Holiday sale: 30% off everything!

Now is the time to stock up on greeting cards, memo pads, art pads, and stationery from the See. Be. Draw. shop in time for the holidays! Here you can find "May you find peace" greeting cards, memo pads printed with "Mindfulness is only a breath away", and stationery and art/note pads with my signature sunflower drawing, among other goodies.

As an extra perk for my blog readers, everything is 30% off with the discount code: mindfulness. Just enter the discount code in the shopping cart (don’t wait until checkout – that will be too late) and you get 30% off your items!

The sale will last from today, Monday November 2 until Sunday December 13, 2009 (or as long as supplies last.) During this sale, I am offering flat rate shipping and handling of $5 for all orders up to $250. At this time, I only ship within the US. Orders are shipped weekly, usually on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Have fun shopping!

Instead of Gone Fishing: Gone Being

Gone being

Watercolors on Strathmore 140 lb. cold press paper, 4" x 6"

Copyright Anna T./See. Be. Draw.

In another few days, in the spirit of An Experiment in Being, I am embarking on a one-year intensive with a focus on meditation and art. I finally decided to, for a while, stop the doing and allow myself a complete immersal in just being. In addition, I will fulfill my longing of living without a to-do list for a number of months. For someone used to live by her lists, this is indeed a big step into the unknown. This intensive is to be a journey of sorts, a setting out to explore the inner landscapes of the soul. Dear readers, please have patience as, during this time, posts will be infrequent. Also please note that the See. Be. Draw. shop is temporarily closed. I will post a message when the shop reopens.

The following words from a retreat with Ajahn Thanasanti come to mind:

nothing to do...
noone to do it...
nowhere to be...
nothing to get...
nothing to get rid of...
noone to be...

What ultimate freedom in letting go! Only the unfolding of one moment after the next... the unfolding of the unknown...

Book review: One-Moment Meditation - Stillness for People on the Go by Martin Boroson

If you thought you were too busy to fit meditation into your schedule, but have been searching for a way to find peace amidst your busy life – this book is for you. If you are already meditating, but have been wondering how to allow the calmness encountered in meditation to extend to the rest of your life – this book is for you, too!

In his book One-Moment Meditation, Martin Boroson, organizational consultant and meditation teacher, shares his method of being at peace in the moment, this moment. In the author’s words: “What if each and every moment offered us a chance to become more calm, alert, balanced and content? What if there was something simple we could do, in just a moment, that could have a profound effect on our lives?”

Boroson begins by introducing the reader to the Basic Minute, a minute of timed meditation. He then makes the Basic Minute more flexible by introducing exercises based on breath counts instead of seconds, such as the Portable Minute, the Emergency Minute, the Surprise Minute, and my favorite, the Bonus Minute. By slowly reducing the Minute breath by breath, we finally arrive at One-Moment Meditation, a way of being calm in the moment, whatever you are doing; in Boroson’s words “peaceful doing.”

The focus on bringing meditation out of the meditation halls and into everyday life is what makes this book unique. “The way to find peace is not to run to moments of just being in order to have energy for the difficult job of doing, but to accept that life is made of doing whatever it is that needs to be done.” This method can be used wherever you are; at home, at work, in your car, or in a meeting.

The potential benefits of this method cannot be overestimated. Boroson lists benefits ranging from stress reduction to time management, decision making, concentration ability, getting beyond habitual thinking, and responding to emotionally charged situations more skillfully. And it only takes a moment!

I knew this book was for me when I read a short excerpt on Shambhala SunSpace a few months ago. A meditator for the past five years, I have looked for ways to more fully merge my “on the cushion” and “off the cushion” practices. Before writing this review, I took a few weeks to practice the different techniques and found the idea of bringing a meditative quality to this very moment, wherever I am, whatever I am doing, very refreshing. By constantly returning to this inner pool of stillness, I keep enlarging this space and making it more easily accessible, until it becomes second nature. Thanks to Martin for writing a book that is much needed in today’s fast-paced society!

Watercolor drawdowns - or new palette

Watercolor palette

Watercolors on Strathmore 140 lb. cold press paper, 18" x 17.5"

Copyright Anna T./See. Be. Draw.

Inspired by information on the Handprint website about palettes consisting of earth compatible pigments or textured pigments (granulating, flocculating, sedimentary), I have updated my palette to include quite a few of both earth and textured colors. Instead of producing the usual tiny grid chart, this time I went for a sizeable grid size of 6" x 2.5" per color. This allowed me to start out to the upper left with saturated paint, and then dilute with water as I proceeded toward the right side. Since I have a penchant for textured colors and love the effects that these pigments produce, this chart was pure joy to paint!

