did to greet the new year was for nothing.

But there may be a silver lining. Although I miss my tiny studio, I realize that I might be able to simplify things. When it comes time to reclaim my studio, I might find the re-organization to be even more efficient and will indeed meet my goal of becoming the most organized I can be. And this new location at the dining room table has forced me to be a more scheduled artist. I now have a calendar with time slots during which I plan to paint. In spite of all the chaos, I have managed to be quite productive, finishing my big commissioned house portrait (a home built of a million bricks!) as well as cards and prints of the painting for relatives.

Because I consider myself successful at making lemonade out of lemons during this upheaval of my workspace, I’m offering this quote for the month: “You can make excuses, or you can make it happen.” (Jay White, Mr. Self-Development )

CURRENT PROJECTS

I’m preparing artwork to go to the printer for cards and matted prints, then sending originals to the frame shop. I’m painting lilacs, geraniums, boat scenes, lighthouses…all the things people think of when they visit “up north.” These will be for sale this summer in galleries and on my website.

FEEDING MY SOUL

On a day when I have an appointment in a nearby town, I like to combine it with something fun—taking in a new exhibit at the arts center, browsing in art galleries, or meeting with friends. All these things are fun to do and often give me new ideas for paintings. I work days like this into my calendar whenever I can to feed my soul, which is an important thing to do!

MOTHER’S DAY

For your Mother’s Day (May) planning, think about giving a gift that keeps on giving. My readers tell me that MACKINAC ISLAND MEDITATIONS is a book they pick up again and again for inspiration. This could be just the special gift you’re looking for to give your wife, mother, daughter, sister, or friend to celebrate the honored place she has in your life.

THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD

I took Rachel, my nine-year-old granddaughter to the Grand Rapids Art Museum for a day of culture. We agreed that we liked the Impressionistic paintings best. In the contemporary gallery, Rachel commented that one of the paintings looked like something her cousin had done at age three. That same painting reminded me of the sink in my studio with eight years’ worth of paint covering the sides and bottom. But the Alexander Calder jewelry exhibit—fantastic! We both loved it and were amazed at the metallic forms he created for women to wear. It’s so much fun to see art through the eyes of a child. Her uninhibited comments were right on. As they say, “Out of the mouths of babes come words of wisdom.”