Sculpting a life and a living. Writing. Showing. Teaching. Making.

'Reflection', copper repousse'


By Susan Gallacher-Turner

Looking at this month, I’ve been blessed to be able to do everything I love to do.

As an artist, I sculpt out of metal and clay. I’ve made jewelry and garden art and started new masks out of mesh and copper.

For two weekends, I was part of the Portland Open Studios Tour and opened my studio to men, women and children interested in finding out what I do and how I do it. It’s always a little hectic getting ready for the event. I clean out my studio, set out demonstration materials, put out some of my pieces for display. It’s a lot of work. But what makes it all worthwhile are the looks of wonder, the words of appreciation and the people who come back every year to see what’s new.

Right after my open studio event, I delivered a large copper repousse’ piece to a juried exhibit downtown. My piece, “Reflection” will hang in the First Presbyterian Church as part of the Works of Faith exhibit until January 2010. It was wonderful to meet my fellow artists and the people from the art committee on Sunday.

Later in the week, I started an artist in residence at a local elementary school. The project is based on my ‘Ethnic Portrait’ series and involves the students in art and writing, two of my favorite activities. I met with the teachers, went over the supplies and the time lines. Then I went back to my studio, made an example of the project and prepared some supplies. At the school, I set up, presented the project and taught the classes with the help of the wonderful teachers and students. It was a great experience!

Today, I’m setting up interviews for articles I write on my blog and others. Writing advertising copy. Making a list of the supplies needed for the second week at the school. Getting work together for a photo shoot tomorrow. Putting some paint on one of my mesh masks. Taking my dog for a walk in between rain storms and making dinner.

Sometimes I worry whether it will all get done, but it does. Somehow, in spite of the bumps, I am able to sculpt a life and a living doing what I love to do. I’m grateful.

You can see more of my sculpture work on my website, Susan Gallacher-Turner Sculpture and my blog, Susan's Art & Words. And listen to podcasts or read my interviews with other creative people living a creative life at Voices of Living Creatively website, www.voicesoflivingcreatively.com and http://voicesoflivingcreatively.blogspot.com Read more!

Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from Across the East River

Glittery Man by Sandra Lee Schubert @2009




Glittery Man 


Are you holding on to an old and outdated vision of who you are? 


I had several disappointments this week. The person who has been my creative muse for years disappointed me in an unexpected way. I was surprised. She inspired to take on a creative persona that has framed how I have lived my life. The disappointment became the catalyst to question whether the creative persona I had inhabited was still valid. The next day someone questioned the very same persona. He said there was a cognitive dissonance - my words and images were not in sync. Was the universe trying to get my attention or what? 


We want to be authentic and we want to put forth that which has the most meaning for us.  But what if you have taken on a image that does not represent who you are?    


I went to two business expos at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC. One was a small business expo and the other was for event planning and design. The small business expo was fine. There were good seminars and the exhibits were interesting. The information was good and solid for the small business owner.


But the event planning and design expo was very exciting. Besides floor to ceiling silvery dangles the glittery man greeted the attendees with his body flashing light all over the entrance. There were full out party rooms done in all gold, crystal and white. A Tiki bar was on hand and a drag Queen wore a table full of chocolate. The music was infectious and loud. There were beauiuful exhibts and beatuful people throughout the hall. I was immediately sold. I wanted to host an event somewhere, anywhere. If I wanted a real life example of a brand living up to expectations this was it. 


The event planning expo was the frame I have carried, but I have been living like the Business expo. One is solid, but has little energy, the other married excitement and business. I have tons of information. I have a billion ideas. I can be very creative but I live in a box. At the end of the day I am not that exciting. 


Creativity asks us to live differently. We can't do the same thing as everyone else and expect a different result. We may have to shake things up and throw out the very way we have been living. I was all shook up this week. Two people I admired made me question what I have been doing. It sucks. But, I think it is a good thing. My creative life has been ho-hum. My business has stalled big time. It took a glittery man and some friends to point out I have not been living up to my potential. Do I know what is next? No. But I am willing to leave the old persona behind and craft a better one. Is your persona in need of a makeover?  

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Sandra's e-course leads people to be their creative best through telling their stories and talking to interesting people on her online radio show-
Wild Woman Network: Radio for Creative Vagabonds, Thinkers and Innovators..
She is a creative vagabond, a poet, and a writer who co-facilitates the Wild Angels Poets and Writers Group at the historic Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.
Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own Visit her blog. Email her Sandraleeschubert(at)gmail.com or @writing4life via twitter. Read more!

Television Musings - Rants and Raves of a Romance Writer

Desperate, Shark and Glee

By Kathy Carpenter

Desperate Housewives continues to try new things. In a recent episode they showed the same scene from five points of view. They did this by playing the scene then going to a different family four different times to show what the other family was doing during a specific event. Sort of a rewind effect. Worked out nicely, I thought. Television continues to become more creative trying to give us the same emotions we get from a book.