A few statistics:

• Earth compatible colors (per Handprint): Lemon yellow, raw umber, yellow ochre, raw sienna, burnt sienna, burnt umber, indian red, perylene maroon, cobalt blue, cobalt turquoise, and viridian.
• Textured colors (granulating, flocculating, sedimentary; per Handprint): Lemon yellow, raw umber, transparent yellow, yellow ochre, raw sienna, burnt sienna, burnt umber, french ultramarine, cobalt blue, cobalt turquoise light, cobalt turquoise, viridian, and ivory black.
• Granulating colors (per Winsor & Newton): Lemon yellow, raw umber, raw sienna, french ultramarine, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, cobalt turquoise light, viridian, and ivory black.
• Transparent colors (per Winsor & Newton): Raw umber, transparent yellow, raw sienna, burnt sienna, burnt umber, perylene maroon, permanent alizarin crimson, permanent rose, french ultramarine, and viridian - however, most watercolors will appear transparent if properly diluted.
• Cool colors (per Winsor & Newton): Lemon yellow, winsor lemon, raw umber, transparent yellow, raw sienna, indian red, permanent alizarin crimson, permanent rose, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, cobalt turquoise light, cobalt turquoise, viridian, and ivory black - my palette consists of mostly cool colors, and my primary triad consists of only cool colors.
• Warm colors (per Winsor & Newton): New gamboge, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, light red, burnt umber, perylene maroon, and french ultramarine.

Glossary:

Granulation: The grainy effect that occurs when pigment particles settle into the indentations of the paper surface.

Flocculation: The mottled effect that occurs when pigment particles clump together on the paper.

Sedimentary pigments: Pigments that are either very heavy or have a very large particle size, causing them to sink when diluted with water. This property causes color mixes to separate, similar to granulating and flocculating pigments.

July 2009 roundup

Art and the creative process

My posts. I painted a Map of Nowhere (inspired by Owen Swein's Blog of O) and wrote a post on Keeping track of pigment properties.

Figure drawing. There has been much figure drawing shown in the blogosphere lately. In her post Catching up with life drawing, Casey Toussaint (Rue Manuel Bis) wrote about how her drawings vary from one week to the next – although I think they all have that Casey signature look! Katherine Tyrrell (Making A Mark) wrote five consecutive posts describing a life drawing class on Britain's Channel 4. Links to all five posts can be found in her post 12th July 2009 – Who’s made a mark this week under Life class (scroll down a bit to find it).

Complementary color schemes. Casey Toussaint (Rue Manuel Bis) painted a Still life with lace in both very light and saturated blues. I really like how the complementary fruit color sets off the blues. Elizabeth Floyd (Elizabeth Floyd Studio) also used cool blues and warm oranges to set off an Apple in a bowl still life.

Creative process. In her post Learning styles and preference, Gesa Helms (Paint and Pastel) wrote about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, one of few personality tests that I have found quite accurate. Myers-Briggs evaluates each person according to a scale of Extravert-Introvert, Sensing-iNtuitive, Thinking-Feeling, and Judging-Perceiving, producing 16 variations of combinations. Another good test is the MAPP test, Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential, perhaps more for job seekers as it “identifies your true motivations toward work.” When I took these tests, quite a few years ago now, I was surprised to find that they both listed traits that I was barely conscious of but still realized were true!

Meditation

My posts. I continued my Experiment in being, part 2, by immersing myself completely in the realm of being, listening to my heart, and seeing each moment anew. The last to-do-list was written, and I have embarked on a journey inwards, exploring and (re)discovering that inner landscape. Travel reports from my journey will be posted as the landscape unfolds itself.

Art business

My posts. I wrote a post featuring Art fair statistics from the Ann Arbor Art Fairs (compare this to last year’s post!) and a followup about Art fair statistics I would like to know.

Products. I always enjoy learning about different products on which one can print one’s art. Sarah Tams of Sarah and Abraham recently added a few new products to her shop, such as personalized canvas prints and water bottles. Sarah also featured a link to a Venn diagram in her post How to be happy in business, which shows that the intersection of What we do well, What we want to do, and What we can be paid to do, is where we will be happy in business and the business will remain strong. Very much worth pondering!

