Writer's Block ....

"I think writer's block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible. But as a writer, I believe that if you sit down at the keys long enough, sooner or later something will come out."
~ Roy Blount, Jr.

Artists have writer's block too. I guess we should call it artist's block. I tried four times to create cards for an Alice in Wonderland swap. I went down dark alleys and returned to where I started each time. I started to feel stuffed up - nothing was flowing. It helped to share my frustration on the board group. What d'ya know? Others were having problems too. That actually made me feel better. I plodded on, took a couple of more wrong turns. And then I went back to the first set of cards I had started. They looked a bit different to me. I began to think, "what if I added more color? maybe some pen and ink ....". I went back to those cards and the spark returned. I felt the energy and excitement of creating. Such a fresh, green feeling. Like sap running in my veins.

`Oh, there's no use in talking to him,' said Alice desperately: `he's perfectly idiotic!' And she opened the door and went in.

The door led right into a large kitchen, which was full of smoke from one end to the other: the Duchess was sitting on a three-legged stool in the middle, nursing a baby; the cook was leaning over the fire, stirring a large cauldron which seemed to be full of soup.

She says yes ....

yes to joy, yes to adventure, yes to pleasure
YES to life when life asks "may I have this dance?"

Susan needs ...

Okay, Julie D. - I'll give it a try, lol. Julie says to type in your name followed by the word "needs" and list the top 10 listings. I tried "Suze needs" and I only got the same blurb over and over again about Suze Orman needing to go back to the drawing board. Must have been a bad review of her latest book! So we'll try it with "Susan needs".
Here goes:
1. Susan needs opportunities to practice literate speech
2. Susan needs to understand that she needs
3. Susan needs a tray, six inserts, center bowl and metal spinning rack
4. Susan needs a change
5. Susan needs to succeed in the face of and despite this madness
6. Susan needs your help now to prepare for election day
7. Susan needs an automatic gearbox
8. Susan needs to hear from YOU!!
9. Susan needs a lip, otherwise small things disappear forever...
10. Susan needs some new jewels

... I love it, it's so random!

The coronation ...

... what makes an artist an artist? Is it intent? acknowledgement? recognition? talent? or is it a decision ... to be an artist.

Mother and daughter

Niels and I bought a dusty old photograph at an antique shop in Woodstock last weekend. It's quite large and has a wide ornate tarnished gold frame around it. We got it home and my daughters said "another creepy portrait to hang in the house!".
I didn't see it as creepy at all.
I decided to scan it and perhaps use it in some collage work. It was too big to fit in my scanner, so I had to scan one side and then the other. When I opened the scans in photoshop, I thought it was so poignent, having mother and daughter in separate frames. I added some text and a background color. I may use these images in the Folie a deux swap.

It's funny, I started using "Suze" because there were so many Susans on one ATC group I belong to that it was the only way to tell us apart. I've always introduced myself as Susan. But Suze is starting to feel comfortable. Suze is the artist. Susan is the teacher. And Suzie is what my really close friends call me. LOL

New Business Cards