Creatively Thinking

  Featured image: Intersections A dear friend—I hope I can call her a friend—I have known her for a long time anyway, responded to one of my posts the other day about silence. She said something to the effect of, “Ah yes, the silence—there is nothing else like the Northwoods winter silence.” So true. So true.

 Featured Image: The Choir When you are creating art, you have to be a participant. What do I mean by that? I mean that you have to be there somehow—you have to be in the moment. You are zoned out of all things around you; nothing else bothers you. You hear nothing else. You see nothing else—really, you see nothing else but what you are creating. I find this happens when I am outside having my morning coffee, relating to the earth, relating to all that is. When I am in the moment, I am part of the blackbird, part of the bluebird, part of the snow on the ground—part of the silence of the snow. I am a participant. I am in the moment. I become a creative, and I create. Does this happen to anyone else? There is singing in my heart. There is a wonderful singing in my heart. Can you create and have singing in your heart? Try it.

  Featured image: Winter River Winter mornings bring stillness, calm, and dim light. Winter is always full of otherness. It is bitter cold; even when I don’t want to go out, I don’t know how the little birds do it. I remind myself every morning that if I didn’t want the birds to develop the habit, then I should not have started feeding them. And so I go out, come in a couple of times because it is so cold, and then go back out again. The warmth of their little bodies serves them well, somehow. It’s all part of a very, very complex master plan.

  I’m feeling very grateful today to share that my piece She Is a Creative was awarded Third Place in the Abstract National Exhibition at Mark Arts. This exhibition runs from January 9 through March 21, and being included among so many thoughtful and compelling works has already felt like an honor. Receiving this recognition adds another layer of gratitude to the experience. She Is a Creative speaks to ideas I return to again and again—the real, the imagined, and the quiet freedom found in listening to one’s inner voice. To know that this work resonated in this way is deeply meaningful to me. Thank you to the juror, the exhibition team, and everyone who continues to support my work and my ongoing journey as an artist. 💛

  Featured image: Different Journeys I’m grateful to share that my painting Different Journeys has been selected for inclusion in the National Online Showcase ’26 presented by the Watercolor Society of Alabama. Out of 115 works submitted by 66 artists, 50 pieces were chosen for this exhibition. I’m honored that Different Journeys is part of this thoughtful collection. This piece reflects something I return to often in my work—the understanding that each of us moves through the world along a distinct path, shaped by experience, intuition, and change. Though our journeys may differ, they often echo one another in quiet, meaningful ways. Moments like these remind me how art continues to connect us across distance, time, and individual paths. 💛

  Featured image: Playground My art has always been about “playing.” I can remember that I was always making little play corners all over the house. Finally, after a while, I found areas where my mom couldn’t find them and clean them up—corners under the rafters, hidden behind clothes in the closets—but they were always special places where I could play and imagine. My house is no different as a grown-up—it is filled with places that can turn into art-making areas in a jiffy so I can be with family all the time, or rather, so family can be with me. My studio is wherever I am; I just carry my supplies on a cart, like when I had art on a cart when I was first an art teacher. I would unload my supplies from the trunk of my car after loading them into the truck for the week from the central supply house for the school district, then unload them again and go into a school to be the traveling art teacher for that day—no fancy room for art teachers back then. Anyway—you carry your art wit...

  Featured image: She Is A Creative   I’m feeling deeply honored—and quietly excited—to share that I was invited to participate in the Abstract National Exhibition at Mark Arts in Wichita, Kansas. My piece, She Is a Creative, will be included in this exhibition, which runs from January 9 through March 21, with an opening reception on January 9 from 5–7 PM. When I read the juror’s letter, I was especially moved by the care and thought behind the selections. Out of hundreds of submissions, the work chosen reflects art that carries mystery, ambiguity, and a sense of resonance—qualities I return to again and again in my own practice. To know that this piece connected on that level feels meaningful and affirming. For as long as I can remember, my work has circled around the real, the imagined, and freedom. She Is a Creative is part of that ongoing conversation—an exploration of inner landscapes, intuition, and the quiet power of becoming. I’m grateful for the invitation, for the ju...