Fabric on demand. For anyone interested in printing their own fabric, but who does not have the equipment to do so at home, I recently learned about three sites that print custom fabric on demand. Both Fabric On Demand, based in South Carolina, and Karma Kraft, based in North Carolina, launched their sites this past spring, whereas Spoonflower, also based in North Carolina, launched a year earlier. If anyone has used any of these sites and would like to share their experience, please leave a comment!

Biz tips. I only recently discovered Modish Biz Tips, part of the Modish blog. This is an interesting and inspiring blog for the creative small business owner. Regular features such as the Do what you love interviews are mixed with posts about business tips and guest columns about Etsy and financial planning, among other things.

See. Be. Draw. news
See. Be. Draw. sightings.

• My previous June roundup was commended by Katherine Tyrrell (Making A Mark) in her post 5th July 2009 – Who’s made a mark this week as “a thoughtful review of posts.” Two weeks later, Katherine linked my post Art fair statistics 2009 in her post 19th July 2009 – Who’s made a mark this week.


• Elizabeth Floyd (Elizabeth Floyd Studio) linked An experiment in being, part 2 in her post Friday inspiration: New projects & links.


• In her post Home again, Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo was reminded of my post On the importance of nature as she is once again reconnecting with nature and the ocean.


• I noticed a significant increase in hits after being linked by Helen South (Helen’s Drawing / Sketching Blog, an About.com Guide to Drawing / Sketching) in her post Blogs worth reading: See. Be. Draw. She wrote that “Anna T's blog See. Be. Draw. explores drawing, being an artist, and art business. Her posts are thoughtful - literally so, including discussion of meditation - and illustrated with many drawings and watercolors. She also looks at the technical aspects of drawing and methodically tests materials. An enjoyable read, and a goldmine of information.” Thanks, Helen!

Keeping track of pigment properties

When I paint, it is very much an exercise involving both parts of the brain. The left brain, just like a chemist of sorts, studies pigment properties (such as granulation, sedimentation, blossom, diffusion, drying shift, etc.) of individual colors and mixes. The left brain thus occupied, leaves the actual act of painting to its artist neighbor, the right brain, making for the ideal match!

In an effort to easier remember the main pigment properties, I have recently taken to label my tubes with the pigment color index name (such as PB 28), lightfastness (AA, A, B, or I, II, etc.), transparency (T, ST, SO, O), color temperature (W, C), and granulation (G). This keeps the most pertinent information at my fingertips when needed. In addition, I keep a spreadsheet listing properties of the colors I use. Another tip is to keep a manufacturer's table handy (in my case Winsor & Newton) and to turn to the eminent Handprint website for any additional information needed.

Art fair statistics 2009

At about this time last year, I wrote a post featuring numbers from the 2008 Ann Arbor Art Fairs. This year, I am updating and expanding my study based on numbers from the 2009 Ann Arbor Art Fairs.

Background
The Ann Arbor Art Fairs are a group of four art fairs held concurrently in mid-July (this year July 15-18) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. With over 1,000 participating artists and over 500,000 visitors, the art fairs are together one of the largest art fairs in the United States. The four art fairs are:

• The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original, founded in 1960, featuring approx. 180 artists.
• The State Street Area Art Fair, founded in 1968, featuring approx. 330 artists.
• The Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair, founded in 1970, featuring approx. 400 artists.
• The Ann Arbor’s South University Art Fair, founded in 2000, featuring approx. 165 artists.

About the numbers
The starting point for my calculations was the Artist List by Media of the Ann Arbor Art Fairs Official 2009 Event Guide, a list of media, artists' names, their hometowns, and states. Based on this information, I calculated percentages of fine artists and crafts artists, top media, gender representation, and local artists. Note that there is an error margin inherent in my numbers as explained below, which may cause in particular the numbers for fine artists and female artists to be slightly lower than in reality.

Fine arts versus crafts
First, let’s take a look at the ratio of fine artists versus craft artists represented. Using the U.S. Department of Labor’s definitions of fine artists and craft artists, I included the following media in fine arts: digital art, drawing, mixed media 2D, mixed media 3D, painting, pastels, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. In crafts, the following media were included: baskets, ceramics, enamels, fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, and wood. Due to a lack of specific media information, the categories of emerging artists, folk art, and miscellaneous were excluded from these calculations. Note that boundaries between these divisions and between media can sometimes be indistinct, causing an error margin in my numbers that may slightly lower the ratio of fine artists.

