November 21, 2012 In appreciation, inspiration, life and the universe, photography By Patricia Saxton

Gratitude

This gorgeous image is a place in New Zealand called Emerald Lake. Stunned by its beauty, I immediately felt grateful that grand, magical places like this exist in our world. Then I was grateful that someone was at the right time and place with the right camera equipment to capture this shot for the rest of us to appreciate. Then I was grateful that I wasn’t actually there, because it looks too cold. Then I was grateful for my home, my family, my friends, my cats, my art, and for all of you, and for the existence of chocolate ~ and that without fail, the sun rises each day, giving us another opportunity to appreciate and be thankful.

May we all feel gratitude and recognize blessings, large and small, inside and out, near and far. ~ Love, Patricia
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November 20, 2012 In appreciation, art, communication, craftsmanship, creativity, history, inspiration, skill By Patricia Saxton

Tuesdays with Chris: “Thanksgiving”

Chris Staley

A very appreciative video this week, reflecting on what we are grateful for. A lovely piece! Thank you, Chris.

(If you missed my introduction about Chris Staley, master potter, educator and Penn State Laureate 2012-2013, you can read that here.)  Enjoy!

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November 19, 2012 In appreciation, art, books, books & stuff, children's books, creativity, design, illustration, imagination, inspiration, life and the universe By Patricia Saxton

Reading Ditty

As a voracious reader myself, I firmly believe that reading is truly one of the most worthwhile, elevating things we can do at any age.

………….

ps: my marketing muse tells me I should plug my own books, too, so here they are … a click on the image below will take you to my amazon author page, or you can see all my loot at my shop (left menu on this page). :  )

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November 13, 2012 In appreciation, art, communication, craftsmanship, creativity, history, inspiration, skill By Patricia Saxton

Tuesdays with Chris: “A Search for Meaning”

Chris Staley

“What are you trying to say with your art?”  Back when Chris was a grad student brimming with enthusiasm for his craft, he was deeply struck when asked this question. Perhaps needless to say, he has some answers now.

Consciously or unconsciously, the art we create has social meaning. Within the context of boxes, twin towers and clay, Chris gives us a personal glimpse into what makes some of his own work tick, then segues gracefully into a fresh explanation of Maslow’s 4 stages of learning.

(If you missed my introduction about Chris Staley, master potter, educator and Penn State Laureate 2012-2013, you can read that here.)  Enjoy!

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November 6, 2012 In appreciation, art, communication, craftsmanship, creativity, history, inspiration, skill By Patricia Saxton

Tuesdays with Chris: “Art & Life”

Chris Staley

How the life we live influences what we create, and how art may influence the way we live..  This is one of my favorite videos in the series. Chris’ stories and insights about artists, students and teaching (with a flourish of psychology mixed in) make me wish there’d been a class like this when I’d been in school. Great stuff.

(If you missed my introduction about Chris Staley, master potter, educator and Penn State Laureate 2012-2013, you can read that here.)  Enjoy!

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October 30, 2012 In appreciation, art, communication, craftsmanship, creativity, skill By Patricia Saxton

Tuesdays with Chris: “Creativity in Sports”

ChrisStaley / Snowfall At Night / 16x15x15

This week’s video shows Chris interviewing Penn State Head Football Coach Bill O’Brien. How, one might wonder, do you relate a game like football with the arts?

Chris manages to weave the two worlds together quite remarkably, within the context of perceptions like illusion, deception, sculpting your medium, and discipline … and it all makes sense. (If you missed my introduction about Chris Staley, master potter, educator and Penn State Laureate 2012-2013, you can read that here.)  Enjoy!

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October 15, 2012 In appreciation, art, craftsmanship, creativity, inspiration, music By Patricia Saxton

Craft, Music, Mythology and Beauty

Inspired by myth, but entirely real, these handmade guitars may be the most exquisitely beautiful musical instruments I’ve ever seen.

Music and mythology have a long, rich history together. Sculptor William Jeffrey Jones has taken that tradition to a whole new level by creating a marriage of craftsmanship and design to mythology and music in the form of high-end professional grade guitars. I’m in awe.

Wouldn’t you just love to hear these played by a master…? They’re so special you can almost hear an Irish ballad playing itself ~ but in the hands of a musician like my brother, or Clapton or Santana or Kottke, oh, what musical beauty would roll.

You can explore Jones’ website to learn more about how he made these pieces of art, as well as the philosophy and heart behind them.

