Pay ATTENTION!

"She broke up with me.  She said I was too attentive...whatever that means"

 

For a while I thought my name was Pay Attention.  It has taken years of hard work to be more focused and in the moment. 

My first moment that I can recall of zoning out was in kindergarten.  We were given a piece of paper with a line on it about 3 inches from the bottom.  The instructions were NOT to draw beyond the line.  I never heard the teacher. I was thinking, "What is this pesky line doing here and how can I incorporate it into the drawing."

I ripped my side mirror off my car when I was in college.  Should have paid attention to the garage door opening.  And just recently I broke our bedroom door when I walked right into it while looking the other way.  I didn't say my focus wasn't a work in progress.

Recently I was invited to a conference for teachers from around Alaska.  There was about 400 people present and I was invited to sell my books during the lunch break.  There were awards given for teachers who have went above and beyond typical duties.  The sad thing....no one was paying attention.

There stood a woman who had spent a lot of time determining who was worthy of the award, who should receive it.  She prepared a beautiful speech highlighting the qualities of each recipient but no one really heard her.  It was sad. 

Let's make a pact to pay attention to each other.  No, texting while driving doesn't count!  When someone is talking to you look at them.  Not at your phone, or over their shoulder to see it anyone more interesting is coming along.  Just look them in the eye and listen.  We live in a world full of distractions.  We could all use a bit more practice in paying attention.

Puppies and kittens.  Just the words make me want to giggle.  We can't get enough of them.  I hate to be the predictable cooer whenever a puppies or kitten crossed my path but I can't help it!  But now cooing is always at your finger tips.  Welcome youtube!

I am not an Internet surfer.  I am not patient enough and honestly most my friends keep me smiling with kitty videos ( have you seen Simon's cat?) and dog videos (have you seen 'bacon flavor'?).  They send them on to me through my email.  No, there are no cats and dogs on my youtube history but I do have a weakness.

I could watch artist's video blogs for hours.  I only discovered this recently and I am looking forward to the next time I am down with a cold.  I can't wait curl up in bed with my hound dog at my feet and my cat at my side burning up hour after hour of watching someone else draw.  You don't even have to be that good for me to commit!  Sometimes I watch it and say, " No! leave it!!  Don't add the silly babble!"  I've watched artist sneeze on their art, drag their sleeve through paint and stick paper to themselves.  Ahhhh, my people.

Next time you're surfing around the web type in artist's blogs.  There is some great stuff out there that may give you a shot of inspiration.  Cough, sniffle....hmmm, I may be coming down with something.

Art in Life

It's true.  It is just the size of a shed in a trailer court.  But you see it don't you?  It's one of those great moments where your truckin along through your day and something just makes you stop and laugh out loud.  You don't see it?  Here, I'll help.

BONJOUR!  Okay, I know I stereotyped him just a bit but the shed was wearing a beret!  When were in France we again and again passed French carrying their fresh baguette still warm from the bakery.  I almost wish this shed was in a route I regularly took.  You know I would shout back a 'bonjour' when ever I passed.

Don't miss your 'art in life' moments.  They're all around.  I will bring you another one in a couple days.  It's amazing what you can see in a potato.

What's wrong with this picture?

There is lots of bad information floating around in this world.  No, ostriches don't stick their heads in the sand.  What doesn't kill you DOESN'T make you stronger it just makes you scarred and traumatized. And most importantly 40 is not the NEW 30 it is just plain 40.

If any Alaskan travels outside the state they get asked bizarre questions based on bad information.  Do you travel by dogsled?  ( that is an actual repeated again and again question) or one of the most annoying, do you know Sarah Palin?  Well of course.  All 660,000 Alaskans get together for family dinner once a year.  I always make my famous mashed sweet potatoes.  Sheesh.

Getting a book published is challenging and that is a fact I think all people know.  But recently I saw something that stopped me in my tracks.  Here was a book on how to draw animals and featured prominently on the cover was a black bear.  Now, I must pause here to empathise that this artist found a publisher that said, " Wow, you're good!" and shelled out money and effort to promote his book.  Are you ready?  Here is the bear.

 

What's that?  He looks like a moose from the chest down?  EXACTLY!  Has this artist even seen a black bear?  I don't mean in real life but even a photo?  Here let me help.

 

 

One of the charming things about the bear is that they walk with a serious pigeon toe gait.  One of the scary things about a bear is that they are fast, fuzzy tanks.  It's the stocky build coming at you that causes you to panic.

I don't mean to pick on this artist.  I always try to do my research before I paint an animal but I am sure I have misdrawn a beak, paw or snout along the way.  But let's not add to Alaska's misconceptions.  There is very little risk of a bear silhouette being confused with a moose. Yes, we use the U.S. dollar as our currency,  English is our language and we don't kiss by rubbing noses.  I hope that helps clear up some strange ideas floating around out there. Now, I gotta run, my dog sled is double parked.