In 2009, taking the fairs as a whole, there are 40% fine artists and 60% craft artists represented. This ratio has remained the same since last year.

Seen fair by fair, the percentages vary as follows:

• The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original and the State Street Area Art Fair both have over 40% fine artists and close to 60% craft artists.
• The Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair has the highest ratio of craft artists, almost 70%.
• The Ann Arbor’s South University Art Fair has the highest ratio of fine artists, close to 50%.

Top media
The following media categories were listed in the Artist List by Media: baskets, ceramics, digital art, drawing, emerging artists, enamels, fiber, folk art, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, misc., mixed media 2D, mixed media 3D, painting, pastels, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and wood. I counted each entry listed as one, including couples sharing a booth.

Taking the fairs as a whole, the media categories with the most artists represented are the following, together making up over 50% of the total exhibited media. These categories were also at the top last year:

• Jewelry, 19%.
• Ceramics, 15%.
• Painting and Photography, 9% each.

Seen fair by fair, the individual percentages vary as follows:

• At the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original, Ceramics and Jewelry are the top media, followed by Photography, Fiber, Printmaking, and Painting, together making up over 50% of the total exhibited media.
• At the State Street Area Art Fair, Jewelry is the top media, followed by Photography, Painting, Glass, and Ceramics, together making up over 60% of the total exhibited media.
• At the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair, Jewelry and Ceramics are the top media, followed by Painting, Fiber, Photography, and Wood, together making up over 60% of the total exhibited media.
• At the Ann Arbor’s South University Art Fair, Painting, Ceramics, and Jewelry are the top media, followed by Photography, together making up 50% of the total exhibited media.

Gender representation
The gender representation was especially difficult to calculate due to the fact that it can be difficult to tell if certain names are male or female! When in doubt, I left them as male. Couples were also counted as male unless they consisted of two females. Note that this may cause the numbers for female artists to be slightly lower than in reality.

Taking the fairs as a whole, there are over 40% female artists exhibiting at the fairs. The State Street Area Art Fair and the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair take the lead with approx. 45% each, whereas the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original only has 35%.

The craft artists have the largest percentage of women represented, over 45%, whereas there are only about 35% women represented amongst the fine artists.

In terms of media, the most women are represented in fiber, jewelry, ceramics, and mixed media 2D. The least women are represented in wood, photography, and sculpture. (I excluded categories with less than ten artists, such as baskets, enamels, folk art, furniture, miscellaneous, and pastels.)

Local artists
Over 30% of all exhibiting artists come from Michigan and 10% from Ann Arbor. The Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair has the highest percentage of artists from Michigan, over 40%, whereas the other three art fairs vary from over 20% to over 30%.

The Ann Arbor’s South University Art Fair has the highest percentage of artists from Ann Arbor, 17%, whereas the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair only has 6%.

Application and fees
The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair

• Application: Fee $30; Submit 5 slides online via Zapplication; Score based on originality and creativity, design, technique, craftsmanship, and production methodology.
• Booths: Fees $625 (10’x20’, 10’x12’), $100 extra for a corner space; Electrical service $100 (available all booths); Parking $75 (based upon availability).

The State Street Area Art Fair

• Application: Fee $35-$45; Submit 5 standard slides; Score based on creativity, technical skill, presentation, and adherence to Fair rules.
• Booths: Fees $675-$860 (10’x10’), $1575-$1825 (10’x20’); Electrical fee $50 (available half of the booths).

The Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair

• Application: Fee $45; Submit 5 slides online via Juried Art Services; Score based on design, technical competence, and booth presentation.
• Booths: Fees not available online at this time.

The Ann Arbor’s South University Art Fair

• Application: Fee not available online at this time; Submit slides online via Juried Art Services.
• Booths: Fees not available online at this time.

Gross sales
Based on an article by Peggy Page in the July 2009 issue of the Ann Arbor Observer, referencing the 2009 edition of Greg Lawler’s Art Fair Source Book, surveyed artists reported the following average gross sales in 2008:

• The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original: $5,650
• The Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair: $6,092
• The State Street Area Art Fair and the Ann Arbor’s South University Art Fair average gross sales fell between the above two numbers.

If you have additional numbers to share, please leave a comment. And now - see you at the fairs!

Art fair statistics I would like to know

When working on my previous post featuring numbers from the Ann Arbor Art Fairs, I realized that there are is additional information that I would like to know. Here is a list of stats that I have yet to find out. What additional information would you like to know more about?

