A small room in Boston
- At January 17, 2020
- By Lisa
- In Experiences, Features, Wellness, Writing
2
I write from a small room in Boston without a view. There are two west-facing windows which open to the mustard-colored clapboard siding of the neighboring three-story, and at this time, it is an advantageous vantage point. It keeps my attention focused on my writing and my mission.
Several weeks ago, I took to rearranging the furniture in this room to something I felt was more conducive to creativity. Pushing my desk into a corner I made a cozy place for concentration. A great chair, good lighting, and a variety of sacred items that I believe help my process. It’s a comfortable room also containing an old unused fireplace in the corner — it’s interior bricks painted white against a red wall. There are piles of books, journals, candles, and two sleepy cats. I see this arrangement as something I hope will prove beneficial in the full immersion of my craft because an enemy also lurks within these walls.
The War of Art, written by Steven Pressfield, discusses this enemy. It is known as Resistance. Pressfield refers to Resistance using a capital letter and assigns to it some powerful personality traits. It is what he considers the major deterrent of artists being able to do their work. It is a formable enemy — invisible, insidious, impersonal, and infallible. The battle with Resistance is fought on a daily basis.
Read More»The work of artist Rick Garcia
My most recent cover story for Venü Magazine, The Art and Heart of Rick Garcia, Winter issue, 2019-2020.
An internet search of artist, Rick Garcia, will show only the lightest of online footprints revealing his website, a couple of YouTube videos, and his work at C. Parker Gallery in Greenwich Connecticut. Yet Garcia has created for some of today’s most highly visible organizations, corporations, events, and causes.
His work has garnered worldwide attention with images that are sometimes joyous and other times heart-rending. He is prolific. His palette is vibrant, often reflecting his love of the tropics, and with an economy of line he displays great skill in illustration. He has an approachable manner and an easygoing way of expressing himself. In other words, he’s pretty cool.
Rick Garcia has worked three times as the official artist for the GRAMMY Awards, setting the look and feel of the live ceremonies and gracing the covers of the organization’s program covers, CDs, posters, and apparel. In 1998 and 2003 he was commissioned by The United Nations Postal Administration to bring awareness to the dangers facing the rainforest and its inhabitants. The stamps he created earned his series the title of “most beautiful stamp series of 2003”.
Read More»Forest Bathing – Our Connection with Trees
- At October 22, 2019
- By Lisa
- In Experiences, Features, Wellness
- 2
There is a concept, known as biophilia, introduced by American biologist E. O. Wilson in 1984, that humans have an innate need to connect with nature. Wilson believed that because we evolved in nature, we have a biological imperative to be close to it, and this affinity with the natural world is fundamental to our health and well-being.
Experts in forest therapy say that being in the forest reduces stress and blood pressure, strengthens your immune and cardiovascular systems, and boosts your energy, mood, creativity, and concentration. In addition to the philosophy of forest bathing, or what the Japanese call shinrin-yoku, there is some compelling science behind it as well.
Read More»Women, art, and the future
- At October 14, 2019
- By Lisa
- In Art, Current Events, Editorial, Experiences, Features
- 0
I have great business associates — it turns out that most of them are women. On a Tuesday afternoon in October, I had the good fortune to speak with two of them. The conversation was familiar and light. We were coming down from our summer vacation high and now enthused by what we see as an active future. We’re making connections.
There was talk of arts and artists, lovely autumn weather and summer getaways. We spoke about climate change, politics, publishing, and the things women are doing to stop the madness permeating our society. The world needs healing and women have ideas.
Read More»Collecting Visual Trinkets – The allure of beauty in everyday life
- At March 24, 2019
- By Lisa
- In Art, Features, Musings, Photography
- 2
I had a hard time writing this essay. It has been several weeks in the making and perhaps because it was meant to be uplifting and inspirational, it stifled me. The photography came easily but words are hard and I found them somehow lacking in rightful expression—my writing tends toward the dark side of late. There are some creative notions, however, that I wish to share with you, dear reader, so let’s carry on.
Read More»Artemisia’s Revenge
- At December 18, 2018
- By Lisa
- In Art, Features
- 6
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653), was a painter so gifted, and of such high caliber, that she was included in my traditional art history education — traditional art history, of course, being the study of white men creating for the visual arts. To understand how important this inclusion was, you need to know that during my study of approximately 500+ years of art, I can only recall perhaps four female artists being a part of the curriculum.
Artemisia was bold in her depictions and strong willed in character. Her paintings and her personal life reveal an extraordinary woman who worked hard to secure a career which eventually found her a place in history. Her work has not just resonated over the last 400 years, but today is more relevant than ever in light of the MeToo movement.
Read More»Artist Katie Swatland
Artist Katie Swatland has an amazing story. It was my pleasure to help her tell it.
My most recent piece for Venü Magazine:
Katie Swatland’s Alchemy Visions, Curiosity Without Bounds:
In the winter of 2016, artist Katie Swatland covered all her clocks to eliminate the illusion of time, hung a “do not disturb” sign upon her studio door, and stepped into a journey of self imposed artistic isolation for 29 months. She re-emerged on June 11, 2018 finally feeling the need to share the fruits of her labor – the Alchemy Visions collection – nearly complete with the exception of three final works.
She is an intriguing individual, as is evidenced not only by her art but the way in which she sees, reflects, and interacts with the world. While many artists proclaim their work to be multi-disciplinary – it’s quite trendy these days to do so – Swatland is the real deal. Because of an intense curiosity about the world and its cultures, her art is informed with layers of meaning – expressions based on ancient philosophies, the natural sciences, history, folklore, and mythology.
Having trained for sixteen years in the art of oil painting, Swatland also received a degree in mechanical engineering and has a passion for theoretical physics. It is this background in scientific learning, I believe, which allows her to intellectually explore and ask methodical questions of nature and the unknown.
The start of Alchemy Visions began, as most journeys do, with a first step …
Read More»Artscope Magazine and the NYC Dance Project
- At July 06, 2018
- By Lisa
- In Art, Editorial, Features, Photography, Writing
- 0
It’s an honor for a writer to know that a story they have crafted will grace the cover of a magazine. Personally, it tells me that my writing has obtained a certain standard – I take that recognition quite seriously and am always grateful for it. For the artists I write about, it is always good news when they learn that their hard work is representative of a publication’s monthly (or bi-monthly) issue.
This summer’s issue of Artscope Magazine (July/August) shows the stunning photographic work of Deborah Ory and Ken Browar’s NYC Dance Project. It was wonderful to work with Ory and Browar, as well as gallery owner Susan Lanoue, for the story.
I include the article for you here.
Photos courtesy of NYC Dance Project.
The Breath of a Dancer
With a single click, a moment in time can be captured forever. It’s extraordinary, really, when you think about it. Occasions, places, and historical events are captured by the internal mechanisms of a camera, by the skill and passion of the photographer, providing us with that which our own eyes may not see. The click of a shutter can capture something so slight as the breath of a dancer.
Read More»
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