There's always a heckler

 

Hecklers don't come much better than the cranky old men in the opera box on the Muppets. Their names are Waldorf and Statler. 

 Here is a quote with a little Alaska humor : 

 Statler: "Why did they want the igloo?"

Waldorf: "I don't know.  Maybe someone broke their ig."  Great stuff.

 

When I do school programs the teacher will often give me a heads up if a difficult student is in the class.  I understand their motive.  They know how to keep the student engaged, to not be rattled by his or her shout outs.  The thing is they don't need to warn me.  You see, I myself was a heckler.

 

My mom sent me some old school papers a while back.  This is an actual comment from Mrs. Main who I believe was my 3 grade teacher.  "Gina usually works without disturbing others."  Well, Mrs. Main was being nice, she was one of my favorite teachers, because I excelled at disturbing others.  Why concentrate on your reading exercise when I can show you a picture I just drew of a giraffe!

 

This patterned continued as I progressed through school.  Mrs. Larsen just laid it out by saying,"Gina visits too much and disturbs others by chatter."  CHATTER??!!  You mean brilliant epiphanies generously shared.   Another teacher said I had trouble handling leisure time.  Trouble?  I know for a fact I was rocking my leisure time.  I would start a comic strip and hand it to whoever would be willing to draw the next panel.  Trouble....please.

 

I imagine my mother let out large sighs while reading my report cards.  She knew she had a high energy kid.  That's right, not disruptive or chattery but as the great Mr. Goegde said," Gina is enthusiastic".  Ahhh,my hero.

 

 

 

None of Your Business

"What other people think of you is none of your business".  I like that quote.  It is true.  We can wear ourselves out worrying about other people's perception of us.  We can even forget who we are by trying to conform to what we think are other people's expectations.  No one want to be the beautiful bird that has decided he's ugly because of other peoples comments. That is just too much work!

I was visiting with a good friend of mine and since I turned another year older this month the discussion of age came up.  He said that when he turned 50 it was great since he realized that he really didn't care what other people thought anymore.  He was happy with who he was.  I can relate to that.

But here's the rub. When you paint pictures for a living you need to care about what other people think about your art.....right?  NO, I should just paint what wants to be painted.  BUT I need to paint what people want to buy.  Not ever one will 'get' your random creative moment.  TRUE, but good art is art you feel.  You see this giant circle that traps me.

Of course my two favorite subjects are Greve and Celli and animals.  Not everyone wants a gorilla in their living room.  And not everyone wants a whimsical, playful bicycle scene.  I have a gallery that is a wonderful supporter but tells me, "no mammals".  Some customers are only interested in my fine art pieces and others only look at Signore Greve.  I almost need a flow chart!

Don't see this as complaining. I really do have the best job in the world.  I have so many wonderful customers that say kind things and buy my work as gifts and to hang on their walls. But some days I stand at my easel with all this swimming in my head,  "The beluga, elephants and seal haven't sold yet.  Should I paint another animal?  I just did an entire book worth of new paintings of Greve, I need a break but......."

I try hard to be a good person.  I treat others like I want to be treated. And I try not to worry about what others are thinking when I walk away. So could I adapt the quote to "What other people think of your ART is none of your business"?

Did you just Cabbage Patch?

 

My dog hates dancing.  I mean seriously hates it.  You wouldn't think this would pose a problem since I am not in the theatre as a professional dancer.  You would be wrong.

Any jiggle related to music sends my puppy into an angry frenzy.  It's not the, "Oh, how fun! Let me dance along."  No, it is clearly, " For the sake of all humanity STOP IT!"  I didn't realize how much I dance during a work day until I got Ginzee.  A little hip wiggle as I step away from the easel sends her into an annoyed growl.  A finger snap?  Don't even think about it.  Jazz hands?  It's go time.

She passed her obedience class with flying colors.  But the funny thing is they never covered what to do when your dog hates dancing.  Am I the only one with this problem?  She seems to have some kind of built in radar for it too.  Try to moon dance across the kitchen floor. She suddenly appears like a mother of a teenage daughter who senses some line of celibacy has been crossed.

My old dog would allow me to dance with her.  She didn't really like it but when I picked up her front legs to waltz around the room she was tolerant for a respectable amount of time.  I have tried this with Ginzee and it ended with a wrestling match on the floor.  I am pretty sure I won....pretty sure.

I won't quit dancing.  No dog is going to tell me what I can and can't do while I am in my creative flow.  Now if you don't mind, 'Footloose' just came on the ipod and the dog is outside.  Look out Kevin Bacon!
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