Applicants

• Percentage of applicants per media. Percentage of accepted applicants per media.
• Percentage of applicants per state. Percentage of accepted applicants per state.
• Percentage of male/female applicants. Percentage of accepted male/female applicants.

Artists

• Average sales in dollars per artist and media.
• Percentage sold of total artwork exhibited per artist and media.
• Average cost of attending the art fair per artist and media/state.
• Which booths attract the most sales (booths in the shade, booths close to shuttle drop off areas, etc.)?
• Do sales increase if tiered pricing is offered (low, medium, high) as opposed to only one price range? Percentage of sales per tier.

Visitors

• What media is the average visitor most interested in 1. viewing; 2. buying?
• How much is the average visitor willing to spend on artwork (<$20, $20-50, $50-100, $100-500, $500-1000, $1000+)?
• For how long can a visitor keep their concentration (hours)?
• How far is a visitor willing to walk while keeping their concentration (miles)?

If you have any answers to share, or additional figures you would like to find out, please leave a comment!

An experiment in being, part 2

Inspired by Owen Swain's Map of Nowhere and Roz Stendahl's post about Being happy with the little bits, I explore color mixes, granulation, and sedimentary qualities of watercolors. This is one of my explorations or experiments - a Map of Nowhere just as much as a Map of Somewhere.


Map of nowhere
Watercolors on Strathmore 140 lb. cold press paper, 4" x 5"
Copyright Anna T.

The Map of Nowhere seems to me an especially appropriate metaphor these days as I have brought my Experiment in Being into a second phase. Last week, I decided to write my 'last' to-do list for the time being.

What comes instead? Unfolding - instead of pushing, listening to the heart and that little voice within - instead of only to the mind, seeing each moment with a newborn's eyes - instead of not really seeing and being present.

Where the path will lead? At first inward, at last outward. When you allow things to unfold, when you heed that inner voice, when you see everything for the first time, you might find that instead of this you would actually choose that; that instead of confirming what you thought you knew you might dare to explore the unknown; that you might discover the miracles of the everyday - in Stephen Levine's words, noticing another road branching toward the spacious pastures and open vistas of "don't know."

June roundup

Art

Juicy paintings. This month, I am featuring juicy oil paintings instead of watercolors:

• Ronell Van Wyk (African Tapestry) posted her plein air painting La frontier in Plein air paintings 1. Take a look at the colors and the light reflections in the water – lovely!
• Elizabeth Floyd (Elizabeth Floyd Studio) also has a way with her brush, making her paintings look both realistic and juicy. Check out Peach daily painting and Green pear daily painting!
• Gesa Helms (Paint and Pastel) showed her abstract yellow and blue Elqui 1 in Landscape, fields, and abstraction (scroll down a bit to find it.) Juicy progress pictures were shown in the earlier post And then I lost the hilltops… I love these glowing color combinations!

Birds. Several artists featured birds in their June posts:

• Ronell Van Wyk (African Tapestry) sketched the most lovely, “loose” geese in her post Sketches on a perfect Friday.
• Katherine Tyrrell (Travels with a Sketchbook in…) drew a beautiful heron in pencil and a coot nest in color pencil in her post Herons, coots and goslings – grooming, housekeeping and babysitting.
• Roz Stendahl (Roz Wound Up) painted a colorful vulture and wrote about Where do you find birds?

People. There are so many good sketches of people out there that I couldn’t help but linking posts by Jana Bouc (Janas Journal), Adebanji Alade, and Casey Toussaint (Rue Manuel Bis) as well.

Creative process

My posts on the creative process. I wrote a post about How do you nourish your inner artist, citing artist’s dates as one of many possible nourishments for that artist within. Check out the comments for more ideas and feel free to leave your own! Another of my posts was written On the importance of nature; time spent in nature being one of my favorite ways to unwind.

Vision boards. Several artists have posted their vision/dream/inspiration boards online and I find every one of them fascinating. This is a great idea to help understand as well as visualize where you really want to go. Check out Caroline Roberts' (From the Studio) post Blasting off with a dream and Jess Constable's (Makeunder My Life) post Makeunder step one: Create a vision for a few examples.

Procrastination and resistance. Danny Gregory wrote an interesting post about this in Anti- and procrastination. Amongst his tips are taking the first step and starting with a bite-size piece that will only take a few minutes. Related to this, Rose Welty wrote about exercise in What if you want to but can’t get started? She starts small and takes a few moments here and there instead of one long stretch of time. In the same spirit, Roz Stendahl (Roz Wound Up) advocated Being happy with the little bits.

