How to remove worry and fear by making art

I was talking with a friend of mine recently who was experiencing severe stress overload. While she was talking about her situation, I could feel the heaviness she felt. We’ve all been there. Our current situation seems to make the air so thick that it’s hard to breathe.
When we are in that state, it is [...]

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Can Art-Making create abundance in our lives?

Someone once asked me if being in the art business is difficult because art is not a basic human need. May answer was that I’m not in the art business. I’m in the inspiration business, and I believe that inspiration is a basic human need. Art may not be a basic human need in the [...]

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Sometimes all we need is a visual spark

A month and a half ago was spring break. It’s a great week for us at Art Village because we always have a full house. Kids and families come in to spend time together and make art. It’s great to see. During this week we put on an art camp. It’s not restricted to just [...]

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Be present now, let go of the past and future

I’ve always had a tendency to live in the future. I love planners and calendars. I remember putting together my plans for Art Village, dreaming about what I wanted it to be. I loved talking with my dad about my plans and he would encourage and spur me on. When he died three months after [...]

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Our lives are small works of art, each one full of purpose

We have a lot of painted square tiles in our studio at Art Village. We have ceramic ones that were painted by our customers for our first year anniversary. And we also have a large mosaic made up of individually painted wooden tiles hanging on our wall.
These tiles were painted at Art in the Park [...]

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Take notice of life’s journey and you’ll see how you’ve grown

At Art Village, we just finished a six-week class that we offer called Drawing on the Right side of the Brain based on Betty Edward’s book by the same name. The first week of class, the students were asked to draw a self-portrait. Now you can imagine the fear and dread that over took them [...]

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Embrace Uncertainty and Live a Full Life

I recently spoke to some grade school kids about careers in art. Most of them were not thinking about a career in art. They thought an art career was a bit risky. They wanted security. I can appreciate their view because I share their interest in financial stability. But I think if you are preoccupied [...]

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We are the painters of our own lives. So create a masterpiece.

Last week someone asked me if when I paint, do I think about whether or not it is saleable or do I just paint for myself. I was working on a rather large painting at the time. As I looked at it, I realized that it never really occurred to me that it probably wouldn’t [...]

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Sacred Objects Help Redirect Your Thoughts

There are two kinds of pursuits in life - the pursuit of outside physical things and the pursuit of a deeper inner-life. Many times we get so wrapped up in pursuing temporary things that we miss pursuing more important and lasting things like love, developing relationships, making the world a better place, kindness, and gratefulness. [...]

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Make Art With Friends

Many people have this romantic idea of artists as reclusive eccentrics. Locked away in their studio, feverishly making art into the wee hours of the night.
And although I do believe there is great value in solitude, I also think there is also something very rewarding about making art with other people. Making art can be [...]

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