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October 5, 2012 In appreciation, art, communication, creativity, design, graphic design, imagination, inspiration, life and the universe, philosophy, words and language By Patricia Saxton

A Plethora of P’s / #63: Pink Flamingo

proactively punctuating life with the plausible, powerful possibilities of positive thought presented through a plethora of “P’s”.

– ♥ –

I’ve always been enchanted by flamingos. I think most people are. Maybe it’s their color we find so stunning ~ their sheer pink-ness! ~ ranging from pale and soft to deep corals and brilliant pink-tinged scarlets.

Then you see them standing on those incredibly skinny legs that go every which way (often standing on just one leg; go figure…), making them both awkward and fluid, beautiful and strange, and there’s a sense of awe at their very design.

I like the “awe” of flamingos. I like the way their form almost contradicts itself. I like their grace and their gentleness, and how they hang out in groups like one big happy family and don’t cause any trouble. They eat, swim, and fly (sounds good to me). They mate for life.  And they’ve got that amazing plumage.

You know, just thinking about them has brightened my day. Heck, I hope it’s brightened yours too.

(see our growing, ongoing Plethora of P’s here)

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October 3, 2012 In appreciation, art, branding, communication, design, graphic design, presentation By Patricia Saxton

Girl Scout Cookie Conundrum

Girl Scouts are many worthy things, but they should probably stick to being positive citizens of the universe and not mess with their cookie box design!

I should apologize, as it seems the Girl Scout organization is very pleased with their new design. But, you who know me, know that if I think something is good, I’ll be the first to applaud. If not, I’ll find some nice way to speak the truth, and look for the positive, but honesty prevails. (This is probably a good Girl Scout trait, this being true to your word business. It earns trust, I believe.)

In any event, to the point, which is: “Why change the box”?

Yes, I understand it’s a 100th anniversary of the Girl Scout organization, and as we all know, everyone (except me) loves Girl Scout cookies. So that’s a sensible enough reason to re-design the box ~ to celebrate the milestone.

Maybe the question then isn’t so much “why”, as “why this design”? It accomplishes its goal of honoring the girls themselves, but the cookies (the beloved cookies, and the main reason for the box) feel lost. The prior box, in my opinion, did a better job of honoring both girl and cookie. They could have infused something celebratory into the existing design, rather than re-invent. In my opinion. Which wasn’t asked for. So there you go, for what it’s worth.

What I really don’t “get” is why some companies feel a need to fix things that aren’t broken. That’s time and money spent for an overhaul that in the end, doesn’t necessarily justify the means. Some businesses really DO need brand makeovers, and I’m all for those upgrades. But if it’s just because you can, then it really ought to be fairly spectacular.

Bottom line, I wanted to care and applaud their venture, but I’m unmoved. The good news though, for all you Girl Scout cookie lovers, is that they haven’t changed the number of cookies per box.

old box

new box

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September 25, 2012 In appreciation, books, imagination, inspiration, intelligence, skill, words and language, writing By Patricia Saxton

Blomkvist, Lisbeth and other Fictional Distractions

I did it in all the wrong order, but was riveted just the same.

First I broke form and saw the movie before reading the book. (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) “Wow”, I thought. Disturbing but mesmerizing and intelligent. Then while on vacation, the place I stayed had a copy of book 3. (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest). Couldn’t put it down (and got to picture Daniel Craig throughout the book, which wasn’t a bad thing). I was so enthralled that I bought book 2 (The Girl Who Played With Fire) at the airport bookstore on the way home.

In order or not, these books are distractingly good, and I have Stieg Larsson to thank for my to-do’s taking a back seat to my most recent obsessive reading spree. What a marvelous storyteller. I don’t know that there’s ever been a main character quite as fascinating as Lisbeth Salander. Sadly, Larsson passed away before they were published, which means there’ll be no book four or five or six.

I applaud you many times over Mr. Larsson, and I hope you see how far and wide your work has been appreciated from where you sit in heaven.

This has happened a few times in recent years ~ finding a series I can’t get enough of. Ariana Franklin’s Mistress of the Art of Death series was another (she also passed away, leaving a void). And there’s Mary Doria Russell, whose The Sparrow and Children of God are spectacular. Each writer’s style is different – I would call Larsson’s contemporary spy/intrigue, Franklin’s are historical murder mysteries, and Russell’s a rich brand of science fiction I never knew existed, whose characters come to life within moments of being introduced, as if they’ve long been good friends.

There are far, far too many outstanding books (and their authors) to mention right here and now; these are three (with series’) that happened to come to mind. All I can say is, thank goodness for them. Not only inspiring writers, their fictional works have made “real life” that much more delicious.

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