Shark Tank- What I love about this show is the Sharks. Is not the fact someone has the opportunity of a lifetime to take their company to another level. But The way they compete against each other to get the deal they want. Or work together or even try to save another Shark from a deal they feel would be bad.

Glee - A show from the previews did not seem like my type. It looked like another Friday Night Lights from last season. To my surprise I like it a lot. It has a Soap Opera feel, one of my favorites. With secrets, people going after people , with great music and dance. I’m hoping they can come with enough to keep it going after the initial story play through. Often a problem with new shows. Only time will tell.

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Television Musings - Rants and Raves of a Romance Writer

Desperate, Shark and Glee
By Kathy Carpenter


Desperate Housewives continues to try new things. In a recent episode they showed the same scene from five points of view. They did this by playing the scene then going to a different family four different times to show what the other family was doing during a specific event. Sort of a rewind effect. Worked out nicely, I thought. Television continues to become more creative trying to give us the same emotions we get from a book.


.

Read more!

MAD HOT JOURNALING!

There is indeed something hot in the Journaling World!

Ruth Folit, founder of LifeJournal software has recently announced the creation of the International Association for Journal Writers.

If you are a regular journal keeper or want to become one, this is the place to be--- Articles, tips, audio and upcoming classes focused on journaling. Two dozen journaling experts from around the world (including yours truly) will keep you informed, learning, "juiced" and most importantly, writing.

You'll want to check out the IAJW today and join us! Visit here.

So, how is your own journaling going this fall? If you are feeling sluggish or haven't written in awhile, there's a simple solution. Walk outside and grab your journal or a notebook and pen. Take a walk, even for ten minutes.

Try this. Think of an issue or concern that has been nagging at you. No need to dwell on it; once you have the thought, write it down and then just let it drift off. Walk slowly, noticing the details around you. What color is the ground? What do you notice about the trees, leaves, branches, plants, insects? Walk slowly, look closely.

Take a deep breath. Continue on your short journey for a few minutes more. Stop and look at anything that grabs your attention. Study it. Stay with it, let is speak to you.

When you are done with your walk, open your journal and look again at the issue or concern you noted before. Now do some writing and see if the issue seems different or has changed in any way.

Let me know what happens! Visit me at www.susanborkin.com or write with your comments and thoughts to susan@susanborkin.com.



Susan Borkin, M.A. is a licensed psychotherapist, author and speaker. In her practice she provides psychotherapy, coaching and training for people who are interested in using writing as part of their healing, growth or transformation. Read more!

Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from Across the East River

Book Signing by Sandra Lee Schubert @2009

Book Signing

This past week I went to a book signing and reception for Gary Vaynerchuk, author of the new book, Crush It. I've been to a few signings for friends, but this was the first promoted via social media and with lots of buzz. It was at Borders Books in NYC in the Time Warner building at Columbus Cirlce. The location itself added to the excitement of the event.

The author has a following of enthusiastic true fans who happily packed the event space. He entered the space like a rock star. Truthfully, he is a rock star. Here was someone who knew he had to create his own stardom. What did I learn?


First, to get any where you have to want it badly. I see this over and over again in successful people. There is an energy that propels a person forward. We have all heard about having a fire in the belly. I saw this played out at the book signing. Gary is up late working and then jumps out of bed early in the morning. Second, you have to take charge of your own stardom. Even if you are just a little twinkle in a mass of sun like stars you still have to make yourself shine brightly. Third, you don't do it alone. Creating doesn't happen in a vacuum at some point you must take your work out and share it with the community.


I've watched Gary interact online for a year. He makes friends. He is also someone who remembers you even if he has met you once in a crowd of other people. Here is a guy who knows how to use everything at his disposal. He also has a ten book deal with his publisher. I have no deal like that, do you?

Maybe you or I don't have his big kind of personality. Or, we forget who we just met the second we turned around. But we can still learn how to transform our passion into something big. Can we meet each day with the kind of excitement that makes the heart race?


Take time and read about your favorite successful artist/writer/actor/business person. What makes them tick? What kept them going in the face of adversity? Look for the traits that are similar to you. Figure out which traits you have that are comparable and what ones you need to cultivate to success. Find and exploit your passion. Discover your inner rock star and let her out in a big way.

---

Sandra's e-course leads people to be their creative best through telling their stories and talking to interesting people on her online radio show-
Wild Woman Network: Radio for Creative Vagabonds, Thinkers and Innovators..
She is a creative vagabond, a poet, and a writer who co-facilitates the Wild Angels Poets and Writers Group at the historic Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.
Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own Visit her blog. Email her Sandraleeschubert(at)gmail.com or @writing4life via twitter. Read more!

Sculpting a Life: Susan Gallacher-Turner's turn in the Pacific Northwest

Portland Open Studios:
Opening my studio and my creative process to my neighborhood.

