what is an artist?

who is an artist? that was a question posed yesterday. here’s my working definition for today: an artist is someone who repeatedly and over extended periods of time expresses her or his experience, knowledge, talent, skill or other internal processes to design unique objects, processes or points of view. most artists are internally driven to… Continue reading what is an artist?

the 10 paradoxes of creative people

pre-eminent psychologist mihaly cziszentmihalyi about the ten paradoxes of creative people. here’s an abbreviated version: 1. Creative people have a great deal of physical energy, but they’re also often quiet and at rest. … One manifestation of energy is sexuality. Creative people are paradoxical in this respect also. They seem to have quite a strong… Continue reading the 10 paradoxes of creative people

art and psychology

in this month of concentration on the arts, i’m amazed at the many topics i didn’t touch. here’s a few of them the psychology of photography the healing power of pottery movement therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder therapy for actors anorexia among dancers psychology and architecture art and mental illness … and what else could… Continue reading art and psychology

darfur emergency

for today, i want to interrupt our usual topics and post this letter here that my daughter just wrote to everyone she knows. the motto of my practice is making lives better, making better lives. let’s make better lives for the people in darfur. Millions of people are at death’s door in Darfur right now.… Continue reading darfur emergency

those who quit drinking …

i was intrigued by levy’s comment on the art and alcohol posting a few days ago and thought it would be worthwhile to dedicate a blog entry to it. here is what he says: I can appreciate the turn around stories of artists and I

alternative learners: artists

tonight i’m preparing a presentation to teachers about alternative learners. alternative learners are people whose learning processes are different from most of their peers. they’re often called dyslexics, or people with learning disabilities. the problem with using the term “learning disabilities” is that it implies that

alcohol and art

these last few days i’ve been listening to quite a few people talk about their experience with alcohol misuse, either through their own struggles or because of alcoholism among their loved ones. what is it about alcohol abuse that frightens us so? when i was younger, it was the strange and dangerous-seeming world that drunks… Continue reading alcohol and art

writing our own story

internet lore has it that according to thomas cleary, one of the most prolific translators of buddhist and other eastern texts, yesterday’s strawberry story originally has a different ending. in that version, the delicious strawberry that the cliff-hanger pops into his mouth is