I’ve been out-of-my-mind exhausted the past several days, and yet I wake up at four every morning, my mind churning, my body tossing. All it means is that I’m stressing when I shouldn’t be…and oh yeah, I should probably “up” my workouts. That always makes me sleep. I discovered a wonderful quote today that reminded […]
Moses and the Shepherd
For some time now, I’ve enjoyed the brief encounters I’ve had with Rumi’s thoughts and poems. Rumi, by way of introduction, is a 13th century Persian mystic who wrote down bits of wisdom along the way, and we are the joyful recipients of it. You may be familiar with this quote from “A Great Wagon”–a […]
Reading Like a Writer
I’ve just finished a second run-through of Francine Prose’s book Reading Like a Writer. I read it when it first came out, but this time, I gleaned much more, perhaps because I’ve written a novel in the interim…and know where my weaknesses lie. Sadly, the book left me feeling inept and incapable, especially as I […]
Art Mentors for Children (and Adults)
When I was in eighth grade, I learned to oil paint. Our high school’s art teacher had MS; therefore, she was unable to physically demonstrate the various hands-on techniques we needed to see. We were urged to read books, study finished paintings–which some of us did. For my first and only piece, I chose a […]
If You Want to Write
Last Thursday evening, at my Rochester Art Center reading, a woman asked, “When did you start calling yourself an author?” It’s a good question, one that, I’m sure, every artist asks him- or herself. Does the label come with the simple act of writing? Do you accept the label when you’ve become published…or won an […]