Process vs. Product

 

Featured image: Going with the Flow II

Creativity means we are focused on process

and not product.

Even though product

is nice for process,

process always—and I mean

always—comes

first.

FIRST.

Enthusiasm

 

Featured image: Playground

Enthusiasm

A Greek-filled word—filled with God—that is grounded in play and focused on the inner child in you. The word is pure joy.

Creative work is play. It can be done in a huge sandbox with many players—and the sandbox can be anywhere. I mean anywhere. It can even be in your living room. The wonderful thing about this sandbox (yes, I have memories of one—not in the house, though) is that there was always mystery in the sandbox, and treasure, and wonder, and such joy.

Enthusiasm.
Creative work… it is so darn hard.

Hawks

 

Featured image: Hawk III

As with most things, there are many ways to see and understand them; the hawk is no different. Hawks are beautiful birds—their plumage is always filled with a variety of feathers and colors: dots, stripes, reds, and browns.

The hawk is known as a predatory bird because of the shape of its beak and talons, which is what I find fascinating about birds of prey. Those two features make the bird powerful, strong, and magnificent—something to contend with—which I emphasized in my work “Hawk.”

The hawk has quite a history of symbolism across many cultures. Some common themes include courage, resilience, independence, and authority. They inspire humans to seize control of their destiny and rise above challenges. They are also seen as messengers from the spirit world. In some cultural stories, hawks serve as enforcers of the divine will.

Imagination vs. Knowledge

 

Featured image: Imagination

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

— Albert Einstein

Trust That Voice

 

Featured image: Trusting Her

Trust that still, small voice within you that says, “this might work,” and then try it.
— Diane Mariechild

It is Within My Power

 

Featured image: The Good Road

“It is within my power either to serve God or not to serve Him.
Serving Him, I add to my own good and the good of the whole world.
Not serving Him, I forfeit my own good and deprive the world of that good which was in my power to create.”
— Leo Tolstoy

His Spirit

Featured image: Inukshuk - Kasba Lake

God’s Spirit guides me.

I asked myself, “Does God’s Spirit guide me?” In time, I found my answer. The best way I can describe it—and I am a visual speaker, so I’ll describe it with an image—is this: it’s like the light God gave to me on Goeth Island, when I was standing on what felt like the middle of nowhere on Kasba Lake.

Facts about the rock on this island:

• Mineral-rich rock: Goeth Island is formed of granite shot through with seams of stark white quartz. This is the source of the island’s unique appearance.

• Glacial history: The landscape surrounding Kasba Lake, including the islands, was heavily shaped by glaciers during the last ice age, approximately 11,000 years ago. Glacial action scoured and exposed the underlying bedrock, leaving behind a dramatic and rugged landscape.

• Subarctic environment: Located just below the tree line in Canada’s subarctic, the northern end of Kasba Lake features barren islands and rock outcrops, contrasting with the wooded southern end.

When I was fishing, I asked to be dropped off alone for a bit, and when I wanted to be picked up I would stand tall on one of those rocks and wave my arms. I couldn’t be missed in my bright pink sweater (I wasn’t missed).

Anyway, I wander the island every year we go to Kasba. This year, I tried to touch as many rocks as I could. Then I just stood still, closed my eyes, turned my head to the sky, and felt the presence of as many things as I could. I began to feel a bright yellow-white radiant light rising from the earth—from my feet to the tips of my hands, to the sky. It was a glorious light.

I felt His Spirit in this light—through the earth and through all things. For me, this was feeling His Spirit in me, and I want to feel it in me as much as I can, though I don’t always. But when I share it with others, it frequently appears.

So I may be selfish right now, because when I think of all the excellent spirits I am touching, why wouldn’t I want to do that? The same thing happens with my work, my art—it’s glorious. Just glorious.