Meditation

Jon Kabat-Zinn is back. I have looked forward to Jon Kabat-Zinn's next post since March, but missed his May post, so I will link it here instead. Jon Kabat-Zinn is the founder of the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the author of Full Catastrophe Living - Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness, a book on mindfulness that I have been reading on and off since 2006!

One-Moment Meditation follow-up. Last month, I quoted Martin Boroson’s new book One-Moment Meditation. The next day, I found an email from Martin Boroson in my inbox, asking if I would like a copy of his book! Based on the excerpt, his book seemed to be the missing link for my current focus on spaciousness and being mindful in the moment. As this indeed turned out to be the case, stay tuned for a book review and an interview with Martin later on this summer!

Art business

My posts on art business. I wrote a post about IKEA for artists, with tips on IKEA furniture that I used to furnish my studio.

See. Be. Draw.® trademarked! Perhaps you have noticed the ® after See. Be. Draw. in the blog header?! Since April, See. Be. Draw. is a registered trademark! A time consuming process, this has been in the making for over a year!

Time management. Many artists are writing about time management these days. Amongst them, Michael Nobbs pondered Rhythm rather than routine in a post and podcast and Still learning (more on my quest for a creative routine). Check out the comments for more tips!

Health and wellness. For those of us running a small art business, health is an important prerequisite. Lately, several bloggers have written about what they do to stay – or get - well:

• In Back to basics, Jill Bliss describes how she assembled a health team consisting of a chiropractor, a massage therapist, and an exercise trainer, to help her back, shoulders, and hands get back to sewing again. I love the idea of a health team, and think many of us realize its importance only when it is too late. Maintaining one’s health is just as important as healing that which is not well!
• Jess Constable (Makeunder My Life) has, inspired by Sean Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, set up a personal bank account, which is a way to build self-confidence and trust in yourself. She explains this in her post Increasing my personal bank account and writes about her progress in June’s PBA.
• Katherine Tyrrell (Making a Mark) started a Sketchercise community on Ning, for those enjoying both sketching and exercise – in combination! (For those new to sketching in combination with activity, there is a Flickr group set up to get your feet wet, as explained in Sketchercise – now on Flickr too.)

Blog updates

Blog schedule. As summer has arrived and I just returned from a both inspiring and refreshing meditation retreat, I am reverting to a blogging schedule of one post a week; day yet to be determined. The idea is to free up some more time for art, spaciousness, and other important things...

See. Be. Draw. sightings. My post An experiment in being was recommended by Katherine Tyrrell (Making a Mark) “for those who love planning, being focused and 'to do' lists” in her post 7th June 2009 – Who’s made a mark this week? (Hint – An experiment in being is the antithesis to the to-do list…) Katherine also highlighted my post How do you nourish your inner artist in 14th June 2009 – Who’s made a mark this week? In addition, Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo was inspired by my post On the importance of nature as she wrote about Environment, meditation, and soft fascination.

And lastly: Another Kreativ Blogger award for See. Be. Draw! Countrymummy (of Craftdelight) awarded me a Kreativ Blogger award in her April post I’d just like to thank… - and I only just found out! Thanks, Countrymummy!

Learnings from a dandelion

Did you know that, although the dandelion is usually considered a common weed, it does have several uses, such as medicinal and culinary? It is fitting that, in a Star-Ledger article by Mary Ann Castronovo Fusco, ethnobotanist Peter Gail defined a weed as "a plant for which we once knew the use but we've forgotten it." In addition, I have always associated this plant with foundation, strength, - and faith! These are a few of the things I have pondered when I see the happy yellow face of a dandelion:

A solid foundation
The dandelion develops an impressive root - its foundation - and is in fact almost impossible to completely uproot. If we all were that thoroughly rooted and grounded, we would not be easily swayed. What is a root for me? Perhaps family, home, and security, but also consistent nourishment of body and soul - including the inner artist, of course.

Dandelion with root
Pen and ink on 50 lb paper, 11" x 7"
Copyright Anna T.

Strength and faith
I often smile when I see dandelions growing in the cracks of the pavement. Just like the dandelion is found thriving in the most impossible places, so would we benefit from believing that things will work out. It is possible! You can do it! Things will work out!

Dandelion in concrete crack
Pen and ink on 50 lb paper, 6" x 9"
Copyright Anna T.