I’m grateful to have lived thus far what many might characterize as an uncouth life. This different life is marked by two components.

First, the life of an independent singer/songwriter; I define my career, my routing, my time, and my structure in the context of one of my passions. It suits me well, but I sacrifice the stability and safety of a traditional place in the working world.

Dusk had fallen in Leesburg. Virginia. Night air, neither too hot nor too cold, wafted through the propped door of the Clay and Metal Loft. Bill van Gilder was kicking off his weekend pottery workshop with a warm-up PowerPoint. Lifetime learners sipped wine and nibbled cheese, listening raptly. Now, van Gilder can PowerPoint and social media as well as any Millennial, even though he's been making pots since before there was an internet.

Imagine strolling through your local bookstore (if you’re fortunate enough to live in an area where those still exist) and stumbling upon the self-help section. You quickly peruse what’s before you, and you see titles like “The Power of Negative Thinking”, “How a Little Bit of Cynicism Goes a Long a Way”, and “Ease Up on the Self-Esteem”.

Inspiration is one of those elusive, fleeting sparks that we as artists attempt to capture. Like a butterfly that lights upon our finger; it is often a flutter, a flit and then we watch as our inspiration floats away, wishing it had stayed a little longer.

Ah, inspiration.

You can be strolling on the sidewalk, minding your own business, when it unexpectedly comes up and knocks you upside the head.

As creatives, it is absolutely critical that we stay true to ourselves and not hop from trend to trend. That being said, it is also critical that we lift our heads up from our work and take a look at the art world around us and see what is trending in order to stay relevant.

“Within the span of a few months, I was demoted from a leader – to a follower – by a tiny baby boy with large lungs.” With these words, writer Patty Apostolides describes her transformation from a scientist and musician to a stay-at-home mother. Her son ignored her work at the Cleveland Clinic experimenting on cancer cells.

There I was, watching an old Youtube video of Barbra Streisand so passionately singing Andrew Loyd Webber’s show tune “Memory," from the musical Cats. In this HD version from 1981, Streisand is singing the character Grizabella’s story as if it was her own. Yet she is relying on Trevor Nunn’s lyrics lying on a stand right in front of her.

Travel is a beautiful and funny thing. Full of movement and newness, it’s a near-undeniable jolt of excitement in your life. However, also with its fair share of discomfort and challenge, it’s a near-inevitable fast track to personal growth.

In this second part of a series relating to Artist Elaine Weiner-Reed’s annual trip to California for an Art Workshop, Elaine explains how the workshop recharges her mind, body, and muse and jump-starts her productivity, serving as her launchpad for a creative year. Elaine gives a first-hand account of the workshop experience, shares insights into how she assesses her personal art growth and recommends tips for arming ourselves with the right mindset when facing the unknown. For all that and more, keep reading… and be among the first to glimpse some of her new artwork. 

In today’s overly connected world, not only self-employed artists but anyone offering goods and services, have double duty to deal with all of the time. No, I take that back, triple duty. You are what you are as someone in business, which means, you are an artist, a plumber, a retailer, or a coffee shop owner, etc.

Back in the day, when my biggest responsibility was being a kid, I remember I used to say quite often, “I’m bored!”

(Although, I would actually say it more like, “I’m boooooored!”)

To this, my mom would reply, “I wish I was bored!”

“Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.” Artists, makers and other creative types eagerly follow the Dalai Lama’s advice. They sketch in Tuscany, paint afloat cruise ships, and sculpt in Japan. Hemmingway went to Spain and France; Gauguin, to Samoa; and Robert Louis Stevenson, Tahiti. For centuries, artists have gloried in exotic locales. 

CAVU" is Navy Airman's' acronym revealed to us during George HW Bush's eulogy given by the former Prime Minister of Canada.

I am inspired by the point of view represented in these four little letters and how, if applied to art from preliminary sketch to clients' home it is like a refreshing breeze on a still, sweltering summer day, or a warm coat on a winter day.

Every now and again it’s good to shake things up; in life and in your art practice. Recently I did just that when I traveled to Solomons, Maryland to participate in an Artists in Action program with the Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center.

Can you think of any positive angles of flying these days? Find out what Artist Elaine Weiner-Reed does every January to get her creative juices going for the year ahead. See how this artist finds something positive in “getting there…”