   Featured image:  Pine Cones A quiet reflection for this moment Today is Christmas Eve—a pause in time where anticipation and presence meet. It’s a day that holds its own kind of stillness, inviting us to slow down and notice what’s already here. A chickadee’s call in the cold air. Snow resting softly on pine branches. The glow of evening lights as darkness settles in. These small moments carry a quiet grace. Art has taught me to linger in moments like this—to see how beauty often lives in the ordinary. Christmas Eve reminds us that meaning isn’t only found in celebration, but in attention. In the kindness we offer. In the calm we allow. In the wonder that waits when we stop rushing. As this evening unfolds, may we stay present with the beauty around us. May we honor the stillness, the reflection, and the joy held gently in this night. Here’s to savoring this moment. 🎄

  Featured image: Nuthatch II Hush hush Talking, babble, song Exclaiming urgent chants Hush, hush she is here

  Featured image: Dancing with the Wind and Trees Let your soul speak. Let your life speak. Sit quietly— let the call of the wild, the wilderness in yourself, emerge. It will tenderly speak to you as you sit quietly and listen.

  Featured image:  Silence The silence—how easily, how naturally, I slip myself into its sheer pleasure. The silence, for me, is like writing a love letter to myself, slipping the letter into an envelope, tying a ribbon around it. Every once in a while, I untie that ribbon, letting all those treasured things be felt again— like the silence. Wonderful.

  Featured image: We Are What We Wonder  once again when the sun glistens thru the woods my heart is pierced once again a moment of golden light returns my sense of  wonder a line a simple  line a sphere simple golden sphere returns my sense of wonder

  Featured image: Why Do We Have Art? “The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.” -Robert Henri

Featured image: Hawk III “I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness.”
— Thoreau For as long as I can remember, my work has circled around the importance of the real, the imagined, and freedom. These ideas have shaped my life, my art, and the way I move through the world. So I’m excited to share that on January 22nd, from 4–6 PM, we’ll be celebrating the opening reception of my new exhibition at the Campanile Center for the Arts, Campanile Gallery:
131 Milwaukee Street, Minocqua, WI 54548 And… it’s also a birthday party! 🎉
Both Steve Opfer (UP FUR) and I have birthdays right next to January 22nd, so we decided to make this opening a shared celebration. It’s going to be a fun, joyful evening, and we’d love for you to join us. The exhibition features my newest work, titled:
“The Real, the Imagined, and Freedom.” I’ll be showing brand-new 3D pieces—never seen before—created with repurposed found objects, along with a selection of my 2D work (some repurposed, som...

  Featured image: She Is A Creative “Let me help you,” he said. “How?” I should ask. How do we see? How do you see? Whose eyes do we see through? Do we see on our own? I would like to think so. Or do we see through another’s eyes? When I was teaching young adults, and they would do something outside of the classroom—something incredibly stupid (yes, stupid —sorry, I can’t think of a better name for driving on a slippery patch of ice on a curve, fast, as a challenge to see if you can defy all odds)—they also thought at the same time, “Oh, but it won’t happen to me.” Well, it happened to them—and it happens to them. Their “won’t happen to me’s” run out. All of my “won’t happen to me’s” have run out, too. I try not to do those things anymore, but, well, they still happen to me. For the most part, my magic wand still works for some reason—but the magic feels different now. I seem to be, I feel to be—at least lately—visualizing almost constantly the task that has been before me prett...

  Featured image: Earth's Energy Embracing Earth,  it's a perfect expression  of harmony and balance between chaos and quiet It's the life that embraces, teaches and inspires me guides my instinct ........it has.....  always been                    my story and my way and guide.

  I’m honored to share that my work Intersections has been accepted into the 36th Annual Midwest Seasons Exhibition at the Center for the Visual Arts. This show has long celebrated the artists and landscapes of the Midwest, capturing the rhythms, beauty, and character of our changing seasons. To have my work included alongside so many talented artists is truly meaningful to me. Center for the Visual Arts Caroline S. Mark Gallery January 7 – March 14, 2026 The Midwest Seasons Exhibit is the CVA’s premiere annual show, featuring artists whose pieces reflect the spirit of Midwestern life—its colors, traditions, stories, and sense of place. All selected artworks, including Intersections , will also appear in the Midwest Seasons 2026 Calendar , a beautiful keepsake publication celebrating the exhibition. I’m grateful to be part of this year’s lineup and deeply appreciative of the CVA for the opportunity. If you’re in the area during the exhibit run, I’d love for you to stop by an...

  Featured painting:  Kaleidoscope Of Raw Reality: We Are So Small – Northern Lights “Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” -Leonardo da Vinci

  Featured image: November Chickadee Chickadees, bluejays,  doves, blackbirds,  nuthatches,  downy woodpeckers,  pileated  woodpeckers,  rose breasted  woodpeckers,  and flickers come to the feeders in the morning. The squirrels and foxes are there too -  Today,  Thanksgiving Day they all come home to for Thanksgiving. The table is filled with berries, fruits, nuts, seeds, and corn. All things natural.  all things beautiful all things yes. 

  Image: Celebrate Innovation Creativity has NEVER been sensible.