I do sculpture work in aluminum screening, copper sheeting and clay. I love faces and animals and the concept of shapeshifting. I see faces and figures in the landscape around me, the leaves on the trees, the clouds in the sky, the rocks and even the marks on the ceiling. My source of inspiration and materials seem right to me, that’s why I do it.

But to others, I realize it may seem a bit odd. Since I work on my own, in my studio, this isn’t a problem, really. I can do what I do and no one knows the difference. Until now.

As part of the Portland Open Studios Tour, I invite people to come into my studio and watch me work. They get to see me push a bear shape out of aluminum screening, press dragon scales into copper sheeting and read some of my stories. I explain how I do what I do. I show them the materials and the process. I answer their questions.

I have some of my finished pieces on display, so they can see the finished product as well as the process. I hope it helps them to understand what I do and why. I hope it helps them learn more about art, the creative process as well as inspiring them to honor their own creativity.

Every year, I feel a little like the curtain is drawn back on my creative process and there I stand, alone and revealed to the world. It’s a little scary. But every year, I find out just how wonderful and generous and eager people are to share in the creative process.

If you’re ever in Portland the first two weeks of October, get a tour guide and come and visit my studio! This year, I was interviewed by a fellow artist and you can read the interview on the Portland Open Studios Tour blog at http://portlandopenstudios.wordpress.com

To see more of my sculpture visit my website at Susan Gallacher-Turner Sculpturewww.susangt.com or read my other blogs, Susan's Art & Words or Voices of Living Creatively. Read more!

Writing and Art Matter!

At my writing group last night, one member – I’ll call her Julia – said she was recovering from the flu. Possibly the dreaded H1N1, we decided after hearing about her symptoms. On one day, when she became dehydrated and nearly delirious, she said she kept torturing herself with the thought that her writing was worthless, that she should be spending her time doing something to “help people” instead. “I still am feeling that way a little bit,” she confessed. “It won’t quite go away.”

I know so well this tricky turn of mind, this saboteur, this ambivalence toward creating art that arrives with sickness or other vulnerabilities – an uncertain income, a move to a new city. The rest of us rallied for her, trying to dispel her grey sky that wouldn’t clear. “It helps people to write something that is cathartic for them to read.” “When we’re creating, we’re more alive, and when we’re more alive, we’re more useful to the world.” “Besides, we don’t choose our art; it chooses us. We create because we must.”

Someone asked Julia, “Is the act of writing important to you?” Suddenly our friend’s face shifted from worried to peaceful, residually sick to the picture of health, dark cloud to beaming light. “Of course,” she said, smiling.

When I took Eric Maisel’s class on creativity coaching, he asked us to begin each day by writing “I matter and my writing matters.”

Art does matter. Writing does matter. Of course.

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Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from Across the East River

Transfiguration by Sandra Lee Schubert 2002

Creating Your Poetry

The word iconographer means "image writer", and comes from the Greek εικον (image) and γραφειν (to write). I have created three icons; two are small pieces done in the traditional method. The other icon follows the same concept of writing with an image, instead of traditional methods I used collage to create a visual poem in three pieces. The poem is represented as a triptych, each stanza is a panel.

The poem was in response to a class assignment on visual poetry and the tragedy of September 11, 2001.Thinking about what to do, I was reminded of the loss of icons on that terrible day. The images were of the World Trade Towers, the loss of our idea of power, America as a safe haven. I looked for photos and words that represented these iconic images in the newspapers and magazines. In creating the poem I wanted to rise above the tragedy and look for some of the bright spots.


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Take a Break!

“In the relentless busyness of modern life,” Wayne Muller writes in Sabbath: Finding Rest and Renewal in Our Daily Lives (Bantam, 2000), “we have lost the rhythm between work and rest.” He explores the concept of “Sabbath” and its rituals and references in Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism. Muller says the Sabbath is celebrated in various forms because it is in our nature to need a day a week to rest, celebrate, delight in, and savor our lives. During the rest of the week we may be driven by work, tasks, and worries, but once a week we’re supposed to chill out.

A true Sabbath, he argues, is a day of reflection and a day of no activities done out of obligation. Whether your Sabbath is spent alone or with friends or family or the larger community, the only goal should be rest and renewal.

Which is why when my friend Sheri prefers to stay home from church on Sunday mornings to garden, I think she is taking a particularly special form of the Sabbath. And why this morning when I hiked along the Coralville Reservoir, thinking about John Muir’s enthusiasm for nature as the greatest of all temples, I too was “obeying” the Sabbath…as I was later this afternoon while working on my novel, feeling the warm sun coming in my office window, enjoying the rush of a scene coming alive on the page.

If you’re a creator – an artist, writer, gardener, musician – and if you’re looking for an excuse to work on that creative project you’ve shelved for awhile, just remember that you owe yourself – and life itself – a Sabbath at least once a week. If on that day you are creating with joy and peace and delight, you’re honoring the Sabbath.

On the other hand, sometimes we need a break from everything. Doing nothing is an option, too.

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