Artists are different.
Artists are in a perpetual search for inspiration... for beauty, joy, light, magic.
Artists are inventive, expressive, adventurous, and intuitive with an overwhelming desire to share their world.
I am such an artist. _____________________________________________________________________________________
“I like good strong words that mean something…”
~
♥ Word on the Water
London has one of the niftiest, old bookshop's I've ever run across. The Words on the Water bookshop is a seller of secondhand books located in a restored 1920's Dutch barge floating on Regent’s Canal Towpath just beyond The Lighterman pub near Kings Cross. How cool is that?
No, I haven't been there personally. With four old animals to care for (one is blind, another deaf), I'm in a season of non-travel. Yet that doesn't stop me from being a well-traveled mental wanderer. On these cold, gray, dreary days of late winter, I daydream of exploring new locales. Just image spending an afternoon on a restored 1920's Dutch barge turned secondhand bookshop, curled up in a cozy corner in a comfy, worn leather chair, a stack of treasured books piled to your side and one in hand, furry company in your lap or at your feet, and the warmth of a small, iron, wood-burning stove nearby. Or better yet, warmed by the sun, both directly and by reflections bouncing off the water of the canal.
For more info, you can check out their Facebook page. Or Instagram page.
“There is no scent so pleasant to my nostrils as that faint, subtle reek which comes from an ancient book.”
~
♥ Lexicon Valley
One of my favorite podcasts is a bi-weekly offering hosted by linguist and Broadway musical aficionado John McWhorter, an associate professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University where he teaches linguistics, American studies, philosophy, and music history. He is a contributing writer to The Atlantic and has authored many books. The man is brilliant! He speaks a myriad of languages, yet he can share nuances in language and connect the dots so even someone like me can not only understand, but finds it enthralling.
Have you ever heard of Proto-Indo-European? It's the ancient ancestor of the Indo-European languages, the most widely spoken language family in the world first spoken around 4500 BC. It's the great-granddaddy of Spanish, English, Portuguese, German, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Russian, Punjabi, German, Persian, French, Italian, and Marathi. Proto-Sino-Tibetan is the ancestor of Chinese and other Asian languages. But neither Proto-Sino-Tibetan nor Proto-Indo European was the first language. That honor is given to the Proto-Human Language from 50,000 BC.
Now you might find that boring, but what about this? Jingle Lou is a language spoken in Australia that only has three verbs. Count 'em. Three. They are "go," "come," and a verb that is a cross between "do" and "be." For example, in Jingle Lou there is no verb "to sleep." In Jingle Lou, you "do" a sleep.
Check out episodes of Lexicon Valley on Slate's website or subscribe on iTunes.
“All my life I've looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.”
~
♥ Der Bücherwurm
Twenty-five or so years ago I was shopping at Antiques Center I in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and found a painting I couldn't live without titled Der Bücherwurm. It appeared to be an original, 11 x 14 oil on canvas, framed painting depicting an older gentleman reading a book in a great library in front of tall shelves filled books. He stood on a library ladder and had one book in each hand, one under his arm and one between his knees. You can imagined how thrilled I was to receive this very painting for Christmas later that same year. It remains a prized possession.
What I didn't know at the time was this painting was a study of a famous 1850 painting by painter and poet Carl Spitzweg. According to Wikipedia, Spitzweg painted three variations of this piece. The first one titled "The Librarian" is on exhibit at the Museum Georg Shafer in Schweinfurt, Germany.
The second painting was bequeathed to the Milwaukee Public Library and is on permanent loan to the Grohmann Museum at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. A final version of this painting was created in 1884, but there is no mention of its whereabouts. Maybe it's gracing the walls of my studio? I seriously doubt it. Even though my painting is signed "Spitzweg" in the lower corner, a proud Werner Brauner signed the back with a marker in 1976. He also left off the large globe in the foreground of the original .
Here is a shameless plug for my self-published book on the language used in the BBC costume drama Downton Abbey. Words paint a mental picture just as much as paint creates a physical one. I love words! And the early 20th-century British vernacular adds so much to this beloved TV series. Yet, many of the words are completely foreign or archaic to me. Luckily, Julian Fellowes writes scripts in a way to define the odd words in context, so you are never lost for long. Still, I thought it would be fun to re-watch the series and the movie and jot down every word, phrase, or reference that wasn't inherently understood, researched each word, phrase and reference, and wrote a short book that I self-published through Amazon. If you love the series as much as I do, mark your calendar for March 5, when the eBook version of The Downton Abbey Lexicon Primer will be available at no charge.
Enjoy!
♥ Yes
Besides being a progressive rock band formed in the 1960's and the subject of Yoko Ono's zany and Zen-y artwork Ceiling Painting, "YES" is probably the most positive and optimistic word in the English language, used to express willingness or agreement. Optimism grates on those who don't share it, but who cares? They don't dampen my cheerfulness. Don't let them dampen yours!
Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) called optimism "the doctrine that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly." Could he be referring to Wabi-Sabi (Beauty in imperfection)? He went on to say that "Optimism is hereditary, but fortunately not contagious." Ha! I humbly and happily disagree.
Optimism is contagious.
Beauty, Joy, Light, Magic.
Pass it on.
“I believe in the magic and authority of words.”
~
“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.”
~
"All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down."
~ Friedrich Nietzsche
"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."
~ Mother Teresa
"Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder."
~ Rumi
"Don't ever diminish the power of words. Words move hearts and hearts move limbs."
~ Hamza Yusuf
"Kind words are a creative force, a power that concurs in the building up of all that is good, and energy that showers blessings upon the world."
~ Lawrence G. Lovasik
"The secret of being boring is to say everything."
~ Voltaire
"One kind word can change someone's entire day."
~ Unknown
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We have lots of Painting Classes coming up in March. Grab a friend or loved one and spend some time making memories and masterpieces.
Yellow is a happy color. "It is capable of charming God," said Vincent Van Gogh.
In March, the students in the Creative Spirits painting class will be painting studies of classic impressionism paintings that feature the color yellow. Join us!
Sneak Preview: In April, Creative Spirits will take a deep dive into mixing and painting with green.
Creative Spirits Weekly Painting Class in Acrylics
Perfect for the artist who would like further instruction and designated painting time each week. This class also enjoys "Art Dates." In March we plan to go to Daffodil Days in Bell Buckle on March 21, and we may even plan a movie afternoon to see Emma.
Southern Springs Monthly Painting Class in Watercolors
Spring Hill Parks Monthly Paint-Along Class in Acrylics
Spring Hill Parks Monthly Painting Class in Watercolors
Or book a PRIVATE PAINTING LESSON for Instant Clarity and Results
Please call me if you have additional questions or would like to purchase a gift certificate or register for a class:
615-668-8263
Links you may be interested in...
My ETSY Shops...
Colorful and Charming Art and Postcards from the Dimple of the Universe
Do you enjoy receiving a personal, hand-written card in the mail? Do you know someone who would, maybe a friend or family member away from home or now living in Assisted Living or a Nursing Home?
Postcards from the Dimple of the Universe is my Etsy shop that offers a subscription of 1-, 6-, or 12-handwritten cards, one each month, depicting an object or scene from my hometown, Columbia, Tennessee, aka the Dimple of the Universe or from around middle Tennessee, and delivered in a colorful envelope with a delightful US postage stamp.
It's a charming and unique gift for yourself or someone you love.
Recommended Supplies lists...
Supplies List for Creative Spirits Classes,
Supplies List for Aspiring Masters Classes,
Adventure Awaits Supplies List,
Back Issues of Bullet Point Blessings at Creative Spirits Soar! blog.
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