Creatively Thinking

  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.

  Featured image: Imagination “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” — Albert Einstein

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

  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

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, con...

  Featured image: Red Flowers - Gifts From God If you have a God, what is your God like? Easy question? It wasn’t for me. God means so many different things to different folks—just ask them. Do you believe there is a “right” God and a “wrong” God? A “right” God or a “left” God? Do you believe God is subjective, as some people think art is—that God can be anything and everything you want Him to be? As most of you know, I believe art needs an objective foundation. So I believe God requires both an objective and a subjective foundation, much like art. I’ve written about this many times, exploring how God can exist yet cannot exist without abstraction. So, if you have a God—it’s certainly easier not to have one—what is your God like? Who do you believe He is? Is He a She? Is your God human? Is your God a spirit?

  Featured image: Flowing River Have you ever considered your moods, views, and insights as fleeting? Or do you think of them as engraved in blood, set in stone, never to change? I used to think of mine as carved in stone. But now—well—the way I think of history and time is changing. I think they are more transitory. When we sense movement and change, what are we sensing? We sense ourselves changing, I believe—I certainly do. For me, when I feel anxiety, I know I am uncomfortable. Something is different, and my spirit tells me something just isn’t right. The sense of grace in me says something isn’t working. My sense of grace is like a river flowing through me; it is like the wind caressing me. And when I don’t feel that, something is missing, something is changing. This feeling, for many years, has enabled me to live with a sense of spontaneity. Mind you, I need a foundation—I always have those rules engraved in my mind or heart—but I sincerely believe I am meant to move on, to cr...