Likewise, here's the lead story of the March edition of my newsletter -- the whole is a little mix of inspiration, how-to and upcoming events. If you want to see more or subscribe click the button at the top of the sidebar. Or download this month's entire issue here.
Spring Grit
Will Spring ever arrive? Usually by this time of year, our Texas Hill Country is blanketed with flowers and sprouting green grass. Some years we're even seeing the tomato plants starting to blossom. This year, between prolonged gusts of wintry weather every couple of days and the drought (we've had less than an inch of rain since January 1) the land looks as bleak as midwinter.
So, like other artists I know, I've had to make spring time happen in the studio, on the iPad and on the design table. I hope you are doing the same!
My inspirations: photos from previous trips and at-home excursions. The files of flowers I've shot over the years. And, at least here this year, I can look out the window and enjoy the rosemary blooms filled with bees and the bright chartreuse of the hardy euphorbia that has naturalized in the garden.
This plant is a botanical example of true grit. It endures ice storms and no water for weeks, and each spring the stalks from last year erupt in this riot of amazing color. Then, just in the hottest part of the year, tiny blue-grey spikes poke up around the mother plants and take over another territory. From a single spiky stalk bought at a roadside sale, I now celebrate early spring with about 10 hardy plants, and I have given dozens away to friends as well. What grit!
True grit for me as an artist embodies a notion about success, achievement and learning -- and one that is attracting attention in research and educational settings these days. The idea is probably one familiar to most of those my age: just keep trying. Persistence, and a belief that intelligence or success or mastery is something acquired by hard work is more important than any innate talent, intellectual gift or "smartness."
As I come into the studio after a week filled with family meals, parries, conversations, a day of poking around in the antique shops of Comfort and Boerne, I sit again sending out this newsletter, my own true test of grit. In January of 2013 I vowed to make a monthly post to communicate with friends, students, family and blog readers in a more formal and scheduled manner. I haven't always succeeded. But, as I look back over my file of entries, I have managed to post 14 editions, in an almost regular fashion. Believe me, it would not have happened without two important components: intention and grit.
So what is on your gritty list today?