To Summarize and Commiserate With An Artist....

I can't say I consider myself an artist. After all artists are more flamboyant and free than I think of myself. I know I'm generalizing here and I do realize Artist is a very broad term- ...I do believe...We are all creative in some way...and everyone is an artist in their own life.LM~
One facet of art I am drawn to is writing, and that is a skill I would love to hone and own a little more freely... I love words, pondering words, hearing new words,and no dear hubby I do not make up words...:)
These two books entered my life recently and I've been delving into them intermittently..

Amy, had mentioned Rumors Of Water on her blog and recently I purchased it and have so far enjoyed it's lilting flow and subtle humor.

Letters To A Young Artist was one I picked up at a thrift store.An older,experienced artist,is writing letters to a younger artist struggling with many emotions, including turbulent self doubt,ego and fear.This book is brutally raw and honest,and while I can't 
argue that it is written from a Christian stand point, there are certain times she alludes to God, his plans and His ultimate creativity.

I hope you like this excerpt as I did;
Dear X,
You write, the odds are stacked against me.Let me be blunt.I think the odds are a drink of emotional poison.
No one invokes the odds who aren't trying to keep you from committing creativity.For one thing your odds of succeeding immediately increase if you try succeeding.You may think I'm being facile,but I think I'm simply responding to spiritual law; God helps those who help themselves."Ask, and you shall receive, even, Knock and it shall be opened to you."
When we believe the odds are stacked against us, we are choosing to believe that the odds are more powerful not only than our own gifts but also than God. If the tiny mustard seed can become a tree,if the acorn can become the oak, why can't our ideas flourish into mighty manifestations? It comes down to the question of self worth doesn't it?We tend to believe we must  deserve good fortune, but what proof do we have for that notion?
 Did the lilies of the field earn their place in the sun? No, it was God's nature to care for them,and it is likewise God's nature to care for us and our brainchildren.
When we see our work as an extension of God's work, and not as an act of ego, it is easier to believe that their may be a plan of goodness for it.
If we believe not I, but the Father doeth the works"than we really do not need to worry about the question of odds do we?(Julie Cameron)

Congrats, if you read all that:) I really liked the way that was put. Artists (everyone) have many inner struggles,and so much of our success is dependent on us placing our trust, in the One who created us ... and us doing His work for Him.

as I handed Jasmine her laundry pile I said"you could do a spring sock clean, if there's any with holes throw them out..."a little later I heard the sewing machine...this is what I found on the couch this morning...

there must of been a LOT of holey socks:)apparently they all have names too!
reminded me of this quote....

Every child is an artist. The problem is staying an artist when you grow up.
                   ( Pablo Picasso)

now....
449-my lunch duty job,450- daughter's birthday and surprising her,451-tea kettles,452-the wonderful feeling after  exercising,453-cheese and crackers,454-a balanced life,455-glasses for my vision,456-vision,457-creative children,458-daughter taking bus home last week,459-food to make lunches even on days the cupboards seem empty,460-paying bills,461-credit card statements with a 0 balance,462-my camera,463-acceptance of things I can't change,464-snow is melting,465-Oliver,the cutest little boy at school and the way he came up to talk to me yesterday made my day:)466-coffee with a friend yesterday,467-a good nights sleep,468-happy daughter who was accepted to a mission she had applied to,469-the peace that I feel about it, (mostly)470-how God created us,uniquely!