Brown Earth Photo by Courtney Smith on Unsplash Note: The following essay was prompted in Beth Kempton’s Summer Writing Sanctuary. This year, we did color studies, using them to describe colors in vivid detail to enhance our writing. This is my study of brown. Losing plants due to the blazing heat is not easy to accept. IContinue reading “Brown Earth”
Breaking Horses Photo by Venti Views on Unsplash There was a ranch down the street where I grew up in rural Southern California, just thirty minutes due east from Los Angeles. It was a horse ranch and on any day if you walked by the ranch, you could see true cowboys breaking horses. There was a corralContinue reading “Breaking Horses”
Full Moon Birth Dad wanted to create some other kind of ranch or farm on the land after dismantling the chicken ranch. There was one chicken house that was left intact for feed barrels, rabbit hutches and miscellaneous yard tools. On one side of the long, corrugated metal barn was a small stall for goats. Dad liked goatsContinue reading “Full Moon Birth”
Swinging from a Branch For all intents and purposes, I was an only child. People don’t generally talk about the pressures that occur when you’re an only child, especially when one parent is a perfectionist. My dad had high standards and he held everyone (including himself) to them with great consequence if a person didn’t measure up. Of course,Continue reading “Swinging from a Branch”
Breaking In I was not allowed to have a key to get into our house. Dad thought that if I lost it and someone found it, they would be able to break in. No matter how many times Mom would say, “How would they know which house the key went to,” I was not allowed to haveContinue reading “Breaking In”
A Bribe of Pennies I’ve been writing furiously. I start my days with an ambitious to-do list, having budgeted a small chunk of time for writing; but by the end of the day, the to-do list has gone out the window and I will have written a new chapter. The book is ostensibly my memoir of growing up inContinue reading “A Bribe of Pennies”
Bribes of Pennies I’ve been writing a memoir. This is how it starts. The Art of Resilience is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Bribes of Pennies Prologue I grew up on a chicken ranch in rural So California town called Chino. Chino was known forContinue reading “Bribes of Pennies”
Did Hardship Drive Creativity Photo by Pascal Meier on Unsplash My mom was a very creative person. Not in the same way as my dad, though. I think she was more creative out of hardship. Her life was a difficult one, growing up durning the Depression. Many had a hard life durning that time. She was not unique, butContinue reading “Did Hardship Drive Creativity”
My Dad, the Carver Three of my dad’s most beautiful carvings Dad brought home a boulder that was almost the color of a ripe banana. He picked it up at the work site he was working on as a contracted electrician. Dad had found the boulder and asked if he could take it home and no one objected, soContinue reading “My Dad, the Carver”
Slowing Down Is Not Bad Photo by Juliane Liebermann on Unsplash The discussion of “slowing down” has been going around for awhile. It seems that everyone is going at a breakneck pace to get things done. Things at work that were due yesterday, things on a to do lists that grows each day at home and every spare minute crammedContinue reading “Slowing Down Is Not Bad”
I Teach Art Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash Why do you teach art? This is a question I get all the time. I am not a formal teacher, but somehow, someway I can teach art to people. When I was a child about 3rd or 4th grade, I’d set up a “classroom” on our back patio. IContinue reading “I Teach Art”
Rhapsodic Photo by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash Note: This was first posted on my blog on aletajacobsonartist.com. I wanted to share this with you to continue the conversation. Let me know in the comments how you feel about this concept of “pending euphoria.” Have you experienced this in your creative life? Euphoria: from the Greek euphoros:Continue reading “Rhapsodic”
Another Walnut Tree Photo by Stephan Widua on Unsplash I had climbed trees for a long time as a child. It was an escape for me and I also had a different look on life, the yard, and my pretend life. (More on my pretend life later.) My mom and dad thought the way to make a childContinue reading “Another Walnut Tree”
Lazy Gardener Being able to grow plants well is called “having a green thumb.” I would say that my grandfather had a green arm. He grew wonderful fruits and vegetables. The flowers he grew were spectacular—tall gladioli that seemed to bloom forever and white hydrangeas that he learned how to turn into the most gorgeous blue. IfContinue reading “Lazy Gardener”
Embracing Change: Transitioning to a New Format If you’ve been following my blog and wondering where I’ve been lately, the mystery is finally unveiled. I’m excited to announce that I’m in the midst of a significant transition to a fresh format! It’s a journey I’ve been eagerly anticipating, and I’m thrilled to share it with you. Change is inevitable, and as creators,Continue reading “Embracing Change: Transitioning to a New Format”
Mark Making Back in September, I wrote a blog about my favorite mark making tools. I was going to follow up with how to use them, but I wound up writing about something else. I want to return to that original idea now because I love mark making. You might say that everything in art is aContinue reading “Mark Making”
Thank you As the year comes to a close, I wanted to send a holiday greeting and a big “Thank You” to all. I’m filled with gratitude and joy from all of you. Whether we met in a class or you purchased my art in some form, I am so grateful that our paths have crossed. I’veContinue reading “Thank you”
